“Why didn’t you tell me? You said you were divorced.”
“I would be if it were possible. Riley Murphy isn’t married. Morgan is married,” I replied, omitting the last name.
“Ry, you can’t just run away and change your name. That doesn’t make you not married.”
I knew this was a crummy idea. I knew he wouldn’t understand. I stood up and dried off, and he stepped out. We went to bed, and both sat up under the covers while our conversation continued.
“Why did you marry him, Ry?” Dawson continued with his investigation.
“I am not sure how much I should tell you, Dawson,” I admitted.
“Tell me everything,” he required.
I took a deep breath and he reached for my hand. I snuggled up in his arm. It was easier for me to talk to him without looking at him.
“I didn’t want to marry him. I didn’t even know him. He paid my father thirty thousand dollars for me. He came to our trailer on my eighteenth birthday to claim me.
He is a very rich, powerful man.”
Dawson abruptly moved from the bed and paced the bedroom floor. I only watched while he regained his composure.
“He bought you?” he asked in disbelief.
“Yes.”
“Ry, that is as illegal as you can get. I will have that bastard committed so fast his head will spin.”
“Dawson. No. You can’t do that. Promise me you won’t go anywhere near him let alone try anything at all.
You don’t know what you are dealing with. He will come for me.”
“You can’t hide, looking over your shoulder your entire life.”
Oh yes I can…
He sat back down and pulled me back to him, not wanting me to shut down and stop talking.
“Keep talking,” he said and kissed my fingertips.
“I can’t. You keep asking the questions. It’s easier that way.”
“I need to know what he did to you, Ry. Did he hit you?”
“Yes, often,” I admitted.
“Why?”
“Because he is crazy, I don’t know why. I tried to be who he wanted me to be, but he always found something to punish me for. He got off on it.”
“He hit you to punish you?”
“No, he usually only did that when I mouthed off something that he didn’t like.”
“How did he punish you?” Dawson asked, and I knew that he already knew the answer to his question and just needed to hear it from me.
“He used sex to punish me or so he said. He did it because he is a sick bastard who got off on it.”
“What did he do, Ry?”
“Dawson, you really don’t want the details. He did everything imaginable, unimaginable would be the better term,” I decided.
“I need to know, Riley. Just think about one time that he punished you. Why were you being punished? walk me through it. Help me understand.”
I took a deep breath and thought about it. Maybe if I told him he would finally realize that I was too broke to fix. I contemplated a time that I had been punished. I had no idea it was going to be so real for me to talk about it.
The dreams were a part of my subconscious. It was inevitable for them to be so real. Talking about it wide awake was a different story altogether.
“One afternoon when he was home, he was in his office, and I wanted to ask him if I could go somewhere.”
“You had to ask permission to go somewhere?” he asked, running his finger up and down my arm.
“Yes. When I was growing up, I used to go to the local library for some solace, especially after they took Justin away. I tapped on his door, and he told me to come in. I was afraid to interrupt him because I wasn’t allowed in his office.”
“Drew, I was wondering if it would be okay if I went to the library here,” I asked.
“Why?” he asked annoyed.
“I like to read, and I like spending time in the library,” I answered.
“No. Not yet. I will let you know when you deserve that privilege.”
“He dismissed me, and I left disappointed. I lived in an eight thousand square foot house, and had plenty to do, but I just needed out,” I explained.
Dawson didn’t speak and continued to listen.
Chapter 8
“That night after I had retired to my room…”
“You didn’t share a room,” he interrupted.
“No, I never slept in his room, but he did stay in mine on occasion, but not often. Anyway, he had sent someone out to buy me an e-reader. That was when they were fairly new, and all that you could really do is read on them. He brought it to me and told me that he had already downloaded enough books to keep me busy for quite some time.”
“Did he know what you liked to read?”
I blew out a puff of air. “He didn’t care, but just wait, it gets better. First I had to do things to even get the e-reader.”
“Like what,” Dawson wanted to know. He wanted details, and wasn’t letting me maneuver around them.
“Well, that particular night was actually mild. He made me undress and bend over his lap so that he could spank me for coming into his office.”