And I have no way of getting away.
It’s times like this that I wish I was religious. Then I would have some reason to believe that everything happens for a reason. Or maybe I would be able to try and forgive Baron for what he did. Love thine enemy or something like that, right? Maybe I’d be able to understand his behavior, instead of feeling as lost as I do now.
I sit there on the bluff until my body begins to shiver uncontrollably. Finally, I give in to the fact that I’m going to have to get home at some point and head back down the path. But when I’m only about halfway down, a bit of wet earth slips out from beneath my shoe. My ankle bends at the wrong angle, and pain jolts through me. I tumble forward and barely manage to catch myself on a root.
Yeah. This was all I needed.
Tears spill from my eyes but are instantly washed away by the falling rain. I look up at the sky and cry out, knowing full well no one can hear me. I’m a long way from the house, and the wind from the storm snatches my voice into its dull roar.
Gritting my teeth and telling myself that life will not beat me today (but not really believing it), I manage to get to my feet and begin limping down the path, grabbing at branches and trees to steady myself along the way. Despite the fact that I can’t see it, I know that the sun is starting to set. It was a long enough walk here on two good feet; I can’t imagine how long it’s going to take on one. It’s going to be night by the time I get home.
I wonder if Baron or my mom will even be worried about me.
“There she is.” The sound of his voice shocks me, and I look up to see Baron standing before me in a dark blue raincoat with the hood up. His face is shadowed, but I can see he’s smiling. Like a wolf. “I thought you’d do something stupid like this. Good thing I came when I did.”
“Well, you can just go back home,” I reply. “I don’t need any more help from you.”
I try to make my way past him, but he just moves in front of me and blocks the path. There’s no way I’m getting by, but I refuse to meet his stare and let him see just how miserable I am.
It feels like an eternity as we stand there together beneath the rain. Somehow, it feels as though we’re sharing something. What that is I don’t know, but it’s something. As if I need more on my mind to think about. Finally, Baron reaches out and takes my hand.
“You stay out here any longer and you’ll get hypothermia,” he says, his voice uncharacteristically soft. Almost kind. “Come on, princess. Let me take you home.”
Then, Baron does the last thing I would ever expect; he lifts me into his arms and begins to carry me back down the path. And just like what he did to me last night when he made me climax, I try to resist the feeling of relief and security I get as he holds me but fail completely. Utterly and completely. And I hate myself for it.
6
Pixie
It’s not until Baron has placed me into his truck and climbed into the driver’s seat that he speaks to me. “I’m not used to seeing you wear so many clothes, princess. Have a change of heart since your lesson last night?”
Yup, there’s the asshole again. I want to tell him to fuck off, but my ass is still sore, and I can’t take another spanking. So I just keep my mouth shut and my eyes glued out the window.
“Do your ears not work, Pixie?”
Asshole. What is his problem? And how could I have lived with him this long and not have known he was a complete psychopath?
“Don’t worry. We’ll get you home and warmed up. I already started a fire.”
“No, that’s okay,” I snap. “I’ll be fine.”
“Oh, no you won’t,” he laughs. “You’ll end up needing me to bring you to the hospital, and I can’t have that.”
There’s something obnoxiously charming about the way he’s speaking to me, almost like we’re an old couple and he knows my personality so well that he doesn’t even bother listening to what I say anymore.
“You know what? I’m glad to hear you say that, princess. Because the best way to warm another human up is body heat. And I’ve got plenty of that.”
“I’ll take the fire,” I reply, finally turning to face him. I expect to see him glaring back at me with anger. Instead, I see him smiling, a light of amusement in his eyes.
“You really are a sassy little bitch, aren’t you? I guess that shouldn’t surprise me based on your mother. She’s just as bad. Well, she was before she stopped pretending to be interested in me.”
There’s something in his voice that causes me to pause. Vulnerability? For a man like Baron to admit that his wife is no longer into him…it’s just so out of character. Men like him always put up a façade to the rest of the world – project an image that they want people to believe. As far as everyone else is concerned, Baron’s home life is one of domestic bliss. The fact that he’s sharing this with me is very strange.
“Stop frowning like that, would you?” The vulnerability is instantly replaced by anger, and I turn back to the window. “Don’t make me have to punish you again.”
“Do you want to warm me up and help me or punish me, Baron? Which is it? Because I can’t figure it out.”
With my back to him, I can’t see him smile, but I know that he is. “I can do both, princess. It all depends on you.”