*Lucia*
Watching Sarah rush towards me with a dagger filled my heart with different thoughts. Was this how I was going to die? I asked. I had been so eager to end my life a few days back, but now, seeing death in front of me, I was scared of dying. I didn’t want to die. I wanted to live. I closed my eyes, expecting the dagger to pass through my chest, but it didn’t.
I opened my eyes to see that it was a few inches away from my chest. She had paused. Steve held her back. “You shouldn’t stain your hand with her blood,” he said. I knew he thought that I was too unimportant to die by her hands. Sarah was reluctant to drop the dagger and kept clenching it tightly for some time before flinging it to the side. I was relieved. I let out a breath I had not realized I was holding.
Before I could comprehend what was happening, Sarah slapped me. She kept landing one slap after another on my face. I didn’t know where the energy was coming from. Maybe it was from the so much hate she had towards me that she had bottled up inside while pretending to be a friend. Why couldn’t I see through all her facade? Why did I think she was a friend?
She dragged my hair and pulled it back while staring intensely at my eye. I felt a pang of headache grow at the back of my head. My face stung from the pain. I struggled to keep my eyes open and not give her the satisfaction of seeing me in pain.
“You motherfucker,” she screamed, “how dare you spit on me?” She asked. Her face was red with anger. Her eyes held more than just anger; they held an emotion I couldn’t describe, no matter how hard I tried. “You still don’t know your place even after being tied up?” She yelled. Her breath smelled of alcohol mixed with smoke. I scrunch my nose.
“You should do something about your breath. It stinks so bad that I feel it will kill me first before you do,” I said. Her eyes widened for a brief moment. She wasn’t expecting me to speak to her with such a tone. She slapped me hard again across my face and released my hair. My face fell to the side. I swallowed the mental taste I felt in my mouth. I straightened my head to see her suck in breath.
“You seem more angry with the fact that Jason had loved me. You see, you are even more stupid than I had expected. Who becomes jealous of the girl they told their man to have a fling with?” I asked. I knew my words would spite her and make her more furious. She may hit me more than before, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get out of here. She may kill me and do to my body whatever she seems fit. So why should I be quiet? I would use my last breath to taunt her.
Deep down, I wished I hadn’t run away from Rave at the mall.
“I see you are quite a blabbermouth. You don’t know when to speak and when to hold your fucking tongue in. You think you are brave?” She asked, a tiny grin growing at the side of her lips. “You want to act bold? Let’s see how you do that when I have your tongue cut off and fed to you,” she threatened.
I laughed out loud. She arched her brow, her expression questioning me, wanting to know what was so funny. “I never knew you feared words. What? Are you afraid that I speak the truth?” I asked. I tried to stay calm as I spoke, but my voice broke at the end.
“You should beg me for your life instead of being a proud little girl; I may spare your useless life,” she finally said what she wanted. I knew that was what she wanted from the start. She wanted me to grovel at her feet, begging for my life while she stood tall and mighty. Well, I didn’t plan on giving her that satisfaction. She could wish all she wanted, but I would never beg for my life or break down in front of her. I would rather die.
One side of my lips pulled up. “You want me to beg you?” I asked as if what she said just registered. I paused and looked around. They all had their eyes trained on me. Each wanted to know my next move. I looked down at myself. My hands hurt from being tied to the chair. But I could bear it. This wasn’t the first time I had been tied. I had never had it smooth in life. I had grown tough and would remain tough even in the face of death.
“And to think you dreamed of hearing pleas coming from me is hilarious. I thought you were smart and would know better. But you turn out to be more stupid than expected,” my expression was calm and my words sharp. She was surprised at the lucid state of my mind.
She scoffed. “I knew you would be stubborn, and I like it. I think enjoying the sight of you on the floor as you are being devoured would be better. I won’t forget to make a video of it. Jason would be more than happy to see you in that state,” she giggled like the crazy bitch she was.
“Jason can go to hell for all I care. Come to think of it, you are both an ideal couple. You suit each other,” I said. My chest tightened at the thought that I had loved him at one point in my life. I wished I had seen through his mask. He had been using me all this while he was indeed in love with Sarah.
