Chapter 13 Everett
THIRTEEN
EVERETT
Fifteen years old
Isit on my bed, tightly strapped inside the straitjacket. I’ve lost count of how long I’ve been like this.
It just makes it easier for them. They don’t like it when I fight back. There’s nothing but silence. No TV, no music. They want me to go insane. Lose my mind. A woman doesn’t need an opinion or to have thoughts of her own. She just needs a functioning body.
The door opens, and my father enters, followed by a woman I’ve never seen before. You would think she’s here to help me. But I know that’s wishful thinking.
She looks at me and frowns. “How long has she been like this?”
“Keep your questions to yourself. You’re here because you owe me,” my father growls.
She turns to face him. And their size difference is almost comical. My father is six six, and she doesn’t even come to his shoulders. It’s interesting, though, because she’s dressed in a business suit and heels.
She must be important. Like the other bitch who comes and goes. The one who thinks something is wrong with me.
“This is not healthy,” the woman states.
“Are you telling me how to raise my kid?” He arches a brow.
I want to laugh at that. This has been my life, and even I know that this isn’t how you should treat your child.
“You asked me to help. This is me giving my help.”
He crosses his arms over his chest, staring her down.
She’s unfazed, which makes my curiosity pique. Who is she and why is she so important? What kind of help could she possibly give? “A woman is like a garden.”
He laughs at that, and I find it odd. I’ve never heard him laugh before.
“I’m serious. You want to grow a garden; it takes time and care. It needs water and sunlight.”
“What are you suggesting?” he asks, but his tone suggests he doesn’t care. “Put her outside under a sprinkler?”
“Look at her.” She turns to me. “Hair thinning, cheeks sunken in, skin splotchy. She’s too young to look this…frail. She needs to be well fed and taking vitamins.” The woman turns back to him. “She’s young and fertile, but there are still factors you must take into consideration.”
I shove myself into the headboard at the mention of fertile and bring my legs to my chest. I struggle in the restraints, wishing I could wrap my arms around them, but I can’t. The straitjacket has them secured to my chest.
They both look at me when they hear movement.
“It’s okay.” She gives me a toothy smile. There’s nothing comforting about it. “I’m here to help you.”
I shake my head and glare at my father. “I will not—”
“You’ll do whatever I fucking tell you to do,” he barks, stepping closer to my bed.
The woman reaches out, placing her hand on his upper arm, and he stops to look at her.
She quickly scribbles something down on a piece of paper and holds it out to him.
“A list of things she needs. You should get her started on them as soon as possible. It will help you get the results you want,” she assures him.
He reads over the list and nods his head a few times. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Fuck you,” I scream. I’m so tired of no one being on my side. No one caring about me. Tears sting my eyes, and I sink into the bed, trying to look smaller, wishing it would swallow me up.
“Watch your tone, or I’ll gag you,” my father growls.
“Leave me with her,” the woman suggests softly.
My father looks her up and down, and I know he’s fucking her. Not a doubt in my mind that he uses her. “She remains in her restraints.”
“Of course.” She nods. The thought of releasing me never even entered her mind.
Satisfied, he turns and walks out of my room, slamming the door behind him with the list in his hand.
“I fear we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot.” The woman’s smile is still in place.
“Don’t pretend you’re here for me.” I drop my head on my knees and mumble. “You’re here for them.”
“I am here for you, Everett.” She sighs and walks over to where she sits on the side of the bed. “That’s a pretty name.” Reaching out, she grabs a piece of my hair and runs her fingers through it, sighing. “You’re beautiful, Eve.”
Fresh tears sting my eyes.
“You look just like your mother.”
Hope fills my chest, and my wide eyes find hers. My mom is never mentioned. My father didn’t even know her. He was just the highest bidder, and I was the result. “You knew my mother?”
“I did.” She smiles. “And she wouldn’t want to see you hurting yourself like this.”
My stomach drops. She’s trying to manipulate me. Make me think my mother would want me to be a whore. “My father raped my mother, and then she was forced to have me. I should not exist.”
She chooses to ignore that. “I have a daughter. Around your age. And—”
“And you’d let men rape her?” I interrupt.
She drops her eyes to my bed and sighs heavily. “Women have a purpose, Eve. And if you’re no longer able to fulfill that purpose, you are no longer useful to a Lord. Your mom is a testament to that.”
