Page 21 of The Devil's Heir
"Take it, Lily. My cock is going to be doing the same thing in just a minute." Heath pushes them in even further.
Tears stream down my face as I try not to let the bile that's threatening to come up do so while his fingers are deep in my throat. I decide to remove myself, mentally, for the time being.
Heath takes what he wants from me and then leaves me here afterward to go work in his tiny office. I lay in bed for hours afterward, not caring if I ever got out of it. I can't help but ask myself—how did this become my life?
It took two more days of me having to endure being intimate with the guy that I once considered a friend. My ex-foster brother is a monster for what he plans to do with me. I never knew I was such a good actress, but I've been able to pull it off without a hitch. Heath has no inkling that I'm about to bolt.
My chance comes after Heath gets a call from a friend supposedly needing help because they're having car troubles—so he says. We're on the couch, watching a movie, when he receives the call. I try not to laugh because he probably thinks I couldn't hear the person on the other end. It was a female voice, and I heard nothing about car trouble.
Excitement fills me because I know I will soon be out of here, but I still play along. "Do you need me to come along and help?"
"Nah. There's no sense in both of us being dragged away from the movie," Heath says, leaning over to kiss me. "I'll be back in no time, baby."
"Okay, well, I'll be here waiting for your return."
Heath bites his lower lip as his eyes rove over my body. "In that case, I'll make sure I'm quick."
After kissing me once more, he grabs his keys and walks out of the apartment. I don't waste any time. I jump from the couch and rush to thebedroom, collecting all the clothes that are not already in my luggage. I pull on a pair of leggings and a sweatshirt, grab my bag with my cash and what little trinkets I have left of my parents, and leave the apartment.
Taking back alleyways and side streets, hoping I don't run into Heath, I head for the bus station. It's dangerous for a girl like me to walk these neighborhoods alone and in the dark, but it can't be helped.
My heart thuds rapidly all the way to the bus station, and the entire time, I hope and pray that there's a bus leaving soon. At this point, I don't care where it's going as long as it gets me out of Rushwood.
I see the sign up ahead and breathe a sigh of relief. It's pretty dead at this time—less than twenty people total sitting around waiting for their bus. Rushwood is a big city, but not too many people travel by bus anymore unless it's just across town. It's perfectly fine to me. The fewer people who see me, the less chance of being found. I'm sure Jarek has stopped searching for me by now, but Heath knew I was headed out of town when we ran into each other, so he will definitely check here first.
Here I am, assuming I am important enough for anybody to search for when, in reality, they're probably saying 'good riddance.' I know Heath mentioned that I'd bring him a lot of money, and I shiver at the thought, so he may try and find me, but he will not go out of his way just to bring me back, right?
I step up to the window and see an older woman who looks as though she's been working here forever, the way her shoulders droop as she sits there, waiting for the next person in line. Her name tag reads Estelle, and she stares at me with a bored expression.
"Where to, Miss?"
"What's the furthest distance I can get from Rushwood—and the cheapest?" I ask, biting my lip.
Estelle's eyes study me, contemplating, before she turns to her computer. After typing on the keyboard, she states, "You can go to Augustine for two hundred and fifty dollars."
Augustine is less than forty-five minutes away from where I am now, and that's a hefty sum, but what choice do I have? Prices skyrocket every day—I don't know how anybody can afford to live anymore.
Sighing, I reach into my bag and reply, "I'll take it."
"I'll need to see some ID, too, Miss." The woman states.
"Okay," I say, moving my hand around inside the pocket where I stored my wallet, and retrieve it.
My heart stops when I open it up, and all the air leaves my lungs. My money—it's all gone. I flip through the other compartments inside it and find that my ID is gone, too. What the hell? I frantically search the rest of my bag, but my money and ID are nowhere to be found.
Heath…
I want to cry. That was all the money I had, and why would he take my ID? Was he planning on keeping me with him this whole time? I'm beginning to think it was his plan all along. How naïve can I be? I should have left when I had the chance. Now I'm stuck here, penniless, and no place to stay. I can't go back to Heath, I won't do what he has planned for me, and I'll be damned if I go back to the Mallards and beg to let me stay until I can get on my feet—Jarek will find me.
I leave the bus station defeated and head to the only place I know where I'll find some kind of roof over my head for the night—the homeless shelter.
THIRTEEN
Liliana
4 Years Later
I'm sitting outside my makeshift house with two of my neighbors as we play a game of cards. We usually do it when none of us are out trying to earn money. The two of them panhandle all day, whereas I try to stay out of the public's eye.
