A short message from the author (content warning): Now, I know it may not come across as a big deal to most, I would just like to ask that you proceed the end of this chapter with caution if you are sensative in matters of phycal violence/abuse. What is written is minor and not in great depth, but I feel it should be addressed for those that it may bother. As with every chapter thus far, this one is rated R.
Real Quick: I struggled with this chapter, I really did. For some reason, things feel like they just don't fit right. I feel that it seems a bit broken. Unfortunately, I exhausted myself struggling to make this one at least somewhat enjoyable. My plan is to get out the next two or three chapters and then go back and make some changes to this one. If anyone has suggestions or ideas, I am all ears. Hell, let me know if it flows or if it seems choppy.
And One Last Thing (This is it, I pomise!): A serious thank you to everyone who has read, voted or commented. I would just like to say that this is an honest to God first for me. Almost 1,000 reads. I know for most of you that isn't a terribly big number, but this is the piece I am most proud of. All that you guys do helps me keep them comin'!
-LostInSilence
The car was once more filled with a heavy silence as they drove through the curving roads. On either side of them were trees beyond trees, flowing up into the mountains as they reached for the heavens. It was a truly breath taking site.
“Are you sure you're on bored with this?” Jude's voice broke the silence, “I told you that we could spend one more night in town,” Gods, he didn't want to come across strong.
Sadie laid her head back against the rest, eying the ceiling with scrutiny, “And I told you that this is the best idea. I don't like it, but I feel like it needs to be done. If we stay in my apartment, someone is going to find me and it isn't going to take long,”
Jude let out a curse as he rounded a sharp corner. He was running out of argument.
“Give it up Jude, please. You're not going to change my mind,” Crossing her arms over her chest, Sadie tilted her head to stare out the window. She needed more time than she had to deal with this. There was a constant back and forth of internal conflict.
Letting out a soft breath, Sadie closed her eyes, settling into the seat.
Where had the shy, almost skittish girl in the restaurant gone? She seemed to be back and forth. One minute, she was fighting for what she wanted and then the next she was giving in without a word.
Eyes focused on the dark road ahead, Jude licked his lips before he spoke, “He wasn't easy on you,” The comment was more a statement than a question.
Startled, Sadie's eyes snapped open, arms jerking out to grab the edges of the seat as she practically flung herself forward, “Where the good fuck did that come from?”
Panic had her in an uproar. Something about his words struck something long locked away. She tried to slow her breathing and listen as the silence tried to suck them back under, “Why would you bring that up? Really? At a time like this?” She was frazzled.
“I'm sorry, it just sort of all hit me at once,” He paused, as if trying to figure out just how to word his thoughts. “You're here, but you aren't here. One minute, you're calm and collected, aware. The next, you're a mess. Caught between wanting to submit and wanting to fight,” His grip tightened on the steering wheel as he thought about the life she'd had. Thought about the life his sister must have had.
She was stunned, her lips parted as her breath caught. Sadie had no idea how to respond what he'd just voiced. That just wasn't fair. He shouldn't have brought up such an ugly thing at such an unsteady time.
And there it was.
Realization.
That was her problem; she was caught in between.
But how did she fix that? She was conflicted in her struggle to replace the past with reality.
“Sometimes, the best way to forget is to accept that it happened. You need to come to terms with things,”
“But I am still living my past,” Her words were so soft that Jude almost missed them. Soft as though they were, they carried a very deep amount of hurt.
Part of the woman beside him was that scared, sixteen year old little girl.
They continued on, their eyes focused everywhere that was away from each other. The need for something to be said was becoming overwhelming. Neither of them new what to say, or how to even begin handling this situation.
With a soft sigh, Sadie leaned her head back against the rest once more, eyes locked on the ceiling as she tried to gather herself. She could hear Jude breathing softly in the seat beside her; it was that quiet. Sadie could also feel his stare cut across her and then disappear. Though, try as she might, she couldn't bring herself to say something.
