Chapter 2 A night with a stranger

Without sin, without guilt, without evil.

Emily's POV

I parted my lips as I felt a slight burn in my throat. I lay there on a mattress which felt soft against my skin, but it wasn't enough to quench my thirst. I felt like I was being soaked in a burning flame, naked, alone, with nothing else but darkness around me.

My whole body ached and my vision was hazy. I fluttered my eyes open, trying to take in my surroundings, but the only thing I could see was darkness. I tried to move my arm, but it felt like a heavy log of wood. My limbs became like jelly, I couldn't move nor speak. All I felt was a burning ache and it was driving me crazy.

I opened my mouth, trying to get some words out, but my vocal cords were seized. My eyes watered, thinking of what could have happened to me. I was trapped, trapped in the middle of nowhere. All I remembered was the bartender's words, his devilish smirk and the way he approached me. Now I feel lost.

In this hell that I was, the only person I could think about was Lucas. No one would save me, I was all alone. Fathers are our heroes, but mine is a joke. He doesn't love me or care about me, he became a shell of himself after my mother's death, or perhaps he never loved my mother in the first place.

I heard small movements, like the soft sound of footsteps and the sound of the shower being turned on. I tried to move my limbs, but they still felt like a huge chunk of wood. I tried to relax, but my eyes widened in terror when the scent of cedar wood and the scent of the earth mixed with the rain washed over me. It was frightening, but addicting at the same time.

I felt a huge weight pressed against me, my hands pinned against the bed and soft lips pressed against my neck. My stomach sank as my heart raced, beating like it was going out of control. I wanted to scream, cry, push him away, but I laid limp, useless and hopeless on the soft fabric.

A tear slipped down my cheeks, another tear, and this time, I was bawling. I wanted to see his face, but everything was dark, it was all pitch black and nothing else. I could only make sense of his scent.

"You're not moving, or talking, is this how you work?" I heard him ask, his voice smooth, hot, sweet, but his actions were gruesome and lethal.

"I paid for this, you know." He breathed against my ears, throwing kisses all over me. I clenched my fists as fury rised in my chest, Did he just refer to me as a slut? I was the slut he paid for? Was this why the bartender made that suspicious phone call?

I wanted to laugh, laugh out loud at my pathetic life. Nothing was working for me. My life was shitty and disgusting. After losing my boyfriend to my step sister, I get raped on the same day. I'll ask again; how pathetic?

My head felt heavy as the movement continued. This time, I felt nothing else but emptiness. My heart was empty, hollow and dark. I wanted to move my limbs, get up and tear him apart, but I couldn't. Giving in to the pain in my heart, I felt my body go limp in his hands.

Perhaps this was me kissing goodbye to the world?

Hello heaven and goodbye hell? No one would miss me after all, I was lonely and alone. The last twenty one years of my life has been useless and shitty.

The golden rays of the sun seeped through the curtain, almost blinding me. A yawn escaped my lips, and this splitting headache came from nowhere, frying my brains like they were some piece of meat. I felt like I was knocked down by a car, my body felt sore, sticky, dirty.

If there were other words I could use, I would use them all. I tried to gather my thoughts, then I suddenly remembered I was raped by a stranger I never saw. I couldn't touch him or feel him, it was just bland and empty.

Tears gathered in my eyes and in less than a few seconds, I was crying an ocean. I curled my tiny body and wrapped the duvet around myself, screaming and cursing whosoever for giving me a miserable life. I don't think I would ever forgive myself for this, allowing my body to be used in such a way.

Losing Lucas was the beginning of my misery, I should have known he was my good luck charm.

After crying for hours, I turned to the side of the bed and found a note, 'Tell your boss I want a change, the usual, not some weakling.'

A soft chuckle escaped my lips as I read the note over and over again. Shouldn't he have known that I wasn't the slut he was meant to have? Couldn't he tell that I was new to this, naive and broken?

Did he really have to make his way with someone who was paralyzed for a night?

I stared at the note one last time and tore it into a million pieces, just like how my heart was shattered by his actions. I removed the duvet and slowly walked towards the bathroom, eager to scrub the dirt off my body. After soaking myself in the bathtub for minutes, I still didn't feel clean.

Perhaps if I used some more soap, maybe I was going to feel better.

Perhaps if I stayed in the water a little more, maybe it was going to soothe my heart and get rid of the dirt.

Perhaps if I drown in this, perhaps it would save me from this humiliation that waits ahead of me.

My hands trembled as I scrubbed myself more, bruising my own body but I just couldn't stop. It was too painful, unreal, I couldn't believe this happened to me.

I walked towards the mirror and stared at the spots on my body. Might as well call it a Hickey, but to me, they were scars. Scars that would never heal no matter how hard I try to get them off. I stared at my red rimmed eyes, my pale skin and my messy hair.

I inhaled a shaky breath and decided to move on. I styled my hair in a messy bun, picked up my clothes and rushed out of the room. I ran at the speed of light, not wanting anyone to see me coming out of a hotel room.

As soon as I got home, my hands trembled as fear washed over me. I wasn't home throughout the whole night, they were going to kill me. It was past noon, so my step mother was in the living room, watching her favorite show. I tried my best to look normal, but she saw through me like some seer.

"Where the hell are you coming from Emily?" She thundered, her voice sending chills down my spine. My eyes darted around, unsure of the words to say, but her next words sucked the life out of me, "You're lucky you

returned back on time. You're getting married tomorrow."