Owned by Him (Editing)

Acceptance

I had been left alone in the darkness for days and whilst Silas had the intention of utilising isolation as a form of reprimand for me, I rather preferred not seeing his hideous self. I had always handled seclusion well, though not that I had much of a choice not to. Jordan loved keeping me locked away somewhere, even back when we were dating. 

There was an occasion where my aunt had travelled from Texas to visit Andre and I for my twenty-first birthday and I had consumed one too many glasses of wine. Jordan forbade me to drink any form of alcohol so when he found me giggling on the phone to an old friend, he not only smashed my phone but also dragged me into the bathroom and handcuffed me to the bathtub. He left me there for the next five days. 

The further we approached our one year anniversary, the more frequently I would be locked away. It was a method of sheer control but Jordan regularly made the excuse that he was only doing it to keep from  beating me.  

The deprivation of being permitted to use the toilet had thrust my depression to a cavernous depth, one I wasn’t entirely sure I would be able to pull myself back from. After many hours of pleading for them to let me use the bucket, I could hold my bladder no more and was forced to endure the inevitable. The skin on my legs had become so sore and irritated  from where the urine had run and the odour secreting from my body was truly rancid. I could barely stand it. 

I tried to keep my mind distracted, I really did but the ache sprawling through my poor shoulders had become far too prominent to ignore. My head lolled against my chest and my eyes were almost closed from how fatigued I had become. Dribble was pouring down my chin and I could barely keep conscious. Trying to sleep whilst balancing on your tiptoes with your wrists bound and suspended above your head is not the most comfortable position. 

I was unaware of the time but at some point during one of my many bouts of delirious  daydreaming, a thread of light emerged from beneath the door of the cell. I didn’t raise my head to investigate because in total honesty, I simply believed that my boggled mind was playing tricks on me again. I mean, it wouldn’t have been the first time during this punishment as just hours before I had seen a German Shepard pup sitting in the corner, staring at me with its fluffy head tilted. I knew I was losing my mind, I could feel myself ebbing away from reality. Each cycle of delirium was becoming far more vivid, far more easy to believe. My mental state had reached the point of sheer enervation and needed to endure a little delirious fantasy in order to survive to reality. 

However, as the streak of light became wider, I forced myself, fighting against a strong reluctance to do so, to break from my delusion and acknowledge that I was not actually alone this time. 

“Oh, my darling, what have they done to you?” 

I would have known the voice anywhere, the alluring depth combined with the soft tone and compassion could only have belonged to Phoenix. 

My expression must have looked pathetic but I could not suppress my joy nor my elation. Phoenix was swift in removing my restraints, freeing me from the rig as gently as he was able before he lifted me into his arms. 

Despite the hurt in the upper half of my body being somewhat indescribable, I hooked my gaunt arms around Phoenix’s broad neck and rested my head against his shoulder. The enchanting combination of his aftershave mixed with his own masculine scent floated around me, captivating both my sense of smell and what little focus I was trying hard to maintain. 

“I am going to take you for something to eat and then I will run you a bath, okay?” Phoenix said softly, an obvious expression of guilt resting heavily on his features. 

“Yeah, no that isn’t happening.” Silas hissed, his large frame filling the doorway. 

“And who is going to stop me?” Phoenix snapped back, equally as large and intimidating.