Thank the gods she didn't have to.
Jude's broke through the silence like a blade across flesh. Punching deep as it broke the surface.
“Why don't we find a hotel for the day and we will resume tomorrow,”
He hadn't said anything heartfelt or threatening; he'd merely asked if she wanted to call it a night. Then why had his words startled her?
“It's up to you Jude,” There was no fight left in her at that point. She was exhausted, her body ached and her head pounded. She needed time to sleep and collect herself.
He said nothing as they drove on a few more miles, taking the nearest exit into a tiny town. A town that carried two cheap motels, a gas station and a dollar store.
“We don't want to be somewhere obvious,” Was his only explanation as he parked the car and pushed open his door.
A harsh breeze rolled into the fill the car, sending small shivers down Sadie's spine. She hesitated briefly before pushing open her own door, reaching into the back to grab her bag.
A dark cloud seemed to have settled itself over them. Fogging thoughts, lagging their motions. It was unnatural, the stiff posture they had fallen into. Stepping beside each other almost like they weren't actually aware. It was a strange feeling, all in all, something she'd never felt before.
The conversation at the front desk was over quickly, ending with a soft, “Have a great night,” From the teenage girl behind the counter. They had been granted a small, one bed room for the remainder of the night until six o'clock tomorrow evening.
Wonderful.
When they stepped into the room and Sadie heard the soft click of the door shutting, she spun around to face Jude. Her hands rested firmly on her hips as she let her gaze roam a moment before stopping to finally study his face.
“Just what the good fuck is going on with you?” She snapped, eyes wide as she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth.
Jude stopped, startled as her voice exploded through the room, snapping him out of his daze, “What do you mean?”
“I mean, you've been in this crazy funk since we left the restaurant. The entire time we've been driving and avoiding each other. What the hell is going on?”
“Nothing Sadie, honest,” He shifted his gaze and shuffled around the room before stepping toward the bathroom, “I'm going to clean up, if you hear anything or see anything, the door is unlocked,” With that said, he disappeared into the bathroom.
“Holy fuck,” Sadie cursed, utterly amazed as she walked back a few steps and dropped herself onto the hard, lumpy mattress. What where they doing? Why was he helping her?
She couldn't catch a break it seemed.
Then again, she should have already known that it would be that, her life already having flipped itself upside down once before.
It was happening again, she realized as she stared blankly at the water stained ceiling. Her life was taking a drastic turn, only this time, she was in control.
Well, sort of.
Jude emerged from the bathroom, arms above his head as he stretched, releasing as much tension from his body as he could. He could feel her eyes as they locked on him, carefully watching his every move. A shiver road his spine as he crossed the room, going for the bag he had flung off into a corner.
After digging out a pair of jeans and a black, v-neck tee shirt, Jude shuffled back into the bathroom, the door clicking shut with a little more force than he'd intended.
He'd actually done a lot of things differently than he had intended. This situation had gotten complicated quickly. Jude's original mission had been to get her away from where she was. Help her get stable and find another job.
Now, he was keeping her safe while she ran.
He should have let her be when she had warned him off. Should have walked away when he found out that she belonged to someone. If anyone found out that he was keeping a slave hidden, the consequences would not be pretty.
Cursing, Jude stepped back into the bedroom, eyes roaming the room before landing on Sadie who was rolled onto her side, the cheap red comforter pulled up around her small frame. For the first time since this had all started, Sadie looked peaceful, at ease.
Laying out on the bed beside her, Jude dug his gun out of his bag and set it on the nightstand, safety off. Sadie had insisted that it was best to leave town, find somewhere else to stay. She said that she hadn't wanted to risk either parties finding her. Had sworn up and down that neither would end well.
So, taking her words and her pleas into consideration, Jude had begrudgingly nodded his head and agreed to help her get as far away as possible.
Draping an arm across his eyes, Jude let out a soft huff of air. He was going to have to call Cyan and explain the situation. When the coven found out that he had left without a word, or that he was helping an escaped slave run, they would hunt him down.
