Page 1 of Cain
Prologue
Emma
Three Months ago
“Bad dreams, bad dreams, go away. Good dreams, good dreams, come to stay. Close your eyes my little one, tomorrow will be lots of fun.” Amy giggles as I lean down to give her a hug and a kiss. “Love you, princess girl.”
"I love you, Momma." She smiles up at me, and it makes all the stressful moments worth it.
I quietly shut her door and walk out into the living room. Looking at the couch, I think about grabbing a glass of wine and enjoying some time to myself.
Who are you kidding? You’ll be asleep after the second sip.
I decide against the wine, grab a bottle of water, and head to my room. Sometimes I want to go get Amy and just pull her into my bed with me. I hate the loneliness that comes at night. Most nights I sleep with the TV on just so I’m not jumping at every noise I hear when the apartment is quiet. I turn on the TV and a movie I’ve seen a dozen times before is on. Knowing I’ll be passed out soon, I don’t even bother changing it.
Lying down, my hand trails over the large empty space next to me. I’ve been so closed off since Amy’s dad screwed us over. I never wanted to put myself in that position again. Giving someone the power to hurt me was not going to happen. I still wonder how it would feel to have someone in our lives, a role model for Amy to see how a man should treat a woman. I’m thankful she was young enough when everything happened with her dad that she probably doesn’t remember any of it.
We haven't heard from him in two years since he came clean about his affair and walked out on us. I had been a stay-at-home mom and had to scramble just to find a job to support us. I was just digging myself out of debt now because for two months we lived off of the credit cards I had. Some days I felt like I was drowning and others I thought I had my shit together. I wasn't close with my family, so I had no one to lean on but myself.
When your back is against the wall, you really find out what you're made of. I was able to see I was so much stronger than I ever thought I was. I started out working at one of the local daycare centers, and the director took me under her wing. I was now running the four-year-old classroom and also had just been giving the responsibilities of assistant director.
I catch myself falling asleep even though I'm trying to stay awake and enjoy the little bit of alone time I have.
The bed dips beside me, and I jolt from the movement. Amy must have had another bad dream. "Climb under the covers and close your eyes, princess."
When there is no response, I open my eyes to find a man hovering over me with one of my kitchen knives in his hand. I open my mouth to scream, but he covers it. "You scream, and your little princess might wake up. I'd hate to have to hurt her because her mother made a stupid choice. Understand?"
I nod, and he takes his hand off my mouth.
“You are so goddamn beautiful.” He uses the knife to pull the sheets down, the tip dragging over my body. “I have been dreaming about this.” His fingers roughly pinch my nipple and I yelp. “Ah, ah, ah. Remember what I said about being loud, Emma.”
He knows my name. Who is he? The ski mask on his face shows me nothing except for the small holes cut out for his eyes and mouth.
The knife slides under my shirt, and he jerks it up quickly, slicing through the thin fabric. Tears start to fall from my eyes, but I make sure to stay quiet. He does the same thing with my pants and panties, cutting them off until I am lying bare underneath him.
"Don't cry, you're ruining it for me. You don't want me to be unsatisfied after this and go looking for more, right?" His eyes move to the door. He wouldn't, but even as I think that I know he would. "You will moan, tell me how good I feel, and how much you like this dick. Understand?"
I nod, but I have no idea how I am going to get through this. His hands move down my body as he forces his fingers inside of me. I bite down on my lip to keep from crying out. He pulls out of me and raises his finger to his mouth.
"You are too sweet to just have once. I am going to enjoy you tonight, and then I'll be back once a month on this date. You make sure that you're home or I'll be back, and I won't be happy. If you think I'm a monster now, you don't want to see what I'll be like then. Understand?"
My stomach rolls and I have to fight the urge to throw up. He plans to come back.
"If you go to the cops, or you tell anyone, I will pay a visit to your little princess, and you don't want to know how that will end. Maybe I'll even pick her up from Wee Care."
My eyes widen. He knows where I work, where Amy goes to school.
"Do you understand me, Emma?"
I nod, and silent tears fall down my face as he lowers his mouth to me.
