I’m alone. The most alone I think I’ve felt since before I was thrown out all those years ago.
I remember that day. Bags packed. Nowhere to go. Calling Fleur in a panic, tears rolling down my face. All because I refused to join in the lie. Because I wanted justice for Leo’s family. And this is how he repays me for trying to do the right thing?
Sergio turns from the path, heading toward a clump of trees. Is that where the boats are kept hidden?
Barb looks at me and I swear she nods her approval for my idea.
I pull the window open, climb out, and head after them. No one’s watching me. This might be my chance to get out of here. I could sneak into the boat, maybe. Stowaway and make it to the mainland. I could get out of here before it’s too late.
I catch up in time to see them going down to another cove with a boat waiting in the water. But by the time I try to work out how to get onboard without them seeing, they’re already out of the bay and heading across open water.
I walk down to the jetty, hoping there might be another boat hidden somewhere.
There’s nothing there but a half sunk wreck of a rowing boat and another one of Leo’s statues. This one only has the hair completed, the rest untouched.
I think to myself. If I’m alone, there’s no one to stop me exploring. There must be other boats somewhere. A boathouse or a proper dock or something. We used to arrive at a dock when we came here as children. Where was it?
Somewhere on the other side of the house.
I try to remember its location. There were jutting rocks that went out into the sea. We used to jump off them into the water during the hottest part of the summer. It was a safe bay. No riptide to drag you out. Golden sands. Me and Bea sunbathing, Leo roaring past on his speedboat before coming to join us, laid on his back in just a pair of trunks. That body, so full of muscles and raw strength. I was obsessed.
If I could have told the younger version of me that I’d be married to him someday, she’d never have believed me.
Yet, here I am. Married. Miserable. With a bruised ass from where his hand spanked me.
Back then I’d have given anything in the world to be spanked by him.
Be careful what you wish for in life. You just might get it.
I don’t want to think about the spanking but I can’t help it. The bruises on my ass ache with each step I take, a constant reminder of his dominance over me.
The most terrifying part of the whole thing was how it was affecting him. I could feel his cock digging into my stomach while I squirmed on his lap. What does it say about me that I imagined him pulling it out, commanding me to get on my knees, pushing it into my mouth, making me choke on him while he muttered obscenities above me?
I don’t want him to do that. Not really. Do I?
I think of the dream I had when I passed out on the beach. Is that what my subconscious thinks about him? About me? That I want to be humiliated in public? That I want to have my body on display for everyone to see?
It’s not true, is it?
Thinking about the dream makes me realize just how thoughtless Leo’s being. I’ve passed out a couple of times since being rescued from the sea. And what’s he done? Left me here alone where anything could happen.
I look up at the house as I pass it. I can see figures in the windows. So there are still some staff at work. I could go back inside, see if any of them might be willing to help me, maybe give me a phone so I can call for help.
I doubt they’d do it. They have Leo for a boss.
I cross to where I think the other bay might be. It takes me an hour to find it. The island is bigger than I remember.
I go through the old monastery, remembering climbing the walls with Bea beside me. Leo would join us sometimes, free-climbing higher than either of us, making it look effortless. I was in awe of him back then.
Unlike now. Now I just hate him for what he’s doing to me, what he’s making me feel.
I keep moving until I find the bay. Hidden from view by a clump of pine trees, the path is well worn, weaving between the thick trunks, easing down to the shoreline.
The dock is exactly how I remember it. The rocks we used to jump off are to the left. The sand is as golden as it is in my memories. The dock juts out into the water. Several boats are tied up here. A couple of yachts, a speedboat, and there’s even a battered old fishing boat.
I can’t take the yacht. I never got the hang of sailing. I’m not sure if the speedboat will make it all the way to the mainland. That only leaves the fishing boat.
I check the fuel gauge. Three quarters full. I can only hope it’ll be enough. There are life preservers and even an inflatable lifeboat onboard. What more could a girl ask for? I’m not sure what I’m going to do when I get to the mainland. Try and find a phone? Call the police and have him arrested? That’s got to be worth a try, right?