Free Alone by Marissa Farrar Page B

frantic gasp of air,
before pushing her back down.
    Serenity managed to turn her head to one
side, gulping much needed oxygen, her eyes squeezed shut against
the hot food. Gravy stuck her eyelashes together and matted her
hair. Jackson’s initial rage had subsided; he’d had his
fun.
    He laughed cruelly, and took his hand off
the back of her head. Serenity lay across his lap, humiliated;
exactly what he wanted.
    “ This isn’t time for a rest, you
dumb bitch,” he said. “You owe me a meal.”
    Serenity held back the tears until she
made it out of the bedroom, then she stumbled down the stairs with
tears pouring down her face. They were tears of rage and
frustration. Her hands shook so badly she thought she might drop
the tray on the floor this time.
    I hate him. I hate
him!
    Somehow, after all the beatings,
bruises, and pissing blood, having her face rubbed in her husband’s
chicken and potatoes had done something to her resolve. Finally, she decided
to leave.
    Back down in the kitchen, Serenity dished
more food onto a clean plate. It was the meal she planned to eat,
but she didn’t care. Deep in the pit of her stomach, a spark fired.
Excitement, nervousness and fear completely sapped what little
appetite she had left.
    Serenity no longer cared about the
practicalities; she would live on the street if that’s what it
took. If she was treated like a dog in her own home, then she would
roam the street like one.
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Eight

     
    Night had fallen once
more.
    Sebastian paced around his house, for
that was all the building meant to him—a house, not a
home.
    A home should be filled with love and
family and memories. This place contained none of those things. No
family photographs filled the walls, no pets welcomed him home, and
children’s laughter hadn’t been heard within the walls since
Sebastian moved in.
    The beautiful house had been filled
with the finest furnishing and most expensive decor, but none of
these things gave the building a soul. Like the vampire himself,
the house was little more than a shell.
    Loneliness had become a part of
Sebastian. He thought he’d grown immune to the feeling. Loneliness
and he walked hand in hand, joined together like Siamese twins.
Only now the twin had become parasitic, the loneliness feeding on
him to grow stronger.
    As his solitude grew, Sebastian’s
resolve to stay away from Serenity weakened.
    He must be going crazy. He meant it when
he’d told Serenity not to leave her husband for him. Their being
together was inconceivable. He wouldn’t contemplate the events that
needed to happen to make their union a possibility, yet he wanted
to be around her. Being close to her healed his wounds but
Sebastian knew his being there wasn’t good for her. He could bring
her nothing but confusion, anguish and despair. With a single word,
he would turn her whole idea of the world and what it contained
upside down.
    Serenity didn’t deserve any of this.
She should be happily married with a couple of children, or have a
high flying career or be travelling the world. She should be doing
whatever she wanted to make her happy.
    Frustration churned within him as he
paced. He couldn’t stay indoors, the confining walls did nothing to
help his pent up despair. He needed to be outside, part of the
night again.
    Sebastian stepped out of the front
door and headed down the driveway to the front gate. He hit the
buzzer on his keys and the electric gates slid open before
him.
    An unused, silver Audi A6 sat in the
drive. Despite having taught himself to drive many years ago, being
behind the wheel made him nervous. Driving wasn’t in his nature.
Anything involving technology and mechanics didn’t sit well with
him.
    W hat was the point in a car when he moved
faster under his own power?
    Sebastian didn’t intend to head
down into the commotion of the city. Even at night, Los Angeles
bustled with people. For every celebrity, several thousand wannabes
lived in the