I sat in the rocking chair in the corner of the bedroom. There were muttered voices downstairs, but I could not make out what was being said. I glanced over at the alarm clock every few minutes until an hour passed by. The time went by faster than I would like. It was nice to be left alone.
The stairs creaked, and then the door opened. Charles walked in with a garbage bag draped over his shoulder. He emptied the bag onto the bed. White lace spilled out onto the quilt. I leaned forward to see that it was a wedding dress.
"Juliet, put it on," he said.
I swallowed past the lump that was forming in my throat. I had not noticed it before, but Charles was wearing a pair of slacks and a black buttoned-down shirt. I had not seen him in anything but jeans and flannel since I saw him at the strip club.
I shook my head and sank further into the chair. Charles reached toward me and I swatted his hand away. He grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled my head back.
"We're going to have a nice ceremony, Juliet," he said. "This is my first son's wedding. I'm not going to let you ruin this."
"Please, don't make me do this." The tears were burning my eyes, and I tried not to blink. If I blinked the tears would start pouring down my cheeks.
"I'm not going to be patient with you," he said.
Charles let go of my hair and grabbed my wrist. There was a click and then something sharp against my little finger. He had the blade from his pocket knife pressed into my flesh.
"We can do this the easy or the hard way," he said. "But it's going to happen. Do you want to lose the finger?"
I shook my head. A warm tear rolled down my cheek. Charles let go of my arm and then ran his fingers through my hair. He slipped the knife back into his pocket.
"Good girl," he said. "Now get up and get changed. I'll be back in ten minutes. If you're not in that dress when I get back I will punish you."
Charles left the room and slammed the door behind him. I took a deep breath before getting up from the rocking chair. I ran my fingers over the yellowing lace of the dress. The bottom was worn and ripped. How many girls were forced to wear this dress?
I removed my clothes and pulled on the dress. I was shocked at how heavy the material was. The lace sleeves ran past my fingertips and the shoulder was ripped. I reached behind me to zip up the zipper, but I could not do it up all the way. The dress pooled around my feet.
In less than five minutes, the door opened and Charles walked in. I was glad that I at least got the dress on before he barged in.
"Don't you look beautiful," he said.
"Please," I said. "You can't do this."
"Keep up that attitude and I will punish you," he said. "And if I punish you it will make what Jimmy did to you earlier look like a scratch."
Charles reached behind me and zipped up the rest of the dress. He pulled the elastic out of my hair and I gritted my teeth as he ripped out a few of my hairs. The rest of my hair tumbled down my back. He picked the veil up from the bed and set it down on top of my head. The mesh was torn and ripped.
He grabbed my wrist and yanked me forward. My heart pounded in my chest as I tried to rip my arm free from his grip. My feet were bare, so I tried to dig my heels into the hardwood floor. I tried to stop him, but it was useless. He pushed me forward to the edge of the staircase. He slipped his arm around my waist and lifted me off the ground. He made his way down the stairs with me in his arms.
"Here's our beautiful bride," he announced as he set me back onto the floor.
The dining room table was pushed to the edge of the room. They hung a white sheet from the ceiling. It disguised the kitchen by hiding the counter, fridge, and stove. Jimmy was standing in front of the sheet with his arms crossed over his chest. He had on a white buttoned-up shirt with a tie that lazily done up. Tommy was sitting in a chair off to the side. Jimmy smiled when he saw me.
"Please." My voice cracked. "Please, don't make me do this."
"Juliet, this will officially bring you into our family," Charles said. He dragged me further into the kitchen. "We love you."
"I don't want to be part of your family."
Pain exploded in the back of my skull, and my vision went black for a few seconds. Charles had hit me on the back of my head with the heel of his hand.
"Watch your mouth and show us some respect," he told me.
He pulled me in front of Jimmy and let go. I wiped the tears off of my cheeks and took in a sharp breath. My knees were shaking as I took a step back. I looked over my shoulder at the door and took off running. I stumbled on the lace of the dress as I ran to the door. I grabbed the doorknob, but it didn't budge. I let out a cry as I tried to open the door.
"Tommy, grab Juliet and we'll get started," Charles said.
I heard him let out a deep breath and a chair scraped across the floor. He grabbed my hips and pulled me away from the door. I was standing across from Jimmy, and Charles was between us with a crumpled piece of paper in his hands.
"Now we can begin," Charles said.
I turned around, but Tommy grabbed my elbows and held me in place. I tried to rip myself out of his grasp. He dug his fingers deep into my skin until I let out a yelp.
