Angels & Sinners: The Motor City Edition (19 page)

A breath hissed out from between my lips, my eyes widening as he popped the button on his jeans and undid the zipper. He pulled himself out, stroking a few times, and I watched in fascination. I swallowed loudly when his hand glided back between my legs, and he pumped in one finger and then two.

“And you feel like you’re ready to be fucked, all nice and wet for me.” And then he was at my entrance, pushing forward and inside of me in one quick, hard thrust. My legs wrapped tightly around his waist as my head tilted backward. My back was rubbing up against the brick wall every time he pulled back and pushed in once again, which would probably leave marks, but in that moment, I couldn’t have cared less. What Austin was doing to my body was so rough and hot, something so unexpected and dangerous, but yet thrilling. I was no voyeur, but I had to admit, the chance someone catching us at any moment made it even more exciting.

He pushed on my hips, moving them into the rhythm he was looking for, and I happily complied as I sunk my nails into his back, urging him on as he pounded into me. “Austin,” I breathed out, tilting my head sideways, “I’m so close.”

“Hold on, baby. I’m almost there. Wait for me.” My orgasm was building, his pace now frenzied, and I could tell by the way that his eyes rolled slightly backward and his lips pressed together tightly, that he was almost there too.

We both fell hard, right at the same time, finding our release together. Our breathing mixed as it slowed to a steady pace.

I wished that I could say we had many moments like this, so totally connected and as one, but I couldn’t. Those chances were ripped away from me that night, not long after that euphoric feeling, such complete bliss.

That was the night my life as I knew it ended.

CHAPTER 8

Now

Blinking twice, I opened my eyes to find that damn bowl in my line of sight, the contents still sitting untouched. No matter how much I wanted to end my stay, I couldn’t do it. I’m not sure how long it had been since she brought it down, but I hadn’t seen him at all. I hadn’t heard him either. I wondered if he would come back. What if he didn’t? Would I be left here to rot and wither away?

My stomach rolled, the emptiness causing me to dry heave, and I ran toward the toilet, though I knew nothing would come up. I was still tempted to eat what was in that bowl, but something wouldn’t let me. I pushed from my knees to roll over onto my back, staring up at the exposed pipes and insulation, which didn’t do much to warm the room. With the thin blanket I was given being my only source of heat, there had been many days and nights where my teeth chattered so forcefully, I was surprised one hadn’t chipped.

I was so lost in counting the silver pipes that I didn’t hear the telltale sign of the door unlocking and footsteps on the stairs. A foot nudged gently into my shoulders and I straightened myself, my shoulders dropping when I realized who it was.

“Hi,” he whispered, a tiny smile on his round face. He still had that baby quality to him even though he told me repeatedly that he was five; he was a big boy.

“Well, hello, handsome.” He giggled when I stuck my tongue out at him and I kept that laugh going when I reached out to tickle him. I loved that sound. I think it might be one of the reasons I was still sticking around. They never hurt him, not that I could tell anyway. He seemed like a happy kid, so at least there was that. But I looked forward to his visits, no matter how few and far between they were.

“What are you doing?” he asked after returning his breathing to normal and dropping down to sit cross-legged next to me on the cold, damp floor.

“Not too much,” I replied, trying to keep the sarcasm from dripping. He didn’t come down often. I think only when he was able to sneak down, so I tried to forget that I was locked away down here when he did. He liked to play pretend, so I guess I could too.

“Wanna color?” He made a silly face when I pressed a finger to my lips, pretending to think about it. I was his coloring buddy, and he always brought supplies downstairs with him.

“I guess so. Here, let’s move closer to the light so we can see.” I pushed aside the blanket on my mattress and sat him in the middle. “How’s school going, buddy?”

“Good, but Jack’s a bully. He said I’m a fat bunny.”

“A fat bunny?” I repeated as he emptied all of the crayons out and pushed a pad of blank paper toward me. “What’s wrong with fat bunnies? They’re so cute and squishy.”

He made a face and I bit down on my lip to keep myself from laughing. “I’m not a fat bunny. And he won’t stop.”

