“Follow me.”
We head downstairs, then out the back. We cross through some of his land before I see an old shed standing tall. Marcus doesn’t stop or look behind as he opens the door, holding it open for me to pass through.
Stepping inside, the floor is white and clean. So extremely clean it’s scary. Looking up, I see a chair. The chair reminds me of one you go and sit on at the dentist’s office. But it’s what is in that chair that makes me take a step backward until I hit a hard body.
“Rochelle.”
There he goes again. Using my name. Why doesn’t he call me pretty girl anymore?
“What….” The words get stuck in my throat, and I am unable to move.
“I told you not to bring her in here,” Blaze says while shaking his head. “She should have left.” His angry eyes meet mine.
Looking back to Marcus, his face is blank, as if it’s normal to have a man gagged, and tied to a chair so he can’t move.
“Do you want to leave?” Marcus asks.
“No,” I answer truthfully.
He steps past me, happy with my answer, and walks over to Dave in the chair. I hate that I have to see him again, but I am happy it’s not him in a position of power. That bastard creeps me out, and for a good reason. Dave’s eyes look at me, and I can see he’s pleading with me, but I don’t have anything in me to give to him.
“He hired my boss to take you down,” I tell Blaze, who looks up at me, shocked.
“That’s interesting. So, you were behind the newspaper articles then?” Blaze asks while looking down at Dave. “I only fucked your wife once, and you know she wanted it. Plus, it was payment for all those fucking drugs you never paid for.”
Dave starts thrashing in his seat, and Blaze smiles, looking over at me. “He would have lied, it’s what Dave’s so very good at. A lying, cheating, scumbag.” Blaze shakes his head, and I turn to see Marcus dressed in a white coat, he’s wearing gloves and a face mask.
“Did he do it?” I ask Blaze.
He leans down, takes the gag from Dave’s mouth, and looks him in the eye. “Tell her.”
“I knew she was yours, the second time. I marked her and told her my cock can go deeper than yours. Then I showed her. She screamed then,” Dave says to Blaze.
What a mistake.
I lose all the contents of my stomach at his words.
I don’t want to know. Really, I don’t want to know any of the details.
“You should leave now,” Marcus says through his mask.
“What do you plan to do to him?”
Marcus doesn’t answer as he steps closer to a struggling Dave.
It’s Blaze who answers, “He deserves everything he’s about to get. And Rochelle…” I look up to Blaze, “… you were never here. And you know nothing of this place. Do you understand?”
I nod at his words.
“I need your words, Rochelle,” he says.
“Yes.”
“Good. Go home. You won’t have to worry about him again.” Then Blaze walks over to me, opens the door as Dave starts speaking his evil words about all the things he did to Tanika, and how much she liked it. The minute the air hits me, I can no longer walk. And as the door shuts behind me, I collapse onto the grass out the front. I can still hear Dave screaming awful things about Tanika, but, somehow, I can’t seem to move my body. It’s stuck in the position it is in.
Music blares and I know what’s happening. I don’t know exactly, but I have a pretty good idea.
The screams eventually fall silent, and the sky seems to grow darker.
Curling up in a ball, I lay there with the sun shining down on me, wondering what it would be like to live a different life. And how on earth did I end up here, lying out front while my lover is in a shed more than likely tearing apart a rapist.
All while I do nothing but twiddle my thumbs in the grass.
When the door finally opens, I’m still lying in the grass with my eyes closed and not wanting to move. The sun has started to set and I know, I just know, this isn’t me. I have to change. I have to change all of this. Starting with the man standing above me.
“Déjà vu,” I say.
Marcus walks around so he’s standing in front of me, reaching down to help me up. When I stand, he picks me up as if I weigh nothing, and carries me back to the house.
“Is he dead?” I ask.
“Yes.”
“Dave went back to Tanika the second time because he knew she was with Blaze, right?”
Marcus’ eyes search mine as we reach the house. “Yes.”