Sure, my new owner was nice enough. I’d even been given my own bedroom, as well a few items that I was allowed to call my own. In addition, I had the freedom to move about the house and had as much food as I wanted. Which was far different than anything else I’d experienced since my captivity.
All in all, it wasn’t that bad. It certainly could have been worse. I was just grateful he never raped me. At least not in the physical sense. I assumed it was because he was old. I mean, we all know that certain body parts don’t work as well as you age. Of course, that didn’t mean he wasn’t afraid to play with something he liked and enjoyed. Which just so happened to be me. In the end, I was his little play-toy. Nothing more, nothing less.
Placing my hands in my lap, I squeezed my fingers together as nervousness and shame washed over me while I briefly explained to Zeek how the man enjoyed using certain objects on me. Which, unfortunately, was how the rest of my innocence was ripped from me.
“One day, he wasn’t feeling well. He was in the bathroom when I heard this weirdTHUNK. It sounded like he’d fallen. When I walked in to check on him, I found him lying on the floor and he wasn’t breathing. So, I did what any sane person would have done.”
“You called the police,” he stated matter of fact.
“Yeah. He never told me I couldn’t use the houseline; I just never had a need because I didn’t have anyone to call for help.” I shrugged. “I didn’t love the man, but he was at least nice to me. He never even forced me to…uh….”
“Have sex?”
I could feel the heat rising up my cheeks. “Yeah. He never made me. And we never did. He just liked to play and then cuddle. Despite the fact that I’d been sold like a piece of meat, I knew it could have been worse. I had a place to stay, so I didn’t really have anything to complain about. Anyway, it wasn’t long after I’d called 911 that a police officer showed up. That’s when I told them about where I’d been––about you––and where they could find you and the others. I wasn’t sure if you all were still there, but I had to try.”
“You’re the one that saved me?” There was awe in his voice.
I could only nod against his chest, a tear slipping from my eyes.
His arms squeezed me tighter against his body. “Thank you, Jude. I would have died in there if it hadn’t been for you.”
Ezekiel
“A
re you sure you’ll be okay?” Jude asked again as he finished packing his meds back into his overnight bag.
“Yeah.” I wasn’t entirely lying. I knew I’d be okay, eventually. It was just going to take some time.
It didn’t matter that I didn’t want Judah to go because I had stuff I needed to get done. Starting with checking in with family. It was a miracle in itself that neither Theo, nor Mom had been blowing up my phone.
“Okay. Sure, yeah.”
“Jude––” I waited until he met my eyes. “I’ll be fine. I promise.” My words seemed to settle his nerves a bit.
“I know you’re strong, Judah. Much stronger than me,” I paused. “But you don’t have to be when you’re with me. We’re both broken…and it’s okay to fall apart every once in a while.”
“I should be the one saying that to you. Not the other way around.”
“So, we can both agree that we’ll see each other later this week?” Judah nodded.
Judah didn’t really want to leave, but I knew he was scheduled to work today, followed by a therapy session later this afternoon. He’d briefly mentioned calling in, but I refused to get in the way of either of those things. His well-being was my number one priority.
We may both be broken beyond repair, but we were still adults. Which meant there were certain things that needed our attention. That’s not to say I wouldn’t have been happy to remain locked away with this man in my small cottage home in the middle of nowhere.
“Are you working tonight?” Jude asked, zipping up his bag.
“No. I–uh–I may have quit.”
“Oh!”
“Don’t worry, I didn’t need to work anyway. You already knew that.”
He gave me a single nod about the time a car door slammed shut out front. “That’s probably Eli.”
“I’ll walk you out,” I stated, grabbing his bag and escorting him downstairs toward the front door.
Outside, the sun was blazing high in the sky, causing me to squint against the reflection off the bright red car sitting in the middle of my driveway. It was hot–too hot–and we hadn’t even reached the heat of the day. Which probably should have been my first indication to stay inside. But we all already aware that I was a glutton for punishment.
