Dont Let Me Drown

Chapter 1

My name is Valerie. I'm five feet and six inches. my eyes are crystal blue, and my skin is as milky white as you can get. My body is kind of slim but still curvy in all the right places, or so Kelly says. I live in the small town of Bellare. I live with my court-appointed guardian, Kelley. Tonight, is the weekly sex slave auction that I am forced to participate in against my will. I have already had my hair and nails done and I'm wearing a black silk dress, and it clings in all the right places to show off my "assets." She always wants me to look my best for the auctions. I hate dressing up. I take a deep breath. I know I should be used to this, but the auction always seems to give me a sense of fear. But to my Aunt Kelly, it's always about the money. Always. Why me? It's been like this since I was 7, and it's never gotten easier. As I come out of my thoughts, I hear a familiar voice say,
"One Million dollars!"
My head snapped up and there, in the middle of the room, stood Kanji, my childhood friend. No one else bid after that. He was smiling at me as he walked towards the stage after my Aunt had yelled,
"SOLD!"
He walked up on the stage as someone handed my chains to him. I must of had fear written on my face because he smiled at me in a calming manner. I relaxed almost instantly. My aunt looked at everyone else in the room.
"That concludes this week's auction. Thank you all for coming."
With that, everyone got up and left.

I look at Kanji confused.
"Why are you here?"
"I'll tell you later."
I nodded, and my vision started to fade as I felt a needle in my skin. I started to fall but I never hit the floor.

A few hours later, I woke up in a dark room. A few candles were glowing, nothing but silence coming from outside of the large metal door. I had noticed that there weren't any windows. I thought that was a little bit odd. Suddenly, the door opened and in walked a pale man. He had a malicious smile on his face as he walked my way. I whimpered and back up to the headboard of the bed. He grabbed my ankles and pulled me towards him grinning like a maniac. I screamed and struggled to get away. He was a lot stronger than me, considering I hadn't eaten in 3 days. I closed my eyes and waited for the inevitable to happen when suddenly, I felt him being pulled away from me. I opened my eyes to see Kanji throwing the guy out of the room. He walked over to me with concern in his eyes.
"Are you ok Val?"
I backed away from him scared, with tears in my eyes.
He got on the bed and held his arms out to me. I crawled over to him once I recognized him and he hugged me tightly as I silently cried.
"Shh. Its ok Val. I'm here. No one will ever hurt you while I'm here. I promise."
He rocked me till I stopped crying. He went to get up, but I held onto him tightly.
"D-Don't leave me. P-Please. I d-don't want to b-be alone."
He nodded as he grabbed a blanket and placed it over me, then wrapped his arms around me protectively, pulling me to his chest.
"I'll always be here Val. Go to sleep. I'll make sure nothing happens to you."
I fell asleep from being exhausted.

I was running. I knew something was chasing me, but I didn't know what. I just knew I had to run or it would get me. "Valerie!" I kept hearing someone calling my name, but it sounded so distant. I felt something attack me and I started thrashing to get away.
"NO! LET ME GO!"
"Val! Wake up!"
My eyes shot open as I screamed. I felt someone pull me to their chest and I let them as sobs wracked my body. When I was calm enough, I pulled away slowly to see who it was. It was Kanji and he was looking at me concerned.
"Val are you ok?"
I nod hesitantly.
"What was your dream about?"
I tremble as I remember. It was a memory of one of my escape attempts. Kanji holds me close to him and rubs my back soothingly.
"It's ok Val. Shh. I'm here. You're safe now."
I keep crying and start to have a panic attack when I can't calm down.
"Val. Baby look at me. You are safe now and I won't let anything happen to you, but I need you to breathe please."
I slowly took deep breaths and let them out. I watched Kanji's face as a girl walked into his room wearing very little clothing. She glared at me.
"Who is this whore baby?"
I started to cry again as I buried my face in his chest and he growls.
"How dare you address your Luna that way! Guards! Take her to the dungeons!"
He hugs me tightly as the guards take her away as she struggles.
"It's ok baby. Don't listen to her."
"Sh-she is right though. I-I am n-nothing b-but a whore. My aunt and my family tell me I'm not good for anything else." I'm sobbing by the end.
I whimper as he growls.
"Never say that again! Never! Do you hear me?!"
I flinch and put my arms up as I start to panic. My chest constricts and I can't breathe at all. My breathing starts to quicken and Kanji grabs my face. I struggle to get away from him but he holds me tight. "Let.... g-go...p-please..." I whisper as tears fall. I feel his hands leave my skin and I scrambled to the corner and rocked as I cried and whimpered. Kanji slowly walks towards me showing me his hands. "I'm not gonna hurt you baby. Ok? I'm just gonna hug you." He said soothingly as he wraps his arms around me and nuzzles me. "I'm sorry for yelling baby. I didn't mean to frighten you at all. I just don't see how someone as beautiful as you can be so cruel to herself. Why would you think you are a whore? You are nothing of the sort." "Because my aunt and family and everyone says I'm not good for anything else. I'm sorry." I whimper as I clutch his shirt tightly as I stain it with more tears. "Baby that's just not true. You are perfect just the way you are, no matter what scars you hold physically or mentally. I will always be here. I won't leave you alone this time."
My mind flashed back to the day Kanji left.
"Kanji! No go! You pwomised!" I hung on him, me being only 5 and he 9, as I cried my heart out.
"I have to go munchkin. I have no choice. I will be back and when I do come back, you will never be alone ever again." I cried as he got in his parent's car and they drove away. My guardian chuckled. "Now there is no one left to protect you, brat. Now you are all mine."
I whimper as I remembered the promise he made. "Y-You c-came b-back just for me?"
"Of course, I did munchkin."
I gasp at his nickname he always used when we were little. He smiles as he leans in to kiss me. I meet him halfway and kiss him shyly. He deepens the kiss and I gasp. He takes that moment to explore my mouth and I moan softly. He pulls me close when a knock sounds at the door causing him to growl in annoyance. He gets up and places me on the bed before walking to the door opening it slightly and whispering to the person on the other side. He nods and closes the door. He looks at me with a worn-out smile. "Baby? Would you like to come to my office with me? I have some work to do and I don't want to leave you alone." I looked down blushing noticing I was only in a shirt and underwear. He chuckles and walks to a closet. He comes back out with a pair of jeans, a pink t-shirt and some undergarments for me. I blush and take them shyly and look around. "Wh-where is the bathroom?" He smiles and points to a huge wooden door on the other side of the room. I nodded my thanks and walked quickly to it as I shut the door. I looked at myself in the mirror. Bruises dotted my face, some black, some blue and some yellow. I sighed and looked for a razor. I found one and broke it pulling out one of the blades. I hesitated before I dug it into my skin and pulled it across. I winced at the pain when the door busted open and I cut myself again accidentally. I gulped as I looked at Kanji. His eyes, they were black. I didn't know what to do. I just backed away until I hit the bathtub and fell towards it. I expected the pain to come but I never felt it. Instead I felt arms around me. He pulled away to look at him with his green eyes full of sadness and worry. "Why baby?" I looked at him confused. "Why would you cut yourself?"