Author's Note: The reason many don't run away from these places is because they are brainwashed into believing the outside world is bad. It's the only life they know and they are afraid to leave. Most of the runaways of these places are men because they usually have jobs outside of the compound. They see what lies on the other side and they escape. Women are always in a servile position, making it difficult to summon up the courage to leave.
*Warning: Very dark chapter...contains scenes of rape and abuse
Damon pulled me down the aisle with a smile as the congregation clapped. I wiped my face with my sleeve and ignored the concerned expressions of those around me. The trip was much shorter than my original walk down the aisle, but I then realized that Damon was pulling me at such an alarming pace to the reception in the yard of the church.
"What was that in there?" He suddenly stopped, turning toward me.
"This wasn't my choice," I spat.
"It's the Lord's choice, not yours. You embarrassed yourself in there. You're selfish if you believe that you're the only person that has ever suffered," He angrily hissed.
"What do you want me to say to you? That 'I'm sorry'? Because I'm not," I shouted.
"Congratulations, Elena," I heard behind me and I spun myself around.
"Thank you." I smiled at the woman who had come over for dinner at my family's home every once in awhile.
I turned back around to finish my bitter feud, but he was gone. The Prophet was speaking to him across the yard, and I rolled my eyes annoyedly. Instead, I walked over to the dessert table that had been set up, stuffing my face with whatever I could find.
That's when two women walked toward me. I quickly swallowed the food in my mouth, attempting to force a smile. One was carrying a young boy on her hip, the other laughing over-excitedly. The bubbly one began to speak
"Hello, Elena. We're Damon's other wives. I'm Caroline," She said with a smile, reaching her hand out to shake mine, "This is Rebekah. She is Damon's first wife."
Rebekah wasn't as welcoming in her introduction. She couldn't even bear to look me in the eyes. I looked at the child on her hip and cringed at the thought that I would one day be in her place.
"I'm going to go talk to Damon," Rebekah told us seconds later.
She walked toward Damon and I turned my attention back to Caroline.
"Don't mind her. She's just protective of Damon. She was the same way when I came into the household. You'll get to know her soon enough," She said softly, "Her husband died only a year before she married Damon. She hasn't been the same since. Those two children are all she has left of her old life and her husband."
"So, Damon doesn't have any children?" I asked curiously.
"No. I-I haven't been able to-" She began, but I immediately cut her off.
"I am so sorry, Caroline. I didn't mean to pry," I tried to explain.
"It's fine. Really. We're working on it." She smiled reassuringly and she rested a hand on my shoulder. "Just so you know, Rebekah's family came over from Europe years ago just to join our community. It's rare to get outsiders here."
"That would explain her accent," I laughed and Caroline giggled along with me.
It felt nice to finally find someone who wasn't so uptight all the time.
"I saw you crying up there, Elena. I just want you to know that everything is going to be okay. You'll come to love it here. Just listen to Damon and life will be pleasant," She whispered beside my ear before walking toward the ladies' bathroom.
I was suddenly left alone again and I took a deep breath.
"Elena," A male voice echoed behind me.
It was Jeremy. He looked pale and his jaw tense. I could feel my throat constrict.
"Our family is very upset with your behavior at the wedding. Everyone in the community has commented on your outburst. You are a woman...you must learn to obey your husband, Elena. If my wife was ever so out of place, I would be forced to teach her where she belongs."
I couldn't believe my parents had made him come over to speak with me. They hated me that much that they could not even face me themselves.
"Are you done, Jer? I don't need a speech from you. I refuse to be controlled because I am my own person and no husband is going to change that," I said bluntly.
"If you want to ever be happy, you should do what I told you," He turned away from me before leaving the table.
I couldn't believe my own brother didn't believe I deserved better than this. That is what really broke my heart that day.
Another two hours passed and the party soon became vacant. It was now late in the afternoon and wives were preparing to make dinner for their husbands. I sat on a plastic chair, picking at my cuticles for a while, watching as each and every person left.
My family had disappeared almost immediately after the ceremony. They had been too humiliated to stick around. I understood their anger. Damon walked toward me, the sun nearing its time to set directly behind him. I could already feel my face grow taut in fear.
