Axel

Chapter 1

Bella

8 hours earlier

I was sitting at my desk in work. I was a journalist in the features department at a local newspaper, The Herald. I had been there since I graduated college where I got my bachelor’s degree in journalism. I really liked it here, it was a small place to work, only 12 people who worked for our paper, we had a few freelancers too, but they didn’t come in the office. My desk was small, just big enough to fit my laptop on and a plant that my mom had bought me to liven my desk up. Our newspaper wasn’t as long as the New York Times, we didn’t usually have a lot to report on. And our paper was released weekly. We had a sportswriter, who followed all the local teams, we didn’t have a basketball team, we had a hockey team and a football team, that was about it. There wasn’t really a lot going on in our small town, Hollingbroke, North Carolina. Hollingbroke was near one of the larger towns, Greenville. I loved living here though, I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. I didn’t like the big cities; they were too crowded and busy. Hollingbroke had a total of 4,659 people.

     I was just finishing editing my most recent story ready to send off to print when my phone beeped. ‘Hey girl, its George’s birthday party tonight. Come back to mine straight after work and you can borrow on of my outfits.’ Nic. My best friend. We met in elementary school. After she caught a few girls pushing me around, a small, blonde haired, blue eyed girl with the face of an angel, came over. She grabbed one of the girls and punched her in the face! She warned them if they ever touched me again, then they would be dealing with her. “I’m Nicole, but you can call me Nic.” She said. “I’m going to be your friend.” Since then, she’s been my best friend. George is her cousin; I knew him quite well. We hung out a little bit at college. He was a year older than us, and we all went to the same college. ‘Sure thing, I’ll be leaving soon. I’m not wearing anything too short x’ I love that girl, but I cannot wear what she does.

     An hour later, I pulled up outside Nic’s house. I opened the door and walked through calling out to Nic. “I’m here!” “In my room!” Nic called. I walked through the lounge and kitchen and opened her bedroom door. “Hey!” she came at me with her arms open, pulling me into a hug. Nic still had her blonde hair and blue eyes, but she was taller now, she was 5,8, compared to my 5,3. She had a slim waist, and I was jealous of her boobs and ass. I was pretty average looking, my hair was an auburn color, which made me stand out. If I had brown or blonde hair, I wouldn’t have stood out in the crowd. I had dark blue eyes. I was average, average height, average weight, I didn’t have curves, I was plain. She was curvy but managed to stay slim at the same time. A lot of boys liked her in high school, they ignored me, but I was happy with that. I didn’t want to have the attention that Nic liked. Her bedroom was just like her, full of color, full of personality. She loved fashion, she loved her clothes and shoes. She had an amazing collection in her closet. We wore the same size dress, but because she was taller than me, I couldn’t borrow her jeans. I walked over to her bed and sat down. Her bed was so comfortable, with the large grey comforter draped over it. Plush cushions at the head of her bed. Her room was gorgeous. “Ok, so I’ve found you the perfect dress, are you ready?” “Yeah ok…” I said nervously. “Ta daaaaa!” Wow. This dress was beautiful. It was a navy dress almost the same color as my eyes. It had a low-cut neckline and went down to just above my knees. Nic had found some gorgeous nude heels to wear with it, and a cute little shoulder bag. Even though it was early February, and still technically winter, I should have been wearing a sweater dress and pantyhose. “I love it!” I exclaimed excitedly as I grabbed it off her and walked into the bathroom to change. Nic had no shame at all and was quite happy getting changed in front of anyone. I was far too reserved though and felt very shy undressing in front of anyone. Half an hour later, we were in a cab going to the bar. I’d never been to this bar before. I wasn’t a big drinker. My roommate in college had alcohol poisoning once and it scared me. I never wanted to be that ill! So, whenever we went out, I had a few drinks and then switched to either soft drinks or water for the rest of the night. We pulled up to a small bar about half a mile away. I opened the cab door and could hear the rock music blasting straight away. I looked up at the small building, it had big double doors. Nic linked her arm through mine and we confidently walked in. “This looks amazing!” She yelled as we got to the bar. She was right, it looked fantastic. The bar ran across the whole length of one wall, every type of alcohol you could think, lining the walls. Whisky, Vodka, Gin, even Sherry. The dance floor was right in the middle, chairs and tables surrounding it. The place was packed. There were lights everywhere, fairy lights running right across the bar, giving it a cozy feel. The music was coming from a jukebox, not a DJ, which somehow, fit the theme of the club. “What are you drinking?” “Just a white wine please.” We got our drinks; she paid the barman and we walked over to where the party was. “George!” “Hey!!! Thanks so much for coming!” George shouted to us over the loud music. “Happy Birthday George!” I shouted, giving him a quick kiss on his cheek. “Thanks Bella! I’m so glad you could come out!” Nic and George started dancing with some more of George’s friends. I walked over to the table and took a seat in one of the chairs. I drank my glass of wine and went to get another one. On my way back, Nic grabbed me and pulled me to dance with them. I danced with them for a little while until my feet started to hurt. I wasn’t used to wearing heels. I felt somebody looking at me, I could feel their eyes staring at my back. I turned, and glanced around the bar, catching the eye of a guy I hadn’t seen in a while. Nathan. I had known Nathan for a few years. Not very well though. I had had a crush on him back in the day. He was still really good looking. He was about 6 feet tall, with light blonde hair with big brown eyes. You could see he was ripped under his shirt, despite him being slim. “Hey is that Nathan?” Nic asked looking to where I was looking. “He hasn’t been seen in a while. I wonder where he’s been hiding. He’s got his eye on you though! You should go talk to him!” I didn’t tell anyone that I had been crushing on him since I was sixteen.