“You bet, sister,” she said, walking to my side. She walked around me. I badly wished my hands were free. I wished I could grab her by the neck and throw her against the wall. I wanted to hit her in her cheek until it stung so much that she would faint from its pain. And him. I looked at Steve, who spoke softly to the men in the room with us. I wanted to deal with him, too.
From the first time I saw him, I had doubts about him. From the way he patted Jason on his back to make me feel they were friends, it turns out that they were good friends and had collided to kill me, but I had been sold, which was maybe a plan B. I gritted my teeth. I wanted to slam his head to the wall and watch as blood flowed out from beneath him.
“I don’t blame you for falling for Jason and failing to realize that you were just a toy. Jason is handsome,” she said dreamily. She looked more obsessed than in love. “He is every girl’s dream. To think you once thought he had a thing for you and that your relationship would work out is quite amusing,” she paused to stand at my side. “You must have thought you had won him over, hoping for a happily ever after,” she brushed part of my hair from my face and leaned closer for a while before standing straight in front of me.
“You had to put up with a lot and keep calm even when his uncle slipped his hand under your clothes,” she said, and for once, her words hit me hard, but I tried hard to remain calm and not show how painful the words she just said were. “Why did you think he would come back for you? You never expected to be sold or that you would end up in my clutch,” she said.
“You can keep Jason to yourself,” I said. I was tired of her repeating the same words. It was clear from what she said that Jason didn’t like me. “But I bet he would do the same to you,” I said. She glared at me. I like the way she reacted to my words. “Who knows if what he has with you is just a fling as mine was?” I asked her.
She was quiet for a while before laughing. She laughed so much that a drop of tears slid through the side of her eye. I wondered what she found funny.
She moved closer to my chair, held both handles, and brought her face to my eye level. Her breath fell on my face, and I felt prickly hives in my skin. “That would never happen, dear.”
I scrunch my nose, “I told you before, your breath smells bad. Can you stop speaking so close to me?” I said. She raised her brows and was about to continue when I moved my head back and hit her on her forehead. She moved back and groaned. She had not expected that. I felt a little relieved.
She wanted to slap me, but before her hands landed on my cheek, I spat on her face again.
I was done putting up with her. She was going to kill me anyway. She cleaned her face. “You should learn to wash your mouth next time. I can recommend some mouthwash for you,” I taunted.
She was on the brim. Her eyes glisten from anger. “Fine. I think it’s time I end you,” she said. I closed my eyes, ready to face death. I was expecting she would bring out a gun and shoot me in my head or run a dagger across my chest, but she did none of that.
“Come in,”
I heard her say and opened my eyes to see two dirty-looking men enter the room and close the door with a creaking sound. “You know what to do right?” She asked them, and they nodded with a smile, exposing their dirty brown teeth, which they probably hadn’t washed for a long time.
“You can have her for the night. She is all yours. Do to her as you see fit. She can please you sexually. I heard she is good at making men feel good,” she said with a small smile on her lips and her eyes trained on me. My eyes widened at realizing what she meant and what the men would do.
“Don’t you dare lay your filthy hands on me,” I said. I struggled on the chair, and there seemed to be a type of satisfaction that flashed through her eyes. I was finally reacting the way she wanted. I kept struggling; the last thing I wanted was to be touched by these two men with bulging stomachs.
“I’ll leave you to enjoy yourselves,” Sarah said. She kept her eyes on me for the longest. “Goodbye, Lucia; I’ll remember to pray for your soul,” she said and stepped out.
“You bitch let me go this instant. I’ll hunt your soul forever,” I yelled after her. She didn’t turn, and her shoes clicking against the floor soon stopped. She wanted them to rape me and burn the room to the ground.
I looked at the men in front of me. I wanted to cover my chest, but I couldn’t, as my hands were tied. One of the men stepped towards me, “Don’t you dare walk closer. I’ll rip your neck off,” I threatened, but the man laughed it off. “My boss would find me and not let you go if he sees you. Save yourself the trouble and let me be,” I said, but it seemed my words didn’t sink.
I tried begging, threatening, and even bribing all I could, but they wanted none.
His hand kept getting closer to me. The other man lit up a lamp, and a gallon of fuel was at the side. Never in my wildest dreams did I think of dying this way. When he rested his hands on my left breast, I closed my eyes to allow hot tears to roll down.
Was this indeed my end?