Chapter 8
Make Up Your Mind
Even outside the diner, Renee could still barely comprehend what had just happened inside.
She had gone from wishing to disappear into thin air to entering a state of mild shock when she witnessed Dean beating the man who had humiliated her in front of everyone. She had caught one last glimpse of the man, who was still lying on the ground, before making their escape. He was left as a bloody, beaten mess, whimpering in pain and unable to look at them. Renee was sure as hell that he would think twice before he was about to humiliate someone next time.
They didn't stop walking until Dean made sure they were far away enough from the diner. He was convinced that the owners or one of the customers must've called the police by now. Fuck, he didn't think about that for one moment while he punched that bastard's face into a pulp. Just like with that fucking bitch of a wife and his scumbag friend, Dean didn't regret what he had done. Renee was about to burst into tears after telling her saddening story to him, he could see on her face that it must have been so hard for her to do so. Despite the fact that she had lost both her parents and lived with a ridiculously strict grandma, she had a bright future ahead of her. She could've had a successful career as an interviewer, she could've had it all... but now, her life was marked with sexual and most likely physical abuse, all because of that bastard James.
And then that piece of shit showed up and had to make those vile, disgusting words to her. Dean had to make him pay for that mistake.
'Are you alright?' he asked when they stopped walking. The two were a few blocks away from the diner.
'I should be the one asking you...' Renee said, pointing at Dean's burst knuckles. The wounds looked so painful, it almost made her cringe. 'Jesus, Dean, look at your hands! They must hurt like hell!'
Dean inspected the back of his hands and stared at his knuckles for a little moment. Then he carelessly shrugged. 'I've had worse, trust me. It's nothing.' It was true, Dean had suffered far more worse injuries during a fight than some ripped skin on his knuckles. He didn't deny it, he had been in lots of fights during his entire life, especially in his teenage years. Most of his opponents were bullies from the playground of his school and scumbags who hang around in the neighborhood, there was no way in hell Dean would ever back down for them. As a result, he often ended up in raw, brutal fights where nobody held back. Dean would almost always win, but it was bound that he would claim in victory with painful injuries. A broken nose, a black eye, you name it, he had experienced them all; Dean even ended up with a concussion one time. That concussion was caused by his father, who wanted to teach his son a little lesson for attempting to prevent him from beating his mother during one of their many fights.
'You sure about that?'
'Yeah, don't worry about it.'
'My God... I really can't believe you have beaten up that guy.' Renee shook her head in slight disbelief. 'No man has ever done that for me.'
'That bastard deserved what was coming to him. He had no right to talk about you like that.'
Renee looked away for a few seconds, then looked back at Dean. 'What you have done was really messed up, but... I really appreciate it that you stood up for me. Thanks for that.'
She was a complete stranger for him and yet he was willing to beat the living hell out of that man for her. It was strange, but... Renee felt kind of flattered by this. Flattered may be a big word, but it was the best way she could describe it. If she had been with James, he wouldn't have bothered to stand up for her. Hell, he might've even told Renee to come along with the guy. But Dean... he was different. So far he had been treating her fairly well, he was willing to listen to her life story and he hadn't been rude to her once. It had been such a long time since Renee had been treated well...
Dean nodded, glad that the young woman appreciated what he had done. When he thought about it, she might've been the first person to ever appreciate him beating someone up. 'You're welcome. But I hate to break this news to you Renee, but... I'm not going to stay here in Rey City much longer. I'll be leaving soon enough.'
Renee blinked her eyes in surprise. 'W-what? But why? Why now?'
'Those people back in the diner may have called the cops already, so I have to make a run for it. And let's just say that I'm not really in the mood to spend my ass behind bars. But you don't have to stay here, you know... You can still get away from James, the prostitution, this shithole of a city, everything. You can leave that all behind and start a whole new life. You still have a whole freaking life ahead of you, Renee! So, what do you say... do you want to come with me?'
The prostitute widened her hazel eyes before rapidly blinking them once again. Hundreds of thoughts went through her mind at once. This was her chance, she realized. This was her chance to escape, Dean's offer was her key to escape her cage with bars made of forced sex and abuse. But when she was about to reach out to that 'key', her hand stuttered. She could hear all the death threats James had made echoing through her head, filling up every empty spot. To this day, she was highly convinced that his 'friends' were indeed watching her, waiting for her to try and escape so that they could rape and kill her. James had threatened her so many times to put a bullet through her head, stab her with the kitchen knife until her veins ran dry, strangle her until her throat crushed under the pressure, suffocate her with a pillow, drown her in the bathtub, each threat sounded more chilling and convincing than the other. And let's not forget about all the violence he had used on her. Every time when James let his rage loose upon her, she was convinced that she would die. Renee was convinced that James was finally going to make those threats come true when she would try to escape with Dean.
The threats and violence had sunk into her skin-deep...
'I... I can't.' Renee muttered with a soft voice. 'It's too late for me.'
Dean frowned his eyebrows. 'What do you mean, it's too late for you? Don't you want to get away from all-'
'You don't get it, do you?' Renee interrupted him. Her voice had become louder and angry. 'Don't you see it? I'm stuck here, Dean! I can't leave! I want to escape, believe me when I say that, but if I do, James' friends will come after me and kill me! God knows, maybe they will bring me to James so he can finish me off! I want to go, Dean... but I can't. I don't want to die...'
