Chapter Three
Inever really understood the expression “jumping from the frying pan into the fire” before now.
As I walk into the belly of the beast, I can’t help but think about how woefully naive I’ve been.
Sure, on paper, I’m smarter than most of my peers, thanks to an abnormally high IQ, but that doesn’t mean I’m smart in areas that count.
If I were, I’d have figured out a way to escape years ago.
Austin ushers me into the kitchen and tells me to take a seat at the island. I do, still confused as to what’s going on.
“Sandwich?”
“Um…sure. I can make it, though, if you want?”
He turns to look at me, amusement on his usually stern face. “You’re going to make yourself a sandwich in my house?”
“No? Yes? Maybe?”
He shakes his head, muttering something about foolhardy girls as he empties half the contents of his fridge onto the counter.
“You eat meat?” He eyes me, and now it’s his turn to look wary.
“Don’t tell me you’re scared of vegetarians?” I tease.
“I don’t trust people who don’t eat meat.”
“Well, that’s unfortunate.”
He pauses, his hand on the bread. “Don’t you live on a cattle ranch?”
“Yes.”
“So how can you not eat meat?”
I smirk, unable to help myself. He’s acting like I just told him Santa isn’t real. “It’s kind of traumatizing to realize that Daisy, the calf I helped deliver and doted on, is also the same half-masticated corpse on my plate.”
His shoulders slump in defeat. He might not like it, but he gets it. He looks me over and shakes his head. “Yeah, I can imagine that would scar a kid.”
He doesn’t know the half of it. But I don’t want to ruin the light moment by admitting my father has killed any animal I’ve shown love toward, including the family dog and the litter of kittens born in the barn.
The only reason Willow, my horse, has escaped that fate is because of how much she is worth.
“What about cheese? Is that okay, or are you vegan?”
He says “vegan” with a grimace. As much as I’d like to toy with him, my strength is waning, and I’d rather use it to keep my wits about me.
“Cheese is life.”
He chuckles at that. “Phew, at least on that we can agree.”
He assembles a sandwich with lettuce, tomato, thick slabs of cheese, pickles, and mayo.
I hide my smile that after the meat question, he didn’t ask me what I liked.
It’s a good thing I’m good with everything because I’d have forced myself to eat it anyway.
I’m not used to people doing kind things for me, and I wouldn’t want to ruin it.
He slides the plate over to me and watches as I take a small bite. “It’s good.”
He nods, satisfied, before making himself a monstrosity of a sandwich that contains about ten different types of meat.
I’m pretty sure he’s trying to eat my share, too, and balance the scales.
He sits beside me, and we eat in silence.
I’ve not had to make small talk before. Most people ignore me or yell at me, and I’ve grown accustomed to it.
Now, though, I wish I could think of something cool or witty to say.
“What’s Andy’s deal with you anyway?”
And just like that, reality crashes back down. This isn’t a Hallmark movie, and Austin is far from a hero. Even if there weren’t such an age gap between us, he’d never look at a girl like me twice.
“You’d have to ask him.”
“Well, I’m asking you.” He takes both plates and walks over to the sink, rinsing them before putting them in the dishwasher.
“I don’t know. That’s the only answer I have.”
“So he just one day decided to start hating you?” he asks skeptically.
“Why is that so hard to believe? The whole town hates me. He’s just jumped on the bandwagon so he doesn’t get left behind by his friends.” I get to my feet, done with this conversation. “Look, thanks for the sandwich, but I think I should go.”
He shakes his head. “Stay. I’ll grab you some iced tea, and you can go curl up on the sofa for a little while. I have a bit of work to do anyway.”
“That’s kind, but I really should just go.”
“Who hurt you, Calliope?”
I pause at his brazen question, figuring it deserves a brazen response. I turn and look at him. “You know who.” I dare him to say something else.
His jaw gets tight as he bites back whatever is on the tip of his tongue. “Let me show you where the den is.”
“Austin.”
“Can you take another beating?”
I flinch away from him, making him curse.
“You’re safe here. That’s not what I meant.”
Ah, he means if I go home and my dad’s waiting for round two. Well, round three at this point. Truth is, I’m not sure. I bite my lip, weighing the pros and cons. Realistically, if my father is in a mood when I get back, I’m not sure I can endure another one.
“Fine, I’ll stay, but just for a little while.”
