“What happened?”
“Nothing,” she stated as she grabbed her Pop Tarts and walked over to the bed to sit down.
I looked her over to see if I was missing anything. She looked the same as she did the night before when I’d brought her dinner. Her hair was in a ponytail at the back of her neck, and she wore a white t-shirt (that I tried my best not to look through) and baggy sleep pants. Clothes I was able to bring down to her after three months of being in this hellhole.
Then I noticed the skin around her neck was blotchy.
I grabbed the glass of milk and walked over to the bed, setting the glass down on the side table before I took a seat next to her.
“If nothing happened, why is your neck red?”
She lifted a hand to her neck and turned her body.
“Probably because I’m hot.”
She was lying. I didn’t understand why she always insisted on lying to me.
“Sophia, just tell me, please. I saw Donicko walking out. What did he want? Did he do that to you?” I asked, holding down my anger as I pointed to her neck.
She stared down at her hands, holding onto her unopened Pop Tart.
“I’m never going to see my family again, am I?” she asked quietly.
I let out a breath and sighed, looking away from her to collect my thoughts, because how do you answer something like that?
“I promise you, Sophia,” I said, looking back at her. “One day, I will get you out of here.”
A tear rolled down her cheek, and I hated the fucking sight. I didn’t know what to do or how to comfort her.
“What did he say to you?” He had to have said something to trigger the thoughts of her family again. It had been a while since she’d brought them up.
She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. “It doesn’t matter. Let’s talk about something else. What are your plans for the day?”
I shook my head, annoyed, because this was a game for her. She knew I wouldn’t back down, but she’d try to change the subject anyway.
“Sophia, just tell me what happened.”
She snapped her head my way. “Why do you even want to know?” she asked angrily.
“I just do. I’m not going to stop asking, so you might as well just let it out. We go through this all the time. I need to know.”
And I did. It fueled my hatred. My need for revenge.
She shrugged and tossed her food on the side table before pulling herself back on the bed to sit against the headboard.
“What’s done is done. There’s nothing you can do about it, so just leave it be.”
I furrowed my brow. “What’s done is done?” I questioned. “What exactly did he do?”
I looked down at her neck again and leaned in close. The closer I got, the better I was able to see the marks. Rage grew in the pit of my stomach, and I wasn’t able to contain it.
I flew off the bed and started pacing the room, gritting my teeth as I spoke my next words.
“Did he choke you?”
She brought her hand up to her throat and rubbed it while shaking her head.
“Then why do you have welts the shape of fingers on your neck?”
Tears rolled down her face again, and she wiped them away. “He didn’t come to me this morning,” she stated as she furrowed her brow and examined her hands. “He came in last night. He said you’d be out late and he wanted to chat.”
I kept pacing as she talked, absorbing everything she was saying.
“And?” I asked, looking her over.
She looked up at me with a blank expression.
“He said he was here to test out his merchandise. He didn’t do much talking.”
I jolted back at her words and placed my hands on my hips as I stopped pacing. We stared at each other as the realization of what she was saying finally hit.
All the rage that had built in my core exploded, and I couldn’t hold it in. I ran my fingers through my hair then turned toward the wall and punched a hole through the drywall, letting out a scream of frustration.
I pulled my arm back and shook out my hand.
“Mason!” she yelled as she ran to my side. “Please don’t. It’s not worth it.”
I turned and looked at her to see the tears rolling down her face.
This was who I’d become. I caused this. Wasn’t I doing the same thing to other women? Wasn’t I using and abusing them just like Donicko was Sophia?
I spun away from her, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. I needed to get myself together. This wasn’t about me. This was about her.
Turning toward her, I grabbed her and pulled her in to my arms, wrapping them around her tightly.
“I’m so sorry,” I breathed, holding back my own tears of frustration. “I promise I’ll get you out of here, Sophia. I’ll find a way. I won’t let him touch you again.”
Twenty-four
Mason
Light penetrated through my lashes as I slowly opened my eyes. I quickly shut them, letting out a groan.
"Good afternoon, sunshine."