Mercy

Chapter 42

After the events of this evening my head was swimming in emotions. I had finally accepted the feelings that I had for Liam and I had managed to tell him how I felt. To be honest, I was almost still in shock that he hadn’t laughed in my face, but instead he told me he loved me too. I wrapped myself up in his bed sheet and headed to the bathroom to take a quick shower. I peered over my shoulder at his sleeping frame, a grin plastered to my lips. A soft sigh escaped me as I shut the bathroom door, so this is what complete happiness feels like. My makeup had officially melted off my face and I nearly screamed when I saw my reflection in the mirror. Thank god, the room had been dark, I never wanted him to see me looking like this. Quickly I turned on the hot water and climbed into the steaming water. Carefully I washed my body with his soap, the smell made me smile even more as I rubbed it over my skin. Everything about him made me smile. God, he had some crazy way with me, I thought as I rinsed his shampoo out of my hair and kicked off the water. I pulled a white fluffy towel out of the cabinet and wrapped it around myself. There looking back at me in the mirror was a whole different girl, as silly as that sounded. There was a light in my eyes and a goofy smile on my face that I hadn’t seen in years. This whole night I hadn’t thought once about my abuse or past and I felt so alive. Peeking out of the bathroom, I looked around for something for me to put on.  Digging through the top drawer I found one of Liam’s t-shirts; I quickly tugged it on before slipping back into bed with him. His arms instantly engulfing me like a warm blanket. It only took seconds before I felt myself slipping into sleep.

(..Nightmare..)

The front door slammed shut and I could hear the familiar deep voice of my parents ‘friend’. I was pretty sure he was their drug dealer but for some reason my parents liked to deny their usage. It was always a bad sign when he came over, his appearance usually meant that my parents were late in paying him. Those days usually ended in him dragging me from my room as punishment. My parents didn’t care about me, so this punishment was pointless. My heart began pounding as the voices grew louder. Then the heartbreaking sound of the thumping footsteps on the stairs made my curl into a ball under my bed. I begged with god to keep me safe and that he wouldn’t look for me under the bed. Devastation rocked me to my core as his icy blue eyes stared at me from the edge of the. “Tsk, tsk, tsk little lady. There is no hiding from me. You should know better.” His voice was calm and deep. His tone was so calm it made my stomach turn in fear. “Please….” I begged but before I could say another word he had dragged me from under the bed. His fingers wound through strands of my hair as he hoisted me onto the small bed. His other hand found its way to my throat, leaving me gasping for air. His icy eyes never left mine as he teasingly cut off my air supply. “Shame on you, princess.” Warm tears rolled down my cheeks as the lack of oxygen left me surrounded in darkness.

My body jolted up from the bed, a soft whimper escaping my lips. My sudden movement had Liam leaping up from his spot in a panic. “What’s wrong?” His deep voice still hoarse from sleep. I ran my hands over my face as I tried my best to calm myself back down. “I-I’m fine, just a dream…it was just a dream.” I mumbled, as I tried to convince myself I was okay. Liam’s arms wrapped around me, pulling to me to his chest. His embrace was heavenly and calmed my racing heart. “You sure your okay?” His voice full of concern as he nuzzled his nose into the crook of my neck. I let out a soft sigh, taking a moment to enjoy his touch. “Yea… it was just a bad dream. I’m okay.” I put on a fake smile, trying my best to comfort him. There was no denying the look of worry on his face. “Why don’t you hop in the shower, I am going to go and make me some coffee if that is okay?” Slowly, I pulled myself out of his arms and climbed over to the edge of the bed. “Shower huh? Do I smell that bad?” He asked, a playful grin replacing the look of worry. “Mmmm… maybe a little?” I teased, wrinkling my nose up at him. His jaw dropped as he grabbed me, pinning me to the bed. “Oh really? Why didn’t you invite me to your shower?” He nipped playfully at my bottom lip as he tugged gently on a damp piece of my hair resting on my shoulder. “Well you see… I didn’t want to scare you when you woke up. Trust me it was for the best.” I giggled as I tried to slip out of his grip. His messy hair and bright smile made him look so much younger, I had never seen such a playful side of him. I loved the spark in his eyes as he rolled around with me. He finally lifted himself off of me and climbed out of bed, my jaw dropping when I realized he was still butt naked. Quickly, I covered my eyes as my cheeks burned with embarrassment. A deep laugh filled the room, “Baby I think we are passed the whole being embarrassed about being naked.” He joked as he headed to the bathroom. I kept my hands over my eyes firmly until I heard the shower start. God, how could someone legally be so attractive? I thought to myself as I headed out of the room in search of the kitchen.

I took my time walking down the hallways, the house wasn’t very personal, it was almost cold. Everything was styled to perfection but there were no pictures or signs that the house was actually lived in. It was so pristine it didn’t seem real compared to the places that I grew up. After wandering the hallways and rooms for a good fifteen minutes I finally found my way to the kitchen. The huge room was lined with white marble counter tops. I let my hand glide against the cool marble as I looked around for the coffee pot, I finally spotted a fancy silver and black Keurig with a large assortment of coffee. Scanning over all the pods, I couldn’t believe how many different types of coffee someone could have. I settled on a dark mocha blend and watched as the fancy pot brewed a single cup for me.

As I watched the coffee brew I couldn’t help but zone in and out only to be snapped back to reality as someone cleared their throat behind me. A huge smile curled over my lips as I picked up my coffee and turned around to look at Liam. However, instead of Liam there stood an older man – his icy blue eyes locked on me. Instantly I felt the smile fall from my lips. “Well hello there, Miss Martinez, it’s been quite a long time; and aren’t you as lovely as ever. How in the world did you end up in my kitchen after all of these years?” His deep voice rang through the kitchen. My heart seemed to stop beating as I stared back into those eyes; the ones the belonged to the man who helped torture me all those years ago. I tried to speak but the words seemed to catch in my throat. Suddenly, I was snapped out of the trance as my coffee cup crashed to the floor in front of me. This had to be a nightmare, this couldn’t be real. As I stood barefoot in the hot coffee I begged with myself, “Wake up…please wake up…” Warm tears now cascading down my cheeks.

“Good morning, Dad. I see you’ve met…Sam? Sam what’s the matter?” I heard Liam’s voice and now I knew this had to be a nightmare. Did he just call him dad? I felt my body sway as I tried to grab onto the counter, only to feel myself slide down to the floor into the puddle of coffee.

This can’t be happening. This can’t be real.