“Then tell him you don’t like it and if he doesn’t leave you alone, tell your teacher. All right, Sammy?” I ruffled his sandy brown hair and he nodded his head once.

“’kay, can you draw an elephant? That’s my favorite.”

“Hmm . . . an elephant? I don’t know. That’s a pretty hard one.” I picked up a gray crayon and he watched in amazement as I went to work. Drawing had always sort of been my hobby, I could spend hours sketching away in a notepad. Growing up, my different creations littered my bedroom walls. Most of them were pretty good, but Sammy was in awe when it came to the pictures that I drew for him. “How’s this?” I asked, tilting my head to look down at my drawing.

His smile was wider than I had ever seen it as he carefully took it out of my hands. “I love it,” he whispered. “Thank you.” He hugged me tight and I closed my eyes as his little arms wrapped around me, gleaning some sense of normalcy from this gentle human contact. The ache in my stomach had lessened while he kept me busy, but I knew it would return full force once he left.

“I gotta go.” He crouched down and I helped him scoop up his crayons and paper. I almost asked if he could leave them so I could have something to pass the time, but I didn’t want him to get in trouble. “Bye.” He waved his small hand at me before tiptoeing back up the stairs and then I collapsed onto the bed.

He never called me anything because I never told him my name. Why bother? I always dodged the question when he asked and eventually, he stopped asking. I was
The Whore
and nothing more. No other name mattered.

It wasn’t until he was upstairs with the door shut quietly behind him that I realized the bowl that she had left for me was empty.

CHAPTER 9

Then

“How could you?” I heard myself repeating over and over again. Austin’s mouth was moving, his blue eyes concerned, but I couldn’t hear anything he was saying. I shook my head. “I don’t understand.” My vision blurred, my surroundings coming in and out of focus. I pressed my hands against my ears, trying to stop the buzzing that had taken over, blocking out all sound.

“What’s happening to me?”

But I didn’t get a response or if I did, I couldn’t hear it. Austin reached in my direction but I jerked away, no matter how much I willed my body to throw itself into his arms. I just wanted him to hold me and tell me everything was going to be all right.

But I couldn’t force myself to, it’s like I wasn’t in control of my own body.

“Time to wake up, Emmy.”

My surroundings turned black, the darkness slowly seeping in, and Austin faded away, my heartbeat quickening and my stomach knotting as he slipped into the darkness.

CHAPTER 10

Now

“Snap out of it, Emmeline!” I shrieked, trying to contain my breathing as I blinked my eyes open, willing away the scene of losing Austin that had just played out in my head. It was just my imagination, playing cruel, cruel tricks on me. I couldn’t focus on that right now.

I scoured the basement floor, looking for any signs of the food that had been in that bowl. Maybe he dumped it out? Kids liked to make messes for no reason, right? I used the sliver of sunlight that was fading away to continue my search but I couldn’t find anything. The panic was slowly taking control of my body but I pushed it down. I had to help Sammy.

I ran up the stairs, ignoring the ache in my legs as it increased with each step. I slapped my hands against the worn wood of the door, pounding repeatedly. “Let me out! You have to help Sammy! He ate that food. Please,” I yelled until my throat was raw and my hands were stinging from the impact. But no one came. I had to think of some way to help him.

I pulled on the door handle, wiggling it, and my stomach dropped when it easily turned. My breathing picked up as the door popped open. This was my chance to escape, the chance that I had been waiting for every day as my time here piled up, but I couldn’t leave Sammy behind. He could be dying from whatever she put in that bowl that was meant for me. My conscience wouldn’t let me.

My bare feet slid on the faded linoleum in the kitchen, and I skid to a stop when I saw all of the cabinet doors open, the insides completely bare. The sterile white counters were clear and my head spun as I turned and headed toward the living room. I had a feeling I knew what I would see there, but I couldn’t quite make myself believe it.

Gone were the bland beige furniture and the few pictures that had adorned the walls. A thin white blanket, folded in a perfect square in the center of the room was all they’d left.

