Thank you for all your support and comments and please enjoy the next chapter. As always, let me know what you think. I love reading your comments and seeing where your thoughts are leading you. Just to let you know, I may not be able to update until next week, I'm going to go visit my family in my hometown for my birthday on Saturday. (I'll be a quarter of a century old!) I'll have access to the internet but I'll probably be too busy chasing my darling nephew and nieces around. I'll try, but no guarantees.
Also, the video posted is What Connects Us by Manos Pirovolaki. Writing this story is making me fall in love with Greek music.
Finally: *Warning* but not bad. She just gets punished. I guess you could consider it a light punishment compared to some of the others.
Great. Now enjoy!
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**| Sang's POV |**
I was making breakfast so I could take my pain medication when Dad came back home. He was supposed to be here yesterday evening but I wasn't surprised when he never came back. I kept waiting for the day he left and never returned.
He came into the kitchen, looking exhausted. He didn't even look at me or say anything. He just filled up a mug of coffee. I used that moment to slowly look him over. He was so much older than I remembered, extra lines around his face. His hair was going grey and in a few more years, would be completely grey. Premature grey. He was still young, being in his early forties, but years of dealing with Diane, Volto, and his job was taking a toll on him.
When Dad turned around, he realized I was standing there, staring at him.
"What is it?" he finally asked, his eyes flickering to the door where his escape route was.
I swallowed and answered him. "There was a break-in Tuesday night. Volto."
His eyes widened and he looked around the house as if expecting to see it in disarray.
"What happened?"
"He tried to kidnap me."
He looked me over and after a moment, grunted. "You look fine to me."
"Two cracked ribs."
He nodded.
"Can I call the police now?"
His eyes narrowed at me and I suppressed a shiver. I was so used to his blank expression that when he did show anything, it freaked me out. "You know how I feel about the police. Don't worry, I'll handle it."
"Of course."
Like he's handled it for the past five years.
He ignored me and left the kitchen. A few seconds later, I heard his bedroom door close. I ate the omelet I made, took my pain medication, and cleaned up the kitchen.
I did my chores, cleaning the house, moving slowly.
An hour later, Dad came back out. "I'll be back tomorrow. An alarm will be installed later today," he said and then was out the door. Not long afterwards, I heard Maria skulking in with her book bag.
She glared at me. "Πόρνη (slut)," she said before going into the living room. I heard her go into Diane's bedroom and a few minutes later she came back out, going upstairs to her room.
"Sang, get your ass in here," Diane screeched from her bedroom and I winced.
I took my time going to her room and when I got close by, I made sure to step where one of the creaking boards were.
"Hurry up," she snapped and I let out a breath, preparing myself. When my heart calmed down enough, I pushed open her door and stepped just inside the room.
Diane was sitting up in bed, her arms crossed as she looked me over. A sneer formed on her lips.
"Why am I just finding out now about you being out all night? And Maria, thinking it was okay, followed your lead. How dare you be a bad influence on my daughter?"
She was on her feet in moments, stalking towards me. I didn't move because I knew if I showed any weakness, like taking a step back, then whatever she was going to do to me would be worse.
Diane gripped my upper arm and tugged me back out the door, through the living room, across the hall and into the kitchen.
She pointed to a spot in the middle of the room. "Stand there and don't you dare fucking move." She turned around and stalked out the room.
If this was all she was going to do to me, I would have been fine. I've stood for hours as a punishment before. But I knew she wasn't done with me yet and was proven correct when she came into back into the kitchen with a chair and rope.
She slammed the chair down next to me.
"Sit."
I sat.
She wrapped the rope around my torso, tugging it tight and tying some knots. She then wrapped it down my arms, nearly cutting off my circulation, before finishing up by wrapping the rope around my legs.
I couldn't move. I could barely even wiggle. The rope bit into my skin and I forced myself to still. Just another patience game. I could do this. Just sit here and don't move.
Diane sneered at me, her eyes bright with satisfaction. She turned to get a cup of water and paused.
"What is this?" she held up my bottle of pain medication.
My eyes widened as I stared at the bottle. I forgot them on the counter after taking them earlier.
"Where did you get this?" she asked.
I licked my lips. "They are from the car accident. The doctor gave them to me."
She snorted and tucked the bottle into her robe. "You don't need them."
She walked away, leaving me there with only pain as my company.
With my throat feeling better, I was able to hum to myself, whispering words when I needed a distraction against the discomfort as my body stiffened and grew sore.
