Kissable Assassin

Chapter 12

“I stand in front of the mirror, and look at myself, and I don’t make a sound, but my eyes scream out ‘help’. And I start to struggle to hold myself back from thrusting my head straight through the fucking glass.”

She had long, dark brown hair that swung as she tossed her head around and large hazel eyes that I saw through her wide, scared gaze. Her small nose and pink cheeks are dotted in freckles and her nails are chipped with pink polish. Her knuckles are white, seeing as she was clawing at Cathar's forearm as he pressed the butcher knife's blade against her skin.

"Leave me alone!" She shrieks in desperation.

"Shut up!" Cathar demands. "Chris, you take her!" He yells with a thrust toward him. Chris catches her and restrains her easily. It takes everything I have not to break from Sean and help her. She's so much like me when I was kidnapped- screaming, crying, pain. And when I do loose it and break from Sean's embrace, I run over and cover her with my body. This only receives me a blow to the head.

"Get away from her!" I shout.

"Someone's feisty tonight, now aren't they?" Cathar teases cruelly, "Get off of her. This isn't your concern.” My fist comes around behind me and meets with his face.

He seems to go into shock for a moment, but then he becomes angry and yanks me away with a final jerk of his arms. Screaming, I thrash in his grip, almost as helpless as the girl had been. "You seem to want to get hurt, don't you? Well, tonight, you get what you want! Chris, you take care of the girl! She sleeps with you for now. Sean, go back to bed. It'll be empty for the time being," Cathar orders. I give Sean a final look of desperation before Cathar carries me off, handling my writhing with ease.

**********Sean**********

After another volley of screams, Adrianne stumbles into my room. I immediately spring up, taking in her cuts and red marks that would soon become bruises. She collapses in my arms when I reach her. She's crying so hard, she can't even talk. But I don't need to ask her what happened, so I shush her and carry her to my bed. She squeals in agony but doesn't move. She stays on her back, even though I know all too well she always sleeps on her side.

I scan her over, taking in the damage. Her arms and legs are already dotted with black and blue bruises that vary in size and depth, with more coming. She has blood trickling from her calf, which has slits running in criss-crosses up and down it. Her only other cut is a quick, easy slash across her cheek, one that will heal easily with time. But with the other damage, she would be in pain for weeks.

"Sh-sh-Sean?" She stutters in an uneasy whisper.

"Shhh," I shush her. Even talking hurt her, as I could easily see. And as I look closer, her eye was beginning to swell and a bump was forming on her jaw. "Just go to sleep," I tell her. A noise comes from her, indicating that she was giving her consent. I lie down next to her, but don't dare touch her do to her pain. But she scoots closer to me, drawing in a sharp breath of agony as she does so. She rests her head on my chest, but I don't dare touch her in her state. I don't know if she falls asleep or passes out, but it's seconds before her eyes are closed.

**********Adriane**********

All I could feel was pain. After I rested my head on Sean's chest, black scorched the edges of my vision, and I gave into it. My dreams were haunted by the pain- Cathar slamming me against the walls like a rag dog, pulling my hair, smacking me, cutting me, beating me. Every time I talked, he would give me a slash on my calf. When I protested, I got a slash on my cheek. When I wake up, I put my hand on my eye, to find it swollen.

It shouldn't be such an ordeal, going through the pain. I've gone through it before. But for some reason, each fresh hurt that Cathar had brought me, was horrible. And it wasn't just physical, it was emotional as well. Each time he slammed me into the wall, each time he smacked me, each time he beat me, I remembered a time when Zac did that too. And I could hear the girl in the other room, screaming like I had when Chris was with me.

Sean's starts stirring, and I quickly put my head down and pretend I was still asleep. I didn't want to talk about it. Not that he would pressure me into it, but I didn't want to be in a situation like that at the moment. But I knew it would have to happen whenever I decide to be awake. So I become dead to the world again as he wakes up. My head is still rested on his chest. I feel his hand on my cheek and I can't help but lean against it. He lifts my face up so he can see it. I hear him hold his breath. He probably sees my eye. Or another bruise on my face.

"I really think you should stay still," Sean mutters.

"What's the good in that? Cathar will want me to do something soon enough," I look down with a murmur.

"I can say you're unconscious," He suggests.

"Do you really think that would work? He'd probably smack me awake! Sean, he beat me last night. He hit me, smashed me, raped me, slapped me, cut me, and drew this on my back!" I yell as I turn with pain and lift my shirt up. I hear Sean's sharp intake of breath.

"Oh my God," He whispers.

Upon my back is a thinly traced, although painful, intricate design with words like tramp and slut and whore and bitch and skank inside circles that Cathar made with his knife. Around the circles is a series lines that spread across my upper and lower back and shoulders. Cathar made me see it in the mirror.

" He's not going to care if I'm unconscious," I argue as I lay back down. "I'm used to it," I mutter.

"That doesn't matter! And I'm fixing you right now!" He gets up and leaves the room, leaving me to fend for myself.

But he comes back, arms filled with water, a roll a bandages, a bottle of pills, and some antiseptic.

"I don't need that," I protest. It makes me look weak, needing medical help.

"Yes you do. Now turn onto your stomach," He deadpans.

I roll my eyes, knowing how this will work.

"Fine...whatever," I say as I 'turn onto my stomach' like the good girl I am. He lifts up my shirt again, and I'm reminded of his warm hands making the small circles on my back.

He wraps the bandages around my torso, covering the design. But Cathar will probably rip them off on sight.

"Okay, you can roll back over," He whispers softly. When I do, he holds out a glass of water to me. I see the pills he holds out to me. One is a small, round red one; another is a red and white capsule, and another is a white oval.

**********

I'm very aware of Sean's arms wrapped around me. Because of the pain it brings. Pain broke me out of my daze. Not blinding pain, but still pain. His arms had circled around my waist, his hands on the small of my back. He stares me right in the eyes, and an entire conversation passes between this simple intense gaze.

"Cathar's been drinking," He states when he enters the kitchen.

"Is that bad?" I ask.

"Very. He doesn't drink without getting drunk. And when he's drunk, he's violent," He explains.

"I don't think he'll do anything to me for a while..." I trail off.

"But he has..."

The girl's scream echoes through the home. I immediately jump down and run to his room, unable to stop myself, Sean unable to stop me either. I shove open the door and feast my eyes upon the sight of Cathar snapping cords across the naked girl's skin, every single one followed with a scream. The cords look like bungee cords, and every time they hit her, they add a bloody laceration.

Until he passes out cold on the floor.

I saw through the bungee cords desperately with my knife until she's free from the bonds. She can hardly stand from the lacerations on her legs, wrists, and shoulders. I slowly struggle to help her up and practically carry her on my back out of the room.

And we're all energy-less from fighting either emotional pain, physical pain, or both.

That's how we fall asleep.