Chapter 3
Oakley
As I waited in the sunroom, I kept my gaze pinned to the outside world. It took everything in me to ignore the thing that was still resting inside of me. It was uncomfortable, moving each time I shifted. As was the heat on my cheeks. It was next to impossible to sit for more than one reason.
Every sway, every tiny movement, the skirt rubbed at my raw skin. It stung, and all I wanted to do was curl up on the bed and find some sort of peace. Even if it was for a few single seconds. The couple of hours when I wasn’t aware of what was going on did nothing to give me a reprieve.
I wasn’t sure what I looked like, nor did I care. I was worn out, used, and ready to be ignored for days on end.
The outside world was dimming as the sun set, having lost track of time. The trees were shadowed in darkness, hiding the blossoming leaves from view as the house blocked the setting sun.
I’d much rather see the sun than the darkness that was about to evolve upon the world.
A part of me should question why Sir wanted me to wait here, which was out of the normal for him. The only times I was to wait anywhere was in my bedroom or the bathroom.
Heck, he even had me pack a bag, one that was nicer than anything I’d ever seen before. I put all the new pretty things in it, along with a few of my well-worn clothes. If I was moving rooms again, I wanted to have warm things just in case. He’d let me freeze to death if it came to that.
Everything I owned was in that new fancy black roll-along bag, with room to spare. I didn’t have much, but what I did have was mine until it fell apart or was taken away.
Right now, I couldn’t care less about what happened to me next. I couldn’t when all my focus was on keeping my breathing even and the tears at bay.
The afternoon’s events hadn’t been good, but that was nothing new. Sir wasn’t happy with me, which wasn’t a surprise. It didn’t matter how hard I tried to please him; how hard I tried to always follow all of his commands. I played his games, knowing I’d lose every single time.
I wasn’t perfect, but I tried. What else could I do? It wasn’t my fault I was here in his care. I’d happily leave if it were an option.
Supper sat heavy in my stomach. The bland white rice and a tiny bit of overcooked chicken weren’t setting well. Or maybe it was the white pill that Sir watched me take right after eating. It wasn’t something I’d been forced to inject before, but like everything else, I didn’t question it.
There had only been a handful of times when Sir had me take something. A few times, I’d wake up not remembering a single thing. Other times, I saw things that weren’t there and cried and freaked out for hours until I finally passed out.
This pill was different than those, though. It was tiny. But I was sure that the effects of it were already beginning.
My thoughts were a bit hazy, and my heart was sluggish, yet beating a beat too fast in my chest. Of course, those could easily be brushed off from what happened earlier. It was similar to how I felt when Sir went too far and I detached from the world.
“Here’s Oakley,” Sir’s voice pulled me from my thoughts, but I didn’t turn around to face him. I kept my gaze out the window, watching as two figures entered the sunroom behind me. “She’s very well-behaved.”
She? I was a boy, but I guess if that’s what Sir wanted, that’s what I was.
“I’ll be the judge of that,” replied a deeper voice, one that was like smoked whiskey swirling around in the air.
I shook my head at my thoughts. No one had a smoked voice unless they were a smoker. And if so, it wasn’t smooth like this one.
“I’ll leave you to get to know her. She’s mute.”
I didn’t turn from the window, not even when Sir left me alone with another male. My heart instantly went to my throat while my stomach fell to my feet.
“Hello, Oakley.” He stepped up beside me, almost touching. There was just enough space to fit a book between us. “You look….” He paused, looking me up and down. I shivered, feeling his gaze take in everything I wasn’t. “Beautiful. I had doubts that you’d be so lovely.”
I was anything but lovely, I thought.
“Come, let’s sit.”
He stepped back, pointing open-handedly towards the loveseat that sat against the wall not all that far away. The same one that I had been bent over at one point in the past month to get a whipping.
I took a deep breath before getting my feet to take me to the spot. Sitting on the edge of the seat, keeping my legs together and acting as girly as I knew how to, I didn’t dare look at the man.
He sat beside me, letting his legs touch my own. I wanted to scoot over, to put space between us, but I didn’t want to risk making Sir upset. It was bad enough at the burning on my butt flash anew as I sat. At least whatever pill Sir had given me soothed it enough that I didn’t flinch.
“So pretty.” The man’s hand traced the outline of my jaw, pushing some of the strands of hair aside. “Look at me.”
The order was spoken softly, so unlike Sir’s commanding voice.
I slowly lifted my gaze, meeting his dark, deep brown irises. They were like mud, but darker.
Whatever he saw in my expression, in my eyes, his gaze hardened. I couldn’t help but flinch away from his touch before righting myself back, forgetting my place for a single moment.
How could someone who didn’t know me already hate my guts so much?
“You were crying.” Not a question. Just a plain statement.
I blinked, dropping my eyes to his nose. It was straight, and not that big. Not like Sir’s. Sir’s nose was long and reminded me of a story about a boy whose nose always grew with lies.
“I’ll make this transaction as smooth as possible. Your father owes some people money, and really, I’m doing you a favor. You becoming my wife will be the best option for you.”
What? His wife? What the hell had Sir done now?
I shook my head, my heart instantly rising.
“Did he not tell you? He sounded like he had talked this option over for you since your life is in danger if not.”
There was so much wrong with everything this man was talking about. Sir wasn’t my father. My life wasn’t going to be in any more danger than it already was.
“Everything okay in here?” Sir drew the man’s attention, stepping fully into the room.
“Of course,” the man answered, laying a hand over the top of my own that was clenched in a tight fist in my lap. “Skittish little thing.”
“Very,” Sir laughed, trying and failing to ease the air. “Her bag is by the front door, all ready to go.”
“Great. We have a long drive. If you need to use the restroom, now’s the best chance.” The man patted my hand before standing.
I lifted my gaze to Sir, unsure if that was an order, or even knowing what was going on.
“Go on. We have a few more grown-up things to get sorted out while you get yourself cleaned up.”
A quick nod, I stood and walked quietly across the room. I didn’t make it far before Sir’s arm sneaked around to stop me, pulling me against his side. I held my breath.
“Take out the plug and leave it under the sink. Also, another pill is on the counter. Take it. And don’t fucking disappoint me, slut.”
One single nod before Sir’s hand slapped my already bruised butt, causing a whimper to escape before I scurried from the room.
“You hurt her.” The man’s voice followed me before I turned out of sight. I didn’t linger to catch Sir’s response.
In the bathroom, I quickly pulled the thing from my butt, feeling my body’s relief at doing so. Then, I took another pill, this one blue, before I used the toilet and washed up the best that I could.
The makeup was still scattered around on the sink, unopened. One thing said lip gloss, so I grabbed it before twisting it in my hands.
I was sure I knew how to use that one thing, at least. It seemed similar to chapstick, which I did get on a regular basis. Sir hated seeing me with dry or chapped skin. My skin was the only thing he liked. He liked how soft it was, even if it was dirty and bruised from his doing.
Opening the wrapping, I pulled the stick out before smearing a bit around my lips. It smelt like vanilla, coating my lips in a shiny sheen of whatever it was made out of.
A loud comminution upstairs got me moving and forced me to tear my green eyes from the blurry mirror.
Whatever was to come of me next would just be another step closer to death.