Chapter 41- Nova
If the World Was Ending - JP Saxe, Julia Michaels
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*87 Notifications
Me:
I’m back in the land of the living.
Mila:
Finally
Charlie:
Can you walk after the honeymoon?
Me:
He’s on a ban
Mila:
hahaha nice *sighs and thinks of memories
Me:
You guys would tell me if this was some sort of fever dream, right?
Charlie:
Nova, you're married to the man of your dreams who would burn the world down to love you. Just let him already.
Me:
Have you been with Dimi? You only talk ‘mafia’ when you've
seen him.
Charlie:
He may or may not be visiting this weekend.
Mila:
STOP TALKING ABOUT DIMI! HOW WAS THE HONEYMOON? *wink, wink aka how was the sex Nova, ffs I will beg if I need to.
Charlie:
Mila, your desperation is showing.
Mila:
Hormones
Me:
It was perfect. Ace is at the store, do you guys want to come over?
Charlie:
I'll be there soon!
Mila:
I just have to give Henry to Dante and then I'm leaving. I WANT EVERY JUICY DETAIL.
Me:
Are you pregnant? Hormones ???? Also, WHY ARE WE YELLING and I'll see you both soon. I'm just going to have a shower so let yourself in if I don't answer the door.
Ace left not too long ago. He had several errands that he needed to sort out so I don't anticipate him being back for a while. It was the perfect opportunity to have the girls over for a debrief where Ace wouldn't interrupt us. The man has an unnatural ability to overhear girl chat and question me on it later, so I’d rather not have to explain to him what that subtle burning feels like when he slides in for the first time until my body adjusts to his size. That I give a little sigh every time I feel my pussy stretch to fit him. How do you even start to explain that feeling when I know that both Charlie and Mila will be nodding along knowing exactly what I'm talking about.
Leaving my place in the sun at the kitchen bench, my coffee long since cold as I got stuck in another doom scroll spiral, I head upstairs and strip our bedding. The debauchery that these sheets have seen in the past 24 hours would compel an entire convent to get on their knees and pray for me. After I have a load of washing on, I quickly shower and throw on one of Ace's flannel shirts, overtop of a sports bra and some leggings. The chill in the air signalling the end of summer. Towel drying my hair, I hear the rattle of the door from someone knocking and I head downstairs ready to face my honeymoon interrogation squad.
“All right, all right, I promise to tell you everything about his cock,”
I say not overly paying attention, laughing as I open the door ... confused when I find myself staring at a pair of worn men's sneakers. “You’re not —”
Scanning the body of the stout man standing at my door.
Thad?
“Always knew you were a slut,”
he says, cutting me off, snickering. My brain slows everything that's happening down and I barely register when he grabs onto my forearm, yanking my whole body across the threshold so I stumble into him. “Watch where you’re fucking going, cunt.”
The sting of the backhand he gives me continues to feed the freeze feeling that's overcome me. My fight or flight meter is clearly still broken. Aggressively he pulls me across my driveway to the beat-up white car parked haphazardly outside.
He's going to take me.
I start to pull against him. I'm not strong but I can fight off Thad.
Surely, I can fight him off.
He looks like the type of man who sits at a desk all day, his shoulders weak and forearms slender, with his gut spilling over the waist of his pants.
“No,”
I say, yanking my arm away and he scrambles to take hold again.
“NO!”
I yell louder, pulling and tugging from his hold, the panic almost taking over as my chest tightens and my breath shortens. I need to stay in control. I will never go willingly. I will fight.
Bracing his feet, he propels me toward his car, his full body pushing into it, slamming me against the side, knocking my head on the door frame. Dazed, I stumble away from him a few steps, mumbling no once more. The sudden creak of a car door opening, getting my attention. For a fleeting moment, I must have relaxed, thinking that Ace, my Ace, would just know I needed him, that he would feel something was wrong and drop everything to come and save me. He always managed to save me.
Please save me.
The gravel feels hard on my palms, cutting and digging in as pain shoots daggers all around me. My hands. My knees. My head. It all throbs.
How did I end up on the ground?
Trying to push myself up, my head is foggy when my hair is suddenly grabbed from behind, pain radiating down my spine as I'm dragged across the gravel driveway. The tall figure of a man dressed all in black looming away from me. I hear a car door open again and the crazed giggle of Thad somewhere close but still out of eyesight. Each strand of my hair feels like it's being pulled out one by one, the constant pressure on my skull causing a blinding pain. I almost sob in relief when I'm let go, the pain being replaced by the rough hands of someone digging into my skin as I'm thrown around again, this time hitting the hard surface of the car interior ... the boot.
My hair, clumped and matted, falls in front of my eyes as I brace for another hit. The loud cackle of another voice rings out and I push my hair away to face my attackers.
“You don't remember me do you?”
The strange man from the rehearsal dinner stands before me, witness to the crumpled mess I've been reduced to. I won't cry for these men but I won't go down easily either.
“For years I waited. Years! I was promised a prize, you see. I just had to be patient. Except the night I came to claim it, my trophy was stolen from me because you didn't understand your place!”
He shouts, spitting each word with venom. “You were going to be my prize ... but you escaped ... and now I’ve come to collect.”
Thad stands next to the man, an eccentric clapping loudly thumping next to my sensitive ears.
“Prize? I don't understand?”
The words are raw coming out of my mouth. I sound like an imposter trying to mumble their way through this. He grabs onto the top of my hair, pulling my head back crudely as he smashes his lips against my mouth, the rancid taste of burnt cigarettes and stale breath assaulting my senses.
No, whispers through my head. The quiet word repeats over and over until my brain understands where this is going. No. Not again. Never again. Without thought I open my mouth, biting down on any flesh that I can find. The sweet victory of copper soothes my taste buds when I taste blood.
“Aghh. fucking bitch,”
he cries out, pulling his fingers away from the side of his mouth. The fresh stain of blood trickling down his chin.
My victory is short lived however when the black rubber of a boot blocks my vision and my head snaps back from the force of him kicking my head. My hearing flows in and out along with my sight, the fight to stay conscious is a losing battle when the boot door slams down on me and I'm left in the shadows. A sprinkle of light shining in from scattered holes and cracks. The panic is only getting a chance to make a small appearance before the world goes black and I fade into darkness.