Caged Temptress | 18+

| 10 |

pernicious (adj): having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way.

EVA PETROV

The cuts on my back sting as all the drunk VIP guests of Infierno brush past me.

I called in sick for rehearsals this week so I was stuck on serving for the next two weekends. I guess it is more convenient to be covered up for a while.

David said the slashes were shallow and would heal fast. He helped apply salve to each cut all week and bandaged them, but nothing really helped the stinging pain.

Having a low pain tolerance didn't help me at all either.

Every time I would move a little too much it felt like Damian's belt was coming down on my bare skin again. And he disappeared. Along with Chris, who David told me was probably dead.

I've never really felt any physical pain in my life until Damian took me.

Except for when I got my wisdom teeth taken out.

My parents never believed in corporal punishment and never laid a hand on me. No one ever had.

"Hey Eva, you okay?"

I look up to see Trey's hand on my shoulder and an angry man in front of me holding an empty glass. His shirt soaked with his drink.

The man looks furious but my brain is too fogged over to even attempt to apologize as Trey deals with the situation.

The man storms over to the nearest VIP room, pushing past each person in his way with a harsh shoulder.

I hear Trey's voice in my ear and feel his heavy hand on my shoulder, but its overpowered by the dull pain where my clothing presses into one of the cuts.

"I have to go refill," I force a smile to him and ignore his worried questions. I can't even be bothered to thank him as I hurry away towards the humidor.

I let my body sink down into a corner of the dimly lit room, hidden from the camera and any one passing by.

My box of cigars is mostly full.

I ran into that man without even realizing he was right in front of me.

I'm loosing my mind and I don't know how to stop all these thoughts from crowding my head. It's almost too painful.

When I think of how if I decided to stay at the club a little longer that night I wouldn't have seen what happened in that alley. If my driver parked a little closer to the club or if I walked a different way.

Maybe if I had gone to a different police station or maybe if I never stopped to look.

My family's lives wouldn't be threatened. I would still be on my path towards becoming a lawyer. I would stop criminals instead of helping them.

I would never have been hurt.

If I just didn't go out that night or if I didn't want to get back home early to study the next day.

If I decided to never move across the country to attend a top school or if I just decided to call 911 right away.

All of these thoughts feel pointless because in every question, I chose the wrong answer.