Chapter 13
Indie
Stone moved me and Ish into this estate two and a half weeks ago, and I was losing my fuckin’ mind.
At first, it didn’t feel that bad. At first, I’d been amazed.
Blown away, really. The size of the place, the fact that Stone had a whole staff just to maintain his lifestyle.
The way everything looked, the way everything worked.
The luxury of it all. It didn’t feel real.
Like something I wasn’t supposed to have.
The kind of shit I used to dream about before life beat those dreams out of me.
But the novelty wore off quick. Real quick.
Because I realized pretty fast that I’d just been transferred from one prison to another. This one was bigger, more luxurious, with a pool and a theater room and a closet full of designer clothes I couldn’t even wear anywhere.
But it was still a prison.
Stone stayed with us the first two nights after we arrived. Those nights, I’d felt... I don’t know. Less trapped, maybe. Like his presence made the whole situation feel less suffocating.
But then he left, and he’d been in and out ever since.
Some days he’d come home late at night, fuck me until I couldn’t think straight, then leave again before I woke up.
Other days he wouldn’t come at all, and I’d be alone in that Alaskan king bed, too much space and nothing but my thoughts, staring at the ceiling and wondering where the hell he was.
What he was doing. Who he was with.
I hated that I cared.
Hated that I’d lie there in the dark, my chest tight, my mind racing with images of him with other women. Women who weren’t trapped. Women who could leave whenever they wanted. Women who weren’t... me.
Meanwhile, Ish got to leave every single day.
Stone had enrolled him in some fancy private school closer to the estate, and every morning a driver would take him there and pick him up in the afternoon. Ish got to see other people, interact with the outside world, live something close to a normal life.
And I was stuck here every damn day.
I couldn’t leave. I couldn’t call anyone. I couldn’t do shit except wander around this big ass house like a ghost, trying to find ways to pass the time without losing my mind completely.
***
Today had been like every other day.
I’d woken up alone yet again and gone through my morning routine. Shower, get dressed in clothes I had no reason to wear, stare at myself in the mirror and wonder what the fuck my life had become.
Then I’d gone downstairs for lunch.
Brady, Stone’s chef, had prepared some gourmet shit. Seared salmon with asparagus and wild rice. It was delicious, like everything he made, but I could barely taste it.
I was too angry. Too frustrated. Too fuckin’ tired of being trapped.
After lunch, I’d gone for a swim, hoping the water would calm me down. It didn’t. I just floated there in the pool, staring up at the clear blue sky, feeling the sun on my face and wishing I could be anywhere else.
Anywhere but here.
When I got out, I dried off and went to the theater room. I put on some random movie and sat there in one of those plush recliners, trying to lose myself in the story.
But I couldn’t focus. My mind kept drifting.
To Aurora.
To my best friend, who I hadn’t spoken to in weeks. Who probably thought I was dead. Who was probably worried sick, calling my phone over and over, wondering what the hell happened to me.
I missed her so much it hurt.
Missed her laugh, her wild energy, the way she always had my back no matter what. She was the only person besides Ish who really knew me, who understood where I came from and what I’d been through, and I couldn’t even call her. I couldn’t let her know I was okay. I couldn’t do shit.
By the time Ish got home from school, I was in the game room, playing pool by myself and trying not to scream.
“Hey, Indie,” he said, walking in with his backpack slung over one shoulder.
Something about him felt lighter. Healthier. Like life wasn’t weighing on him the way it used to.
Stone had bought him a whole new wardrobe, too. All designer shit, expensive sneakers, everything a teenage boy could want. And Ish was eating it up, loving his new life in this big ass house with all the amenities he could dream of.
I was glad he was okay. Glad he was safe. But I also resented him a little bit. Because he got to leave, and I didn’t.
“Hey,” I said, lining up a shot and missing. “How was school?”
“It was cool,” he said, dropping his backpack on one of the chairs. “We got a test coming up in history, but it’s whatever. I got this.”
I nodded, forcing a smile.
“That’s good.”
He walked over and grabbed a pool cue, joining me for a game. We played for a little while, not saying much, just existing in the same space. It was nice. But it wasn’t enough.
After about twenty minutes, Ish said he was gonna go to his room and chill until dinner.
I told him okay and watched him leave, feeling that familiar tightness in my chest. Then I went upstairs to the master bedroom.
