354Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4yLfhMytok
“Princess, the movers are here!”
My feet pounded up the wooden stairs from the basement and jumped next to him at the front door, peeking through the window at the big box van at the side of the street. Moving day was officially here. We were finally going to live together. I opened the door and greeted the men who climbed out of the truck and moved toward the back of it, sliding the door up. The majority of my furniture sat in there, and I bounced in excitement at the thought of it being set up in that house.
I ran back inside and gave Garrett a kiss on the cheek as the movers prepared themselves in the afternoon sun to start hauling in my stuff. We sat on the bench in the entry way and waited. They first hauled in my couch and set it next to us. One of the guys looked at me. “Do you want us to place the furniture for you, or do you just want it brought in?” he asked.
“Just bring it in. We can move it around later. Thank you,” I offered him a smile and he nodded, gesturing for his helper to follow him back out and bring in more things. I glanced at Garrett and he was wearing a frown. I tilted my head at him in curiosity. “What’s up?”
“How much did you bring over?” He looked at me unhappily.
“Some of my living room furniture, my dresser, my clothes, some valuables… Basic stuff. Why?”
He huffed in frustration and shook his head with an unamused laugh. “You know, I have all this furniture already. Why did you deem it necessary to bring more?”
My brows furrowed in thought and I crossed my arms over my chest. Something inside me felt panicked and signaled that I should run, but I ignored it. “Calm down, we can figure out what to do with it all once it’s unpacked. I can store what we don’t use in the shed out back, no biggie,” I offered, trying to shrug it off. This only seemed to peeve Garrett more.
In an attempt to get his space from me, he went out and helped the movers bring in boxes and stacked them in the living room. I sighed and went back down into the basement, planning in my head where everything could fit. The basement was less formal than upstairs. This is where the bedrooms, the master suite, the gym, and the second living room were located. The second living room only had a few chairs and no couch yet. We could use mine for that. One of the bedrooms lacked storage space, so we could put my dresser in there since the master was fully furnished already.
My thoughts started racing, mentally placing my stuff among his and how it could work. Maybe I can convince him that it isn’t as intruding as he thought it was. After I thought an appropriate amount of time had passed, I jogged back up the stairs and saw Garrett tossing my stuff toward the back door.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! What the hell is this?” I exclaimed, gesturing toward the pile of my stuff. Garrett ignored me and continued piling everything toward the back. The movers had left by now and it was just us. For some reason, that thought was unnerving in the moment. I walked up to him, trying to contain my frustration. “Garrett, seriously. What the fuck?”
He turned on his heels and slapped me.
Hard.
Time stood still as the stinging vibrated through my cheek, to my head, to my arm. My mouth gaped in shock, my hand carefully touching my face where his hand connected. Garrett’s face was cold and dangerous. His eyes held no emotion as he stared me down. Fear was spreading an uncomfortable warmth through my veins as I tried to process what just happened. He… He hit me.
Words tried to form in my mouth, but I couldn’t find the courage to speak. My hand dropped to my side, my body finally receiving the message from my brain.
Run.
I started moving forward, dashing to the side as soon as my body could respond and stumbled across the living room. My attempt at an escape was useless though. Garrett caught up and grabbed onto my hair that I had been growing out for him, throwing me to the ground. He positioned himself over me, fury gleaming from his face. His body was rigid, his hands formed into fists. I was terrified, bracing myself for another hit.
“You’re pathetic, you know that Sophie?” He whispered down at me. “I don’t know what gave you the idea that you could change up my house.” A chuckle sounded from his chest and he shook his head, giving me a firm kick in my side. The way he emphasized “my” made my heart drop, masking the pain from his foot in my side.
I curled up in a fetal position, holding back the tears. Garrett moved next to me, placing a knee by my face. “Aww… Are you in pain, Princess?” His hand brushed through my hair and I moved my head away. That was a mistake. He grabbed my hair and put my head back where it was and clicked his tongue. “Your defiance just won’t do.”
He stood back up and disappeared from my sight. I heard a door open and clanging of metal sound through the house. The sounds grew quiet for a brief second. The sound of shuffling and sliding filled the momentary silence, followed by more clanging metal. I curled into a fetal position, my hands covering the spot he kicked me. My mind kept screaming at me to run, but I couldn't. My body protested all movement as I blinked back tears, giving into the heaviness that settled in my limbs. Garrett returned to my line of sight, moving behind my head. He wrapped his arms under my own and lifted me up. I groaned from the sudden movement and he dragged me through the room. The paralyzing fear that had taken over my body lifted once the pain from my ribs sharpened. My eyes scanned the environment, trying not to bring awareness to Garrett that I was focused, alert. This was a moment. This was a chance.
