“You will let me stay, not give me attitude about anything, and let me cuddle you.” She reached down to squeeze my hand as she spoke, and I wanted to hurl.
“It’s going to be a good girls’ day. Don’t worry Hazel, Nurse Imani is here.” Instead of the seductress version I’d mostly seen, this version acted like a teenager who might try to start a pillow fight or paint my nails. The identity seemed so at odds from the killer of last night.
A romantic comedy I’d seen a few times popped up on the screen and the Collector snuggled against me. I had no choice but to let it happen, and the whole time I felt dirty. She took away my consent, which earned her a kick in the teeth one day. No one should have to accept touching from another human without their consent. My body, my choice. I couldn’t even fight her off, she’d only take more of my free will away.
I ate the candy and let the heat soak into my aching back as we watched the movie. Once it ended, she ordered us pizza and continued to lay against me, her hand rubbing circles on my lower stomach where my shirt had risen up an inch. I cringed. She had Jarrod kill himself for touching me, and now she forced her touch on me. I mentally shut down the fear she’d take things further, and I’d be voiceless. I pretended to sleep and she stayed by my side, eating and enjoying her forced time with me.
“I miss having friends like this.”
My eyes opened to find her staring at me. “I bet you have lots of friends.”
Her hand moved up my arm then back down, like she couldn’t stop herself from touching me. “I don’t have time for a lot of friends. I always like quality over quantity, anyway.”
I cleared my throat and responded accordingly. My words made her smile, and her head leaned in. I wanted to fight her movement but she had given me orders not to. Her lips pressed against mine and stayed there for three seconds before she pulled back and rested her head against my breasts. Tears leaked onto my cheeks as she focused on the new movie she’d chosen. She was either completely unaware as to how uncomfortable and violated I felt right now or she simply didn’t care. She stayed in my room for another three hours before excusing herself, claiming to have business to attend to.
I let the sob I’d held in escape, and I cried deep into my pillow. I wanted to rip my skin from my body and cleanse her touch from every molecule of my being. I needed to get out of here. I’d rather end my life than live this way forever. She controlled my every move, restricting the free spirit and voice inside me. I’d slowly turn into a shell of the Hazel I’d become—strong, bold, and using my voice to stand up for my beliefs. The Collector had already taken these from me.
“I need you, Maddox,” I whispered into the empty room. I desperately wanted my words to somehow reach him. I needed his strength to lift me up because right now I didn’t know how to. When I finally managed to calm my emotions, I showered, doing my best to clean Nurse Imani’s scent off me.
“Tomorrow will be better.” I tried to encourage myself as the day turned to night, but the next day wasn’t better, nor the one after that.
The Collector used her powers on me almost nonstop. She made me dance and sing at every meal, then cuddle with her at night. She didn’t sleep in my bed, claiming to give me privacy but I knew it was only a matter of time. She kissed me two more times, and I’d fought the urge to bite her lips off. Last night, she made me sit in on an orgy, orchestrated by multiple people to entice me to join. I sat in the corner of the room, resisting the urge to vomit. My only solace was the people involved genuinely wanted to be there and needed no help from Imani, the Psycho Collector to play a part. She’d forced me to touch bulging abs and make out with a model. I think she wanted me to enjoy pleasure like she did, only we had different taste in what we considered pleasure.
She sucked men off while her eyes stayed intensely on mine and moaned in my ear as another pleasured her. I wasn’t into any of it and despite her horrifying attempts, I remained unaffected and she eventually collapsed into a mass of sated bodies while I quietly waited for the moment I’d be released from the room.
Chapter Thirty- Seven
Hazel
“Oh darling, I have enjoyed spending time with you.” The Collector dug her polished toes into the sand of her very own little beach nestled on her compound. The water of the bay dipped below comfortable temperatures, so we stayed on our relaxing chairs.
I stayed silent, my little version of rebellion, pretty much the only one I could get away with. In the past few days, the Collector has used her powers on me almost non-stop.
Pity and rage constantly consumed me. The woman had issues and needed constant attention. She was lonely, deep down in her blackened heart. She’d never known love while growing up and once her powers arrived, all she had to do was utter her wishes and they’d be done.
She didn’t have a Maddox growing up . . . someone who loved her and cared for her. Even after he left me, I knew what we had was real. Seeing her desperation for love but unwillingness to let true love in broke the last of my walls against Maddox. I forgave him for leaving. I forgave him for staying away. I had love, and I wasn’t going to let my own fears stop me from embracing it. She said she killed him, but my heart continued to beat. If he had died, I would have known. I had his heart, and he had mine. If one was gone, the other would feel the sense of loss. My heart, my love, pumped strongly within my chest.
So I played her games. I let her think I was learning to be complacent in her company. Truthfully, I was plotting. I’d seen most of the compound, and how many guards she had stationed around. Some I would assume had powers but mostly, they were tattoo-covered assholes with stares that lingered a little too much for my liking.
“I was thinking, since you’ve been such a good girl and all, maybe you can play in my garden today.” I glanced at her face and saw an honest smile. She wanted me happy and thought she could bribe me with gifts. I never cared for gifts. However, while I was feeling like crud from my period, she understood my pain. Instead of making me sing and dance, I was forced to watchPretty Little Liarswith her for hours. Nothing against the show, but it wasn’t my type. In the end, I chose sleep, and she let me.
“I’d like that.” I gave her a nod, and she beamed. I wanted to get in the garden because I could go mindless there, but I wanted my powers back. She may let me use them, but I’d have to be careful.
“Growing up poor, I always dreamed of a home like this, situated on the water with a killer view.”
She talked a lot about her youthful dreams. It’s interesting how we had grown up in similar situations but we were complete opposites. I never wanted a big mansion or lots of money. I wanted Maddox to be mine forever, and I wanted happiness. I loved being Hazel Kennedy and the impact I’d made, but I could still sing even without the fame.
I admired the view of the mountain on the other side of the bay. We were on the opposite side of the city of Seahill but still on the island. Somewhere. I don’t know how I’d do it, but I needed to get a sign out to my friends about my location.
“I think we are done here. I’d like a cold drink and then you can play in the garden while I get my massage on the balcony.” She patted my knee and rose to her feet. Her servants came out from wherever they were hidden and cleaned up the chairs, nearly dumping me on my ass in the process.
“I want to get my hands dirty,” I muttered the truth, and the Collector held out her hand for me to take, like we were best friends in high school. I’m surprised she didn’t want to go to the bathroom together.
“This life hasn’t been too bad, has it?” she asked, and for once her mask of confidence had slipped. No matter how much money or power she gained, she was still just a lost girl looking for acceptance. Well . . . a lost girl who had no problem murdering or hurting people if she deemed it worth her time.
“No, it hasn’t.” I wasn’t a fool to understand my time here could be much worse. She could have me kill people, fuck others, and ruin me inside and out. Fear told me she still could do all those things, hence the going along with her wishes for now.
“I think, with time, we could be real friends, and then we can add to our group. I have my eye on a few more heroes, like that Lilith. She is a wild creature and very beautiful.”
