Chapter Nine #2
“I’m still full from breakfast.”
“I don’t give a shit.” His words are impassive, almost harsh. “You did a terrible job taking care of yourself, Flower—now, I’m going to take care of you. Starting out with getting some meat on your bones.”
I force myself to take a seat on the chair. Monster pushes the food tray closer to me. It has two steaming sandwiches along with two small salads.
I slowly reach for the salad, but Monster shakes his head. “Start with the sandwich. More calories.”
“You can’t control what I eat,” I say, pinning him with a glare. “I’m not a doll—”
He takes my chin in a firm grip, cutting off my next words.
“You’re not a doll, but you are mine, and you’ve neglected to care for yourself.
In case it isn’t clear yet, I’ll once again impress upon you that you belong to me.
You are mine. Mine to toy with, mine to fuck, and most of all, mine to protect and care for.
Until you can show a solid ability to make good decisions for your health, I’m taking the wheel.
” He releases my chin with a faint scoff.
“Eat your fucking food, Scarlett, and stop being a child.”
“Why couldn’t you have just died on a hit these last months?” I snap, unable to keep the words to myself. “Why did you have to come back and infest my fucking life? I was free of your oppression and working my way back to normalcy.”
“Normalcy,” Monster echoes with a disbelieving laugh. “What would you know about normalcy, Flower? Nothing about your life has ever been normal. You wouldn’t know normal if it bit you in the ass. Now, stop lashing out like a child and eat.”
“No.” I’ve officially had it for the day.
I don’t know why, but my emotions feel wildly out of control, and I’m swinging between anger, confusion, and determination.
“I’m not eating another thing you give me.
” I’ll find another way to get outside, but right now, the mere thought of complying with Monster is fucking repulsive.
“You’ve forgotten about the afternoon walk I offered you.” Monster’s tone is flat. “That must be it, right? Why else would you risk my kindness?”
“Kindness,” I repeat with disgust. “Kindness? There is not a single kind bone in your body. Not fucking one.”
Monster points at Luci. “That’s kindness, Scarlett, and a risk on my part—one I took for your comfort.”
“How the fuck is a goddamn cat a risk?”
“He becomes your emotional support when that should be me,” Monster replies. “Do you really want to get into this power struggle with me over a sandwich?”
“It’s not just a sandwich!” I shout, losing my temper entirely.
I stand from my seat so quickly it flips over, and the metal clattering against wood frightens Luci so much he darts back into the pet carrier.
“It’s everything! You want to take away who I am, what I am.
The last time you did that, Monster, I reminded you exactly who I am—a fucking botanist. You think I won’t find a way to take you out again?
That I won’t dedicate what’s left of my life to seeing you dead? ”
“Sit down!” Monster snaps, but even his abrupt swing to anger isn’t enough to temper me.
“Go fuck yourself! You should’ve died instead of your brother—”
Monster’s hand wraps around my neck in a merciless hold that scarcely allows me any air.
I wriggle, I screech, I try to claw his hand off to the point of drawing blood, but he doesn’t budge.
He takes a fistful of my hair with his free hand and walks me backward until the backs of my legs hit the bed and I tip over, falling onto the mattress.
Monster’s grip loosens on me in the fall, and as soon as I land, I try to rear back and claw his eyes out, but he’s faster than me.
He flips me face-first on the bed, holding me down with a hand on my nape and a knee on my back.
The power he has over me is devastating. He doesn’t even need restraints to keep me in place—he just uses those for fun. He can hold me down with minimal effort, while fighting against him for even a minute is enough to tire me out.
“Stop bringing up my fucking brother,” Monster hisses in my ear, sounding as enraged as I’ve ever heard him—maybe even more. “You didn’t know him. You have no fucking right to speak of him. None whatsoever. You’re not doing either of us any favors by clawing that old wound, Scarlett.”
He pants in the aftermath of his words. I can feel his fury as if it were my own—and in ways, it is my own. Our anger drives us into a battle that neither of us can win, because I’ll never accept him, and he won’t let me go until he’s dead.
He holds me in the humiliating position, face-down, showing me just how easily he can overpower me, for several endless minutes.
“I hope you enjoyed the few hours you got with your little pet,” he says furiously. “You won’t be seeing him again until you learn to behave.
Wait—no.
No!
“No! You can’t take him from me!” My struggle returns with a vengeance, and I writhe beneath him so intensely he has to readjust his position to hold me.
When I manage to get an arm free and rake my nails down his thighs, he mutters, “fuck this.”
Then, I hear the rattle of chains, and that’s when I really start to freak out—but it’s too late.
I feel a pressure on the back of my neck, at the base of the collar, and then, Monster’s weight disappears.
I manage to look up in time to see him walk over to the pet carrier and lock Luci in; I leap off the bed, only to be jerked back by a horrible pressure on my neck.
I fall back onto the mattress and frantically feel behind the collar, only for my fingers to come into contact with a metal chain. There’s no locking mechanism, no hook or carabiner for me to detach; the chain is held firmly in place by a special lock that must’ve been built into the necklace.
I yank at the jewels, a vicious hatred for them starting a fire in my belly, but the only thing I succeed in is scraping up my own neck.
“Act like a wild dog and I’ll treat you like one,” Monster says, lifting up the cat carrier. “I’ll see you for dinner. For your sake, I hope your disposition has improved.”