Au Pair
All Rights Reserved
© 2017 Luna Black
~*~
Alexia was kind and warm. She was gracious and held her posture with determination. Her willpower to survive and get through the mess we had been thrown in, quickly rubbed off on me.
She was understanding and rather caring. She held me the nights I cried, and stroke my hair gingerly when I sought comfort. She was a total stranger, who treated me better than my own family.
In a way, she reminded me of Mrs. Maggie; a really young version of her. Maybe it was just my mind trying to help me through the constant beatings and torment, but I'd use any coping method I'd come up with.
We didn't know how long we spent there. I knew she was there much longer than I had been, but we didn't know when it was day or night. The only form of lighting we had was the dim bulb in the corner that flickered on and off every once in a while.
If there had been any form of natural lighting, my hopes of escaping and taking Alexia with me would be bigger.
But it was just a silly fantasy that seemed to grow further away, the longer we spent in a cage.
Ulysses seemed to have it out for me, which I totally understood because I was a sassy piece of shït. In my attempts to fight off his sadistic nature, I became what he prized the most.
Every day, I would be dragged to his special room to endure another beating. The more he hit me, the more accustomed to the hits I became.
I could tell exactly when he'd grow tired of hitting me and just wanted to lay beside me. The man needed psychological help. If I had been any other woman, I would have succumbed to his crazy rants.
After he'd beat me to the pulp, he'd pull me to his side and clean me up. Kiss my silent tears and whispered that he'd never do it again. He'd promise that he would try and call me by another name.
At least it wasn't Veronica.
I was now Laura.
I pitied the woman. Whoever she was, he, in a very twisted way, loved her. He'd go off on rambles about regretting his choices in a place called Spades and then speak to the voices in his head.
His anger would return and my body would pay the price.
I knew that if he kept up his charades, I'd break the little resilience I had built up. Little by little, he was cracking at my sanity, ripping the little that I had managed to salvage from my mother.
I fought it, though, and Alexia helped. Her presence seemed to soothe my pain. Inexplicably, I should have been covered in bruises from my head to my toes, but when I'd wake up the next morning, they were turning a slight yellow as if healing.
It was strange, but there were a lot of things about Alexia that were strange. Not in a bad way, though. Just...something I wasn't used to.
However, I found comfort in her little quirks. It was the closest form of normalcy I'd ever get before Ulysses killed me.
He had just finished with me for the day, throwing me back in the cell himself and I let out a little whimper once I knew he was gone.
"Son of a bïtch needs some Jesus," I panted, crawling to Alexia's side.
She grimaced, quickly tending to my welts and sighed. "You should stop playing this game with him, Dani. It will cost you your life."
"At least I died knowing that he didn't get what he wanted from me."
"He is a sadistic beast!" She hissed a whisper, "He is doing much more damage to you than you think."
"Nah," I forced out a smile, "I'm a strong pendeja; he won't break me."
Alexia glowered at me, her eerie eyes flickering toward the bucket of water, then back down to me. "Dani, this is taking a psychological toll on you. Please stop fighting him."
"I'll be fine," I murmured, closing my eyes as she dabbed the rag across my face. "My mother did worst things than him."
She wanted to say more, that much was clear, but she straightened her back and squeezed the water out of the rag. She kept going for a while, quietly wiping the blood from my body while I lay on the floor practically immobile.
"Dani?" She spoke quietly, timidly, "Who is Luca?"
I froze, my entire body tensing with a forced protective mechanism. It was like my body was trying to protect my heart from the ache that I felt whenever I thought of him.
"What," I cleared my throat, "what do you mean who is Luca?"
"You cry for him at night," she explained, her eyes flickering all over my face as they searched for emotions, "I figured he was someone important."
I was quiet for a while, trying to figure out how exactly to explain Luca. There were so many things to say about him, so many good things, but I couldn't seem to verbally explain them.
"I loved him," I blurted out, the pain so evident in my voice that my eyes teared up.
Alexia frowned. "Loved? As in, not anymore?"
I gulped, forcing the tears away. "I still love him."
Her frown deepened, her delicate features expressing dislike in the most graceful manner possible. "Why is there so much pain in your eyes, then? Did he hurt you?"
"All he ever did was love me," My voice cracked and I silently cursed myself for allowing myself to think of what could possibly be happening between Luca and Veronica. "But he loved a version I played of my sister." A pathetic smile grew on my lips, "And no one can play Veronica as well as she can. He is probably sleeping with her and enjoying every second of it."
Alexia cradled my head in her hands and laid me down on her lap. She gently stroke my hair and wiped the tears rolling down my cheeks. "If he loved you, why would he be with your sister?"
I breathed in deeply, explaining all the history with my dysfunctional family and she listened quietly, comforting me when my voice cracked and the tears spilled.
