Break Me

by ari87

Arella thought she had escaped the hard life she had become accustomed to as a child. But it's difficult to escape your past, and one man was more than willing to show her exactly what she deserved. Rated M for violence and themes! Possible hint of romance in later chapters.

27. Chapter 27

The bag sitting on the rickety table in the had been taunting her for a while as she sat curled up on a dingy green chair in the main room, her chin resting on her knees as her brow stay knitted together trying to figure out what to do with the sack full of hundred dollar bills spilling from the top. It had been three days since she'd been left here alone, with nothing more than the clothes on her back and a couple of weapons. The gun she'd always kept with her and a knife that he'd left in the backroom. And not long after she'd finally pulled herself off of the cold dirt outside the door, she'd sauntered back inside to lie back down on the mattress where she'd stayed for over a day drifting in and out of sleep much like she had when she'd first been taken to the hospital, not wanting to face the fact that not only did she have nowhere to go, but that she was completely alone. Cut off from everything and everyone. She had consider just ending it. Had laid the gun and knife out to consider just that. But before she could consider the idea too seriously, she'd found the bag. The same one she was looking at now, lying hidden under one of the chairs in the main room, stuffed with money. She wasn't sure if one of the men had been hiding it, or if maybe he'd left it for her to find.

But now she sat, staring at the bag as she tried to consider her options. She hadn't taken the time to count the money, but the bag was heavy, and there had to be at least a million dollars in there judging by the weight and size of it. She'd be lying if she said it wasn't a deterrent. Staring at the pile of money, she mindlessly tapped the arm of the couch with the knife in her hand, deciding the best course of action, trying to ignore the anger that made her want to stab something. Wanted to stab him. And she would one day. If she could ever figure out where he was. It was the anger that finally helped her make her decision. She wouldn't kill herself, because she wanted to live, she wanted to make him pay for everything that he'd put her through. Every beating, every insult, and most of all, for leaving her here, all alone, in the middle of nowhere. She would live, and she would thrive, and one day, she would take from him everything that he'd taken from her. In the meantime, she would take care of herself. It was what she was used to, what she'd always done, and she was good at it. She simply lost sight of that for the past few days.

Standing from the chair with a determined frown, she finally shoved the knife and gun into her pockets as safely as she could and grabbed the bag, throwing it over her shoulder with a grunt. It was remarkably heavy now that she was carrying the full weight instead of dragging the bag across the floor, but she forced herself to ignore it. She had a long way to go and whining wasn't going to make the trip any easier. Making a detour to the bedroom to grab the raggedy army green blanket from the bed and wrap it around her shoulders in a makeshift cape, she finally made her way to the door.

Placing her hand on the doorknob, she gave the room one last look, saying goodbye to the life that she had accepted over the past week. The one that was led by a madman and brought out all manner of madness in herself. Feelings that she'd shoved down in an attempt of a better life. It was a hard life, and it was terrifying, but it was unabashedly hers. And now, even that had been ripped away.

She rolled her eyes at the nothingness before opening the door, giving one good shiver from the cold night air as it whipped her hair around her cheeks before pursing her lips and taking the first steps along the dusty ground away from it all. The road from here on out would be hard. But then again, her life never had promised to be any easier.

*****So if you haven't already guessed, there is definitely a sequel in the works. I wasn't going to put it down on paper, but then I realized that no one can read my mind and see how the story ends. Go figure. So I'm working on it now! I should have the first chapter out in a few months. :). Once again, thanks sooooo much for reading/reviewing/and just joining me as I worked out this story. I hope you guys loved it as much as I do. And I can't wait to get part two out to you! It's gonna be a much wilder ride.