Μου λένε να γελώ,
σαν να μην σ' έχω χάσει,
να ζω μακριά σου όμως ποτέ,
δεν το 'χα σχεδιάσει,
μου λένε όταν σε δω,
να μη σ' αναγνωρίσω,
όμως τούς χτύπους της καρδιάς,
εγώ δεν τους ορίζω,
Μα τι μας ενωνει,
τώρα που γίναμε δυο,
τι μας γλιτώνει,
απ' αυτό το χωρισμό,
μα τι μας ενωνει,
τώρα που γίναμε δυο,
πάντα μονάχος, πάντα εδώ
Ακούω συνεχώς,
πώς θα το συνηθίσώ,
μα ψάχνω χίλες αφορμές,
για να σε συναντήσω,
ακούω ξαφνικά,
στο δρόμο τ' όνομά σου,
κι όλο γυρίζω ελπίζοντας,
πως θα βρεθώ μπροστά σου,
Μα τι μας ενωνει...
(They said I should laugh
like I've never lost you,
living apart from you
I've never planned,
they said when I see you
not to recognize you
but the beats of the heart
don't assign.
But what connects us
now that we become two
what does rescue us
for this breakup
but what connects us
now that we become two
always lonely, always here
I hear often,
that I will get used to
but I search several reasons
to meet you
I hear suddenly
your name in the road
and I always come back hoping
that I would be in front of you
What connects us...)
When I finished singing, I was crying. The tears fell down my cheeks, to my neck, and soaked into my shirt. I couldn't move to wipe them away and hide the evidence of my emotions.
As the hours passed, the pain only got worse, the painkiller I took wearing off. Diane never came back out of her room and Maria never came downstairs. I think she knew I was being punished and avoided coming down here; otherwise, she would be raiding the cupboards for food.
Late into the evening, the doorbell rang and my heart skipped a beat.
Who was here?
I could hear shuffling as Diane opened the bedroom door and came into the kitchen. She took a kitchen knife and cut me loose, glaring at me. She even took pleasure in nicking my skin, drawing out droplets of blood.
"Go to your room. I don't want to see you for the rest of the day and you better not disturb the men while they install the security alarm. And no dinner."
The doorbell rang again and she glared towards the front door. She turned back to me and raised her eyebrow.
She didn't have to tell me twice. As she went to answer the front door, I slowly made my way up to my bedroom. Each step was a scream in my head and I was exhausted. When I made it to the top floor, Maria was in the hallway. She glared at me before rolling her eyes and slamming the door shut. I walked passed her room and into my own.
My eyes drooped shut as I stumbled to my bed and fell on top of my blanket, too tired to even get underneath the covers.
I dozed off for about an hour before I got enough energy to change. I was shivering, my body cold, so I put on a long sleeve shirt and pants. Plus, I didn't want to see the welts, a reminder of what my stepmother did to me.
I felt heavy and lay back down, not bothering with turning the lights off. I wouldn't survive the darkness right now.
I turned on my side, remembering Sean mentioning to sleep on the injury to help with breathing. It hurt more but I could breath better.
When I turned to face the window, I jumped up in fear before letting out a chuckle.
Luke was making faces through my window.
I walked over and opened the window for him.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"To say goodnight and give you a present." He climbed through the window and took in my room. "You know, I thought it was weird when I came in here earlier. Where are all your things?"
"These are all my things."
He looked around again. "You don't have much, do you?"
I shrugged.
He nodded. "Well, Victor has given me the mission of handing this off to you." He pulled out a phone with a pink case and held it up to me.
"What is that?" I asked, staring at it.
"Smartphone. You can use it to contact any of us if something happens again. You were lucky Kota was just getting home and saw what happened, but you might not be next time. This is so you can get in touch. You can download any apps you want."
"I can't take that."
Luke came over, grabbed my hand and put the phone in it. He grinned at me. "Too late, it's yours now."
He put distance between us before I could try to give it back to him. When I stepped towards him, he stepped away, keeping the distance. We played the little game for a few more moments before I let out a frustrated huff.
"If I return with that phone, Victor is going to post all my embarrassing moments online. And trust me, he has a lot of fodder to use. Please take it so the world doesn't see me in Dora the Explorer underwear."
"Why were you in Dora the Explorer underwear?" I asked.
He smirked. "Promise to keep the phone and I'll tell you."
"Fine. I'll keep it."
"Good," he grinned. "It was a dare from Gabriel. I had to wear only the underwear for the rest of the night."
I giggled, trying to picture Luke in Dora underwear. I snorted at the thought. Was there even underwear big enough for him to fit, especially with his...dangly bits. I was tempted to ask Victor to show me the photos but I didn't want to ruin Luke's trust in me. At least my imagination was good and so I could do a decent job picturing it.
I looked Luke over slowly in his dark blue shorts, baby blue t-shirt, long blonde hair swept back in one of those man buns, his high cheekbones and light skin. He was handsome, even more so when he was playful with the way his eyes lit up, turning into chocolate swirls of goodness.
