Free Swept Away by Melanie Matthews Page B

sky and fires: pop, pop, pop . It’s empty. He throws it on the ground.
    “Why’d you do that? You could’ve used that to kill me.”
    “Oh, Daria,” he says, hauling me up with brute force. He’s nose-to-nose with me. “Your death is will be slow and painful.” His fingers are digging into my arm. I try to jerk away. I’m not going down without a fight. He curses in Spanish, and then in English says, “Keep struggling. The longer you fight me, the longer you’ll suffer.”
    I defy him again and jerk away. I’m free. I’m running. I feel arms around my waist, an unpleasant hug, as Emilio captures me against him. He drags me, screaming, towards his car. I try to kick him and fail. He’s too strong. 
    “You must be an expert at kidnapping girls,” I say.
    He’s laughing as he pulls my hair and slams my head against the car window. It doesn’t break, but I think my mind is shattered. He’s talking, but I don’t know what he’s saying. Everything is a blur. Is it night or day? I can’t tell.
    “Help me,” I manage to say, to anyone who will listen, and then everything goes black.
    I awake, hours or days later, I can’t tell. I open my eyes to see Emilio, above me. He’s panting, angry. I look down and see my skirt, pushed up. He’s raping me in his car. My mouth is gagged. My hands are bound. I can’t scream for help. I can’t hit him. I can’t take my legs and push him away. He’s holding me down. I scream anyway, gagged.
    He laughs and continues to thrust. “Scream all you want, bitch. No one can hear you.”
    I close my eyes and drift away.
     
     
     

Rape Me
     
     
    I open my eyes. He’s driving. I’m bound, but not gagged in the backseat. We’re on a highway. It’s still dark. I squirm around and notice my cell phone is gone. He must have destroyed it. My head is throbbing. I close my legs. He pulled down my skirt. My sex feels like it’s been torn to shreds. I’m horrified at the damage he did. He raped me. He abused me physically and mentally. I know I’ll never forget his face: the way his teeth were clenched, the way his eyes were—cold, cold like ice. I can still feel the dried spots of his sweat on me. 
    My wrists hurt. He’s bound them in cloth, but the knot is twisted beyond repair. Only a blade would loosen my binds. I look around the backseat, for any sort of makeshift sharp weapon. I see nothing. I feel my lip with my tongue. There’s dried blood on it. Did he cut me? Or kiss me until I bled? I’m about to spiral into madness. I shift the what-ifs away from my mind. I can’t focus on what Emilio did. I can only form a plan for the future: what I’ll do once I’m unbound. Gabriel has to know that I’m missing. He’ll come for me. He’ll save me. He’ll kill Emilio. It’ll all be over soon.
    “You’re awake,” he says, looking at me from the rearview mirror.
    “You must be disappointed,” I say in a voice not my own. I’m dehydrated. I clear my throat as best as I can. “I know how you like to take advantage of unconscious girls.”
    He laughs. “I admit, I wasn’t planning on taking you, but you were knocked out, silent, and that short skirt…” He shakes his head. “It’s your fault, you know, wearing such revealing clothes.”
    “Did you wear a condom? Pull out?”
    “No,” he says. “Don’t worry. You won’t live long enough for it to matter.”
    “Gee, thanks, lover.”
    He laughs. “If you’d been willing, it could’ve been much better.”
    “Doubt it,” I say. “I’m sure Vicki was more than willing.”
    “Very,” he says. “But I denied her. I wasn’t using her for sex.”
    “No,” I say. “You wanted information.”
    “Exactly,” he confirms.
    I turn and look out the window. “Where are you taking me?”
    “It’s a surprise.”
    “I don’t like surprises.”
    “You keep talking and I’ll gag you,” he threatens. “I do love a silent woman. It gets me excited. I might just take you again.”
    I ignore his