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3. The Devil's Handsome

I stared ruefully up at the apartment building. It no longer brought about feelings of joy like it once did. In fact, it was as if the cozy home I had built with Joshua over these past six months no longer existed. How could things ever be okay? How could someone just decide one day that you weren't good enough any longer? At least have the decency to break it off. I curled my knees closer to my chest in the passenger seat of Margo's car. We had been parked out in front of the building for a good twenty minutes now. I was trying to muster up the courage to face him.

"I don't think I can do this." The thought of walking through the front door made my face scrunch disgustedly. My eyes swam with tears. I felt pathetic and helpless. How can you be sad about a man you no longer loved? It was the ultimate betrayal.

Margo squeezed her eyes shut, and rubbed her forehead. I knew how hard this was for her not to take action. Like myself, she wanted nothing more than to beat Joshua into a bloody pulp. Her lashes fluttered and she leveled her gaze with mine.

"Listen to me. You don't need him. You are a talented, outgoing woman who can do better and deserves better than that. Just remember Lena, you're not the one in the wrong. He is." She asserted.

"You're right."

"Are you sure you don't want me to accompany you?" She insisted. I paled at the thought of the two of them in the same room, while Margo was in a complete rage and shook my head firmly.

"I'm sure. You're right. I can do this."

"Of course you can."

Letting out a shaky breath, I pushed open the passenger door, and slipped out into the brisk morning. The sky was cloudy, shadowing the town with gray, while the sidewalks were damp from the previous rain. I made my way up the steps of the building and through the front door. Our apartment was on the second floor and as I crept up the stairs, my whole body began to tense. Something was off. Very off.

The front door was busted open. I stepped through the front door into the living room, my eyes bulging as I registered the chaos of the apartment. Furniture was tipped over, glass was smashed. The glass crunched under my feet as I crept toward our bedroom. A small trail of blood ran from the couch past the bedroom door. What the hell happened? Maybe that neighbor was psychotic after all.

"Joshua?" I called out quietly as I twisted the doorknob. "Joshua.... Where are you?" My voice was barely a whisper. If whoever did this to the apartment was still here, it wouldn't do me good to alert them of my presence.

As the bedroom door creaked open, I prepared myself for the worst. Only to find Joshua crumpled on the ground. His nose was extremely swollen, as were his eyes. He could barely part them open when I entered the room.

"Selena." He gasped and reached out for me.

"What the hell happened?"

A fit of coughs erupted from him, and he doubled over, grasping his ribs. By the looks of the nasty bruises forming he had been kicked in his side. "Who did this?" I persisted. He shook his head and recoiled from me.

"No."

"You have to tell me. Who did this to you? Please, Joshua." I barked, impatiently. He was still a cheating asshole, but he didn't deserve to be beat to near death. He would have to deal with the consequences of losing a good woman.

"No."

"No?" I threw my hands up in frustration. "Well that's just great. I'm trying to help you, Josh. Can you try not to be so difficult?"

"Here." He growled.

"Here...." I trailed. What the hell did that mean? Here. I reached out. Was he offering me something? "What? I-I don't know what 'here' means."

"Still....." The sound of liquid in his throat was followed by another fit of coughs. He clutched his chest and hacked loudly. I attempted to mask the horror on my face, but my impassive expression faltered as my eyes grew wide, and mouth fell agape at the sight of blood pouring from his mouth. I groaned and crouched down beside him.

"What?"

I couldn't fully make out what he was saying. I angled my ear near his mouth.

"Still here." He hissed, but it was too late. The bedroom door was pushed open and a large, burly man stepped into the room. His hair was cropped close to his head. A hardened expression on his face. Fear struck me hard as his eyes lit up with a fiery recognition when he looked at me.

"Found the bitch. She's in here!" He hollered, before quickly lunging for me. I scooted out of the way quickly and made a break for the door. No way in hell was I about to stay to find out what they would do to me. Joshua had obviously gotten himself into something bad. I wanted no part of it. I was finally free of him, and here came his baggage to claim my life once again. Nope. I was done.

Before I could bolt past the couch, I was tackled. My head smacked against the ground. I groaned, and placed my hand over my head, only to pull it back covered in red.

"Wh-what are you doing?" I queried. "Please, don't hurt me." I pleaded as another man – the one the army buzzed guy must've called to- hovered over me.

"Don't worry princess. We're not here to punish you. Only deliver." He countered, before pulling a rag out of his pocket. They doused the rag in a liquid and pressed it to my nose and mouth. I was too weak to fight them off. My fingernails doing the best they could to push them away but I was helpless. Drowsiness consumed me, and soon I fell into unconsciousness.


"Ow." I groaned as I tumbled onto the floor. The room was pitch dark aside from the thin streak of light pouring through the opening in the curtains from the moon. Where the hell am I? I placed my hand on the bed next to me and pushed myself up before walking to the window and drawing the curtains. As far as I could see, there were only trees for miles. I panicked.

"Holy shit, I'm going to die out here.. I'm going to die and Margaret and my parents will never know what happened to me." I swore if I got out of here alive and this had anything to do with Joshua and his tendencies for illegal activity, I would kill him myself! I spun on my heel to face a door, and walked over to it wearily. Maybe my kidnappers would be stupid enough to leave it unlocked.

I twisted the knob, but it wouldn't turn all the way. I screamed, while banging my fists on the door like a maniac. "Let me out! Please!"

