Knowing Reid is still with a client, I resist the urge to call my father. Instead, I walk to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of wine and think about what to have for dinner. Fuck coffee. I need stronger stuff.
Pulling a few potatoes out, I start peeling them and cutting them into cubes. I’m on my fourth one when the doorbell rings.
Grabbing a tea towel, I wipe my hands and walk towards the door. It’s my father. I open it up to let him in when he storms through, shutting the door behind him abruptly and grabbing me by the neck. “Is it true?”
My eyes bulge as he pushes me towards the living room and thumps me into the dining table. “Is it fucking true?”
“What?” I ask, my voice quivering. He looks murderous. The last time I saw him like this, he’d pushed me down the stairs.
“You and Porter.”
My eyes widen again, revealing the truth to him. “How did you—”
He grips my neck even more tightly, almost choking me. “People should watch what dirty laundry they air in cafés,” he roars.
“That was you?”
He lets go of my neck and starts pacing the floor. “Tell me why before I fucking rip your head off.”
For the first time in a very long time, I actually feel fear, standing there in front of my father. It makes me angry. Really angry. “I told Amber what you did to me, and she did nothing. Nothing!” I scream.
He stops pacing and takes two steps towards me. His eyes are filled with nothing but venom. “So, you decided to fuck her husband?”
“She deserved it.”
“She’s my fucking daughter!” he screams.
“So. Am. I!”
He moves in closer, and my breath catches, knowing he’s about to reveal the truth to me. He’s about to open his mouth when, suddenly, I blurt, “All I ever wanted was for you to love me.”
The snarl he had on his lips softens as he gazes into my eyes. “You were always loved, but you were always disobedient. I was forced to teach you lesson after lesson, and yet you still haven’t learnt a thing, have you?”
“I’ve learnt to see what no one else ever has—the monster inside of you. I wanted to show them the man you really are. The man you only ever let me see.”
Grabbing my neck, he squeezes hard, making me choke. “I remember one lesson in particular which I am certain left quite an impact. You remember the one, don’t you? You’re going to get that fucking lesson again now, and once I’m done, you’re coming home with me. I don’t care if I have to lock you away in my house forever. You are mine, and you will never disobey me again.”
Fear creeps up my skin. I know what he intends to do. I’ve done my level best to block out the experience. I may have tried to tell my family that he abused me, but I never tried to describe the extent of his depravity—not that they would have listened anyway. But now, as he’s preparing to repeat the worst of his transgressions, the term “anal rape” is pinging around my brain like a ricocheting bullet, and I want it out. I stand rooted to the spot as terror overwhelms me. I remember the agonising pain from when he did this to me as a teenager, and I haven’t been able to let anyone near me there because the thought of it conjures up the worst reminder of all and brings me terror beyond words—just like I’m experiencing right now.
“No, no, no!” I scream.
Richard pushes me back onto the table and starts ripping at my clothes. I can’t let him do this to me.
Not! Again!
With that thought in my head, I fight back, kicking my legs out and thumping Richard across the back as I bite and scratch him … whatever I can do to stop him. His hands are everywhere as he desperately tries to contain me, but fuelled by anger and fear, I’ve become a wild animal.
As he tries to get a grip on me, I throw my arms around him, hugging him. “Please. Please, don’t,” I beg. I feel weak, and I hate the fact that I sound as weak as I feel, but I need him to stop. “I’ll do anything you say, but don’t do that.”
He doesn’t pull away at first. Instead, he lets me hug him. It’s only when I see Reid coming towards Richard with a knife in his hands that I stiffen. “Reid,” I whisper, making Richard pull back. He looks behind him, seeing Reid coming towards him.
“What the fuck?” he roars before lunging for Reid at the same time as Reid tries to stab Richard. He swipes with the knife, slicing Richard’s arm. Blood oozes, eventually dripping down onto the floor. Richard grunts, trying to wrestle the knife away from Reid’s grip.
“If you don’t let go of the knife, I’m going to fucking kill you.”
Reid snarls back, “She’s not yours anymore, you sick motherfucker. She’s mine. Once I kill you, I’m going to make her mine.”
