Cracked Butterfly

Chapter 24

"Red!" Ivy screamed. "Red! Please God stop! Red, red, red" she whimpered as Roman stood above her tethered and whipped body smirking, and his laugh...that laugh. It was evil personified.

"He took something from me and now I'm taking something from him" Roman's cold and ruthless voice clamored over hers. There was no getting through to him. He saw nothing but revenge and hatred.

"Ivy, baby wake up. Please it's just a dream. Please Ivy wake up!" Aiden's frantic voice cried out as she slowly came out of this living nightmare to find three sets of eyes looking worriedly down at her.

Her hair was stuck to her body from the sweating, the bun Aiden had put up for her was haphazardly hanging off the side of her head, her eyes wild and uncertain of her surroundings.

In the throes of her nightmare she accidentally elbowed Aiden in the face, sending the man back, holding his nose and hissing in pain. He knew she hadn't meant it; he should have not tried to get so close so quickly.

Ivy's chest heaved with stress as she finally came to grips with the fact that Roman was nowhere near her, that he could no longer hurt her. She was safe.

Throwing her hand across her mouth, she clinched her eyes shut as she broke down and allowed some self-healing to take place as the tears worked to start releasing her from the living nightmare known as Roman Mercier.

Before anything else could be said Ivy, Matilda and Aiden heard a shrill female voice reading Jensen the riot act, just really letting him have it and then that person walked into Ivy's bedroom. It was Krista!

Ivy took one look at her and lost it; Krista couldn't get to her best friend quick enough. She gave Jensen and Aiden both looks that could kill, yet her eyes also held an inquisitive look. She was desperately seeking answers for what was going on with her friend's health.

"I'll come back in a bit and check on you" Aiden said softly as he leaned down and placed a benevolent kiss on her humid forehead. Ivy's gaze followed him until he disappeared pulling the door closed behind himself.

Krista and Ivy just sat and stared at each other for the longest time before Ivy finally broke the deafening silence. She knew it was only right for her to go first since she had basically left Krista out of her life the last several weeks.

She told her friend about how far she had gone with Aiden, his visit to her apartment, her visit to the club and the subsequent decision to go onto a BDSM website and how she discovered the monster known as Roman Mercier.

"Tonight I had a meltdown, Aiden seemed to know this as well as needing some small comfort himself. I couldn't turn him away because I needed him, I still need him, and what's more, I want him. But he did something worse than just betraying me; my trust in him, it's gone now and I don't know if it can ever be repaired."

Ivy could see the tears welling up in Krista's eyes and she immediately felt horrible for making her friend, and sister, worry about her.

"Christ Belle! That maniac could have killed you! I want to see what he did to you!" she exploded and then demanded just as speedily.

With help Ivy managed to sit sideways, her back facing Krista as she slid the thin straps of the cotton gown down; Krista weeping almost instantly as she saw the damage that son of a bitch Roman had caused.

Ivy's head hung as her shoulders shook; her second line of defenses crumbling along with her friend, their support and love for each other was also their anchor.

Krista was distraught and the sounds of her sobbing drew Matilda and Aiden back into the room. Ivy's assistant attended to Krista right away, bringing her into the sumptuous bathroom and softly shutting the door.