“They left me here to die,” I whispered to myself, my whole body shaking at the thought as my stomach rolled at the fact that these people just up and moved, not caring that I was locked away in their basement with no food or water to survive.

“You’re free, Emmy. You’re free.” My voice echoed throughout the empty house as I came to the realization. My freedom is what I needed to focus on.

I took one step toward the front door, my freedom just that much closer, when I heard a noise from the hallway and turned just in time to see a small, sandy brown head dart past me. Confusion slammed into me but I couldn’t think about the why’s, I needed to make sure he was okay.

“Sammy, stop! Please wait.”

He whipped the door open, not once looking back, and I scurried after him, struggling to keep up. The sun stung my eyes and I blinked furiously until they adjusted. My feet crunched over the leaves scattered in the yard as I spun around in a circle, searching for Sammy.

“Buddy, this isn’t the time to play hide and seek. Please come here.”

A noise caught my attention and I spotted him across the street.

“Sam, stay right there. I’m coming to get you. All right, buddy? I’ll draw you a picture, just wait right there!”

He started to move once again and I picked up my pace, sprinting so quickly out into the street that I didn’t see the car coming and once I did, it was too late.

CHAPTER 11

Now

“Is she . . . ”

“Go get someone!”

“I can’t believe this is happening . . . ”

My eyes fluttered open, a bright white light blinding me.
So, this is what the other side looked like.
Gone were the cement walls that had held me captive for so long, replaced by sterile white ones. It actually didn’t look too different. I tried to move my head, but it felt too heavy, so I had to scan the room, as far as my eyes could see anyway.

Someone came into view and my heartbeat sped up, my stomach growing tight as my body overflowed with so many different emotions. I never thought I would see her again.

“Oh, honey.” My mom, her dark hair slightly grayer than when I last saw her, the wrinkles in her forehead deeper, grabbed onto my hand that lay limply at my side. “This can’t be happening,” she breathed, before pressing a kiss to the top of my hand. “This can’t be happening,” she repeated again, a tear dripping down her cheek.

I wanted to reach up and wipe it away, but my body wouldn’t cooperate. What was going on? Shouldn’t I be able to move? Shouldn’t all of my pain be gone?

My heart hiccuped in my chest at the realization of what the woman standing above me meant. What was my mom doing here? Was she dead, too? The worry set in that my disappearance had caused her too much pain to live, that she left the rest of my family behind, too. What was this doing to my dad?

Suddenly the room filled with chaos, a swarm of white and blue that pushed my mom to the side. I tried to call out to her, to bring her back to me and not let her out of my sight, but nothing worked. I couldn’t move or speak.

A bright light shined in my eyes as someone wearing a white coat hovered over me, and two women stood on either side of what I figured to be a bed, which I was lying in as he continued his assessment. I could still hear my mom, talking quietly in the background, and I breathed a sigh of relief that she was still there, even through the confusion.

I wanted to ask what was going on, what was happening, where I was, but all of those questions mushed together inside of my head, wanting to escape but with no way out, and soon my vision was filled with dark spots and no matter how hard I tried to fight it, I was pulled under and the blackness won.

***

Everything that I thought I knew was a lie.

WHEELS & HOGS

Connelly’s Horde

D.M. Earl

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to start by thanking a new friend whose friendship and assistance has been phenomenal and unexpected.
Author A.C. Bextor
, whose books I love, not only read an email by a fan, but continually assisted that fan with her dream. Knowing someone can have so much kindness in their heart is refreshing.
Carrie
, no words can ever express my gratitude. You have set an example of how someone should go through life always pushing it forward. You showed me that someone who has accomplished their dreams can also be a true human being and help someone who is just starting to realize their dreams. So, I will start with thank you. My wish is to someday meet you in person and sincerely show you how grateful I am, but until then, know how much you have touched my life and guided me in the new worlds of being an author and self-publishing.

To my friends
Jody and Patti
, my heartfelt thanks for not only not laughing, but for also taking an interest in my first attempt at writing a story.