Our bedroom, Stone had called it. But it damn sure didn’t feel like ours.
It felt like his. And I was just stuck here.
I climbed into bed even though it was still early, pulling the covers up to my chin and staring at the ceiling.
I was so tired. Not physically—I hadn’t done shit all day. But mentally. Emotionally. I was exhausted from being trapped, from not knowing what was going to happen next, from feeling like I had no control over my own life.
I missed Aurora. I missed my freedom. I missed me. The version of me that existed before Stone. Before all this.
I closed my eyes, trying to will myself to sleep, hoping that when I woke up, things would be different.
But I knew they wouldn’t be.
***
I woke to the feeling of the bed dipping beside me. My eyes flew open, my heart racing for a second before I realized who it was.
Stone.
He was sitting on the edge of the bed, still fully dressed, staring down at me with that blank, emotionless expression he always wore. And something inside me snapped.
I sat up straight, my anger flaring hot and immediate.
“I can’t live like this!” I shouted, my voice loud in the quiet room.
“You’re holding me hostage in this fuckin’ house, and I don’t want to be here anymore!
I don’t have a phone, I can’t contact my best friend, I can’t leave, and I don’t even have a way to reach you when you’re out doing who knows what! ”
Stone just stared at me silently, emotionless. Like I wasn’t even speaking. And that made me even angrier.
“Are you even fuckin’ human?” I yelled, my voice cracking. “Do you have feelings at all? What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Still nothing. No response, no reaction. Just that cold, blank stare.
“Why did you even buy all those fuckin’ clothes and shit, when I ain’t even allowed to go nowhere?” I demanded, my hands clenched into fists. “What’s the point? So I can sit here and look pretty for you when you decide to show up?”
I couldn’t take it anymore. I started swinging.
My fists connected with his chest, his shoulders, his arms. I wasn’t trying to hurt him, I knew I couldn’t, but I needed to do something. I needed to feel like I had some kind of power, some kind of control.
Stone let a few hits land before he grabbed my wrists, his grip tight, holding me in place.
I struggled against him, tears streaming down my face now.
“I don’t even fuckin’ know you!” I screamed. “I don’t know shit about you! All you do is fuck me, tell me I’m yours, act like I’m your fuckin’ property, and leave! I hate you!”
Stone stared into my eyes, and I saw something flicker in his gaze. Something dark. Something dangerous. He looked like a certified maniac.
“Quit fuckin’ hitting me,” he said, his voice low and deadly calm. “Before I hit yo’ ass back.”
I curled my lip up at him, ready to go off some more. But Stone kept talking.
“I’ll get you a new phone,” he said. “So you can call your best friend.”
I blinked, thrown off for a second, then I exploded again.
“That’s it?” I shouted. “That’s all you have to say? What about letting me leave? I want to go see Aurora. I want to get out of this estate. I haven’t seen the outside world for real since the night you took me to dinner. I’m going crazy!”
Stone looked conflicted. Like he wanted to tell me no. And if he did, I was gonna hit him again. I didn’t give a fuck about his threat.
He took a deep breath, like he was exasperated by my behavior.
“You can go see Aurora tomorrow,” he said finally. “You’ll have two of my men there to guard you and drive you where you need to go.”
Relief flooded through me, but it was mixed with irritation.
“I don’t need anyone to guard me,” I said. “I’m just going to see my friend!”
Stone gave me a menacing glare.
“That shit ain’t negotiable,” he said. “You’re attached to me, which means you need to be protected at all times. It’s either that, or yo’ ass ain’t leaving at all. I’m good either way.”
I thought about it for a moment. Then I gave in.
“Fine,” I said. “Whatever. As long as I get to see Aurora.”
We were quiet for a few minutes. The tension in the room was thick, heavy, suffocating. Then Stone started talking.
And what he said shocked the hell out of me.
“My real name is Maximus Wright,” he said, his voice low.
“My parents died in a car accident when I was young, so I really can’t tell you much about ‘em. I just remember having to move in with my grandmama afterwards. She was old as hell though, couldn’t really control me.
She did the best she could for us but that wasn’t much.
We was still poor as fuck. I started getting in the streets around eleven or twelve, looking up to dope boys, running errands for ‘em. Playing lookout and lil’ dumb shit like that. Then, they finally put me on for real.”
I stared at him, my anger momentarily forgotten. He kept going.