Nightingale

forty-one

TW: Mentions of physical abuse and substance abuse. 

2 months later.

Who would've thought that a cabin in the woods would become my home away from home. Who am I kidding this isn't a home, its a fucking prison. A spacious cell that I've been held in since I got back. Any piece of how I used to be has been striped away like a piece of clothing.

I look at myself in the mirror and see a completely different person but I guess that's the whole point of having a new identity, everything you used to love and used to be just becomes a distant memory.

I'm supposed to be meeting the rest of the family this week, Alan will be leaving to head back to the states and take care of his business and Deaclan will be here making sure I don't step out of line. I've tried to fight everything since I got back from California but it got to the point that fighting against forced submission wasn't worth the bruises I would gain from it. I just stopped trying to get away. It was either I get punished or he would take it out on Harry and Callie, I'd rather suffer than have them suffer. If I broke a rule then I would be beaten until I couldn't breathe, so I simply started to obey. I am to wear some from of a dress each and everyday, I must wear pearls around my neck to show that I belong to the family since all the women in the Foster family are basically branded with them, in a since I must be the perfect housewife to appease not only Alan but also Deaclan.

Numbing the pain with drugs doesn't even help anymore, it's only made things worse. I can't close my eyes without seeing Harry. I can't snort a line without seeing him standing in the bathroom mirror behind me looking disappointed in me, trust me I'm just as disappointed in myself as the Harry from my imagination is. The sad thing is, I keep doing drugs just so I can feel like I'm still with him, like he's still with me. When there's a light knock on my door I quickly finish up my makeup and run my hands down the front of my sundress before saying a quiet, "come in."

Colette, one of the maids that works here enters my room with a dress inside of a garment bag. "Ms. Levesque, you have a gift from Mr. Richards. Would you like me to hang it up in your closet?" Her warming voice with a slight french accent to it echoes through the large room with nothing besides a bed, a stone fireplace and a small bookshelf. The sound of my new last name is still quite foreign to my ears, it's not truly me.

"Alan gave me a gift?" I ask as I exit the ensuite bathroom.

She laughs a bit before turning her head towards me while hanging up the dress in the closet. "No Ms. Levesque, his son Deaclan, your future fiance."

"Lovely." I simply roll my eyes and tidy up my room a little bit even though that is Colette's job I like to lend a hand. She already has her hands full knowing who her boss is.

"I will say Deaclan is the nicer one out of the twins. There's a stark contrast between him and his father." She says while she helps me organize my books back onto the shelf, her handing me books that are scattered across the floor so I can put them on the bookshelf to my liking.

"Even if he is kinder, it won't make a difference. He won't be him." I sigh.

"Breakfast will be served in a couple minutes. I would suggest you come down before Mr. Richards does this time. He wanted to go over a couple things before the rest of the family arrives." Colette says, lightly rubbing my shoulder before exiting my room and closing the door behind her. That's another rule, I must eat every meal with him. Most of the time I feel too disgusted being in his presence to eat anything but I force it down.

I check my appearance in the mirror quickly to make sure everything is up to his standards before taking my pearl choker off of the bathroom counter and clasping it around my neck. I stare down at the small baggie of coke, tempted to do a line to ease my mind but I know better than that. I only allow myself to get high at night as a form of self control, it's the only time and can feel safe and truly at home. I quickly stuff it into my makeup bag and zip it closed so it doesn't get found this time, last time it didn't end well.