Chapter 2

It was time to leave the hotel room to go to the gym. Damian quickly tied his hair before pulling the bandana he got the day prior out of his pocket. He unfolded the fabric as a tiny paper bag fell from it. Inside it was a black leather clover hanging to a chain, wrapped in a piece of paper that he unfolded.

"Congratulation dear customer! You found the lucky charm! Come back to the shop with this lucky charm to get your free order.

See you soon.

Mina Sewing"

Smiling, he put the clover around his car keys, tied the bandana around his head, took his gym bag and went out of the room to join his friends.

-"I think we'll have to go back to the sewing shop after the gym" he said, showing his friends the little clover.

-"Lucky you!" Rhea shouted. "I never found any of these in three years!"

-"What did you win?" Finn asked?

-" A free order"

-"Hehe, we definitely have to go to the shop after the gym" JD chuckled, his eyes sparkling.

Damian smiled at Rhea's reaction, lucky? He had never been. He won a free order but going to ask for it might get the seamstress in trouble, and at the same time, he wanted to see her again so badly. Deciding to use the gym time to decide what to do, he followed his friends to his car.

-"Well, that was intensive" Dom said, going out of the locker room to Rhea's arms to receive a well-deserved hug.

The training was over, and they were all heading to Mina's shop. Damian suddenly remembered he did not think about the order, he didn't know what to ask for. Noticing his friend's absent gaze, Finn asked:

-"You don't know what to order right?" a nod of Damian's head giving him the answer he wanted. "It doesn't have to be a piece of clothing you know… Why don't you ask her to hang out with us? She looks like a nice lass"

-" Go for that!" Rhea answered without letting him the chance to talk.

The shop's bell rang as they entered the shop, Mina was there, tidying the shelves, threads tangled in her long hair. She turned to the visitors with a smile on her face, her black dress fluttering around her legs, showing more of her pale skin. It was obvious that her skin colour was due to a lack of sunshine, stained with black and blue spots. "Bruises…"

-"Your jackets are not ready yet" Mina chuckled, hugging Rhea.

-"Actually uh… I have…" Damian started.

-"He found the lucky charm!" Rhea finished. "Dammit Rhea! Let me talk!"

Mina took her measuring tape and her papers ready to take the order, a bright smile on her face.

-" I couldn't find what to ask for… so I got another idea, what about hanging out all together tonight?" Damian was quite surprised his friends let him talk. He looked at her with the best smile he could put on his face, deaf to all the explanations his friends gave her to make her accept.

-"You could just tell him you're going out with me" Rhea said

-"No need to tell him about us" JD added

-"Okay guys, I accept, I'm not working tomorrow" Mina's words pulled him back to Earth. "When and where shall we meet?"

His eyes opened with surprise and fear. As happy as he was to spend the evening with his friends and that intriguing lady, he still was worried that she would be in danger with her boyfriend. He couldn't stand the sight of these bruises; how can a man abuse his girlfriend like this? That Greg was lucky enough to have a beautiful woman standing to his side, why would he want to make her suffer? If it was for him, he would never let her feel sad or scared. Him who never had the chance to keep a woman long enough in his arms. He followed his friends out of the shop after greeting Mina. The music playing in the radio was "Sweet Dreams" by Eurythmics.

They were all gathered at the restaurant Rhea picked for dinner, happily chatting about everything. Mina got along with the whole Judgment Day, especially with Finn, who was the most easy going in the team. When they left the restaurant, they headed to go to play snooker, where Mina paired with Finn. They exchanged hugs when they won against Rhea and Dom. He teamed with JD, it was not his first choice, but at least they played well together, they even won against Finn and Mina, but lost again Rhea and Dom which led to grumbles and Damian leaving the table. He had always been a sore loser. When he came back to the table his friends were ready to play again, with different teams. JD insisted to pair with Mina, Dom played with Finn and Rhea went to him to give him the cue stick with a wink. The terror twins were on to win this match.

-"Why are you wearing a long sleeves dress during summer Mina?" Asked JD "Aren't you too warm?"

"Why do you have to be so stupid? Aren't the bruises a good reason?" Sometimes Damian was puzzled by how naive JD could be. As long as it was not about wrestling or seducing, the Irishman had no clue about anything.

-"I'm used to it" Mina answered calmy, smiling as she always did, her emerald eyes giving sweet gazes to everyone. Her hair tied in two long braids dancing on her breasts as she chuckled. He felt the anger grow within him.

-"Why are you so nice about this? You have to cover your whole body to hide bruises and you keep smiling about it, why? Why don't you just tell him to fuck off?"

The tone of his voice was harder than he intended. "What a fucking idiot!" He wanted to apologize but Finn outpaced him.

-"Please, forgive Damian, he has always been sensitive when it comes to violence towards ladies. He might be harsh, but he is not a bad guy" He tried his best to have his friend's back and Damian was grateful of that. He was so lucky such a man was his friend.

-"But he is right nonetheless" Rhea said. "Why don't you dump that fucking jerk and start a new life?"

Rhea bringing out the problem seemed to annoy Mina. Apparently she had been awaye from the beginning about the dress-maker situation but could not make her change her mind. "Another one stuck with a bastard not wanting to leave him." This situation was way too common for his liking.

-"Because he owns the shop. If I leave him, I would be left without nothing. No job, nowhere to live, he drinks all the money I earn so I can't even afford a room!" Her eyes were sparkling with tears, similar to little pearls blurring her vision.

-"We won't insist on this anymore lass" Finn said, trying to soothe her. "Whenever you need help, just call us, okay?

-" Sure" Mina answered, her tone saying it all about how much she would like to call but was unable to do so.

When she finally went back home, Greg was here, waiting for her in the bedroom, naked, a lewd gaze in his eyes. Mina knew what was going to happen, lowering her gaze, she began opening her dress slowly, thoughts of fear crossing her mind. Once undressed, she headed towards the bed. she knew what was going to happen, and she hated it.

-"You went out tonight you little whore. Did you have fun with your new friends? I'm not happy about it, you know what to do to ease me right?" he said, showing his shaft with his head. " Suck it! "

She did as she was told, hoping it would be enough to satisfy him for tonight. She didn't love him anymore; it had been the case for years now. But she had no other choices between Hell and Hell without a roof or a job, she had made her choice. She felt his hands pushing on the back of her head to make her go deeper, almost making her nauseous, she hated the tast of him in her mouth, and hated being forced. If it was some people's kink, she would gladly tell them to actually be raped before having fantasies about it. There was nothing pleasant or sexy in what she was living.

-"You know the night will not be sweet right?" he shouted, hitting her in the shoulder. "On the bed! On your knees, head on the pillow".

She obeyed, burying her face in the pillow to smother her tears and her screams of pains. It hurt, it always hurt so much even after all those years. The blod monster slamed into her violently, without any lube or foreplay, making her whimp in pain. He didn't care about her, he just wanted her body, and every reason was good to force her. This was the price she had to pay to keep a roof over her head and live from her passion. It still hurt, she forced herself to think about something else, sewing ideas, the evening with Rhea and her friends, anything to dissociate her from that body that was not hers anymore and stop feeling the pain.