"May I tell you what I think?" She asked.
I shrugged and winced, quickly regretting the movement. "Go ahead."
"Your sister, this Veronica," her dislike toward her was evident in her voice, "she sleeps with married men, correct?" I nodded, "She tears marriages and is totally heartless."
"Sounds like Veronica."
"You were not playing a version of her, Dani. You just liberated your emotions. You allowed yourself to live and love; that's not playing a version of someone else. That's life."
I frowned, wincing in pain. "How old did you say you were again?"
"Twenty," she smiled, brightening her face prettily.
"I wasn't that smart when I was twenty," I huffed, "how in the world did you manage to end up in this mess, then?"
It was her turn to shrug. However, it was a rather controlled movement, swift. "I got caught in the cross fire."
"I'm sorry," I whispered and we kept silence for a couple of minutes.
The door squeaked open, grazing the concrete floor to make an ear piercing noise echo through the room. We all winced, covering our ears and Alexia scrounged her nose in disgust.
"What is it?"
"They are bringing us food."
Trays were slid in through the small crevices and we reached for them. Alexia sniffed the food, making a rather disgusted expression and then turned to me.
"Don't eat the applesauce," she whispered.
I frowned, forcing myself to sit up and leaned against the wall. "Why not?"
"It's laced with some sort of narcotic. I am not sure what it is."
I nodded and ate the sandwich in silence. I quickly drank the water from the small bottle on the tray and then slumped against the wall again. "I don't know how you do it, but it's pretty freaking cool."
She smiled, seemingly content with my compliment. "I have a freakishly good sense of smell."
I wasn't exactly sure why I asked her about the applesauce. Every day, it was obvious that they were trying to drug us. Alexia and I were the only ones that didn't slump to the side and sleep quietly through the night.
In a way, I envied them. They probably slept soundly, without nightmares of this hell, but the sentiment quickly disappeared when they'd awake in a puddle of sweat and shivers.
The drugs were scarring these poor women psychologically, but they chose to ignore Alexia's warning. They preferred sleeping soundly than staying awake for the entire night in this small version of hell.
"What about you?" I asked after we finished eating. "Any significant others in your life?"
Alexia smiled, it was small and reserved, secretive. "I have friends."
I rolled my eyes. "A boyfriend? A girlfriend?"
"I...don't," she sounded uncomfortable, her body angling in a reserved position. "Not many men like to stay around when they find out you're a virgin."
I glared down at the concrete floor, shaking my head slowly. "Those are not men, Alexia, those are assholes."
She smiled, as if she knew a secret that I didn't, but I wasn't too curious to ask and she didn't seem to want to tell. "Dani?"
"Yes?"
"I do not think Luca is with your sister. He sounds kind and good to you. I think he is out there searching high and low for you. He will not stop until you're back in his arms."
I didn't know if she was trying to convince me or herself, wishing that we would both be saved from this place. I found comfort in her words, though, because part of me knew that she was right.
Luca was relentless, he didn't give up on me. Not when I tried to run away from him or push him away; he was there, he was my rock and constant support. Maybe it was useless to hope, but I silently prayed that Alexia was right.
"I just hope someone is taking care of my Toby," I muttered, "when I get out of here, I'm going to spend an entire week with her. Then, Mrs. Maggie."
Alexia smiled. "Who is Toby?"
"My cat," A smile spread across my lips as I thought of the little fur ball, "she's a real sweetheart. I really miss her."
After a little while of silence, we cuddled up to our respective corners and fell asleep. It was the first night I slept peacefully, my dreams were filled with Luca and his warm, safe embraces.
~*~
The next day, Ulysses called me in early, as soon as I woke up. He didn't hit me as hard this time. His hits were fewer, too. He just held me tightly, enough that I would surely bruise.
I was thankful, though. Because this time I was able to walk back to the cells without being treated like a ragged doll.
Mountain-Man, or what Alexia began calling the brute that seemed to be our escort in and out of the rooms, was silent beside me. The only noise came from our feet padding against the floor.
His footsteps were loud, thumps against the white tiles and mine were silent. My steps almost a patter against the floor.
When he walked me to my cell, I frowned and panicked for a slight second. Alexia wasn't in her usual corner. I turned to ask about her whereabouts, but he was already making his way to the main door.
My heart began to beat quickly in my chest, my palms began to sweat in fear of what they could have been doing to her.
She was only a couple of years younger than me, but I quickly took a sisterly role in our friendship. She took care of me when Ulysses left me immobile and we kept each other sane.
In a way, I probably needed her more than she needed me, but I was protective of her. She was delicate and kind, she didn't deserve to be in a place like this.