Richard starts laughing, and out of nowhere, he lunges forward, punching Reid. He stumbles back, landing on the floor in an undignified heap as he drops his knife. As Richard moves forward to grab Reid, I make a run for the knife.
Picking it up, I look back up to find both Richard and Reid looking at me. “Give me the knife,” Reid says, motioning to me with his hand.
“No, Scarlet, give me the knife,” Richard urges with a stern look on his face.
My, my. What a predicament I’m in!
“Why are you hesitating, Scarlet? Give me the knife, and I’ll finally end him. You’ll be free of him—free of your nightmares.”
Richard glares at him. “Nightmares? You think I cause her nightmares? I’m everything to her. Everything!” He roars, thumping his chest. “She’s been mine since the day she was born.”
“You sick fuck,” Reid sneers, spit forming at his mouth. He rushes forward, but Richard’s still much too quick and experienced from his boxing days. He manages to dodge Reid’s punch, ducking and offering a swift right hook into his stomach. Reid groans as the wind is knocked out of him, and he hunches over in pain. Richard tries to punch him again, but Reid stumbles back, grabbing one of my vases. He manages to straighten and launches himself at Richard, knocking him over the head. Richard goes down, and Reid immediately turns to me.
“Give me the knife.” When I don’t do anything, Reid snarls, “Scarlet, give me the knife, and we’ll end him. You’ll finally be free.”
He starts walking towards me, but I start walking back. For some reason, despite all that my father has done to me, I can’t let go of him now. I don’t want to let go of him.
“Scarlet,” Reid warns, an angry frown forming on his face.
“I can’t do this.”
“Give me the fucking knife. Now!”
He gives chase, and that’s when my feet find movement. I start to run, but I end up tripping over the side of the sofa. As I fall down, the knife flies out of my hand, landing at the far end of the room. When I land, I thump my forehead onto the floor and it temporarily blinds me.
“Scarlet, what the fuck?!” Reid shouts as I try to scramble for the knife.
I feel a body constrict me from behind. I feel him breathing heavily down my neck. As he grabs my wrists, twisting them behind my back, he nudges me. “What the fuck has gotten into you, Scarlet? Why are you defending him?”
“I don’t want him to die,” I reply, speaking the truth.
“So, you like being forced upon, huh? You like a man to take and take, offering only pain and suffering in return? Maybe if I take from you, you’ll want me, too. Is that it?”
I hear the distinct sound of a zipper coming undone, and my breath hitches. Reid can’t be doing this. Not here. Not now!
With my head free, I look across the room to find Richard still passed out on the floor. I don’t know what’s gotten into Reid, but he’s behaving like a man possessed.
With one hand holding my wrists together, Reid rips my knickers away from my body, and I feel when he positions his cock at my entrance.
“I’ve told you so many fucking times, Scarlet. It ends with me. Here and now. I’m taking you, and there isn’t a damn thing you can say against it. If you want it like this all of the time, then this is how it will be every single time.”
Reid grabs my hair forcefully, pulling it back. I yelp, partly from pain, but partly because the sickness in me relishes it. After craving Reid for all of these years, he has decided he wants to do more than simply take me. He wants to rape me here and now … mere feet away from my father.
He rams his cock inside me, making me cry out in pain. He’s not being gentle, but then again, he thinks this is how I have always wanted it.
Cold.
Rough.
Dirty.
Painful.
“So, is this how you like it, bitch? You have been teasing me for years, and now you’ve gone and pushed me over the edge. Do you like the monster I’ve become? Do you want to call me daddy?” He grunts, thrusting his cock inside me over and over again. “Call me daddy, you slut!” he roars, yanking at my hair as he goes even faster.
I scream out as both pain and pleasure course through me. My emotions are all over the place. I truly hate what he’s doing to me, but a part of me loves it at the same time. It is, after all, what I’ve been waiting for.
But, like this? Was this really what I was waiting for?
Reid is fucking me like a wild animal. I can hear his grunts, and I can feel his intrusion, but then, suddenly, I see a knife being plunged into the side of Reid’s neck. Reid stills, makes a choking sound, and collapses on top of me as blood spurts everywhere. I feel his body being kicked off of me followed by an arm reaching down to pick me up. At first, I feel fear, but when I turn to find a battered Richard, who is barely standing upright, breathing heavily, and has eyes which seem to be glazing over, I throw my arms over his shoulders and pull him to me.
“Dad,” I whisper, tugging him to me more closely. When I feel his arms go around me and hug me back, my eyes pool with tears.
I soon hear sirens in the background. I suppose with all the noise, a neighbour must have called the police.
As the noise gets closer, Richard pulls me away. “Scarlet, look at me.” He shakes me, making me lock eyes with him. They’re more focused now. “I was with you when this man came in with a knife. He attacked me and knocked me out. Then, he went after you. I came to, saw him raping you, and I tried to fend him off. When that didn’t work, I grabbed the knife and stabbed him. Okay?”
I blink, realising Reid is still lying on the floor with a knife protruding from his neck. His eyes are wide and lifeless.
He’s dead.
Already shivering, I literally freeze when I feel Richard shaking me. “Scarlet. Focus!” he growls, making me look back at him. “Did you hear what I said?”
“He’s … he’s dead.”
“Of course he’s fucking dead. He was raping you. You really think I was going to let that scumbag live after that?”
I would find the outrageous hypocrisy of the situation laughable if it wasn’t for the fact that Reid’s dead body was lying just two feet away from me.
I feel arms shaking me again. “Scarlet, can you hear me?” I snap my eyes back to him with a nod. “Good,” he replies, releasing his grip. “I want to know what the fuck all this was about, but the police will be here any minute. Just know you’ll have some fucking explaining to do.” He then points a finger at me. “I’m still fucking angry with you. Don’t think that because of what happened here you’ll get away with what you did,” he says issuing yet another threat—vague as the terms of this particular one may be.
And on that note, Richard turns just as the police bang loudly on the door. He moves swiftly, opening the door before they kick it in.
I hear when he opens the door, and the police must take in his appearance rather rapidly as they’re in like a flash. One young officer spots my dishevelled state, but once he spots Reid lying on the floor with a knife in his neck, his eyes widen before eventually running towards Reid. He kneels down and takes his pulse, but I already know he’s dead.
Another officer walks in, and a silent conversation between the two ensues. The officer kneeling beside Reid shakes his head and that’s when the other officer looks towards me. “What happened here?”
Tears spring to my eyes naturally. My body starts to shake uncontrollably. I try to open my mouth, and at first no words come out. “He … he …” I stutter, trying to tell the story Richard commanded I tell.
“I need to see my daughter. She’s been hurt!” I hear Richard scream before he barges through the door. He’s about to walk to me, but is stopped by the officer who asked me the question.
“Hey, that’s about as far as I’m going to let you go until I get your daughter’s statement.”
Richard’s nostrils flare as he points to Reid. “I caught this fucker raping my daughter, and he attacked me!”
The officer spreads his hands out in a placating gesture. More police waltz in and are soon dealing with Reid. “We need to separate you both for now in order to get your statements. You also both need to be seen by a medic. The more you cooperate, the quicker we’ll get this wrapped up.
“Reid attacked my father and then started to rape me. When my dad woke up, he tried to get Reid off of me, but he attacked my dad again. They wrestled with the knife, and in an attempt to stop Reid, Dad raised the knife and …” I stopped when I knew I could say no more.
Richard gave me a look as if to say, “Good girl.” I knew I had to say something in front of him. I realise the police will want to get that all down in a statement, but I had to make sure what was in my head was the correct version. If our stories don’t match, then the police will get suspicious.
I hear the police officer standing in front of me sigh. “Okay. We’ll need to get a proper statement from you both, but for now the paramedics want to take you to the hospital.”
As if on cue, I feel a hand on my shoulder. I instinctively flinch. “You’re safe,” a lady’s voice says. “I just want to take you to the ambulance so we can have a proper look at you, if that’s okay?” I nod my head timidly and start to move, but my legs feel like jelly. I start to shake again, and the lady wraps a blanket over my shoulders. “You’re okay now, lovely,” she says, tugging me close.