Chapter Eight: Relationships
Andrea's POV
Avery leaves to stay all night with my sister. I am left alone with him. This is the very situation I had been trying to avoid. Although he has already raped me twice. What's the worst he could do?
"She will be fine," he tells me, leading me to his apartment this time. We enter his apartment and he closes the door. Inside, I look at him and he looks at me.
"Shane and Amy are happy," I said, sitting on the sofa in his living room, thinking back to the few minutes ago when I had seen them dropping off Avery at their place.
"They will stay that way. If you agree to marry me. I don't want Amy or anyone but you," he says, putting his arms around me.
"What happens if I don't? If I don't continue playing house with you, what will you do?" I asked, not wanting to know the answer.
"Truth?" he asks.
"Always better to be honest," I said, looking at him.
"First, I'll kill Shane while you watch. Then, I'll give Amy to Martinez, and God knows what he'll do with her. He's been talking about her ass a lot. So one can imagine she will be sore. Finally, I'll separate you from our daughter. You won't see Amy or Avery. I'll keep you locked to my bed for easy access. I'll feed you just enough to keep you alive," he says, looking evilly.
"That is the most romantic thing I've ever heard," I said, rolling my eyes.
"Doesn't have to be that way. It's your decision, Andrea," he says, his hand on my face.
"Philip, I have never loved you. I would only be pretending. Even when we were dating, I never loved you. That's why I didn't say it. You were just a boyfriend, someone I had fun with. I liked you, but I never loved you," I said, hoping to make him see why this couldn't work.
"Andrea, I know you don't love me. I am very observant. I know you love Shane. I see the way you look at him. You look at him the way I look at you. I don't need you to love me to marry me. I need you to obey me," he says forcefully.
"You can't tell Amy," I said, shocked that he knew.
"Everyone has their secrets. I believe in time you will learn to love me instead, Shane. If not, it doesn't matter as long as you do as I ask," he said unabashedly.
"Your behavior has changed since our relationship. You've become distant. You used to be more relaxed and enjoyable," I said truthfully.
" I had a daughter named Penny. She was attacked by a biter. She turned, and I didn't want to let her go. Martinez finally convinced me she was gone. I had to kill my daughter to end her suffering. That changed me. I am a monster now. I am a man now who gets what he wants. I am not losing another daughter. I am going to keep Avery safe", he says determinedly.
"Everything has changed. I've lost my power, and you are now in charge. If you had found out about Avery before all this, I'd probably have gotten sole custody. You'd get every other weekend at best. But now I know it's your town. You call the shots. Let my sister stay with Shane. I will do what you ask. I don't want to be separated from Avery," I said, accepting my situation for what it is.
He looks into my eyes and knows that he has finally broken me.
"So you will be my bride? We are going to raise Avery together? We are going to be a family?" He asks, smiling.
"Though I didn't feel like I had much choice in this decision," I responded, "I want to be with my daughter, Avery. I don't want to be tied to a bed. So yes, I will marry you."
We should celebrate. I have a nice dinner prepared for us, he says, pointing to the kitchen.
I take his hand and we walk to the table together. He pulls out my chair and pours me a glass of red wine. We eat grilled chicken, baked potatoes with sour cream, and strawberry cake for dessert.
I eat extremely slowly, knowing that he'll likely want to make love after dinner. I still don't want to.
"Let's go to bed early to celebrate our engagement," he says as I take the final bite of cake.
"you don't want to go out for a walk. The moon looks beautiful," I said, hoping to distract him.
"Curfew is at eight o'clock. We can't be out that late. Besides, I am ready to make love to my fiancée. You decided to marry me, so no tears tonight," he says firmly.
I decided to marry you because you threatened to kill Shane, told me my sister would be forced to marry someone she didn't love, and said you would rape me every day if I didn't. It wasn't much of a choice, I think.
"Could we take tonight off? We did make love this morning," I reminded him.
"Let me tell you when you get a night off. For now, assume every morning and night that I am home will be love-making time," he says, removing his belt and dropping it loudly on the floor.
"Please," I beg, trying not to cry.
"Sweetheart, no tears. That will only make me angry," he whispers.
"Can't help it," I said, following him to the bedroom. He helped me remove my clothes, covering me with his body as we lay on his bed.
"Come on, Andrea. Just don't cry," he says, thrusting himself into me. I use all my strength to hold back my tears. I bury my head into his chest. My body takes over, and I find myself enjoying the way he feels inside me.
Soon, I knew that his sexual assaults would just feel normal. Maybe in time it would actually feel like love making. Because he wasn't going to stop. And I had to keep pretending. He took my gun weeks ago and no one would let me over the wall with Avery. Besides, we were always guarded. I was considered his treasure.
"I love you Andrea," he says once he is finished.
"Goodnight," I said softly.
"Say you love me. You're about to be my wife, so say it," he demands, even though he knows I don't.
"Philip, I love you," I said, allowing him to hold me until I fell asleep. I knew soon he would have us moving into his apartment.
I close my eyes and try to rest.