“No, I can’t.”

“Oh, come on, you’re both clearly interested in each other. You should go for it! Oh, shush! He’s coming over”

“Hi Nathan! Not seen you in a while, where have you been hiding?” Nic asked shamelessly.

“Hi, yeah I moved away last year. Just came back for my mom’s birthday. Heard about the bar opening and thought I’d check it out. I’m glad I did.” He was staring at me as he said it. I felt myself flush. He smirked. “Can I buy you a drink Bella?” he asked. “She’s drinking Pinot Grigio. I’ll leave you guys to it!” and with a quick wink in my direction, Nic left to go back to the group dancing in the middle of the dance floor.

“How have you been Bella? I’ve not seen you in a while. You grew up good.” He looked down at my dress, the way he was looking at me made me feel a bit uneasy. “Erm, yeah I’ve been ok thanks.” I answered gingerly.

“Are you still living on Delta?”

“Yeah, still with my mom.”

“Are you guys doing ok, you know… since Ryan?”

“yeah we’re fine.” I replied sharply. I didn’t like to talk about my brother, not with someone I didn’t really know.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have bought him up.”

“It’s Ok, honestly. I know he was your friend too.”

“Yeah he was when we were younger. We kind of drifted apart at middle school. Still, it hurt when he died though.”

“Yeah, I know how that feels.” I agreed sadly.

“Ok, we’ve kind of gone all depressed now! I only wanted to talk to a pretty girl, didn’t mean to make you sad!” He joked.

“Ok, so tell me about where you live now then?”

“I live over at North Bridge. I moved over with my dad when my mom kicked him out.”

“Did you not want to stay here with your mom?”

“No, my mom and I don’t have the best relationship. I’m far too much like my father, she says.”

“Do you see her often?” I asked.

“Not really. I came back to see her on Christmas day and that was it until her birthday yesterday. I’ll be riding back down tomorrow. Can I tell you a secret?”

“Erm, sure!” I answered eagerly. I couldn’t believe what was happening here. He was older than me, I didn’t even think he knew who I was. Now he’s telling me secrets!

“I always liked you.”

“What? Really?”

“Yeah, you were beautiful. I couldn’t tell you though because you were younger than me. 5 years is a big difference when you’re young. Now, you’re not so young anymore.”

I suddenly feel nervous. Just then, the barman came over and asked if we wanted anything else. He looked at me and smiled. He was gorgeous. He was tall, taller than Nathan, and he was built. I could make out how big his arms were through his work uniform that consisted of a black tee shirt and black jeans. His hair was longer, not too long though. He had beautiful grey eyes. I had never seen a sexier man. He had tattoos running down both his arms. Nathan saw him smile at me and put his arm around my shoulder as if to warn the barman off. I shrugged his arm off my shoulder, not because of the barman, but because I didn’t want Nathan to get the wrong idea. Yeah, I had fancied him when I was younger, but talking to him now, I don’t feel any sort of connection. I didn’t want him to think I wanted more. “Actually, it’s getting late.” I feigned a yawn. “I think I’m going to head off. I’ll just say goodbye to my friends and then I’ll call a cab.” “I’ll call one for you, I’m calling one for myself anyway, so I will order two.” “Ok, thank you.” I said and walked off to where Nic was dancing. “Hey Nic, I’m going to take off.” “Already? But it’s still so early! Are you leaving with Nathan?!?” She asked in confusion. “I didn’t think you were ready yet!” Nic knows I’m still a virgin. She knows how I feel about my virginity. I don’t have a male figure in my life to watch out for me, so I’m extra cautious. “No, he is getting a little full on though, and I think he wants to kiss me. I don’t want to hurt his feelings though so I’m just going to go home instead. He is going back to his new home tomorrow anyway, so I won’t see him anymore.” “Ok, have you called a cab?” “Nathan’s phoning one now.” “ok, text me when you get home. Love you girl” “Love you too.” I gave her a quick hug and went back to the bar. The barman had gone to serve another customer, so it was just Nathan waiting. “Cab will be here soon. Shall we go and wait outside for him?”

“Yeah, ok.”

He helped me with my jacket and held my hand. I pulled my hand away from his and smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry, I’m not looking for anything to happen Nathan.” I moved away from standing next to him. He was looking angry now. “What do you mean, you’re not looking for anything to happen? I’ve been with you all night; you’re not teasing me like this!” He was looking like a crazy person now; his face was red, and his eyes looked like they were about to pop out. I was scared he was going to hurt me. He lunged forward and grabbed my head. He pulled my face close to his and smashed his lips against mine. “Nathan! No! Stop it!” I cried. He wouldn’t listen though. He grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the main doors, around the corner of the bar into a small alley way, it had bushes on either side. He grabbed me and kissed me again. “Nathan, please, don’t do this.” “Do what? You’ve been teasing me all night. You look f*****g gorgeous in that dress. Your t**s are all nice and plump. I just want to put my lips around them and suck them until they’re blue. I’m going to f**k you so hard; you’ll be feeling me for a week!” “No Nathan, please, I’m a virgin!” “Even f*****g better, I’m gonna pop your f*****g cherry.” He said nastily. I tried to fight him off, but he overpowered me. He threw me down on to the ground and hiked my dress up so he could see my panties. “Little black panties… you wanted me to see these tonight didn’t you. You’re just a little w***e who wants a f**k. Well little w***e, that’s what I’m going to give you now.” He ripped my panties off into pieces and threw them to the ground.  I started to cry. “Shut up crying w***e!” He then smacked me across my face. How did that man in the bar, the man I knew for 6 years, how did he turn from that, to this monster? I was terrified that he was going to kill me, so I just lay still, silently sobbing, as he pulled his p***s out of his jeans, ripped a condom out of its packet, and slid it down his hard shaft. “That’s it baby, stop fighting me. You want this as much as I do. Look how hard I am for you. Do you want to have a little taste?” I shook my head. He grabbed my head and slid up my body, so his p***s was in front of my mouth. He ripped the condom off and squeezed a little bit of c*m out of the little slit on the head. “Open wide little girl!” He said in a sing song kind of way. I opened my mouth because I knew it would hurt when he forced me to do it. He thrust his d**k inside my mouth. He shoved it right to the back of my throat until I was choking. He was laughing manically. “My d**k is that big, that you choked on it!” he wiped the c*m off the side of my mouth with his fingers, then shoved his fingers into my mouth. “Suck them clean whore.” I sucked the c*m off his fingers trying so hard not to be sick. I didn’t realize he had put another condom on and was lining himself up at my entrance. He forced himself into me, and I yelled out in pain. He didn’t stop, he kept on thrusting into me. He kept on until his eyes started rolling to the back of his head. “Ahhhhhhh!” He cried, as he emptied himself into the condom. “Good girl little w***e. I might bring you with me so I can do that again.” “No please, just let me go.” I sobbed. “I won’t tell anyone what happened.” I begged. “I know you won’t.” And then he balled his fist up and punched me as hard as he could in the side of my head. My head fell back, and as I was losing consciousness, I saw him smile, lift his jeans back up and leave. Then everything went black.