Her Ravaged Life

Ch. -10-

 “Why? Mom why?” I ask with a voice lesser than whisper. 

 Everything I knew was ruined. People who were supposed to love me threw me under the bus without looking back. I am left with nothing. 

 “Oh dear…” the line goes silent. She figured it out. 

 I just sit and look into nothingness. My mind is blank and heart is hurting more than ever before. It hurts so much that I want to rip it from my chest and shove it down his throat for destroying me. 

 I feel so empty. So useless. So alone.

 If the fact they deceived me is true, could it be that they really killed someone? Right now it seems like they could be capable of anything. 

 I slowly lift my eyes and find Barraza looking at me. There is no compassion or pity in his eyes. He knew this would be the outcome and he was ready for it. He doesn’t ridicule me for being so naïve nor does he push me to get over it. He just lets me soak it all in and try to make my peace with it.

 But there will be no peace. There has to be a reason why my parents would do that. All of it. The potential killing and betraying me. 

 “What do you need from me?” I ask him as there must be some use for me, otherwise he wouldn’t have me here alive.

 “Are you ready to help me?” He leans back and looks straight into my eyes. I am pretty sure he can see the answer in my eyes even before it leaves my lips. 

 “Fine. But I think they won’t be coming to rescue me so your plan got kind of flushed,” I say with defeated laugh. People who were supposed to protect me at any cost threw me away like I was nothing. The irony, I have always hated irony.

 “That was never my plan. YOU are my plan.” He points his finger lazily at me and quarter of a smile creeps on his face.

 “You have to be more specific, I am not having the best day and I am tired of your riddles,” I say and it is true. All of the emotional strain has taken its toll on me. I want everything clear and out in open so I know what is expected of me.

 One corner of his mouth lifts up into a smile as he watches me. “You will lure them out,” he says and lifts his finger to stop me from interrupting him, “I know they will not come to your rescue. They’ll probably think I will do unimaginably horrible things to you just to get my revenge, but killing you, wouldn’t punish them, as they gave you up just like that.” I can see disgust in his eyes when he speaks about how easily they ditched me. “So, we will put up a grand show being the most passionate and loving couple there is,” he finishes with dead serious look on his face.

 I start to laugh like a lunatic. I am laughing so hard that I can’t even catch my breath. Is he high?  

 “You think us being involved will lure them out?” I ask while still laughing at his bad joke and hoping that it is in fact a joke.

 “Cause then you’ll have something they don’t but desperately want,” he says with too much confidence in his voice. 

 I am having hard time understanding what he means. What would faking a relationship with him give me that they would want? This man really lives in different reality.

 “What would they want? You?” 

 “Money!” he answers and everything clicks into place. 

 Of course. My mom loved the distinguished lifestyle we had before entering witness protection and she hated being the middle-class citizen with nothing to brag about. Life from paycheck to paycheck was always beneath her.

 So it might work. Me finally having a wealthy boyfriend could coerce her to reach out and make amends just to get a piece of the cashcake. If the name of the said boyfriend won’t scare her even farther than she is.

 “And if it doesn’t work? How long do we have to keep the charade up?”  Because we might be underestimating my parents. They might see through his plan or just not bite at all.

 “It’ll work and,” he raises from his chair, strides around the table and swirls my chair so I am facing him, he places his hands on the armrests and envelopes me. He inches his face closer to mine and says, “As long as necessary my love.” With a smug smirk. 

 Everything about him screams dangerous and his presence radiates coldness but my body gets instantly hot when he encloses me. I want to dislike him for ravaging my life like it meant nothing but seems like my treacherous body is very pleased with how it turned out.

 Anyway, this time I am trusting my brain, I place my hands on his chest and push him away. “You can’t keep me as your prisoner forever. And what happens when you get your ‘r e v e n g e’?” saying that out loud I realize that I am signing a deal to end my parents life, to get them butchered like animals. “What will you do when you find them?” I need to know. I can still back out and take the blow myself.

 “Getting cold feet my love?” He asks and pulls me by hands so I crash into him. “Don’t worry about things that are out of your control.” His lips are brushing against mine. “I think it is time we practice the ‘charade’ you mentioned,” and his lips collide with mine.