Legacy

Chapter 4: My Fate

All I see is darkness.

I don't know how long I've been down here, but I can almost swear it's been a day... Maybe two.

It's the longest I've been chained up down here. Since Robin was born, that is.

The light suddenly flicks on, causing me to flinch. I almost fall off the bed as I sit up, squinting until my eyes adjust to the bright light.

Michael opens the cell door, his face blank. Emotionless.

I watch him closely as he stands there, not moving from the doorway. He looks absolutely terrible. His hair is all in disarray. Even from where I sit, I can see the circles under his eyes.

I'm staring. And so is he. Not at me. More like he's looking straight through me. As if he can see Robin behind my eyes.

"He's gone." Michael finally says, his voice dry and gravely from overuse. "I would call the police. But, no, that would raise too many complicated questions. Because, legally, our son does not exist."

Fresh tears fill my eyes. Just when I thought I was all dried out.

I don't even hear it when Michael gets up. I barely even feel it when his hand wraps around my throat and starts to squeeze.

"HE! COULD! BE! DEAD!" Michael screams at me as he presses me against the wall. "YOU DID THIS! NOT ME!"

I sob when I feel the cold brick wall against my burned back. My hands come up, trying to pry his cold fingers from my throat. Hot tears slip down my face only to drip onto his hands.

I know that he is just projecting his anger onto me. He knows why I told Robin to run. It was all because of him. And he knows it. He just wants me to blame myself too.

I do blame myself, though. I should have waited. I should have come up with a real plan.

But no. I had to be as stupid as I was the day I woke up here. When I tried to run away without thinking things through. Every time I saw an opportunity, I took it.

Only this time, my baby had to pay the price.

When I finally pluck up the nerve to meet his eyes, I have to blink twice to believe what I see. He is crying too. Like he has been crying for hours.

"Now, September." Michael's voice is a growled whisper, but it seems... calmer somehow. "Here's what's going to happen." He releases my throat and throws me onto my back. I whimper at the burns on my back. "I'm going to fuck you. Every single day. Every night."

That's when he climbs on top of me. I squeeze my eyes shut and turn my face away. A scream tears from my throat when he slaps me.

"LOOK AT ME!"

My whole body is shaking as I force myself to meet his eyes once again.

"You're gonna give me another kid. And when it's time..." I feel the cold touch of a knife against my cheek. "C-section. No painkillers. No stitches. Nothing." His free hand grips my hair. "I'll make it nice and slow, just for you, Morning Bird." His face comes down until his nose brushes against my ear. "You're special," he whispers.

The smile he gives me makes me grip the sheets beneath me, wanting them to swallow me up like a cocoon and never release me back to him.

"If you thought I took my time with the others," he chuckles, letting the blade slice into my cheek just enough for red hot blood to mix with my tears, "then you're in for so much worse."

My jaw clenches when he leans down and presses his lips to the fresh cut on my cheek. It stings, but it doesn't hurt nearly as much until Michael pulls back... and I see the blood coating his lips. I can't stop myself from cringing when he flicks his tongue across his upper lip, tasting me.

Just when I think it can't get any worse, I feel something hard pressed against my thigh. A feeling I'm all too familiar with.

~~~~~

Michael only allows me to eat after he has had his morning fun. The full meals he used to allow me are now replaced with a bologna sandwich and a cup of fruit cocktail. I have to ration my two daily water bottles. I'm only allowed two bathroom breaks. One in the morning, after his fun. Another in the evening, once again, after his fun.

That's all it is now.

When he first brought me here, all he cared about was what I thought of him. Now... He couldn't care less.

I'm just here for breeding. I mean, it's not much different from before. But when he first brought me here, I was more to him than just the means to his precious legacy. He loved me. So much that he let me live after I had given him what he so desperately wanted.

As far as I can tell, any love he had for me is long gone. I don't blame him. I was so stupid to think that telling Robin to run would result in anything better than this.

Every time I close my eyes, I see my precious baby boy. His smile. His eyes, so full of wonder and love for the world. An innocent heart that his father wanted to poison with images death and memories of gore.

I've cried so much that my face feels dry from the salt of my never-ending stream of tears.

My eyes suddenly open as Michael enters the room, a pizza box in hand. The smell of it makes my mouth water. This has to be a new way for him to torture me. Feeding me the barest minimum to keep me sustained, and eating something hot and delicious right in front of me.

I know better than to ask for a slice. I might as well be asking for a quick trip to the nearest McDonald's.

Instead I look away, pretending that counting the dots in the bricks is more entertaining than the seductive smell from across the room. It only gets stronger when Michael flips the box open and starts eating. My stomach growls, but I ignore it.

For awhile, the only sound in the room is Michael's chewing. It's like he's chewing with his mouth open just to get a rise out of me.

My tongue flicks over my chapped lips as I imagine the hot slice of pizza between them. Hell, I'd even take it if it's cold. Anything that's not a sandwich.

Then he leaves. Like he didn't just make my stomach ache with hollowness. Not even a parting word to the mother of his child.

This is the first night he decides to leave me alone.