Just when I was about to start planning on ways to attract attention to myself and stupidly end up getting myself killed, the door opened and Alexia walked in.
A man was behind her and her head was held high. Even though she had probably endured torment, she walked toward our cell gracefully. Almost like it had been drilled into her for years.
"Hey," The man smiled, ugly, wickedly, "I'll be back for you later." He wrapped his hand around her pretty red hair, pulling it until she hissed out a breath. "I love trying out the merchandise."
Alexia didn't say anything, it was obvious that she felt disgusted and angry. Her jaw was clenched and her hands turned into tight, pale fists.
I smiled, swinging my hips as I made my way toward the gate. "Why would you waste your time on her, when you could have someone much more experienced?" My voice was a low, provocative whisper, a promise of all the pleasure I could bring him. "Someone who knows just how to satisfy tough men like you." For added emphasis, I slid my hand down to his bulge, squeezing it.
He smiled, animalistic-like. It was obvious that I was now his prey. "You're right," His rough fingers slid down the side of my cheek and he grabbed my jaw, yanking me toward him to press a slobbered kiss to my lip. "I'll be back in a couple of hours. Ready yourself for the best night of your life."
I held back the urge to gag and kept my seductive smile in place just long enough for him to turn around and walk away.
As soon as he was gone, my shoulders dropped and I breathed out, heavily. I didn't know what came over me, I just knew that Alexia was not about to have her first time with an idiot like him. As long as I could prevent it, she would stay protected.
I shivered, turning to look at Alexia and she stared at me with wide, angry eyes.
"Why did you do that?!"
I forced out an encouraging smile. "What?" Her eyes narrowed into annoyed slits and I sighed. "It's okay," I shrugged nonchalantly, "I like sex."
Alexia shook her head, almost mournfully. "That is not sex, Dani."
"I'm consenting," I insisted and reached out to squeeze her hand. "It'll be okay. I can handle myself."
"No." It wasn't fear in her voice, I couldn't quite figure out the emotion. It was a mixture of everything.
I forced a smile, trying not to think about what would come in a few hours. "Your first time is supposed to be memorable."
Alexia didn't respond, she squeezed my hand, a silent gesture of thanks and worry.
My mother prepared me for Ulysses and Marco prepared me to lay in bed and pretend to enjoy the feeling of a grown man flailing his body against yours.
"Dani?" Her voice was soft, curious.
"Mm?"
"If you could kill someone," her eyes glowed, fiery and determined, "how would you do it?"
I frowned, thinking about it until I realized that I wouldn't know how. Killing a person was easy if they didn't put up a fight and if they didn't have guns to protect them.
"I'm not sure," I shrugged. "I'd probably stab them or hopefully I have a gun and can shoot them."
She was quiet for a second, looking down at her hands, then, up at me. "This right here," she raised her hand to slide her fingers down the side of my throat, "is man's weakest spot."
Her voice no longer dripped with innocence. It was replaced with heat, the type that fuelled one's desire to survive.
I didn't say anything.
"The jugular vein is the most vital passage of blood in the neck," She seemed to recite it from a book, "if hurt, the brain will immediately lose the biggest distributor of blood in the body. Death will not be instant, but it is certain."
Alexia turned to look at me, her eyes dark. "That's how I'd kill someone; I'd slit their jugular."
I understood her message.
The man never returned for Alexia or me. A new guard was in his place. He stopped in front of different cells, handing out numbers to some of the women in a piece of paper.
Alexia frowned, sitting up straighter to watch as he stood in front of our cell. There was only one number left. "You," he pointed to me, "come here."
I stood up, taking the paper from his hands and asked, "Where's the other guy?"
A dark smile made its way onto his lips, "He was terminated." His eyes grazed over my body, perversely, "No one is allowed to touch the Mistress' merchandise."
I raised an eyebrow, playing with the paper in my hands. "What's this for?"
"The bidding," he looked away from me, down at the women that began to weep, "congratulations, Number 578, you'll meet your new owner tomorrow night."
~*~
It was kind of cool to realise that a lot of the things you guys want me to write, I have plots for.
Werewolves & Vampires; Moon Bound
Mermaids; Azure
Greek Mythology; Daemon
Bitch Main Character; Natalie
Hot Men & Tattoos; Cell Seven Trilogy [CAIN, KNOX, and the third unnamed guy, lmao)
Badass Female Character; The Devil's Daughter
Zombies; Eat My Heart
Science Fiction; The Xrion Trilogy
Damn, I have so many books planned and not enough time! Now I need fantasy and mystery/thriller. I don't make any promises on those because I'm not very clever, lmao. But, we'll see!
xo, Luna
p.s. Luca isn't just sitting on his ass, he's just a step behind. He is searching for Dani and using all his resources (: