Marley

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I’m a basket case. I’m pretty sure I have walked a hole in the floor and my mind is spinning in a million different directions. Every possible scenario worse than the last. I’ve never felt so helpless before. Not even when my parents died. But right now, I feel like I could fall apart at any second.

Thankfully, Peter arrived not long after Asher left. When I called to let him know what was going on, he came right over. He knows something is wrong too, he knows Steven is never late. He’s too OCD for that.

“I hope Asher finds him and beats the shit out of him for making you worry like this,” Peter says from the couch.

I make another pass across the floor, stopping to look out the window. “All I care about right now is getting Lyla back safely.”

Then I’m taking him back to court. If he can’t comply with the order we have in place already then there’s no way in hell I’m letting him take Lyla again. Not without supervision.

Between Peter’s presence and knowing Asher will do everything he can to find her, I am just able to remain calm and collected.

The waiting is the worst. The absolute worst. My mind is constantly worrying. Constantly wondering where she is. If she’s okay and where they are. Steven would never hurt her, I remind myself. He loves her. He’s a good dad.

Then why do I have this uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach?

I’m trying to stay strong but in the back of my mind I know I’m slipping off the edge. My fear and constant worry are beginning to consume the rational fragments of my mind and I’m finding it hard to push back. Losing my parents nearly broke me but losing my daughter, it will end me altogether. She’s my whole world.

My reason I breathe.

Calm down, Marley. Stop thinking the worst. Everything will be okay.

It has to be.

The knock at the door startles my thoughts. Peter and I share a look before I rush to the door. I fling it open, hoping to find my daughter safe and sound on the other side, but the cold, icy hands of dread squeeze what’s left of my beating heart when I find Steven and the gun in his hand, aimed directly at my head. Only, he’s changed his appearance. His brown hair is now blond. His normally smooth jaw is sporting a five o’clock and he’s wearing a baseball cap low on his brow.

I gasp as he pushes through, shutting the door behind him. “Where is she?”

“Shut the fuck up,” he snarls.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Peter rise from the couch.

“Don’t you fucking move, faggot, or I’ll put a bullet right between her eyes.” Peter remains where he is, pushing his hands up in the air. “Give her the keys to your car,” he says to Peter, but his eyes are still trained on me and so is the gun in his hand.

“Steven, please,” I beg, trying to reason with him. “Don’t do this.”

“Too late. It’s already done.”

His eyes shift to Peter. “Keys. Now.”

Peter slowly approaches, extending his hand to offer me his keys. When I take them, Steven reaches out and slams the butt of his gun to Peter’s head. He falls to the floor with a sickening thud. A scream erupts from my mouth but I quickly suppress it as I kneel down next to his unconscious body. Blood trickles from the wound on his head but I don’t have time to assess it before Steven is grabbing me by my hair and pulling me to my feet.

He pushes the front of my body up against the door and I send up a silent prayer as the cold barrel of the gun is pressed to the back of my neck. “You’re coming with me. If you even think about running or drawing attention to yourself, I’ll kill you. Understand?”

“Why are you doing this?” I cry. “I don’t understand.”

“You shouldn’t have pushed me, Marley.”

Steven opens the door to look outside first before pulling me out with him.

We take the stairs down and he leads me out to the parking lot to Peter’s car. He orders me to the passenger side then rounds the car and folds himself into the driver’s seat.

He answers with a punch to my face. Pain explodes in my head as his fist connects with my jaw. Blood pours from my mouth as he cranks the car, putting it in reverse. “Just shut the fuck up and ride.”

Leaning over, he opens the glove box and pulls out a wad of napkins, tossing them in my lap. “Clean yourself up.”

Tears burn the back of my throat as I lower the visor to look in the mirror. Blood seeps from my busted lip. I dab the napkin on the wound in an effort to get it to stop bleeding. I remain silent as he demanded, not wanting to upset him further.

Mile after mile, he drives in silence. The houses get fewer and fewer, or so it seems. It’s dark so it’s hard to see anything but the passing trees on the highway. Two hours later, Steven turns down a gravel road, swerving to miss some of the sunken in spots. It feels like an eternity before a house finally comes into view. It’s a nice house, two stories with a wraparound porch and several lights on. If I wasn’t caught in my worst nightmare I would think it looked like a normal home.

When he rolls to a stop and shuts off the engine, I reach to unbuckle my seatbelt.

“Stay put,” he orders.

The tone of his voice freezes my body, anxiousness coiling like a snake in my belly. In the years I was married to him, he never looked this evil, but right now there is no other word to describe him. He looks like someone I don’t even know. Someone I never even knew. Bile rises in my throat, thinking about the years I shared with this man, the years I laid next to him when all I could see was our future together, and right now all I feel is pure hate.

He exits the car and I watch carefully as his dark shadow passes in front of the windshield.

Opening the door, he wraps his fingers around my upper arm and pulls me out, pressing me against the car. He tucks his nose to my neck. I turn my head away, wincing as his tongue darts out to taste my skin.

“Despite how much I want to hurt you right now, I’ve really missed you, Marley. You always smelled so good.”

His words make me cringe, blood running cold with disgust, but his fingers grip my chin, forcing me to look at him. “What? You haven’t missed me?”

“Where is she?”

“She’s inside, but before we go in there are rules.”

“What rules?”

“If you want to keep her alive, you’ll do exactly as I say. That means if you make one wrong move, if you even think about escaping, I’ll kill you both.” His cold, dark eyes hold mine as he leans in close. “I’ll squeeze every breath of life from her tiny body and make you watch before I put a bullet in your brain. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

I swallow thickly and nod. I’ll do whatever the hell he says as long as it keeps her safe.

“Good girl.” His fingers caress my cheek and my skin crawls with revulsion. “We’re going to be a family again, Marley. Me, you, and Lyla. Just like before. Just like it was always meant to be.”

“Whatever you want, Steven. I’ll give you anything; just don’t hurt her. Please.”

I breathe a sigh of relief when he tucks the gun into the back of his jeans and reaches for my hand to lead me up the porch steps but we don’t even make it inside before I feel the sting of a needle being injected into the side of my neck, plummeting me into darkness.