"Let go of me!" I screamed as I fought against Tommy. He held me tight against his body. I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to look at any of them. "Let go of me!"
"Tommy, settle her down," Charles said.
Tommy let go of one of my elbows. I took the chance to swing my elbow back and connected with his stomach. He let go of my other elbow and I ran. The kitchen door was locked, so I was going to have to try the front door. The train of my dress got caught on something and I tumbled to the ground. I looked to see that Tommy had his foot on my dress. He reached down and hauled me onto my feet.
"Jules, you shouldn't have done that," he whispered into my ear.
"Don't get any blood on that dress," Charles told Tommy. "You'll need it in a few years for your girl."
Tommy fished through his pocket and pulled out a lighter. He pulled my hand out toward him and flicked the lighter so that a flame danced in the air. In one swift motion, he pulled my hand toward him and my palm was pressed against the flame.
I screamed as he seared my flesh. Tears flooded down my cheeks, and my knees gave out underneath me. I tried ripping my hand away, but it was no use.
"Tommy, that's enough!" Jimmy yelled.
Tommy let go of me and I fell to the floor. I cradled my hand to my body and rolled onto my side. An angry bright red circle was at the base of my thumb, but the pain radiated up to my elbow. Tommy picked me off the floor. I gasped for breath in between sobs. When I tried to pull myself free, Tommy would press his thumb against my burn and caused me to scream.
"We are all gathered here today," Charles began, "to unite James and Juliet. We are here to bring Juliet into our family where we will always love and protect her."
"No, no, no, no," I repeated.
Charles cleared his throat in an attempt to silence me.
"Juliet, you have been chosen to be brought into a life of protection," Charles said. "You will forever be safe from the horrors of the outside world. You will always be loved by this family. In exchange for all of this, you must be loyal and serve our family."
I was crying and shaking my head. I could see Jimmy through my blurry vision, and he was smiling. If Tommy was not holding onto me I would be crumpled on the floor.
"Juliet, James will love you, and you will love him," Charles said. "I am glad to bring you two together in marriage."
I took in a sharp breath when I heard that word. There was no way that this was legal. I had to keep reminding myself of that.
"James, you can now kiss your beautiful bride," Charles said.
"No!" I yelled out.
"Juliet, don't raise your voice at us," Charles said.
Tommy pushed me forward. Jimmy grabbed my arms and pulled me out of Tommy's grip. He slid his arms around my back and pulled me into his chest. He lowered his head and pressed his lips against mine. I thrashed my head from side to side. Jimmy put one of his hands on the back of my head and held me in place.
His family watched as he finished his assault on me. When he pulled away, his lips were spread into a wide smile.
"I love you," he said.
"I hate you," I said.
I balled up my fist and pounded it into his chest.
"Juliet, watch your mouth," Charles said. "Don't let her get away with that, James."
"I won't," he said.
"Do you need help bringing her upstairs?" Charles asked.
"No. I got it."
Jimmy bent down and scooped me into his arms. He curled me tighter into his body when I pushed him away from me. He turned and headed for the stairs with me in his arms. He went down the hallway and nudged his bedroom door open with his foot. He closed the door behind him and set me down on the bed. He crawled over top of me, and I was punching him with my fists.
"Get off of me!" I yelled.
"Juliet, be quiet," he said.
"No, you can't hurt me," I said.
Jimmy let out a deep breath and grabbed my wrists. He pinned them against the mattress above my head.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he said. "Just calm down."
I gritted my teeth as I jerked my arms trying to get out from under him. Jimmy rolled his eyes and got up off of the bed. I watched him as he stepped into the bathroom. He was out a few seconds later with the small black case in his hands. My heart pounded in my chest and I remembered that case from last night. It had syringes.
I jumped off of the bed. My feet stumbled on the torn lace of the dress. Jimmy hurried over to me and pushed me back onto the bed. He pinned me down onto the bed as his fingers fumbled with the case. I screamed as I watched him draw up a liquid into the syringe.
"Juliet, this is just to help you calm down," he said.
"Please, don't do this," I begged.
Jimmy lifted up the skirt of the dress. His hands were rough against my thigh. There was a sharp pinch, and I knew that he had drugged me again.
Jimmy tossed the case to the side. He reached for the zipper on the back of the dress. I tried to fight him off for as long as I could, but the medication was soon taking over my body. He had managed to pull the dress off before I fell unconscious.