“Good. Come on.”
He walks to the door, expecting me to follow. Like the good little lamb I am, I do. He leads me to a room just off the kitchen. “This is the sitting room.”
I look around at the large, comfy-looking sofa with the blanket thrown over the back.
An end table with a lamp sits to the left of it, and on the wall above a fireplace is a large television.
There is a black grand piano in the far corner that’s as imposing as the man looking at me.
I wonder if he plays, and then I wonder why I care.
“Remote’s on the side table. Get comfortable while I grab you a drink.”
“Alright.” I wait for him to leave before I sit on the sofa and take the remote. I skip through until I find something comforting to watch and settle on an episode of Gilmore Girls. I kick off my shoes and tuck my legs underneath me, arranging my dress to make sure I’m covered.
Austin walks in with a tall glass of iced tea and hands it to me, his eyes skipping to the TV. “And that’s my cue to leave. I’ll be in my office at the end of the hall if you need me.”
“Okay.”
He nods and moves to leave, but I reach up and snag his arm. “Thanks, Austin,” I tell him softly.
“You’re welcome, Calliope.” He tugs my hand from his arm, making my sleeve slip back again. His thumb skims over my birthmark, making me shiver. “That’s an unusual birthmark,” he comments before I tug my hand free and look down at it.
I frown when I realize how red it looks. “It runs in my family,” I tell him absently, wondering if something in one of my lotions has aggravated it.
“A five-pointed star,” he states, as if I’m unaware of the mark I was born with.
“It’s nothing special.” I tug my sleeve down and fold my arms.
“Somehow, I doubt that. Get some rest.”
I offer him a wobbly smile and wait for him to leave before I release a shaky breath. Jesus, that man is intense.
I settle in to watch the show, sipping at the tea, which is the perfect blend of sweet and bitter.
By the time I’ve finished it, my eyes are heavy, the day finally catching up to me.
I pop the glass on the table and rest my head on the cushion just as Austin walks in.
He crouches in front of me, tugging the blanket from the back of the sofa over me.
I try to open my eyes, but it’s like a weight is hanging from them.
“I’m sorry it’s come to this, little one.”
I swear I feel lips on my forehead for a second before it’s lights out.
Hands pawing at me pull me from my slumber. Knowing better than to let my guard down around my dad, I try to fight him off, but my movements are sluggish. It takes all my energy just to turn my head a fraction.
Too many thoughts tumble through my brain in a chaotic mess of panic and fear.
I manage to squint my eyes open. The moon shines in just enough to tell me this isn’t my home.
And the man on top of me isn’t my father.
I whimper, willing my body to move as his hands yank my dress up, but it refuses to respond.
Terror threatens to suffocate me as my underwear is violently torn from my body.
My fingers twitch as I push with everything I have.
As my attacker lines himself up with my opening, I know it won’t be enough.
A silent scream of horror gets trapped in my throat as he tears into my body, ripping away my innocence in the blink of an eye.
Agony washes over me as he thrusts into me over and over, my dry walls tearing under the invasion.
Lightning splits the night sky, charging the air with electricity that makes goosebumps break out over my body.
My birthmark feels like a brand burning into my skin, but it barely registers as this monster takes the one thing I had left to give.
Hot tears slip down my face, scalding my cheeks as my assailant buries themself deep.
They groan into my hair before I feel them finish with a shudder.
Thunder rumbles loudly, as lightning flashes again and again, as if the storm is on top of us and trying to find a way in. Whatever makes me, me, shatters and reforms. I’m floating outside my body as the impact of what just happened sinks into my bones.
The monster climbs off me, his body shrouded as he slinks back into the shadows, leaving me hollowed out and bleeding like road kill discarded in the gutter.
I don’t know how long I lie there, drowning in shame and fear, before my body responds to my silent screams. It could be minutes, it could be days, but once I can move, I do.
I roll off the sofa, welcoming the pain as I hit the unforgiving wood with a thump.
My dress slips down to cover me as I drag myself across the floor with my arms, my legs still refusing to respond, before I collapse by the front door.
I drift in and out for a while. What happened to me plays in my head on a continuous loop like a horror movie that won’t end until I’m sobbing so hard I can’t breathe.
I pray to any god that will listen to get me out of here.
Eventually, I manage to crawl to my knees.
It takes three attempts to get to my feet.