My throat closes more around the invisible ball stuck in it, and without noticing I’m again retreating backwards. My breathing is labored, as it feels like I’m trying to inhale through a straw and my eyes sting from staying open too long. Another step and a hand grabs me roughly around my upper arm, pulling me close. I whimper, the sound foreign to my own ears, as the smell of cigarettes and bad dollar store cologne overwhelm me. Warm breaths hit the back of my neck, causing the hair there to stand on end, and my shoulders to tense. It’s him, I just know it, the hooded man has me in his grasp.
My eyes close tightly when his face comes to rest beside mine, our cheeks brushing against each other so softly you’d think you were imagining it. Tears have collected and when I open my eyes again, they fall freely.
“Daddy…,” I whisper, my voice cracking and rough.
Tears are forming in his eyes as he grunts and groans. His body twisting as he tries to mumble through the cloth stuck in his mouth. Mr. Hood, who is clearly the one running this shit show, signals his guy to remove the gag, and the sound is instant.
“Leave her the fuck alone! Don’t you fucking touch her! She has nothing to do with this! Please! Just take me, I’ll do whatever you want, but leave myfamily alone! They’re innocent!” His tone drips with desperation, as pain and fear highlight every feature of his face.
“Oh, David, David, David. You know that’s not how this works. You ran from me; youhid,” Mr. Hood begins. “Did you really think I wouldn’t find you? That I would just forget your betrayal?”
His hand moves, sliding up the side of my arm and stopping on my shoulder. His face turns, burying his nose in the side of my neck and dragging it along the surface of my skin.
“Imagine my pleasant surprise after following a one off lead, to finally catch you in this hodunk little town. And now I can collect the best kind of repayment… such a pretty little thing isn’t she?”
I’m no longer able to hold back my sobs, as they echo off the surrounding walls. The intruders chuckling adds to the sound with little vibrations. Mr. Hood repositions himself in front of me, his arm never leaving my body, as his eyes drag over me from top to bottom. Bile threatens to rise, and as much as I would enjoy the sight of him covered in vomit, I don’t think it’s going to help my situation, so I push it back down.
Subconsciously my foot moves again, trying to put more distance between me and this predator, but it’s to no avail. The super-silent-ninja-muscle-men have once again somehow gotten one of them behind me without me noticing. In a swift motion, the brute grabs both of my arms, efficiently tying them behind me and stopping me yet again from going anywhere.
“Nuh, uh, uh, little one. Daddy has a debt to repay, and I’ve come to collect,” the leader says.
His eyes flick up to the man behind me, and with the subtlest of nods, signals him. In the next moment, my knees are kicked out from underneath me, and I collapse to the floor. A scream rips from my throat, the pain hitting sharply and radiating through my legs like a wave.
What debt? How could my dad even know someone so cruel and malicious?
Any thought I had that we would be getting out of this somehow has been wiped away. There is no way we’re all getting out of here, no way we just walkaway from this as if it never happened. Whatever twisted plan or idea this guy has in his mind, is going to happen.
Looking towards my dad, my vision blurred from the tears, I can still see the anger coming from him. Our eyes connect for only a moment, but the emotion swirling behind them is more telling than any story. He knows what this is about, knows why this man is here, in our home.
“I’m so sorry, Baby. So, so sorry. But you’re going to be okay, alright? I promise it’s all going to be okay!” Dad sobs while holding my gaze.
“Now, David. Shouldn’t we be teaching our young tonottell lies?” He looks to me and then my dad. Repeating the motion a couple more times. “Well, well… Judging by those looks, I’m guessing someone doesn’t know just howdarkdaddy really is, now does she?”
“Don’t you fucking touch my daughter, Colt. I swear, I will fucking end you–” my dad starts, but is interrupted by rolling laughter.
Mr. Hood–whose name is apparently Colt–is bellowing out, clutching at his stomach like he’s barely holding it together. “You’ll endwhat,David. You’ve lost! It’s time to accept the circumstances, dear old friend,” he says, getting very close to my dad’s face. “Ialwaysget what I want.”
Colt turns to look at me again, and strides up to me, before crouching down and grabbing my jaw roughly in his hand. He pulls me up, forcing me to look up at him. His eyes don’t leave mine, as his hand tightens and the pressure on my jaw increases. My teeth are cutting into my cheek, the taste of licking copper floods my tongue as blood fills my mouth. His hand continues its pressure, digging into my skin and leaving marks as my cheeks puff up and my eyes water from the pain.
Stay quiet, Addison. Do not give him any more satisfaction. Do not make a sound.
“It’s going to be fun breaking you, little one. Just wait and see what plans I have for you, but for now, it’s time to watch the finale.”
It’s quick, only the briefest of contact, but contact nonetheless. His body juts forward, lips crashing against mine. I wretch backwards as much as I can, but the strength of his grip only increases as he twists my head at an uncomfortable angle. My neck is strained, my cheeks punctured, and my shoulders are on fire and yet,none of that feels worse than when he situates himself behind me, pressing his chest against my back and holding me against him.
The seconds stretch on, with the rumble of a moan coming from somewhere deep in Colt's chest, and I close my eyes tightly. This isn’t happening, this can’t be happening. My body is convulsing as I continue to cry, my silent pleas and prayers falling upon deaf ears. I bite my lip, trying to stay strong, to be the girl my daddy raised, but even that is taken away from me.
Colt moves, letting go of my arms, and before I can even register the release, a cloth is placed over my nose and mouth. Instinct and fear kick in simultaneously and I fight, kicking out and struggling to get out of his grip, but he’s stronger, faster. His leg wraps around both of mine, halting their movement, and his free hand grabs a handful of my hair, ripping it back against his chest. Pinning me to him completely.
“Shh, shh, shh. Now, now. Say goodbye to daddy, Sweetheart,” he whispers into my ear and my eyes instantly fixate on my dad. My role model. My protector.
“No! Fuck you, Colt!” he screams, his wails only halted by the butt of a gun impacting the back of his head. He falls to the floor, and through the cloth I scream.
Bad idea.
With my deep inhale, it takes only seconds before the room starts to blur and spin. I’m becoming increasingly dizzy, and my eyes are starting to roll to the back of my head. Darkness is creeping along the edges of my vision, but before my eyes close and I lose consciousness, the unmistakable sound of a gun going off hits my ears.
I want to cry, to scream, to fight as whatever I’ve been drugged with pulls me deeper. But more than any of that, I want to go back to this morning. To the laughter, to the joy, to a time where none of this was happening.