My fists thumped continuously against the thick wood. The anxiousness I felt masked the pain of the cuts forming on my knuckles.

"Somebody! Help me! Please!" My throat cracked as my voice grew higher. I was not going to go unnoticed. Maybe someone would be driving by or trailing the woods and hear me scream. Oh who the hell was I kidding. I was going to die out here all alone. Just some pathetic woman who never had any control over her life. Even when I thought I was getting back on track, this shit happened and now I was going to die before I could fix anything.

I dropped my hands down at my sides. Defeat coursed through me as I rested my forehead to the cold wood, glad to feel something cool against my blazing skin. Was this what it felt like to accept you were going to die. Sex trafficking. A lump formed quickly in my throat at the thought. I was not going to have sex with some old, rich bastard who had to take blue pills just to get it up. They could kill me. Death for one-hundred please.

The door knob rattled and my head snapped up before I scrambled away from the door. Someone pushed it open, and flicked on the light. It was one of the men who helped kidnap me. My jaw clenched, as I tried to appear angry more than scared. He glared at me, and pointed a large, meaty finger in my face.

"Knock that shit off, or else I will have to punish you."

"Where the hell am I?"

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough, sweetheart." He grinned.

"I'll scream again.." I countered. He shrugged.

"You're only hurting yourself. You scream, fine. But don't be surprised when one of us has to come in here to shut you up."

I shook my head in disbelief. "Why are you doing this? I haven't done anything wrong."

"But someone has." He quickly interrupted. "Now keep it quiet." He hissed before slamming the door closed behind him. I glanced around the room. The bed I was laying on had silk sheets, and a large head board. The room was large enough to hold a fireplace, and the walls were made of stone. Where the hell was I? In some castle, in another country? I brought my hand to my mouth to muffle my choked sobs.

A chaise lounge, and love seat sat in front of the fireplace. Another door near the window caught my eye and I took cautious steps towards it. I stuck my hand out on the wall inside the dark room in search of a light switch. Light illuminated the room and with calm realization my eyes rested on the toilet. It was a bathroom. A vast one, with a standing shower, jacuzzi tub and two sinks. The mirror took up half of the wall.

My legs gave out beneath me and I crumpled to the floor in a sobbing mess of tears. I clutched my knees to my chest, rested my head back against the wall and cried so hard I was sure there was a drought inside of my body. My life really was shit. The universe was just making it clear that I was meaningless, my life was meaningless. I decided to give up and wallow in self-pity. The man who pulled this off was well enough to do anything, I assumed.

I was so consumed with my own woes I hadn't realized the man who barged in earlier was back in my room, holding a bag. "Here," He tossed it onto the bed. "Shower and get dressed. When you're done, knock on the door."

"What's going on?" My voice was hopeful as I hurried to stand.

"Dinner." He mumbled before turning back towards the door.

"Wait, what does that mean? Is the man who arranged this going to be there?"

He nodded, before disappearing without another word. I squared my shoulders, walked over to the bed and pulled the contents out of the bag. A dress? A tight, red, backless dress and heels. I squeezed my eyes shut, and let out a deep breath. Was this a joke? A sick one.

I made my way into the bathroom, and set the dress and shoes down on the small table beside the door. I pulled my shirt up over my head and discarded it onto the floor, along with the rest of my clothes. My breasts were a good handful. I admired the way my hips curved, but the thought that someone may forcefully do so as well, scared the shit out of me. After letting my hair down, I walked over to the shower and twisted the handle towards the red. Who was this man, or woman for that matter? What did they want from me? I couldn't offer them much money.

I searched around under the sink and pulled an unopened bar of soap from beneath it. I opened the box and tossed it into the garbage beside the toilet.

When the water warmed, I stepped under the shower head and sighed. There was one plus to all of this and it was this damn shower. At least I could die smelling fresh and feeling better.

"You're not going to die." I mumbled. I needed to fight, for Margo and for my parents. They would expect me to. Anything less was insulting. I washed up quickly. Apprehensive but anxious about dinner. What was I going to say to my captor? How would I address him? What if he was a ruthless man? A sadistic man, ready to torture me. Margaret would know what to say in a situation like this. She was always so calm and collected. I was sporadic and anxious and it often got me into trouble.

Once I was dressed and my hair was pulled back up into a bun, I knocked on the door. The man from earlier entered. "If you try to run or scream I will knock you out." He threatened. I nodded, compliantly and followed alongside him. The hallway stretched on forever and was lit by a few lights. We passed many doors, before nearing the bright light at the end of the hallway.

The dining room was massive, with a table large enough to fit about twelve or fifteen people. It was covered in a rich cloth, and topped with extravagant food. My stomach clenched at the sight of it, but I remained calm and determined. Every seat was filled but three.

"This way." The man directed while tugging on my arm. I winced as pain erupted from where his fingers dug into my skin, as he pulled me towards my seat.

"You're hurting me." I snapped quickly, keeping my voice low so no one could see my distress.

"Good." He muttered before releasing me. I pulled the chair back slightly and sat down. I felt like a pig in a dining room full of wolves. The table was filled with formally dressed men and women who eyed me with sardonic smirks on their lips. I shifted uncomfortable, as I glanced around the table. It could be any one of them. The chair at the end of the table was empty and I silently wondered if he would sit there.

At that moment a door on the other side of the dining room was pushed open and the man who stepped inside stopped my heart.

"Nicolo." I gasped, as the breath left my body and the world began to swallow me whole.

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