The walk back to the house was silent as I followed Andrew. His goons were behind us stomping through the mud. When we reached the house I tried to sneak back to my room, but Andrew grabbed my arm steering me towards another part of the house. I started to beg him, but decided against it. He wasn't going to break me; I was done acting like the good little girl. He dragged me into a bedroom off of the kitchen. It didn't have much, a bed in the middle, roaring fireplace to the right and a dresser against the farthest wall.
Andrew threw me against the bed, locked the door and then turned his dark eyes onto my frame. "Strip." He ordered.
"No." I knew it was coming before I registered the sting against my cheek. Swirling my tongue around my bottom lip I tasted the usual rust and salty flavor of my blood. I smirked at Andrew, "Still not gonna do it." I stated cheekily, knowing I was asking for trouble.
He knocked on the wall and his two goons came through a door I didn't realize was on other side of the room. Both men came over and tried to restrain me, I bit, kicked and punched, but it didn't help. Andy's goons held me as he dug through the dresser. He held up his knife with a smile on his face, but placed it on the top of the dresser and continued digging.
By the time he was done he set up his own display of toys. The top of the dresser held his knife, whip, different utensils, a bag and ropes. Whatever he had in mind wasn't going to be pretty.
He ordered the goons to tie me to the bed on my stomach with my arms and legs apart. I wasn't going to scream. The last thing I saw was his men leaving the room and him placing the black bag over my head.
"I will not go easy on you do you understand?" I didn't answer him, making him angry. I could hear his footsteps move around before air touched my body as he began to cut my clothes off of me. "Answer when I ask you a question."
His hands sent shivers down my back, making my stomach clench as nausea hit me hard. Andrew's hands were all wrong. I wanted rough, callused hands on my waist, not soft ones. "You will count." He ordered. I didn't understand what he meant, but found his meaning as I cried out when something hard cracked against my bottom.
I bit my lips to keep myself from whimpering or screaming, his smacks with the object becoming harder the more I stayed quite. After I don't know how many cracks he took a step back, most likely catching his breath then proceeded walking back towards the dresser. "I love it when you miss behave." I didn't move or say anything, gave him no reaction at all. "Quite girl tonight huh? Well see about that!" On the ending note of his little speech I was hit with what felt like fire against my back. Each lick tarring my skin open.
He cracked the whip hitting me over and over. I cried out after the forth one, the searing pain making my back flamed. The fire like it spread through out my body causing it to burn up. "Good girl . . . now count lovely." I bit my lips harder, making them drip with blood as the leather torched my naked skin repeatedly. I started seeing stars when he stopped. Tears were rolling down my face, and my lips were bleeding so bad all I could taste was blood.
Andrew started to go for the dresser when there was a knock on the door. "What?!" He roared. His goon replied in a meek voice, "The President is here Sir." Andy rushed around the room, mumbling things here and there that I couldn't quite decipher with me close to passing out from the pain.
"If you don't straighten up by the time I get back, well finish what I started." He threatened his voice vicious. It wasn't long after he left the room that I fell into the pits of black as the pain took over and I let myself break.
He kept me in the room for a week. No food, no water, no clothes and my wounds were never treated, so when he finally came back in he had to reopen the wounds to clean them, so they wouldn't get infected. Andrew decided instead of just letting the stripes on my back heal naturally, he would use his blade again to scorch them closed, stopping the bleeding.
After I was all cleaned up, he made me eat and get dressed. Getting dressed hurt like hell, I was bruised all over from fighting his goons, him spanking me and then the lashes. Any movement involving my back was hell. I went back to playing the good little girl after Andy told me that the entire town was invited to the ball, I was hoping the O'Connell's would be there.
Tonight was the night of the ball and I was ordered to be beautiful, to outshine all other women. This morning he woke me with a kiss to my forehead and laid a garment bag on the end of my bed. "Did you sleep well dear?"
I nodded my head, "Yes, Sir, very well." Lie. I couldn't get an ounce of sleep due to my back. It was worse then the when he lashed my front.
"Perfect." He drawled out. His frame was staring out the window with a smile etched onto his handsome face. Only if others knew what laid underneath of it, the monster. I thought Monroe was once a monster, but I was wrong. This man . . . this man was worst then a monster, he was the devil.
Monroe . . . . will I ever see him again? I thought as an ache started in my chest. Would I be able to tell him how I feel? Would he accept me? I made a prayer to whoever was above that Shannon was right, that he was on his way. That Bass was coming.
I prayed that Bass and I would make it home safely.
"Your gown." Andrew broke me from my thoughts pointing to the bag against the bed. I nodded my head. "A young woman will be here tonight to do your hair and makeup. Eat and then wash up."
"Yes, Sir."
"Good girl." He came over and petted me as if I was a cat. I wanted so bad to yank away from him, but not only would that hurt me in the condition I was in, but it would mean I wouldn't be able to go to the ball and see the O'Connell's tonight.
Andrew smirked at me, knowing I wanted to kill him. He petted me a little bit more before kissing my forehead once again and left to one of his meeting. Watching the white door close behind him, I imagined taking the knife I used for breakfast to mark his body like he did with mine.