Almost four months after his girlfriend became his
forced girlfriend she dropped a bombshell on him. Josh knew that his feeling,
that the past few weeks had been the calm before the storm, had been correct
because he now found himself in the storm. No doubt about it.
***
“Let’s
live together” she said spontaneously. Josh’s eyes widened; this was the last
thing he wanted.
The
storm was here.
“What?!”
“Let’s
live together”
“Why?”
“I
want you to move in with me”
“But…
isn’t it a bit soon?” he hoped to talk her out of this, saying no certainly
wouldn’t work and this might. Even if it didn’t he had to try; he didn’t want
to move in with her.
“Why
would it be soon?”
“We’ve
only known each other for six months” Josh told her lightly.
“It
doesn’t matter how long we know each other”
“Oh,
I think it does”
“I
want you to move in with me”
“What
if I think it’s too soon?” Josh tried hesitantly.
“I
don’t really have to answer that question, do I?” she countered.
“No”
he said in a small voice. His shoulders slumped as he stood with his back to
the woman he so called loved.
“Where
will we live?” he asked defeated.
“Don’t
you worry about that, we can live here together, we got plenty of room” she
said smiling she got her way.
“Yeah…”
The threats had increased and his privileges had decreased. He fought hard
against the controlling people but his struggles got weaker, realizing they
were futile.
“I
think we should move in together as soon as possible”
“When?”
he asked, hoping he wouldn’t have to hear the answer.
“Tomorrow”
she said determined and he saw there was no chance in changing her mind.
He
looked at her with miserable eyes, hoping they would show the message he was
afraid to voice but she simply looked away as if she didn’t care. All that
mattered to her was him and she didn’t care how she got him even if it was by
force.
“I’ll
go get some of my stuff” he said meekly, already turning to the door.
“Good,”
she said content.
“And
tomorrow we’ll get the rest of your stuff”
Josh
nodded before he started walking.
“Josh?”
she called after him. He turned, waiting till she continued.
“Aren’t
we forgetting something?” she asked taunting. Josh sighed involuntarily, hoping
she hadn’t heard, he put on a fake smile and walked towards her firmly pressing
his lips to hers.
“Good,”
she said, “I’ll miss you”
“I’ll
miss you too” he mumbled reluctantly and he suddenly couldn’t get to the door
fast enough. He needed to get out of that house and he dashed to the front
door, sprinting away as fast as he could.
***
“Go
get Josh” Dan instructed some of his men. Josh had left the house a couple of
hours ago heading home but he hadn’t returned yet, making Dan very angry.
“Where’s
that punk?!” Sam asked when they walked through Josh’s apartment. All the lights
were out and it looked like he hadn’t even been here.
“Boss,
he’s not here”
“Then
keep looking” Dan instructed angrily.
***
Josh
walked aimlessly through the abandoned streets. All the lights in the houses on
the block were off. He liked the dark, it seemed to swallow him and he seemed
to disappear in the black night. That was exactly what he wanted: disappear.
His
mind wondered, thinking about how he met Louisa. He’d started working for the
Treydson company, the biggest one in town, three years ago and that’s where he
met the incredibly beautiful woman Louisa Treydson. Daughter of the man in
charge. Actually formal boss since he died a couple of years ago. However the
business still belonged to the family making them rich, powerful and well
respected in the community. On one evening, about six months ago, at a party he
met the lady he’d seen a few times before and fell in love with her. They
started dating and although people thought he was only going out with her for
her money, he really loved her for her.
Something
changed though. He didn’t like the way she always wanted to have her way but
the fact that bugged him the most was that she also always got her way. He got
fed up, feeling like a toy that didn’t really mean all that much to her. He was
her boyfriend but most of the time he felt more like her servant. For a while
he thought it would pass but it only got worse so he decided to end it. However
she didn’t agree and again she got her way. She wanted him to stay so she made
sure her brother threatened him to stay.
It
started as a fairy tale; falling in love with a beautiful rich young woman but
it ended in a nightmare. It had been bad enough the past few months, being
forced to go out with her was one thing but having to move in with her would be
even worse. It was the last thing he wanted.
He
stared at his feet as they moved forward, looking at the pavement washing by.
So deep in thoughts he didn’t even hear a car pull up beside him. The back
doors opened and two men stepped out, walking up to the young man they’d been
ordered to find and bring back.
“Sir”
one of them addressed Josh and he slowly raised his head, really not caring who
was talking to him.
“I
think you better come with us” the other one said appearing on his left side.
