Cruel Trust

Nineteen

I woke up at around 11:30 on Thanksgiving. Andrew had spent the last few nights at his condo since he was going to be spending most of the holiday season with me as promised. He'd be over in about half an hour. Julia had to go to her grandmother's, but she would be there by 3:00 and then we could eat. I threw on some leggings and a quarter zip pullover I had borrowed from Andrew and never given back, piling my hair into a huge, messy bun onto the top of my head.

Getting the kitchen ready for our feast, I pulled the pots and pans out of the cabinets but heard a knock at the door. I just assumed it was Andrew or Julia arriving early and yelled for them to come in.

"Hey, I'm glad you're here!" I called with my head and shoulders still inside the cabinet. As I stood, I added, "I could really use some hel—" 

Standing right over me, looking down with fire in his eyes was Liam. I gasped and fell backward against the wall onto my ass. Liam laughed as I scrambled to my feet. I backed up against the laundry room door until I felt the doorknob jab into the small of my back.

"What in the hell are you doing here?" I hissed.

"Oh, Charlotte. Come on...you aren't at least a little bit..." His grin was wicked as he finished, putting his hand on my waist, "excited to see me?"

I recoiled from his touch and attempted to turn the doorknob, but he saw me and grabbed my wrist.

"Uh-uh-uh," he scolded and tightened his grip.

"Liam, please. Please let go," I begged. I hated how desperate I sounded, but I was terrified of the look in his eyes. Like he'd do whatever he had to in order to get what he wanted.

"Come on, Charlotte. You can stop playing hard to get. I've already had you once," he said, putting his cheek on the side of my head. 

Disgusted, I leaned my head away from him, but he put his other hand on the side of my face and pulled it closer to his, crushing my jawbone, making me whimper under the pressure. 

"Andrew and Julia will be here soon. You won't want to be here when they come in. It won't be good for you," I seethed, my voice only breaking a little.

Liam laughed again and gripped my cheeks with one of his hands. "Oh, Andrew has been unavoidably detained...he won't get here for hours. And Julia...well, let's just say we won't need to worry about her anymore."

"What did you do to them!?" I bucked against him, trying to get him to loosen his grip.

Liam kept his hold on my cheeks, my tears running over his fingers. He was squeezing my wrist so hard I was afraid he was going to break it.

"Liam, please, let go of my wrist. You're hurting me."

Liam loosened his grip but didn't let me go. My eyes cut to the right, searching for my phone. Maybe if I could activate Siri, I could call for help. Where was it? I had sat it on the stovetop when I was digging in the cabinets. Liam looked at me, and I tried to cut my eyes back, but it was too late. He followed my gaze and scoffed.

"Looking for this?" he taunted, pulling it out of his pocket and smashing it on the tile floor. I gasped, and my hand flew to my mouth, fresh tears stinging my eyes.

"What the hell, Liam?" I snapped before I could stop myself.

He stepped toward me and slapped me across the face in one fast move. I tried to push against him, feeling the welt rise on my cheek. He held me against the wall and kicked the pieces of my broken phone behind the trash can.

"Charlotte...the more you struggle, the worse it will be for you, I promise you that." he growled.

I wiped my tears from my face with my free hand. "What are you talking about, Liam? And what happened to Andrew and Julia?"