And that would just be one more complication that did not need.
With a curse, he rolled onto his side, eyes focused on the wall ahead of him as he tried to drift into some kind of sleep. After almost an hour of laying there, Jude was getting frustrated. His mind would not calm, his body refused to relax.
He came awake with a shout, eyes wide as his body jerked against something holding him down. Dark laughter seemed to fill the room as Jude fought to free himself from an iron tight hold. The entire room was pitch black, even with his sensitive sight, Jude was having a hard time making the figures out.
“What the fuck is going on?” He growled, pulling himself up right, satisfied when his head collided with another solid mass, knocking the man back to hit the floor with a thud.
Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, Jude stood in the direction of the unsettling sound, “I believe you have something that belongs to me,”
Oh fuck.
“And what might that be?” The words came out a snarl that quickly became a growl as someone came up behind him, yanking his arms back.
There was no response to his question, instead, the bedside lamp flickered on. Jude struggled harder against his captor, eyes wide as he worked to keep his calm.
The hold broke as Jude swung himself forward in one fluid motion, though he hadn't been fast enough. Someone wrapped a hand around his ankle, pulling him back before landing a solid fist to his face. Twisting his leg out of its hold, he rolled and lifted himself, letting his fist swing in return.
As knuckles collided with bone, a rage burned inside. He had promised he would keep Sadie safe, swore to her that she could trust him. And he he stood, unable to defend himself to save her.
“Thought you would get away with assisting a slave?” The man before him raised a dark eyebrow as he forced Jude to the ground, motioning for his body guards to hull him up from the floor and hold him steady, “Should have listened when she warned you. Now she will pay dearly for your actions,” With something that resembled a wicked grin, Jude watched as he turned and started for the bed. All the while he tugged and fought against his binds, it was no use. Vampire may he be, the men beside him where entirely too inhumanly strong to be just vampire. Even pure bloods didn't posses that kind of strength.
She wasn't sure when she had fallen asleep, but by the way she was being shaken, she could only assume it had been hours ago.
With a scowl, she pried open her eyes.
Only to choke back a scream as her wide jade eyes locked on those of her master.
“Wakey, wakey,”
Frantic, Sadie yanked her arm from his bruising grip. She fell back across the bed as she struggled to get away.
“I don't think so. I have given you one chance to many,” His face fell completely serious as he reached out and snagged both of her wrists, forcing her body up and across the bed so that their noses almost touched, “Play time is over,”
“Get your hands off of her,” Jude's voice cut through the room, bringing her attention to him rather than the building panic.
“Don't touch her? She is my property,” As if to make a point, he brought his lips to her ear and whispered, “Isn't that right?”
A shiver went down her spine as her stomach rolled from fear. It was taking everything in her not to snap back to the broken girl she was.
Fuck Kade.
She was a strong woman, and he would not break her this time. No matter what he did, she would not allow herself to break. It had taken a long time to get to the point she was at, there was no way she was willingly going to sit back while he destroyed her.
Not again.
“Fuck you,” She hissed, throwing her head forward in hopes to get him out of her face.
“You little bitch,” He spat the word as blood gushed from his nose. Within seconds, her body was hitting the mattress, bouncing slightly as his open palm struck her cheek. Ignoring the blood, Kade reached out once more and grabbed a handful of Sadie's thick, black curls.
Dragging her across the bed, he pulled her over the edge and nearly threw her across the room. Shaking off the pain that lanced through her body, Sadie threw her arms behind her and started to back peddle. She was too disorientated to make any real effort.
Kade stood above her, eyes nearly glowing as he clenched his fists. Before wrapping his hand in her hair once more, he met her eyes, “The lesson I am going to teach you is one you will never forget,”
The words barely registered as her world tilted and faded to black. That panic had sucked her in. Her last image was Jude falling fast first onto the years old carpet, her last words heard where, “Leave him her, he won't be able to find her,”
The world went completely black.