I brought my foot up from the ground and rammed it into his knee as hard as I could. Garrett released an angry grunt, locking my arms behind my head with his arms. He shook his leg out briefly, hissing quietly. “You fucking bitch,” he spat at me. Panic gripped my insides. My plan failed. It did the exact opposite of what I hoped. I only pissed him off more and put me in a harder position to get out of. My upper body was planted firmly against his abdomen and with his size versus mine, there was no escape.
We turned the corner, exposing a hole in the ceiling and a ladder climbing up to it. My eyes widened as I realized what he was about to do. I flailed my legs, trying to make it harder for him to hold onto me, ignoring the pain that ignited from all over my body now. "No, Garrett! Please, please let me go. I'll be good, I swear!" I screamed, tears started to flow down my cheeks now. I couldn’t hold them back any longer; the fear kept building up. He pushed me down to my knees, holding my legs down with his own and adjusted one of his arms so it pressed into my airway, allowing only enough air to pass through my airways to keep me on the edge of consciousness.
“You need to knock it off,” he hissed into my ear, tightening his hold around my neck. “You’re only asking for your punishment to be drawn out longer.”
He started dragging me from my neck, causing it to crack. I whimpered from the discomfort, closing my eyes to visually shield myself from the horrors playing out. Tears leaked out from the corner of my eyes and I tried to inhale as I felt my body starting to react from the lack of oxygen. My eyes flashed back open and I tried clawing at his arms to get him to loosen up. He didn’t budge. This only caused him to stop in his steps and squeeze tighter. Blackness creeped along the edges of my vision and I continued to claw, not even caring about the punishment at this point. I needed to get away. I needed to get out.
I needed air.
My mouth gaped open, my body trying so desperately to breathe but nothing was happening. I was fighting to hold onto consciousness, my head feeling like it was going to explode from the pressure. It was too much. Too uncomfortable. I was too tired.
I let the darkness consume me.
~
Panic.
So much panic.
My body flailed as I released a scream, sitting up from my unconscious state. Panting heavily, I took in my surroundings… Or at least attempted to. It was pitch black all around me and the air was incredibly stuffy. I raised my hands in front of me and I couldn’t see them. They plopped back beside me, landing on something squishy and raising up a cloud of dust. The particles made their way down my throat, creating harsh coughing that rattled my lungs. Once the coughing died down, I used my hands to explore my surroundings more.
Everywhere I reached out was fluffy, kind of soft. I closed my eyes, trying to piece together clues as to where I was and what had happened before I blacked out. Small pieces came to me slowly, like how it was moving day and my furniture had finally arrived. I remember being excited, looking for places in the basement to place my stuff. Garrett… Where was he in all of this? What was going on with him? The ache in my ribs and head stuck out in response. My hands gingerly touched my neck and it all rushed back to me. He lashed out in response to my stuff arriving and mixing it in with his. He hurt me. He insulted me. And the ladder. The hole in the ceiling. I dropped my hand back to my side and laid on my back finally realizing what had happened.
I am in an attic. Surrounded by pink, cotton candy like insulation. My stomach growled at the thought of cotton candy. I never did eat lunch and who knows how long I’ve been up here. Or how much longer I would remain up here. Garrett told me to stop fighting back or he would extend my punishment, but I wouldn’t stop fighting. It was going to be a while before I’d be released, and I doubt he’d be nice enough to bring me some food or water. No water might be a blessing in disguise though.
What felt like hours had passed. There was no light, nothing to indicate that time was moving at all. Nothing made a sound either. I was left here alone with the company of my own thoughts. If I ever got out of here, I should tell someone what happened. Maybe Leena. She would probably have an idea about what to do. But what would Garrett do if he found out I spoke about his actions? He got so pissed off over the furniture, I couldn’t even imagine what punishment he’d give me if I talked about what he had done.
I couldn’t tell anyone about this. He might actually kill me, or them if I did. This had to be my own little secret, but I also couldn't stay here forever. I needed to get out. I made a huge mistake thinking I had a future with this man. My nose and throat started to burn and I felt the tears threatening to build up again. I pushed them back, unwilling to make myself more dehydrated than I already was. My hands found their way to my stomach and I rubbed it softly. You tried to tell me. You tried to tell me, and I ignored you. I’m so sorry.