Dean didn't say anything for a moment as he stared at the ground. Renee wondered if she had angered him by declining his offer, but even if he was angry, she had told him the truth. Then Dean looked back at her.
'So you'd rather want to stay here, get fucked and humiliated by those pigs and get the shit beaten out of you by your pimp over and over again than going with me and start a new life?'
Renee bit her lower lip, thinking about her answer. But just before she could reply the question, Dean had already opened his mouth to speak.
'Alright. I'm going to give you a choice. I want us to meet again tomorrow and by that time, Renee, I want you to make up your mind. And I want you to seriously think about it. It's very simple. You either come along with me and get away from all of this, or you stay here and continue to live your life like it is until the day you die. Do you understand?'
Renee nodded. 'Yeah.'
'Good. Look, I've got to run now. Just think about what I said, okay? Goodbye, Renee. And thanks for the breakfast.'
Then Dean turned around and quickly walked away, just when the sound of police sirens could be heard from afar, leaving Renee with possibly the most important decision of her life.
She continued her day like usual, but even while she served her customers for today, Dean's words didn't leave Renee's mind for a second.
For this one day she didn't count to ten over and over again whenever a customer used her body to satisfy his lust. Her physical body may still be here, but inside Renee's mind, she had already ran off, far away from James, Rey City and her work. She did want to escape, she wanted nothing else, but it was the suffocating fear that kept her here. James had her in full control, that became painfully clear now.
Could she even fully trust Dean? Sure, he presented himself as someone who seemed to care about her despite her reputation, her knight in shining armor who would lift her on the back of his white horse and dash off with her into the sunset, but that's exactly how James acted too in the beginning of their relationship. Renee just didn't know what to think. She wanted to leave, but she was too scared to do so.
Today she had earned seven hundred dollars, an amount of money James would be very pleased with. Renee clenched the dollar bills in the pocket of her coat when she walked home at five o'clock. She didn't feel too scared now since she had collected a fair amount, so James would most likely spare her a beating now. Renee could already imagine how it would go; he would stare at the dollar bills, grin from ear to ear, nod in approval and tell Renee to go cook dinner for him afterwards. If he would act like that, the day would at least end better than the days where he would punch and kick her until he was convinced she had suffered enough pain. There was no way in hell Renee would ever tell him what was going on in her mind, though. Yes, she had been thinking about what Dean had said to her, she had been thinking about it all day long.
Just like always, she was greeted with the smell of mold when she entered the apartment complex. Renee highly doubted someone would ever show up to clean the place around here while she walked up the stairs. In the distance, she heard that someone had turned up the volume of a TV as loud as possible, almost overlapping the sound of knocking against a walling and the angry voice of an old lady telling the person to keep it down.
Renee let out a tired sigh when she stuck the key of the apartment inside the lock of the door; she was pretty sure Dean's offer would keep her up at night. She opened the door, expecting her boyfriend/pimp waiting for her on the couch... but the living room was empty.
'James?' Renee asked, locking the door behind her. That's strange, he would normally-
A blow to the side of her head made the world around her look like it was caught in a massive earthquake. Pain filled every spot inside her head when Renee lost her balance and fell on the ground, the pain was enough to make her sight temporarily go black. Renee managed to dart her eyes up; through the fading black spots, she saw James staring right back at her, his eyes showing nothing but rage.
'Who the hell was that guy you went into that diner with, Renee...?!' he hissed furiously.
Renee attempted to answer back, but she was only able to let out a frightened whimper. Oh God... did he follow her?!
'Was he a cop?' But when Renee was still unable to answer his question, James raised his foot as if he was about to stomp her. 'Was he a fucking cop?!'
'No, he wasn't!' Renee screamed hysterically.
The answer wasn't enough to cool James' burning rage. His foot hit Renee's hip with full force, making her wail in pain.
'You are supposed to fuck men, not have goddamn breakfast with them!' James shouted. 'Is this how you spend my money, you stupid bitch?! Do you think I hadn't seen everything! I wanted to make sure you were doing your job properly, so that's why I followed you for a while! I have seen everything, I have seen you two talking! What were you fucking talking about?!'
'Nothing... we were talking about nothing, I promise...!'
'Lying bitch... you stupid lying bitch!'
James kicked Renee over and over again as hard as he could. The only thing the poor woman could do was curling herself into a fetus position, cover her head and scream in pain, hoping that the neighbors would finally work up the courage to call the police. She was sure that they knew about her situation, but were too scared (or just didn't care) to help her.
James suddenly stopped kicking, catching his breath for a moment. He stared down at his beaten girlfriend/victim and couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth into a sinister grin. Just look at her, lying on the floor, curled up and sobbing in pain. So pathetic, so worthless, so vulnerable... it was enough to make something perverted well up inside him.
This would be the perfect punishment for this bitch.
He grabbed Renee by the hair and dragged her across the living room. She desperately tried to pry herself free and get away from him, but it was no use; James was much stronger than her. He had always been stronger than her. To her horror, Renee noticed that he was dragging her to the bedroom.
Oh God...
Was he...
Inside the bedroom, James forced Renee onto her feet and threw her on top of the bed. His grin only grew larger when he pulled down the zipper of his pants.
It didn't last long before muffled sobbing and the sound of a creaking bed filled the apartment.
