'RIIIIIIIINNNNGGGGG… RIIIIII-'
"Hello?"
"Liv… h-help…"
"Alex?... Alex, is that you?"
The line went dead.
(One Year Earlier)
"ALEX! GET YOUR ASS IN HERE!"
Alex shook like a leaf when she heard Abbie shout for her. She briefly considered seeking refuge under the bed or in a closet, but it would not end well for her if Abbie had to come find her and drag her out from her hiding place. She was still sporting bruises from Sunday's punishment, including a black eye. As slowly as she dared, Alex got up from her desk where she had been studying for an exam and made her way toward Abbie's cold, hard voice. Maybe if she offered her full, willing cooperation, Abbie wouldn't hurt her too bad this time. One could dream.
Abbie already had the cane in her hand, her dark brown eyes flashing with rage. Alex's baby blue eyes filled with tears. The cane was made of very heavy, inflexible wood and left vicious marks that lasted for weeks. Alex whimpered when Abbie's palm connected with her already bruised face. Hard.
"Don't you dare cry right now, bitch! Do you have any fucking clue how you humiliated me today? How dare you stand me up! There I was, sitting in the restaurant, waiting for my girlfriend, and you just decide not to show! Everybody was staring at me like they knew I had been stood up! It was so humiliating! You were with another woman, weren't you, you stupid slut?! What's the bitch's name?! ANSWER ME THIS INSTANT!"
"NO! Abbie, I swear, I'm not cheating on you! I love you! Please! I tried to call-" Alex tried to explain that she had tried to call Abbie's cell phone to cancel their lunch plans because one of her professors wanted to have a meeting with her, but she was cut off when Abbie slapped her across the face a second time. Alex couldn't help it as the tears poured from her eyes.
"You are lying to me, Alex! You know how I deal with filthy little liars! Strip!"
Alex flew to obey Abbie's command, knowing better than to protest or hesitate. She quickly took off every stitch of clothing she had on, even her socks, and lowered herself over the arm of the couch. She hissed when her bruised breasts made contact with the couch fabric. Alex hadn't worn a bra in months because it just hurt too much.
Abbie picked up the remote to turn on the radio, and turned the volume up loud. Somebody in the next dorm room pounded on the wall and hollered for them to turn the music down, but Abbie ignored them. The beating began without warning, but Alex's screams could not be heard over the loud volume of the music. Alex was afraid of the radio. Nothing good ever happened when the radio was on. Alex screamed and sobbed. Abbie offered her no sympathy, and berated Alex for her tears.
"Do you see what you make me do to you, stupid bitch?! I wouldn't have to do this to you if you weren't such a bad girl! If you don't want to get your ugly ass beat, then you stay in line! Or are you too stupid to figure that out?!"
Yes, Alex knew that she was a stupid bitch. She knew she was a bad girl. Only bad girls got beaten almost daily. Only stupid bitches got beaten for the same offense more than once. Alex didn't understand why she couldn't just learn her lesson. If she were smart, she would learn her lesson after only one beating and never make the same mistake twice.
The beating seemed to go on for hours. Abbie even made Alex change her position so that she could take the cane to Alex's breasts again. Finally, though, Abbie ran out of steam. The radio was turned off, and Abbie looked down at her distraught partner with a frightening lack of compassion.
"Get out of my sight. I don't want to see you until dinner."
Alex half-crawled to the bedroom and pulled herself up onto the bed, sobbing into her pillow, hurting on the outside and on the inside.
It hadn't always been like this. Once upon a time, Abbie adored Alex and treated her like a princess. Abbie's eyes sparkled with love for her partner. Abbie's kisses were tender. Her words were loving and kind. Her hands were gentle. Abbie was proud to have Alex on her arm as they walked through campus together. Alex trusted Abbie. She trusted Abbie so much that she eventually told Abbie her deepest, darkest secret. Alex had an unusual need. A need that one would assume did not mesh with Alex's confident, all-in-or-all-out personality; the personality that would one day make her one of the best lawyers in New York.