The tears wouldn’t stay back any longer. They fell down the side of my face, sliding into my ears and falling onto the insulation. My body tried to tell me right from the beginning that he was a terrible man, and I kept making excuses. There were so many signs. I did this to myself.
There’s no one else to blame.
~
I must have drifted off to sleep, for the next thing I know, the ceiling started to shift under my legs unexpectedly. A gasp rasped from my chest and I scurried off to the side as a light shined through the newly found hole. I hissed, bringing my hands up to shield myself from how bright it suddenly was up here. As my eyes adjusted, Garrett poked his head up through the hole and gave me a big smile.
“Oh, Princess! I have missed you so much! Come here, you must be starving.” He gestured for me to go toward him. I hesitated, afraid of what he had planned, but his mood seemed to be better. Slowly, I scooted forward on my butt and he leaned back, grabbing my waist and slid me through the hole. My feet met the ground with a light thud. My balance was off after not moving for so long.
How long was so long anyway?
“Hey, uhm… Garrett?” I looked up at him as he was closing the attic entrance back up and climbing back down the ladder.
“Yes, sweetheart?” He closed the gap between us and held me close against his body, nuzzling the top of my head.
“How long was I up there?”
He didn’t speak right away, just indulging himself in my scent and the feeling of my body in his arms. He gave the top of my head a kiss before pulling away and grabbing my hand, leading me into the kitchen. “It was only twenty-four hours. What do you want for lunch?” Garrett lifted me up onto a stool at the island bar and I watched him move his way toward the fridge. He started listing off some of the options we had available, but I didn’t listen to a single word he said. I didn’t trust anything he had to make for me.
“Actually, love,” I started off, slowly interrupting him. “I promised Todd I would do inventory with him today, so I have to go meet up with him.”
He looked at me, his eyes dimming slightly. “Oh.” He closed the fridge door and nodded stiffly. “That’s fine. Work is work. We will eat together for dinner then.” Garrett smiled. A true, genuine smile. “I’ll make your favorite; halibut with mashed potatoes.”
I tried to return the smile, making it as genuine as possible. “That sounds wonderful, thank you. I will see you in a few hours hopefully.”
I attempted to not look eager as I made my way to the entryway, sliding into my flip flops and walking out the door. I basked in the sun for a moment before making my way over to my bike. I can’t believe May was almost over already and that graduation was just around the corner. Soon, it would almost be too hot for me to ride my bike around. I’ll take the time I have to enjoy it.
I slung a leg over the seat and began peddling into town. I didn’t have to do inventory today, but a trip to The Book Nook didn’t seem like a terrible idea. It is my main happy spot apart from Leena. Along my ride, I took the time to really take in my surroundings, the fresh air, and the sounds of nature. I’ve always taken this for granted, but I refuse to do that any longer. It may be my only escape now. The Book Nook greeted my vision as I pulled up to the entrance and parked my bike. My hips pushed open the door and Todd turned my direction, a giant grin taking over his face.
“Ah Sophie!” He exclaimed, running over to give me a bear hug. I laughed, covering my wince and hiss of pain from my side injury and hugged him back. “What are you doing here? You are not scheduled to work for another three days.”
“Hi, Todd,” I returned his grin. “Just feeling stressed out, so I thought I’d come hang out for a bit.”
He nodded in understanding and gave my hands a squeeze. “What has you feelin’ stressed out darlin’?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but quickly caught the words that were about to fly out. “Oh, just school. Everything is super crazy getting ready for graduation.”
Todd’s eyes lit up at the mentioning of my graduation. “That’s right! Darlin’ I am so proud of you for getting this far.” He paused for a moment, his face concentrated. “Now there was something…” His voice trailed off, his finger pointing up. “That’s right! Follow me, we have a gift for you.”
My face scrunched in confusion, but I followed him behind the curtain to the back room. We moved through mazes of boxes and piles of books to the back corner. Todd picked up a wooden box, slightly bigger than a hardcover book. There were intricate gold, swirling patterns all along the darker brown wood. The breath left my body as he held it toward me, and I took it in my hands.
“Todd, this is… Beautiful.” I shook my head. “Beautiful doesn’t even begin to describe this piece of art.”
He laughed. “I’m glad you like it, because it is your graduation gift.”
I gaped at him, gripping the box in my hands to remind me that it was real. “God, no. I can’t take this.” I glanced back at the box, dragging a hand softly along its smooth top.
