Forced to be Yours

The Lady in Red Heels

*flashback*

SOPHIE’S POV:

I and my babysitter was in a park playing by the swing because my parents were doing business around this area. I suddenly saw a vendor selling balloons. The red heeled balloon caught my eyes.

“Ms. Gina, can I have that balloon?” I asked my babysitter.

“You want that, Ms.? Okay, I’ll get it for you.” She walked over to the vendor.

I was swinging alone when I saw a lady in red stilettos walking. She was walking so elegantly so I followed her in a street.

“Hi little kid.” She greeted me. Flashing her pearly white teeth and hot red lipstick. “Are you lost?”

I shook my head no. “I love your shoes.”

She looked down her shoes before looking back at me with a scary grin. “I have a lot of shoes. Do you want to see them?”

I nodded excitedly as she took my hand and we started walking.

We went inside a scary looking house and I heard a boy crying.

“Were home!” The lady shouted and her voice echoed all through the house. “I brought you your little sister.” We approached a crying boy, his hands and feet tied in a rope. He cried even more when he saw us.

The lady let go of me so a sat next to him. “Why are you crying? Are you here to look at her shoes too?”

The crying boy shook his head.

I looked at the rope on his head. “I want one of those too.” I told the lady, pointing at the rope.

“No, no! What are you doing!?” The boy exclaimed at me that made me cry.

The lady approached me with a rope and tied my hands too. “Hush now, my son. Take care of your little sister okay?” She stood up to leave but I spoke up.

I sniffed a bit. “Can I see your shoes now, Ms.?”

Her heels stopped clicking and she snapped on me. “There is no shoes! Now shut up while I wait for your father!”

I started crying again. The boy dragged himself with me. “Were sorry. Were so sorry.” He told the lady but the left us in the room.

“Please stop crying. She’s gonna get mad at us and hurt us if you continue to cry.” The boy told me. “What’s your name?”

Sniffing, I answered. “Persophonie Duval. My friends call me Sophie.”

“Alright Sophie, I’m Luke. We aren’t safe here and if you continue to cry she might hear us. So while were here, try not to cry too much and I’ll us a way to escape okay?” He whispered to me and I can only nod.

~

The lady would feed us porridge twice a day and she would call us her kids. We’ve been here for 3 days now and I’m starting to miss my parents.

“I wanna go home!” I said while crying.

“No, no, Sophie please don’t cry.” Luke begged me.

I cried even more. “I miss my mom and dad! Please let us go!”

“Sophie, please stop.” He continued to beg.

The lady came in.

“Please, Miss! Let us go! I miss my mom and-..” I told her.

She dropped the tray she was holding with our porridge in it which startled me. “Shut up! I am your mother now and your father will be home soon so behave yourselves!”

She threw us a wiping cloth. “If you don’t clean that up then let’s see what I can do with the two of you, you ungrateful kids.” She left us again.

Luke immediately took the cloth and started cleaning the floor. I cried silently.

“Sophie, please stop crying.” He said. I can tell he’s holding in his tears. “Were gonna escape it here. Trust me.”

The lady suddenly came back with scissors.

“No, no, I’m so sorry. I’m gonna finish it-..” Luke was cut off when the lady spoke.

“He’s not coming.”

We both sat silently. Pushing ourselves closer and closer to the corner.

“He’s not coming back. He left us.” She sobbed. “He’s never coming back!” She fell down her knees, dropping the scissors in the process. “This can’t be! This can’t be happening. I can’t take care of two kids on my own. I just can’t.”

She roamed the floor and found a rope.

Luke tensed up and kneeled down. “No, wait! Please! Don’t do this!” He begged. “Please! There’s another way! There’s gotta be another way!”

“Shut up!” She screamed back.

LUKE’S POV:

“Please! Don’t do this!” I continued to beg.

She turned to me. Her mascara was smudged from crying. Her face was full of horrors. “There is no other way.”

I shook my head. “I’ll help you! I promise. I’ll help you get better.”

She gave me her scary grin before walking out of our room. I can hear her adjusting a wooden chair.

I looked at the crying Sophie before I crawled because I couldn’t walk with the ropes tied in my hands and ankles. I peeked through the wall separating us from the lady. She tied the rope to the wood of the broken ceiling. I gasped and crawled back the wall.

I cried with Sophie. “What’s wrong?” She asked between her sobs.

She can’t see nor hear this. I can’t let her.

I wiped my tears. “Close your eyes and cover yours ears.”

She did as I told her as I put my hand on top of hers who’s covering her ears.

I have to be tough for the both of us.

There was a loud thud and followed by light screams and struggle.

Tears fell down my eyes for I know what’s happening. “No, no, no, no…”

After it was done, I let go of Sophie and let my body collapse the ground as I cried myself.

“I’m scared.” Sophie muttered.

I have to be strong. We have to get out of here. I slowly sat up and scanned the room, finding the scissors she was carrying a while ago outside the door frame of the room.

“Stay here, Soph. I’ll get the scissors outside. Stay here okay? Promise me.” She nodded so I wiped my tears and hesitantly crawled myself out.

Holding in my tears, I tried my best not to look at the scene but I can’t avoid it. Her red heels are on the floor and there she hanging by the ceiling.

I whimpered a bit and continued crawling for the scissors. “Just stay there, Soph. Everything’s fine.”

When I finally got the scissors, I hurried myself back at Sophie. Cutting the rope tied on her wrists as she helped me get off mine.

I sniffed. “Okay, Soph. When we go out, I want you to keep looking down okay? There’s a very big dead snake outside and you can’t look at it. Do you understand?”

She didn’t respond yet I stood up and walked slowly towards the door. When I looked back at her, I saw she didn’t move. “Sophie, let’s go! We can go now!” I pulled her out and slowly made her look at the ground. I made sure I shielded her from the scene.

I looked back and saw the dead lady. “No!” I screamed and pulled Sophie out faster.

We’re finally free.

We went straight to the nearest Police Station and made a report. They called our parents and both our parents cried by the sight of us.

“I will never forget you and when I find you, I will marry you.” Those are Sophie’s last words to me before she left.

That is when I decided that I will never forget her too. Persophonie Duval. I made sure I remembered that.

*flashback end*

LUKE’S POV:

“…I was lucky I get to ask the little girl’s name. Its-..”

She stood up from her chair. “Persophonie Duval.” She was crying.

I nodded to reassure her and stood up in front of her. “And I finally found her.”

She continued crying and all of a sudden, she hugged him tightly, so I hugged back. “I’m sorry I didn’t remember.” She said through her sobs.

She still cries a lot. I was wrong before, she’s still the same Sophie from before, I was just being an ass before.

I inhaled her scent and caressed her hair.

She suddenly punched my chest light when she pulled away. “Why didn’t you tell me the very first time we met?”

I gave her a chuckle, “That little incident with you wasn’t very nice. Introducing myself won’t make me a lesser of an i***t. And besides, I enjoyed teasing you.”

She only glared at me and crossed her arms. “You are an idiot.” She mumbled.

I laughed at her. “Who knew we’ll actually end up getting married just like how you promised.”

She looked over at me sincerely. “Yeah.”

We talked for a few more minutes before deciding to sleep. I went back to the room assigned to me and fell asleep immediately.