And then I pictured him wearing just Dora underwear, showing off his defined abdominal muscles. I couldn't hold it in anymore. My body shook with laughter and when Luke tilted his head to the side as if to ask what I was entertained about, I broke out laughing. I really, really, wanted to see those pictures.
Luke's smile brightened and he chuckled. "You just pictured all this awesomeness in Dora underwear, didn't you?"
I could only nod as I tried to get myself under control. The pain I felt helped with that.
He cleared his throat, trying to pretend he wasn't a little embarrassed. "Now, moving on, make sure to thank Victor for the phone. I have to get going. Good night, Cupcake and dream about me, though not in the underwear, please."
I giggled and then snorted. "Good night, Luke."
He was out the window in moments. By the time I got to the window to look outside, his shadow going across the street and into Kota's house.
It took me a good fifteen minutes to figure out how to even text on the phone. It was similar to the one Victor let me use when I waited for them at the mall. Angry Birds was even already downloaded and ready for me to play.
With some random screen touching and a good amount of luck, I managed to form a group text. I wanted to pat myself on the back with that small accomplishment.
Sang: Thank you, Victor, for the phone. I love the pink case.
I tapped Send and didn't have to wait long for responses.
Victor: You're welcome, Princess. We wanted to make sure you had a way to contact us if something goes wrong.
Silas: I'm glad you can contact us now, Aggele. Don't be afraid to text whenever you want to.
North: Good. Now we can make sure you're safe.
Gabriel: About fucking time. Now we can talk to you whenever the hell we want.
Kota: Gabe, be nice. Sang, I'm glad you have the phone. Please always keep it on you.
Nathan: Yes, keep it on you, Peanut. That way you can call us if something happens.
Dr. Green: Pookie! Do you want to come to the hospital and visit the babies with me?
Mr. Blackbourne: I am glad you have a phone now, Ms. Sorenson. Stay safe and call for help when you need to.
Luke: Mission successful! Have a good night, Cupcake.
I giggled at everyone's responses.
Sang: I promise to use the phone only for good and to keep it on me at all times. And yes, Dr. Green, I want to see the newborns. I love babies.
Dr. Green: And that right there is why Sang is so perfect.
I blushed at his text. I'm far from perfect but Dr. Green's words warmed me.
North: Baby, go to bed. It's getting late.
Kota: Before that, why was a security van at your house?
Silas: There was a van there?
Sang: I'll go to bed in a couple minutes. I told my dad about the kidnapping this morning and he contacted a security firm to have them set up an alarm.
Luke: It didn't go off when I went through your window, does it even work?
Sang: Maybe because my window doesn't have the sensor? I'm not sure how alarms work.
North: We'll have to fix that.
Victor: I'll take a look at the security and tweak it.
North: You don't need anymore monkeys crawling through your window.
Luke: Hey! I'm a ninja, not a monkey.
North: Could have fooled me.
Gabriel: I have to go, but take a picture of your closet and send it to me.
Sang: How do I take a picture.
Gabriel: On messages, click the camera icon on the bottom left hand side, hit Take Photo, aim camera at clothes, hit the round bottom at the bottom middle, hit Use Photo and then send it.
I did exactly what Gabriel said and in minutes he had a couple pictures of the clothes I had.
Gabriel: You don't have fucking much. Victor, we have to take her shopping now!
Kota: How about everyone go to sleep and you can take her shopping next Saturday.
Gabriel: That's too far away, she needs a fucking outfit for school on Monday.
Sang: I have clothes.
Gabriel: Shush. You already promised me a shopping trip so you have no say. I'm taking you shopping as soon as I can.
Kota: And you're too busy this weekend to take her and with next week being the first week of school, you won't have time until next Saturday.
Gabriel: Shit. Fucking fine. I'll help her make do with the shit in her closet.
Mr. Blackbourne: Mr. Coleman, language. And Mr. Lee is correct, you will have to wait until next week. Now I suggest everyone get some sleep.
I frowned at the last couple of texts, wondering what was keeping Gabriel so busy.
Sang: Goodnight.
Dr. Green: Goodnight, Pookie. Dream of me <3
Nathan: Night, Peanut.
Luke: This weekend we are going to play Ninja, so rest well!
Gabriel: Stay safe, Trouble.
Mr. Blackbourne: Goodnight, Ms. Sorenson.
North: Get some rest, Sang baby.
Silas: Sweet dreams, Aggele.
Victor: Goodnight, Princess.
Kota: Make sure to turn your light off tonight. Goodnight.
I frowned at Kota's text. How did he know? I looked out my window and then remembered he would be able to see my window from his house. He was paying attention. That thought made me smile as I went to sleep, leaving the light on.