27 - Fear of Hiding

Victoria

To my surprise, Michael let me stay in the room I ran to instead of forcing me to stay with him. I was grateful for that. I couldn't stand being in the same house as the man; I would lose my shit if I had to sleep in the same bed.

I hadn't seen Michael over the past few weeks. He had spent most of his time working, which I didn't mind. I found myself hoping that something would go wrong and Michael would die. That was a fantasy that remained in my imagination. Unfortunately, Michael was too skilled and clever for anyone to succeed in killing him.

I spent my days playing with Antonio. To keep him from asking questions, I covered the bruises with makeup. However, Antonio was curious about where I had been. Unsure of how to answer him, I changed the subject every time. Antonio told me about all the fun he and Michae had together; at least Michael was a decent father.

We were currently playing UNO. Antonio was getting the hang of how to play, but he still lost every round. I constantly reminded myself to go easy on him, but I couldn't help what cards I drew from the deck.

"UNO! You have to draw four cards!" Antonio shouted.

I laughed a little. Antonio had twelve cards in his hands, and the fact I had to grab four more cards made his eyes shine with hope.

"Okay, okay."

I grabbed four cards one by one as Antonio counted.

"Okay, it's your turn."

"I'm home!" I heard Michael call out.

"Daddy!" Antonio shouted and ran out of the room, leaving his UNO cards behind.

I looked at the clock and saw it was two twenty-seven.

He's home early.

I gathered the UNO cards and fixed them in their box. I decided to return to my room until Antonio called out, forcing me to step into the same room as Michael.

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Can we all watch a movie together?"

I glared at Michael; the hope in his eyes pissed me off.

"I'm sorry, Antonio. I'm tired right now; I need to take a nap."

"But you promised we'd watch a movie."

"I promised you, and I would watch a movie together. Besides, you haven't spent time with your daddy because he's been so busy. You two need to catch up."

"Okay."

"Have fun."

I quickly ran up the stairs and down the hallway to my room.

"Victoria, wait!" I heard Michael say from behind me; I ignored him and kept walking.

"Victoria, you can't avoid me forever."

"Watch me."

"When it comes to Antonio, there will be times when we need to be in the same room; right now was a perfect example."

Once I reached my room, I turned around to face Michael.

"Yes, but I managed to get out of that situation. I'm sure I can do the same in the future."

"Victoria, please," Michael reached out to me, but I backed away.

"Don't touch me!" I shouted as I held out one of my hands.

"Victoria."

Michael took a step toward me, but I quickly threw a punch that caused his face to go to the side. Before he could hit me, I stepped into my room and locked the door.

"Haven't you wondered what I've been doing these past few weeks?"

"Working, getting laid, drinking. I honestly don't care," I responded coldly.

"I've been avenging you."

"Avenging me?" I scoffed. "If you want to avenge me, go commit suicide!"

"I killed every man who raped you. Every single one."

"Why?"

"Because they touched what's mine."

"Because you let them, you asshole! You announced that there was whore for them to use as they pleased! You did that to torture me! Now that I'm no longer going through that misery, you want to have fun and used me as an excuse to kill for sport!"

"Victoria, watch your tone with me!"

"No! What you did is unforgivable, and I will hate you until I die!"

"You can't seriously be mad at me! You needed to be punished for what you did to me."

"PUNISHED? What kind of punishment is letting me get raped repeatedly? I highly doubt prison was that bad for you; there is no way in hell that you were anybody's bitch!"

"Believe it or not, sweetheart, prison isn't all that great."

"Bullshit! From what I've heard, going to prison was beneficial to you. I'm sure you have all the connections needed to be a part of the mafia."

"What makes you so sure of that?"

"I know the Cartel helped you break out."

Michael let out a sigh. I sat down on my bed, waiting for him to leave.

After a few minutes, Michael spoke up.

"Victoria, being mad at me is pointless. You're gonna fall back into my arms whether you like it or not."

"What are you going to do? Drug me again?"

Michael chuckled.

"No. You're too smart for that. Deep down, you still love me, and it's just a matter of time before you realize that and submit to me."

I slowly walked up to the door and seductively said, "You know what, Michael?"

"What?" I could tell he was smirking.