“No, no. Mary and I have had this planned since you started workin’ for us. And besides, you ain’t even seen the best part of it.” Todd gave me a mischievous grin and a slight panic overtook me. Garrett had given me that same look before. I took a few deep breaths and shoved that thought aside. This is not Garrett. This is a truly good man.
“The best part?” I asked him cautiously.
He took the box from my hands gently and opened it up. Inside was in fact a book, but not just a normal book you could find in any store. This was a true antique. He returned the box to me, the book facing me head on. A lump formed in my throat and I blinked back tears. “Is this…?”
“An original copy of The Great Gatsby that was signed by Fitzgerald himself.”
“Oh my god, Todd.” I closed the box back up, a hand covering my mouth as the tears spilled over. Todd chuckled and took the book from me, setting it on top of a box and hugged me tightly. He didn’t realize how badly I needed this right now. My arms wrapped around his waist as I hugged him back, ignoring the physical pain, sobbing into his shoulder. There were so many emotions spinning around me at this moment. “Thank you so much.” My words held more meaning than he realized. That thank you wasn’t just about the book, but he’d probably never realize that.
“You’re so welcome, my dear Sophie. You know I see you as my own and I will treat you as my own, always,” he said. He pulled back and smiled at me. “I hope this made you feel better.”
I chuckled and nodded, sniffling quietly. “Yes. It’s definitely made the stress lessen.” I grabbed the box, hugging it to my chest. “And I think on that note, I should get going. I haven’t had lunch yet and I’m starving.”
Todd gave a nod of understanding and reached in his pocket, pulling out a twenty-dollar bill. “Here, go treat yourself.”
This simple gesture brought back the tears, but I refused to allow them to show. “Thank you again, Todd. I appreciate everything you have done.”
He cupped my head in his hands and planted a kiss on my forehead. “Don’t mention it, sweet girl. Now go fill your belly!”
He released me with a gentle push on the head and I laughed, turning and heading back for the main room. The Book Nook was definitely my happy place, but I think it’s the people inside who make it that place. I walked back to my bike, placing the book carefully in my pouch. A frown slowly took over my smile as I stared at the pouch. I couldn’t take that book back to Garrett’s. He would only throw it out the moment he saw it just because it wasn’t his. I needed a hiding place.
I think I had just the place I could go.
I spent no more time thinking about it and I mounted my bike, peddling as fast as I could with what little energy I had. There was no physical pain at this point. There was no mental pain, no Garrett, no problems, no nothing. I needed to protect this book with every fiber of my being. This wasn’t a simple gift, this was huge. This meant the entire world to me. I didn’t think anything could pass its importance.
My brakes activated at the concrete steps and I leaned my bike against the handrails, removing the book carefully. I held it against my chest tightly as I sprinted up the stairs and pounded wildly on the door. A minute past before the door finally opened, revealing an extremely confused Leena.
“Sophie? What are you doing here? I figured you and Garrett would be breaking the bed all day today,” she scrunched her nose, almost like she was imagining the sight.
I shook my head and shoved the box out to her. “I need you to keep this safe please.”
The confusion had already been deeply etched into her face, but somehow it only managed to draw itself deeper. “Uh, why? Do you not have space at your house?” She emphasized the last word loudly. I shook my head and pressed the box into her chest.
“Just, please. I’ll explain everything later. I just need to keep this safe. It’s the only materialistic thing that means anything to me right now.” The desperation must have been obvious on my face, for she rolled her eyes and took the book.
“Fine, but you owe me.” She clicked her tongue and it grew silent between us for a couple moments until my stomach decided it was a great time to produce its famous whale call. Leena frowned and looked at it. “Are you hungry?” My stomach growled once again in response. She laughed. “Jeebus, girl. Get in here, I have burgers on the stove.”
She set the box on her coffee table and walked into the kitchen, me on her tail. “You know, since you’re here, we’re going to do some partying,” she said over her shoulder.
“Yeah? You have plans for us now?”
Leena laughed. “Uh, duh! You’ve been so focused on moving and you’re obviously wound up right now. You need to relax and I’m going to make that happen.”
I flushed in response, staying quiet while sliding on a chair at her dining table as Leena got our plates set up. She brought the plates over and then retrieved us bottles of Pepsi. She sat down across from me and shoved a fry in her mouth. I played around with my own fries for a moment before bringing my attention back to her. “What did you have in mind?”
She gave me the famous grin I knew all too well. “Let’s just say we’ll be getting into a little trouble tonight, and you’re going to like it.”
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