Where Does the Red String Go? -Miraculous Ladybug AU Soulmates

Chapter 10- Walls Closing In

Marionette's POV

We were all distraught for Nino. Me and Alya more than most, however, I didn't know why. Alya never gave any indication that she even knew Nino more than an acquaintance level.

But weeks passed and we moved on. The solemn looks on my classmates grew lighter and lighter until they eventually disappeared. They had moved on.

I was beginning to do the same.

However, the bruises didn't go away. They grew.

There were more bruises on my arms than there was fair skin. Luka was ab*sing me over and over, often bringing me to his boat and hitting me. I didn't know what he was hitting me for, but I assumed it was for my own good. But why did he have to do it so often?

"Why didn't you put your hair down today, Marinette?" Luka says, gripping my arm dangerously. I quietly sigh, the first-ever remark I've made against him.

"Please, Luka? I really wanted to put my hair up today." I say. I wasn't in the mood to argue. school had just ended and I needed to write a 10-page essay to submit tomorrow.

"What did you just say?" Luka's eyes pierced mine threateningly. He raised his hands to slap me but looked around. He gripped my arm tighter twisting it until I cried out in pain.

"Can I go home now, please?" I say. Luka twists my arm tighter and tighter, ignoring my screams of pain.

"LET ME GO!" I scream. A swift slap follows and I bite my tongue. The metallic taste of blood fills my mouth as my arm feels like it's about to break.

"Hey! Let go of her." I look up and see a middle-aged man walking up to us. "Let go of her or I'll call the police." He waves his phone threateningly. I immediately stand up to defend Luka. "It's fine sir, there's nothing to worry about. He does this to me all the time." Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say as Luka squeezed my arm even tighter. I try to hold my scream in.

The middle-aged man doesn't believe me for a second and looks at Luka. "Let. Go. Of. Her." he says.

Luka lets go of me and puts his hands in front of his face. "Hey, Hey I've let go of her now." The man looks at him with disgust and asks me where I live. I point to the bakery across the school. He escorts me home and I wave goodbye to him in front of my parents.

"Dad I'm going for a walk ok? I'll be back home soon." The afternoon was still early and I needed to clear my head. I cautiously look at the school entrance to see if Luka was still there but he disappeared. I really didn't want to talk to him now.

I walk through the hidden streets and alleyways of Paris until I finish my usual route. Walking back, I notice the sky getting darker faster. Why did the day end so fast? It was barely the start of winter. Leaves crunch under my feet as I bring my jacket up to my face and shiver. Why was it so cold all of a sudden?

There's no one out in the streets and I hear some animal rummaging through the trash bins. I had walked further than I thought because I didn't know anything about this place. I mentally smack myself, why didn't I bring a phone?! I could have at least used it to call someone had anything happened to me.

My walk turns into a jog as I anxiously try to find my way out of the maze Paris was. Did I see that building before? That bush wasn't there before.

"Mmmaaarrinettte" A drunken, sluggish voice calls out in the darkness. I whip my head behind me, hope rising in my chest. It's Luka. He walks over to me, his walk sluggish and uneven. He's drunk. Very.

I inch back away from Luka, suddenly scared of him. How did he get the wine? He was 14! What was he going to do to me? He tries to grab my hair and succeeds. I squeak in pain as I am pulled into his chest.

"Your'ree....aaa...naughty littttlee....girlllll." he slurs. His breath reeks of wine and alcohol and I pull away.

"You're drunk Luka. See you tomorrow." I say firmly, walking away. Suddenly he grabs my wrist and my blood freezes, a reflex response to what he was about to do. "YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE MARINETTE." He yells slapping me in the face and kicking me. My vision blurs as my heart hammers furiously in my chest.

I slump on the floor, my ears ringing as the dark ground blurs together. My heart beats in my ears as fear closes up my throat. Black obscures my vision as I dip in and out of consciousness.

Luka seems to be dragging me somewhere, taking many turns. I hear the sound of keys as he curses under his breath. Where was he taking me?

He shoves me through a door and I jolt out of my stupor. What was this place? The ceiling is cracked and peeling and the furniture is caked with dust. There's only one piece of personalization, a picture of a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. She has a pink streak in her hair and at the bottom of the painting is the name 'Zoe'. Who is she? Who owned this place?

Luka pushes me to the ground and leaves, and I hear the faint sound of something crashing to the ground. He comes back with a pan, raising it above his head as his eyes glint with drunken malice.

I scream in fear, the noise seeming to turn him on. "Come here little bitch." he says, grabbing my wrist and sending a jolt of pain through me. I crawl away, limbs shaking.

He crawls on top of me and raises the pan as I kick and scream, trying as hard as I can to wrestle him off me. He raises the pan and attempts to hit me with it but I dodge, scrambling off him as I try to find a way out of the house.

Luka smiles sadistically. "Don't worry little bitch, I'll be back." he runs out into the desolate night and I hear the unmistakable click of the lock. I scream in fear. No! This can't be happening. I run to the door and desperately pound on the glass, begging for him to let me out. I sink to the floor, grabbing my head in my hands as my arms shake. No, no, no, no. Not this again. The walls seem to close in with every beat of my heart, I can barely breathe.

I'm trapped.