"It's time to go home," He said sternly.
I didn't think twice before following him, grabbing the suitcase my mother had left on her way home. We walked down the dark dirt path toward his house. I searched behind me to see where his other wives had gone, but they were nowhere in sight.
"Caroline and Rebekah have quilting club tonight. We have the house to ourselves," He said plainly, picking up his pace.
I saw the structure he had described when we finally approached a big, beautiful white house with two large pillars. There was a quaint bench on the wrap-around porch and a row of yellow flowers along it. Damon grabbed my hand as we stepped inside the house.
The interior was just like the outside, very open and spacious, with a kitchen island pulling my eyes toward it. There was a staircase leading up to a second-floor balcony that could lead to surely anything. The house was more than I had expected! It's not that I would doubt Damon was rich, but for such a young man he was very wealthy.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"Silence would do you good," He retorted cruelly.
His words burned me. He was just like my father, just like every other man in this community. He tugged me down a hallway on the first floor. It was rather dark and I felt my breaths become haggard out of fear. He led me into the second room on the left, shutting the door behind us. My heart was racing.
"Now after your little outburst I have a feeling you're going to be a good girl," His eyes pierced me.
I simply nodded. He stepped toward me and I watched as his fingers reached out to unbutton my dress. What was he doing? I tore my body away from him, my eyes wide in horror.
"W-what are you doing?" I hissed, rebuttoning them.
"We are consummating the marriage. I am your husband," He explained in frustration.
"D-don't touch m-me," I stammered nervously.
"Do not make this difficult, Elena. Your body belongs to me now," He said softly, his eyes staring off toward the door beside me.
"No," I cried, scrambling further from him.
He grabbed me without any effort, pressing me up against the wall. The hot tears seared down my face and I futilely begged him to stop.
"I will give you two options here: Either you listen to me and I make this feel good or you fight me and I'll be forced to hold you down," He whispered next to my ear.
"What are you doing to me?" I sobbed, unsure of his intentions.
"We're going to make a baby," He said dully, continuing his way down the dress until almost all the buttons were undone.
"I'm not ready to have a baby," I was pleading, every nerve inside me screaming.
"Well, you don't really have a choice in the matter, my dear," He chuckled under his breath, "Now it's time to stop playing childish games and do what you were created to do."
"Go to Hell, Mr. Salvatore," I screamed, ripping myself from his hold in one swift move and running for the door.
He did not stop me surprisingly. I stumbled over my own two feet as I bolted for the front door of the house and into the street. I buttoned my dress as I ran, not caring that my thighs were burning and my lungs gasped for air. My family's home was just doors down from Damon's and I pressed on until I could reach the steps.
I leaned over for a minute to catch my breath before slamming the front door open. My siblings were playing a card game in the livingroom, but I shook my head, weaving in between the furniture until I saw my mother in the kitchen. I was sobbing but I grabbed her around the waist, falling to my knees in exhaustion.
She looked down in surprise, a gasp leaving her lips.
"Mother, I can't do this. Please. Please take me back," I begged persistently.
I tugged on her dress over and over, but she remained silent, her eyes growing wide in fear as someone entered the kitchen. Before I could turn my head to look, the invader had grabbed my hair in a vicious grip, yanking me away from her until I fell backward onto the tile flooring. He punched my over and over in my jaw, breaking the skin.
"Haven't you disgraced this family enough today? If anyone in this community finds out about this, our name will surely be damned. This is not your home. I will drag your God-forsaken ass back where it belongs," My father roared in anger.
My mother remained motionless, her hand covering her mouth. I cried over and over for her to help me, but she did not move from her place. My father began to drag me out of the room by my hair, my screams of delirium only causing him to walk faster. The trip was short, the road scraping against my dress as he pulled me toward Damon's house.
"Father, please," I screamed, "No."
I could see Damon standing on his porch in the distance. It was as if he had been waiting for me, as if he knew I would be promptly returned to him. No matter how much I fought against him, his grip only tightened and my screams only grew in volume.
"NO DADDY!" I screamed when he dragged me up the porch steps, right in front of Damon's feet. The blood was dripping in a puddle next to his shoe, the tears diluting the red substance.
