Short Stories Collection

My Heart's Imprisonment

I woke to the smell of damp concrete and mildew filling my nose. Slowly cracking my eyes open I was greeted by darkness and shadows, the only light faint from somewhere above my head. I struggled to pull myself into a sitting position, my head pounded and my vision swam with even the barest of movements. Closing my eyes against the discomfort, I breathed through my nose and finally made it upright despite the protests of my body.

As I moved, I heard chains dragging and realized something was clasped around my ankles. I was shackled; chained and bound like an animal, the metal links held fast to a hoop embedded in the wall behind me.

My mind raced as the memories of how I had ended up here flashed through my mind. Image after image reminding me of how stupid and naive I had been. I shouldn't have trust him, a man as powerful as he would abandon anyone to save himself. I shouldn't have expect any different, disregarded the promises as they were made and ignored his advances. How ignorant I had been to believe he had actually cared for me, a lowly poor girl from a broken home.

Sebastian had saved me from my sad excuse of a life and given me a reason to keep going. He had appeared to be the hope that I needed, until he left. Gone without a word or a note. Just disappeared without a trace, abandoning me to bury my mother alone with the priest.

Why would he do that to me?

The day I buried my mother and Sebastian had disappeared was the day the men had first come for me. Telling me that Sebastian needed to be punished and I would pay the price for him, they had tried to kill me then. I managed to escape and have spent the last two weeks fleeing and hiding. But yet here I was, chained. Kidnapped and most likely would be killed any minute now.

I squinted my eyes and attempted to see the space around me. Looking up I saw a tiny window which let in a small amount of moonlight and bars forming a large cage around me. The sound of chains rattling to my right drew my attention and I turned my head to track the source. Obscured by shadows was a man, the dim light allowing me to see his dark tailored suit and polished shoes.

"Hello? Are you alive?" I whispered to the man, afraid of alerting my captors.

The man slowly turned his head to face me and my breath caught in my throat as I took in his handsome features. His face was bruised and bloody but I knew those eyes, had kissed that mouth.

"Sebastian?" I asked in disbelief.

Regret filled his eyes as he took in the sight of me, distorting his beautiful features.

"I tried to protect you, love." He rasped.

"You failed," came a voice as darkness consumed me.

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A/N: Word Count for the story 500 exactly and was written for the #AimToEngage2019 DangerousLove Prompt - Locked Up

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~SM~