The Price of Forever

"Don't let her escape!" The loud yell reminded me that I was not yet safe. I could hear their heavy footsteps pounding behind me, and with every step it felt like the walls were closing in on me. I would make a wish for the stars and moon just to vanish, but the skies hid them from me behind dark skies that could barely hold its own sadness. I cut around a corner and glanced back, my heart beating hard with so much fear that I'd never felt since I was chased by a dog in my early childhood days. This was even much worse. My drenched clothes stuck to my goosebumped skin. They appeared from the corner of the building, still chasing, hellbent on putting their hands on me. God knows what they'd do to me. I couldn't wait to find out. Not when I knew who sent them. I turned into an alley to my right. I soon realized it was my worst decision, even worse than the decision I had taken before now. The alley was a dead end. The men smirked at me. "Now what?" one asked the other. "We do as the boss said." The man in front replied, licking his lower lips. "Please. Please, don't hurt me." I pleaded, falling to my knees, with my eyes searching theirs for an atom of pity or mercy. There was none. Tears streamed down from my eyes and mixed with the drops of rain that settled on my face. He grabbed my hair, I screamed, and yanked me towards him. I fell into the dirty puddle of water in front of him. They laughed as they circled around. I was helpless. All I could do was cry and regret. I regretted the day I made the decision to marry Mason Darrington just to save my family. There could have been another way. I was just blinded by desperation, love and my own plain naivety. I sacrificed for people whom I thought loved me, a family I believed loved me the same way I loved them. The man kicked my butt and I whimpered. His fat palms grabbed my hair again... "Hey!" a masculine voice yelled. His grip loosened and I raised my head. Another man stood at the open end of the alley. "Get out of here, now," my captor yelled back at him. "What's going on there?" I gasped... Such bravery. I couldn't see his face clearly, but I admired him. The man left my side and approached the stranger with the other two following behind him. I slowly stood up and glanced. My heart still pounded with short, rapid beats. Fear still lingered within me. The brave stranger could easily be played away or threatened, and I would be left in their cruel hands again. I couldn't make out the words they exchanged, but in a tick I saw the man staggering back, holding his cheeks. The stranger drew a bat from behind and whacked them. They all scrambled out of the alley, leaving just me and the stranger-turned-savior. Was he really my savior? I shuffled back as he approached me. He tossed his bat away. "Hey, it's okay," he said, raising his hands in the air. "I am Ethan." "I want to help you." "They are gone," he stretched his hand to me. I took it. It was soft and warm, like a bed of comfort, even with the cold raindrops falling on it. His scent was like a mix of a thousand wild flowers, strong yet soothing. He pulled me up to my feet. "Are you okay?" He tossed the bat beside me. I nodded. "Come on," he said, turning towards the open end of the alley. I followed him with cautious steps to a car that was parked just a few inches from the entrance of the alley. It was no ordinary car, a blue Porsche that looked like it belonged to a rich man. Who was this stranger? I threw a questioning look at him. He flung the door to the passenger seat open and gestured for me to get in. It was the best treatment I had ever gotten from a man. Yet, like the others, it could be a mask to cover up whatever he was planning to do to me. "You have a home?" he asked when he stepped into the car. My lips parted, but I said nothing. Did I really have a home? My face dropped, "I don't have a home," I said, staring at my feet. A new wave of sadness washed over my heart. "Oh..." "What happened to you?" I looked out of the windshield, shivering like a cold hen. How would I tell him everything in one sentence? "Here," he stretched a jacket to me, "It should help ease the cold." "Thank you," I replied in a shaky voice. As I took the jacket, my palm slipped over the back of his hand and our eyes locked. I couldn't stop staring into his deep ocean-blue eyes. For a moment the cold disappeared, my heart no longer beat with fear... it was something else, and it was a very familiar feeling, one that had hurt me before. He faced the road and drove down, while I struggled to wear the jacket over my wet dress. Fifteen minutes later, the rain had ceased, yet I was still shivering underneath the jacket. The car came to a halt in front of an apartment. "Let's get you warmed up," he said as he stepped out. I heard the door click before I could reach for it. He was such a gentleman. He led me to the door of the apartment. I was welcomed by the warmth of the apartment as I walked in. He lit up the fireplace with a single touch of the panel beside it. "I'll get some towels and a dress ready for you," he said, and walked to the door on the right side of the room. That technology wasn't one you'd find in an average person's home. I knew that for a fact. But that wasn't the most disturbing thing about this man or his apartment. There were wallpapers of nude girls plastered on different parts of the wall. On the couch beside me, I spotted a club stained with dried blood at the tip. And then I heard it... He was speaking with someone. "That wasn't the plan. Yes, but I needed him alive." "This is the last time we'll ever do business together, Cassandra." I knew that name... Could it be? My eyes popped out, and I quickly tossed away the jacket he gave me.