Josh wearily looked at him and saw the man carefully pulling away his jacket to
reveal a gun, it glistened in the light of the lamppost. Josh tensed up at the
look of the gun.
“Ooh
no” he whispered knowing these men were going to take him back to the place he
didn’t want to return to. The two men firmly grasped his upper arms while Josh
began to struggle.
“No!
No! Don’t take me back there please. No!” he yelled frantically while still
struggling against the men who were pulling him in the direction of the
awaiting car. His struggles were pointless.
The
two men were a lot stronger and had him sitting in the car without a lot of
trouble. Josh kept thrashing once they were in the car still yelling the word
no over and over again. He was determined to put up a fight. He wasn’t going to
let these men take him without a fight. Although he knew it was pointless he
couldn’t just stop and he didn’t have to. One of the men grasped his wrists and
painfully twisted them behind his back with one hand while the other hand moved
over his mouth to stop the angry and fearful cries of the young man. The man on
the other side grabbed his ankles and held them together to protect himself
from the kicking legs occasionally hitting him in the stomach. Josh struggled a
while longer then completely stilled his movements when he realized it wasn’t
any use and the grip on his ankles and wrists tightened the more he struggled
against them. Defeated, he slumped in the grip of the men holding him down.
Never noticing they were already driving towards the residence of the
Treydson’s.
***
His
stomach was twisting in a knot when he recognized the huge driveway leading up
to the Treydson’s home. They stopped in front of the front door. The two men in
the front seat stepping out and walking to the right passenger door where the
guy, who was still effectively silencing Josh, sat. They opened the door, two
hands reached inside and settled in Josh’s armpits while giving the two men in
the backseat the signal to release him. In one swift movement the man had Josh
pulled out of the car, his legs limply brushing over the two men before his
feet rested on solid ground. The man shifted his hands from his armpits to his
right bicep while the other man grabbed his left, together they guided a
slightly shaking and stumbling Josh to the door. The door swung open at once.
“Special
delivery” the man on Josh’s right side snickered.
Josh
allowed them to pull him inside and when the hands released him he was pushed
in the direction of the bodyguard awaiting his arrival. The same man who’d
gotten him from the police station.
“Thank
you gentlemen”
Josh
vaguely heard in the background as Dan gave the men their money as promised.
The man saluted as a way to say you’re welcome before disappearing through the
front door, followed moments later by the noise of the engine slowly fading. By
that time Josh was already sitting on the sofa in the living room. The
bodyguard who’d guided him there, standing in front of him. Dan joined the two
and took a seat on the coffee table while dismissing the bodyguard who kept a
close eye on the man on the couch. The guy walked around the sofa, standing
against the wall, never taking his eyes off of Josh.
“Good
to have you back”
Josh
glared at him.
“Where
did you disappear to?”
“Nowhere”
Josh replied dryly, looking away while he crossed his arms over his chest as
some sort of protection against the man across from him.
“Why
did you let them bring me back here?” Josh asked in a small voice.
“Because
you belong here…. with my sister”
“I
don’t belong here. I don’t belong to anyone!” he said angrily.
“You
do now” Dan said calmly but Josh got angry.
“No
I don’t!” he yelled getting up. The bodyguard was there in two steps pushing
Josh back down on the sofa.
“You
can’t make me. You can’t force me to be here”
“I
think we just did” Dan snickered, referring to the four men who’d brought him
back here totally against his will. Dan was right. Josh slumped further in his
seat, defeated.
“I
think you should go to bed. We’ll talk about this tomorrow, after all you live
here now” Dan said before walking away in the direction of the bodyguard.
Whispering some instruction Josh couldn’t quite make out. It was too far and he
wasn’t meant to hear it.
He
yelped when a hand firmly grasped his bicep pulling him off of the couch. Josh
pulled his arm out of the strong grasp mumbling, “I can walk by myself” before
heading towards the steps.
The
man following his every move till he was in bed about 15 minutes later.
Grateful he was alone when he was laying in the huge bed in the guestroom. It
still looked like a suite but he didn’t care about that now. In fact he didn’t
care at all. He knew the man had made sure that the window was locked before he
stepped outside. He heard the door being locked as well before hearing movement
on the hallway. Indicating the man was probably camping outside his door making
sure he wouldn’t run off. Josh twisted and turned that night the question.
What
am I going to do? constantly replaying in his mind.
What
can I do?
He
was alone in a huge bedroom, all his exits securely blocked and a huge guy
camping in front of his door. Even if he could run away, Justin would pay the
price. Feeling defeated for the umpteenth time that day he fell into a restless
sleep; his only escape from this nightmare that was becoming worse as time went
by.
