Page 4 of Keeping My Girl

We walk down hallway after hallway until he finds a suitable room. He opens the door and shoves me inside. I stumble, banging my elbow against the wall. “Ouch,” I whisper before I shake off the dull ache and continue on inside.

The bedroom is opulent, decorated in deep browns and reds with a massive bed in the middle situated under a huge crystal chandelier. Antique furniture fills the rest of the room — a mirrored dresser, a large armoire, and two nightstands with lamps, which illuminate when Gino hits a switch on the wall.

Any other time I would take time to appreciate the décor, but there’s one thing and only one thing on my mind right now. I turn to Gino, who sticks a fat finger in the knot of his tie, pulling it loose. Before I can even open my mouth, he tells me, “Take off your dress.”

Shaking my head, I back away from him to the nearest wall, pushing my back against the cool, floral wallpaper. “Please. My pills. I need my pills first,” I plead with him.

“I’m not giving you shit until you fuck me,” he says, making my stomach drop.

“Your father promised! He promised that you would give them to me!” I practically scream, growing more hysterical by every passing second. I can’t fuck him unless I’m high. I can’t.

Suddenly, Gino crosses the room in a few big strides, swallowing up the space between us quickly. He grabs a fistful of my hair and slams me into the side of an antique armoire. My bones rattle upon the impact, and I catch myself on the corner, wheezing from where it poked me hard right in the stomach.

“Take off your dress and get on the fucking bed,” he orders.

Straightening my spine, I give him a nod, symbolizing that I’m going to behave and do what he tells me to do. He releases my hair, and I walk towards the bed, putting a little distance between us.

I can hear his heavy footfalls as he comes closer. And then I feel him at my backside, his hands on my waist. I turn slowly in his arms and stare up at him. He’s tall, just like his father, but about a hundred pounds heavier.

I take a step back from him and pretend that I’m reaching for the zipper of my dress.

“That’s a good little bitch,” Gino murmurs.

If I’ve learned anything over the years, it’s that being good only gets you in more trouble. Being good only gets you hurt in the end.

Raising my leg, I kick forward as hard as I can, aiming for his balls. But my foot only comes into contact with his fat stomach. And I realize in that moment the grave mistake I have made.

Gino’s face grows red with anger as he latches onto my foot and pulls my leg, making me cry out in surprise as I lose my footing. I slip and fall to the floor, hitting the back of my head on the footboard of the bed on the way down. The room spins around me as I suddenly feel him pinning me on the floor, his heavy weight on top of my chest. He’s crushing me to the point that it feels like my ribs are breaking and I can’t even pull in a single breath.

“You fucking bitch!” he spits out before punching me in the side of the head.

Pain blooms along my temple, jarring my skull and making my teeth chatter. I try to bring my hands up to protect my face, but my arms are dead at my side. I can’t even feel my fingertips.

The lights in the room flicker, and I’m starting to think that this is the end. That I’m finally dying and escaping this hell on earth. But then that’s when I hear Gino ask, “Who the hell are you?”

Out of the corner of my eye, a dark figure enters the room, a dark gold mask covering most of his face. It’s the man from the hallway, I vaguely think to myself.

His piercing gray eyes meet mine for only a split second before he turns his attention to my attacker. I see the blade before Gino even does. Suddenly, like in a real-life horror movie, the man grabs Gino from behind and slices through his fat neck. Blood instantly sprays out, soaking through my dress and spattering my face as Gino gurgles a horrific sound.

I’m instantly taken back to that tragic day…

The blood.

The blood coating my skin.

I’m wearing their blood.

The next thing I hear is a hard thud as Gino slumps over, his head resting on the edge of the footboard above me, his wide, vacant stare locked on my face as his gaping mouth spills forth a river of blood that trickles down to my forehead and cheek.

I whip my head back and forth, trying to somehow stop it from touching me. I can’t bear the horrible coppery smell or the fact that I’m covered in his blood. It’s too much like what happened before, and my anxiety begins to crawl its way to my throat as I struggle to breathe.

My mouth opens on a scream, but no sound comes out. I’m still being crushed by the dead bastard, and my lungs are on fire, desperate for air. I start to gasp, my mouth gaping open repeatedly like a fish out of water.

The room begins to violently spin around me, and I close my eyes as I begin to fall into a black abyss. My entire body feels weightless, like I’m floating, and I revel in the feeling. I’m in a beautiful, silent void of absolute darkness. There is no fear, no anxiety, no pain here.

Sweet, merciful death is finally coming to claim me…and I welcome him with open arms.

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