After being disowned by her parents, fifteen year old Serena Verlice finds herself in a toxic relationship with a much older man. She undergoes four years of emotional and physical abuse until one day she goes to the doctor and receives a devastatin...
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"You're lying," She scoffs as she sits cross legged on the sofa, the plate of pasta I made her resting on top of her lap.
"I'm serious, I've seen this movie over twenty times," I reply, turning on Netflix. "Why?" She questions, completely baffled.
"Erm because it's a classic?" I state the obvious, rolling my eyes.
I lean back on the sofa and dig into my dinner as the opening credits of Shrek start to play, the tv screen being the only thing to illuminate the dark room.
We watch the entire movie in silence except for the occasional laugh Serena lets out as she pecks at her food.
I spare a few glances at her, it's hard not to. Her hair is tied into a messy bun with wild curls poking out from every which direction and although both our eyes are green they're nothing alike, mine being dull emerald whereas her's are a vivid olive colour.
I'm curious about her and how she ended up where we found her. I want to know what series of events leads a person to being handcuffed to a pipe in a warehouse out in the middle of nowhere.
The movie finishes, plunging the room into silence. "So.." She trails off, turning to me. "Is your dad getting anywhere with the background check?" She asks nonchalantly, pretending not to care.
"Yes," I lie, preparing to use her curiosity against her. "Well what has he found out?" She questions, suddenly tense.
"Mhm," I hum, shaking my head. "Come on tell me," She pleads.
"Fine.." I trail off, pretending to think about it. "If you let me ask some questions about you I'll tell you what my dad has on you," I bluff, knowing the most my dad's found out about her is surface level information a google search could have revealed.
She bites her lip, thinking over my deal.
"Fine," She huffs, slouching back onto the sofa. "Ask away," She sighs, holding unflinching eye contact with me.
"How'd you end up in that warehouse?" I ask nonchalantly, pretending like this question hasn't been weighing down on me since the second we met.
"I told you I needed the money," She replies immediately, her tone flat. "And you couldn't have gotten a normal job?" I ask, slightly amused.
"It's not that easy," She rolls her eyes. "Why not, you have experience no?" I ask, remembering how whilst I was cooking she told me she had worked as a chef for a couple of years.
She stays silent for a moment, clearly thinking hard about what she's going to reply. "You've asked your question it's my turn now," She replies sternly.
"Ask away," I mimic, my arms folded as I lean back on the sofa. She opens her mouth but the sound of the front door swinging open echos through the living room before she get's the chance to ask anything.
"Harperrr," Lucian groans, looking slightly distressed as he walks through the door. "No I don't want to speak to you," She sniffles, storming past us on the sofa and down into the hallway.
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I walk down the dimly lit hallway, slightly pissed that I didn't get to ask my question but equally as curious as to what made Harper so upset.
"Harper?" I call out, knocking on the door that little sniffles can be heard from inside.
"I'm fine," She croaks unconvincingly. "Can I come in?" I ask, leaning against the doorframe. She mumbles a yes so I enter, taking a second to observe the unexpected decor.
The room as well as all the bedding is a dark grey, with all decorations either being black or an even duller shade of grey. I've known Harper for a day but it's surprising her room is this way, I would have expected a bright pink room full of colour.
"What's wrong?" I ask, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Nothing," She mumbles, avoiding eye contact.
I raise an eyebrow, looking at her skeptically which seems to make her crack. "Well Lucian promised that if we went out and did what he wanted to do he would take me to the movies," She exclaims, exacerbated.
"So I spent all day going to the skatepark because miles wanted to, going to a sushi bar for Tyler even though I don't even like sushi, judging dozens of pairs of Jordans for Lucian in a shoe store and sitting in an office for hours while he talked with his dad," She rants.
"And when it was my turn to go to the movies they all said no because 'Barbie is a girl's movie'," She rolls her eyes.
"Yeah I'd be annoyed too," I agree, understanding where she's coming from.
"It's not even the movie," She shakes her head. "It's the fact that I'm always seeming to do what he wants, which I'm happy to do but I wish he'd take into account what I want once and awhile," She sighs.
"Like I left my job to move to Italy for him, I let him choose where we're going every date night and even this room is exactly how he wanted it," She exclaims, waving her hands erratically, motioning towards the dark decor.
We sit in silence for a moment, her rant having finished when suddenly an idea pops into my head.
"Fuck him," I shrug, cutting through the silence. She snorts, wiping her tears away with the sleeve of her cardigan.
"No I'm serious you're going to Barbie," I whisper, hopping off the bed. "We can't, he'll never agree to it and I don't want to go alone" She mumbles.
"That's why we're both going to sneak out," I whisper, knowing this is my best escape plan.
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