Seize(11)

“And according to you?” I ask as he drags me along the sidewalk and back into his apartment building.

He glances at me over his shoulder, a wicked grin spreading on his face. “I know that you belong only to me.”

There is no leash keeping me close, and yet, I let him take me away. I don’t know what compels me to go with him. Maybe it’s the shotgun still looming underneath his coat. Or maybe it’s the promise of a better future now that I know why?

Regardless, I’m whisked away again into the building that he calls home. I wonder if this time I’ll ever come out again. This thought jerks my mind back into action and out of the shocked state that I was in.

I pull my hand away. “Hold on, where are we going?”

“Somewhere.”

“No. I want to know. I don’t trust you anymore. Not after what you did …”

I frown, putting an emphasis on my anger. I feel like I was just thrown in a well and I’m slowly climbing up again. Daylight is in sight, all I have to do is grasp for freedom. Grasp for whatever tiny sliver of humanity he’s willing to give me.

“You don’t have a choice,” he says calmly then glances down at his shotgun hidden inside his coat.

After all of this, he’s still threatening me with pain.

“I knew it,” I say. “You’re still intent on hurting me.”

“Not in the way you think.” He holds out his hand. “Come with me.”

“No.” I lean away from him. “Why would I ever want to go with you? What in the world would I gain? I’ve already lost my freedom, my family, and my best friend. What more can I lose?”

“Your life.”

“Are you telling me that you would kill me if I didn’t listen?”

“I might.”

I swallow. I didn’t peg him to be that type of person. But I can tell that he means business.

“Or they will,” he says. “We’re not safe here. This is a public hallway; we need to get out of sight.” He steps forward and before I can walk backward, he’s already hooked his arm around mine. “Now, c’mon.” He drags me through the hallway.

“No!”

“If you come now, I promise I won’t hurt you … at least, not in a way you won’t like.”

“Why should I believe you?”

He stops in his tracks and looks back at me. “Because I need you. I won’t kill you, but I could …” His voice chokes up a bit. “I could hurt you if I wanted to. If you ran away again …” He clears his throat. His voice thickens as he says, “You will learn to trust me again.”

“I lost faith in you the moment I remembered that you stood there and forced me to witness Ashley being brutalized by those monsters. You’re no better than them,” I snarl.

“I agree. That is why I’m doing all of this.” He narrows his eyes. “I will make this all go away.”

I snort. “Yeah, just like all those doctors at the institution. They thought they could make it go away, too.”

“I can’t change the past,” he says, “but I will change our future. Starting right now.”

He pulls me through the hallway. Even with a gunshot wound, he’s still stronger than I am. It’s like the wound has no effect on him. I struggle, but he manages to pull me into the elevator. I try to get out, but he’s quicker with pressing the buttons, and as the door closes, I feel the barrel of his shotgun press against my shoulder.

“You wouldn’t …” I hiss.

“I would. A bullet to the shoulder won’t kill you. Sure, it will hurt all right; I know so myself.” He laughs as if it’s funny that he just was shot by one of his buddies.

“But you’ll survive.” He grabs my shoulder and turns me around to face him. “I’ll do whatever is necessary to keep you close to me.”

“Even if I’m close to you physically, you will never, never, claim my heart again,” I growl.

Then I spit in his face. I felt the urge so I went with it.

All the bubbled up anger bursts out through my mouth. “You’re disgusting. I hate you.”

He fishes a handkerchief from his pocket and wipes the spit from his face, smiling the entire time.

“Dirty little fairy … I guess I’ll have to punish you for that behavior.” He smiles wickedly. “The more you say never … the harder I’ll try to convince you of the opposite.”

He comes closer, lowering the gun on his side, but pushing it further into my flesh upwards. “I will make you love me, whether you like it or not. One way or another. You will writhe on my cock, undulate under my tongue, and scream my name, begging me for love. Oh, yes … I’ll make you beg all right. Forever and ever … until you’ll want nothing more than me. Not even freedom itself will measure up. And you know what else? Like you, I will never, ever, give up.”