Chapter 24
Sophie:
I laid in the bed, curled up and crying in pain. My whole body was sore and throbbing. Ricky was behind me, gently running his finger from my shoulder to my elbow, and back again. Every time I scooted away from him, he would pull me back violently. I learned to just stay where I was and put up with it.
"I'll never forgive you for this," I whispered, not bothering to look at him. He laughed and continued to trace my shoulder.
"It's okay, Sophie. There's nothing to forgive. I'm not sorry for what I did." I could hear him smiling as he laughed. I was burning with rage but tried not to show it.
I sat up and swung my legs off of the bed, and in an instant he wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me away from the edge. "You're not going anywhere."
"Not even to the bathroom?"
He thought for a moment, then let me go. "You have two minutes."
Sighing, I got up from the bed and crossed the room to the bathroom. I closed the door behind me, then locked it. I sat on the counter, putting my head in my hands and softly crying. I heard a knock at the door, followed by Ricky's gentle voice.
"Sophie? Are you okay?"
I wiped the tears from my eyes and cheeks and picked my head up, trying to sound normal. "No," I said, my voice cracking.
"Sophie, come out."
There was a warning in his voice, causing me to shake slightly. I walked over to the door and unlocked it, then opened it a little. "What do you want?" I asked, not making eye contact. He put his hand on the door and pushed it open all the way. He then brought me into his arms, and I had to force myself not to push away.
"You'll get used to it, Sophie. I promise," he whispered into my hair. He kissed the top of my head and continued hugging me.
"That's what you said last time. I'll never get used to this," I blurted out before I could stop myself. He tightened his grip around me, making it hard to breathe.
"You will get used to this, Sophie. There's no running away this time. We're over a hundred miles away from civilization. There isn't anywhere to go for you."
"I don't care. I'll never get used to this," I repeated. I finally had enough and placed my hands on his bare chest, then shoved, pushing him away from me. He was caught off guard and he stumbled backward, falling onto the bed. I backed up into the bathroom and closed it, then quickly locked it before he could open it.
Seconds later he was pounding at the door, but I stayed where I was, standing in the middle of the bathroom, watching the door. I didn't even blink when he pounded on it; I just watched. The wood began to split, and he barged in. The wooden door was separated from its hinges, lying on the floor of the bathroom.
He walked over to me and slapped me, but I did nothing about it. He gripped both of my arms and squeezed tightly, and I winced slightly, not making any eye contact with him.
"Why do you have to be so difficult?" he yelled. I didn't answer him; I just kept looking at the ground.
"Answer me, Sophie!"
Silence.
"Sophie!"
Another smack, but I still didn't speak.
"Goddammit, Sophie! Speak to me!"
I finally felt a wave of anger wash through me. Anger burning in my eyes, I snapped my head up to look at him. He was taken by surprise but held eye contact.
"Get off of me!" I pushed at him again and he let go. He didn't come to me again, to my relief. "The reason I won't talk to you is that no matter what I say, no matter what I want, you still get things your way! If it's not your way, you hit me! Do you call that love, Ricky? Raping me once again, giving me bruises, and smacking me across the face do hard you leave marks?"
He stood there, shocked and hurt, but I knew he also felt guilty as everything I said sunk in. I took a deep breath and continued.
"That's not love, Ricky! I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've told you that! You just don't seem to listen to me, the person you claim to 'love'!" I yelled, putting air quotes around the last word. "Let me just inform you right now that I will never, and I repeat never love you! The only person I will ever love is Justin! He actually cares about me and doesn't hurt others I care about. You need to get a life, Ricky, and maybe some common sense while you're at it. You've been doing this to me for over a year! Give up already! Get a clue!"
I stopped yelling and stood there, panting. I couldn't believe I just said all of that stuff to him, but I did, and there was no taking it back. I watched his eyes grow from surprised to cold and filled with hatred.
"Sophie..." he said. "I never wanted to do this. I really hoped it wouldn't have come to this. But you've made it clear." He took a deep breath.
"You're not the one."