I flinch at the way she speaks of my mother. Like she’s trash, thrown away when she could no longer serve what this woman calls a purpose. No. I refuse to believe anything she says. “I don’t want to be useful,” I whisper.
She gently grabs my chin and lifts my head so I have to meet her stare. “I’m trying to help you.” Her eyes search my watery ones. “I suggest you let me.”
I jerk my face from her hold and narrow my eyes on hers.
“I’d rather you fucking kill me.” This woman is delusional.
If my father is fucking her, then so are his friends.
I’m sure they pass her around. Take their turns.
Just like they do with me. I’m nothing special.
The only difference is I’m currently restrained and she’s not.
She’s given into her fate. Accepted it. That’s why she’s not tied up or gagged right now. But I bet she is when they use her.
“I will never be like you,” I tell her, shaking my head. “You’re a disgrace to all women. My mother would be ashamed—”
She slaps me across the face, cutting me off.
I give a rough laugh as the sting feels like a thousand knives to my cheek. Typical response when they don’t like what you have to say.
The woman gets off the bed and removes her cell from her pocket before furiously typing away on it.
I look up at her through narrowed eyes, and she gives me a smile. It reminds me of my father’s. The one I receive when I’m going to hate what’s on his mind. She pulls her sleeve of her suit jacket up and bites her own arm, sinking her teeth into her skin while she closes her eyes tightly.
Removing it from her mouth, blood drips from the broken skin. She runs her hand through it and then rushes over to me, smearing it across my face.
“The fuck?” I spit it onto the bed when some gets in my mouth. I spit again, gagging, trying to get the nasty taste off my tongue.
The door is shoved open and my father rushes in. “What happened?” he barks, looking at me.
“She attacked me,” the bitch cries, lifting her arm. “Look. She bit me.” Removing her hand, she shows him the bite mark she gave herself.
His face grows tight when he glances over my blood-smeared face, and he spins around, leaving as fast as he entered.
“Lying bitch,” I sneer.
She drops her arm and smiles at me. “I have a purpose, Eve, and until you decide you want to fulfill yours, I’ll make mine all about you. You will not be the reason I fail.”
My father enters once more, and my stomach drops when I see what he’s holding.
I try to scramble off the bed, but I can’t use my arms and there’s nowhere to go.
He grabs my hair, fisting it, making me scream at the pain.
She helps him, taking the opportunity to shove the rubber ball into my mouth, and he holds me in place while she fastens it behind my head, securing the gag in my mouth.
He then shoves me onto the bed, face-first, and I sink my teeth into the rubber, imagining it’s the bitch’s arm.
A mumbled scream of frustration makes tears burn my eyes.
“Let me know if she gives you any more problems,” he tells her.
Sitting up, I turn with my back to the headboard and my knees to my chest. It’s not because I’m modest. I’m used to being naked.
She rises up on her tiptoes, kissing his cheek. “Thank you.”
I want to roll my eyes and stab her at the same time. This bitch has got to go. He leaves us once again, closing the door softly behind him.
She sits down on the side of the bed, returning to the place she sat before, and smiles at me. “See, Eve? I’m a woman who understands her purpose and knows how to succeed in a world run by men.”
By using others.
“Here.” She reaches over to the nightstand and grabs a tissue. Then she begins to blot my chin. “You’re drooling all over yourself like a rabid dog.” Her actions suggest she cares, but her condescending tone tells me otherwise.
My mouth is held wide open, there’s a rubber ball shoved behind my teeth, and my jaw already hurts. I blink back the tears I want to cry. They don’t get you anywhere. They’re a waste.
“Now where were we? Oh, yeah.” She begins to play with my hair.
“I think you’d look stunning with a bob.
Cut all the dead ends off. I’ll talk to your father.
Have him set up an appointment. I know someone who will come here to do it for you.
” She grips my shoulders that are restrained in the straitjacket and gives me a warm smile.
“See, Eve? Your father brought me in to help you. There’s no reason why we can’t be friends. ”
I mumble around the massive gag.
“What’s that?” She leans into me, dropping her head to try and understand what I’m saying, just like I was hoping. I take the opportunity and slam my head into hers, knocking her back.
She begins to scream for my father, and I can’t help but smile around the gag when he rushes into the room. If I’m going to be punished, I’m going to fucking earn it.
Bitch.
“What happened, for fuck’s sake?” he barks.
“She…she hit me,” the woman cries, her bloody hand covering her face.