"Damon I am so sorry about this. Please forgive-" Damon instantly interjected my Father.
"No one will know about this Mikael. I promise." Damon said calmly as if he had rehearsed it.
My Father instantly let go of my hair, letting me drop to the porch floor. I had never heard my Father so relieved in his life.
"Do whatever you have to to put her in her place. She obviously does not know." My Father spat before walking away from the house.
I was still crying, but Damon grabbed my arm in a harsh grip, leading me back to the bedroom I had run away from. As soon as we reentered the room, he slapped me hard across the face, sending an echo through the room. If the pain hadn't been bad before, it was now excruciating.
"You did this to yourself," He told me in a deep tone, "It didn't have to be this way."
His hands reached my dress, my body too weak to protest any longer. I closed my eyes to try to escape it all, but I couldn't bear not knowing what he was doing to me. I peeled open my lids and saw that the dress was off along with my shoes and stockings.
I felt him roughly throw me onto the bed. I didn't even move while listening intently as he removed his own clothing. I was pleading from my spot on the bed, my words muffled by my cries. He crawled onto the mattress, reaching out for my wrists and pinning them on either side of my head. His body hovered me and I thrashed my head defiantly.
He leant his lips down to the skin of my chest, kissing it all over. I soon began to relent. I was physically exhausted and every inch of me was aching.
"Please," I whimpered with a quivering lip.
"This is a part of growing up, Elena." He told me between kisses, "Submit yourself to me."
"N-no," I hissed rebelliously.
He suddenly pulled his lips from me, his eyes looking into mine with a harsh glare.
"Then I will make you," He told me in a growl.
Within seconds, he had rolled me onto my stomach, his hands still pinning me against the mattress. I was trembling violently. I was so scared that I began to grip what I could of the sheets. I hated being out of control and this position gave me no power.
"Now let's try this again. Are you going to be submissive?" He demanded.
"Y-yes Damon," I stuttered quietly, too afraid to push him any further.
"Good choice. Now spread your legs like a good girl". I slowly obeyed and sobbed louder when his grip on my wrists tightened.
"That's it," He hummed, using his hand to caress my hip.
I was shaking so badly, stifling more sobs of agony. He stroked my waist, moving his hand in circular motions up and down my thighs. I felt his lips suddenly right above my butt and he kissed the spot softly.
"Now, Elena, I'm just going to help you out," He told me sternly and I heard him open a small packet of something,"You're too dry."
I then felt his index finger between my legs and I let out a whimper. He hushed me, rubbing something cold on my skin. He smoothed it out with his fingertip and then pushed his finger inside me a couple inches, moving so that the area was also coated with what I think was a gel or lotion. I was sobbing again into the sheets.
"I'm going to deflower you now," He whispered beside my ear and before I could even think, I felt a sharp pain.
It was like being stabbed between the legs over and over. If it was even possible, his grip on my wrists tightened and I tried to shut my legs, but he was too strong. I could hear him moaning and the bed squeaking loudly with every thrust. I continued to scream, even knowing it was no use.
"Damon. Please," I shrieked, but he just kept pounding into me with unimaginable force.
His hands finally released my wrists, allowing him to wedge his hands under me and cup my breasts. He then lifted me up toward him, still holding my mounds. Soon, I was in an erect position on just my knees, the back of my head pressed against his shoulder. He kneaded my breasts softly, his breaths trickling down my neck. I let out a series of whimpers, his rough thrusts continuing even after my numerous pleads. His lips sucked my neck, his fingers playing with my chest, and his lower body pounding into me.
He again hushed my cries.
"Good girl," He whispered when my muscles went slack in his hold.
Suddenly, there was one last thrust and then nothing, only his haggard breaths beside my ear filling the void. I felt him pull out before he unraveled his hands from my body, allowing me to crash against the mattress beneath. I let out a groan when I hit it, the feeling knocking the wind right out of me.
I didn't move and I heard him move from the bed and to the door of the room. He threw his clothes on and I could hear him trying to catch his breath. He stopped when he pulled the door open, turning his head to say something.
"Elena, you should probably spend tonight praying to God that you are pregnant because it will be like this every night until you are." With that, he slammed the door shut, leaving me naked and bloody on the bed.