Alex had a need for discipline. Specifically, physical discipline. She knew that some people enjoyed incorporating spanking into their sex lives, but spanking during sex did nothing for her. She preferred the behavior modification side of things. She wanted a loving partner to take her in hand when she stepped out of line. She wanted the structure of rules and the guidance of someone who had her best interest at heart.
Abbie was fully supportive. The couple had several very long discussions, hashing out the guidelines and boundaries so that there would be no confusion between them. Alex's very first punishment was a simple handspanking. As Alex stood in the corner afterwards, she felt sore, but she also felt sufficiently dealt with for what she had done. Alex knew that this lifestyle would be good for her.
Then, Abbie received a phone call from home, and she had to fly home to Texas for a funeral over her spring break instead of taking Alex skiing like they had planned. Abbie called Alex once, to let her know that she had arrived safely, but Alex did not hear from her for the rest of the entire week and a half that she was gone.
Upon Abbie's return to school, even a blind person could see that she had changed. The light was gone from her eyes. She no longer wanted to hold Alex's hand or kiss her. There were no more adoring smiles. No more encouraging words when Alex was frustrated with one of her professors. No more fingernails searching for Alex's tickle spot in moments of playfulness. No more date nights to their favorite restaurant. No more loving discipline when Alex let herself down. One might assume that a person who changed so drastically in such a short period of time must have developed a drug and/or alcohol problem. But no.
Abbie was stone cold sober the first time she beat Alex with the cane. A spanking gone very wrong. A safeword not honored. And that was when Alex started to become very, very afraid.
Now, nearly two years later, Alex never left her dorm room without makeup on to cover her bruises. She didn't wear tight or revealing clothing anymore. Abbie demanded sex, and Alex would be beaten if she refused. Alex didn't have a lot of friends, but even if she did, she wouldn't be allowed to hang out with them unless Abbie was with her. Once, at a party, Abbie had caught her talking to a gorgeous girl named Olivia who went to school at the Academy. Ever since then, Abbie was convinced that Alex was cheating on her.
True, Alex felt an attraction to the strikingly beautiful Olivia, but the two were just friends. Alex knew that there was no chance somebody like Olivia would be interested in somebody like her. Alex was too stupid, lazy, selfish, and bad. Damaged goods. Abbie told her so every day.
Alex blinked several times, realizing that she had fallen asleep on the bed. She looked at the clock. It was 4:45. The cafeteria would open for dinner at 5:20. Alex, still in considerable pain, didn't know how she was going to make it through an entire meal, but she knew that Abbie would be expecting her to make an appearance. Their classmates would ask questions if Abbie showed up to dinner without her.
Having fallen asleep still naked, Alex got dressed. She went into the bathroom, splashed water on her face, and fixed her makeup. She brushed through her long blonde hair. Satisfied that she looked presentable, Alex exited the bedroom. She found Abbie also getting ready for dinner.
"Oh, there you are. Remember to watch your calories at dinner. You don't need any extra pounds on those thunder thighs of yours."
"Okay. I'll just have a salad or something."
"Whatever."
Alex plastered a smile on her face all through dinner. She chatted and joked with their classmates. She winced only once, when Casey Novak patted her shoulder with a little bit too much enthusiasm, but luckily nobody noticed. They did notice, however, when Alex only got a salad with no dressing, bypassing the fried shrimp that the cafeteria was serving. Alex loved fried shrimp.
"Hey, Al, what gives? It's fried shrimp day!" George Huang looked distastefully at Alex's plate. His friend had to be either sick or crazy to pass up fried shrimp for that limp, brown lettuce that she called salad.
"I'm on a diet." Alex lied.
"Girl, if you need to be on a diet, then I'm Julia Roberts!"
As usual, Abbie demanded sex that night. And as usual, Alex had no say in the matter and tried to pretend like she was into it, knowing what Abbie would do to her if she just laid there like a rag doll. Alex did not have enough strength to take another beating so soon after the one she had received that afternoon.
Abbie was not gentle with her, and afterwards, Alex quietly cried herself to sleep, feeling sore and humiliated. Her heart ached. She desperately wanted somebody to love her, but she was trapped. A beating would be the least of her worries if she tried to leave. Abbie would kill her.
Alex had seen the knife.
