Sinful Kisses by Emily Bowie

CHAPTER 24

After a few hours, I finally break through the rope. I march out of the room, knowing I’m by myself, to see the dog sitting outside and guarding the door. I’ve gone months hardly seeing this dog except when it’s by Romeo’s side. And now it’s sitting alert on the porch. When I open the screen a crack, he looks at me and shows his teeth. He doesn’t make noise… yet. I let the door close, not wanting to see how loyal he is to Romeo.

I make a mental note to win the dog over. I should be hungry by now. My instinct is to cook when I get upset, but I want to do nothing of the sort.

Instead, I dig through the house, looking for anything. Each drawer in the kitchen is clean. No junk drawers. I head into the room Romeo has forced me to share with him.

His first drawer has underwear and socks thrown in. No rhyme or reason to it. The socks aren’t evenly matched. In the next drawer, I find the same thing. Clothes are tossed in without a care. I come up with nothing. I search everywhere.

I flip the mattress, going as far as taking a butcher knife and cutting it open. Nothing. I go back to his drawers, tossing everything out. Not like he took time to put them away. All his clothes are thrown into a pile on the floor.

Each moment, I get angrier. I slam the doors closed only to open them again. Pulling it all out, I add them to my pile.

My fingers dig through my hair. I don’t even know what I’m looking for, but I feel better knowing I’m causing havoc in his life.

I’m about to kick the dresser when I see a picture sticking out on the upside-down drawer. Carefully, I pick it up, seeing a false bottom has now opened. A picture of me sits in the middle. My fingers shake as I pick it up.

The picture is of me in my cheerleading outfit. I’m not looking at the camera but smiling for someone else. There is another picture of me standing by my car with my friends around me. I’m the focus of the picture. I’m looking off in the distance, seeming to be in my own world. The last picture I pick up is of me crying. It’s the night of the party that led to this. I have my cup of beer, and tears run down my face. It’s taken from far away and a little blurry with the darkness of the corner.

Why does Romeo have pictures of me?It’s confusing. I rip them up into tiny shreds. Before I see an old folded-up piece of paper. It’s dyed blue in spots from what I can only assume is being in a back pocket of jeans. The folds are separating in spots. Carefully, I open the piece of paper.

Reasons Gia Rossi is a bitch

What the fuck?

He doesn’t even know me. We have said less than a handful of words to each other before I came here. I get our families don’t get along, but to single me out.

Thinks she’s hot shit because she’s a cheerleader.

Is only nice when people are looking.

Refuses to talk to the little guy.

She thinks she’s untouchable.

Refuses to think for herself.

Looks like a horrible kisser.

She looks at Alfonso like he’s a king.

My eyes try to tear up, but I won’t let them. Romeo is the shallow one. If he just manned up and talked to me, he would have seen this list is bullshit. I don’t even know why he would want to talk to me. Our school was divided. We had one side, and the Mancinis had the other.

I crumble up the paper, tossing it into the pile. At the same time, I hear Romeo pull into the driveway. I go into the kitchen, placing my hands on a stool. My entire body shakes from my frustrations with him.

I hear him talking to the dog, then laugh at my expense that I’m still inside. We’ll see who’s laughing soon. I wait silently for him to walk through the door. He strolls in without a care in the world. Why would he? He thinks I’m tied to his bed, waiting for him like some sex slave.

As soon as both feet pass the threshold of the house and the screen closes behind him, I pick up the stool and toss it at his head. He turns just in time to catch the stupid thing. The fact that it causes him no harm has my blood boiling through my veins.

“What the fuck?”

Going to the knives, I pick one up and throw it at him. I repeat the process over and over, enjoying his feet scrambling to get out of the way. Each of my throws has me yelling out. All I can see is red. Everything I have pushed down comes roaring up.

“Have you gone crazy?”

“Do not turn this on me, Romeo!” I holler at him, going to throw another knife, but there’s no more.

He gives me a wicked smile and runs at me. My body turns to run in the other direction.

“You do not get to write about what a bitch I am, then tie me to your bed.” I slip past the door, his footsteps a fraction behind me. When I hear a click behind me, I stop and turn. He’s locked me out of the house. The dog is now growling at me at the bottom of the porch.

I should be happy that he stopped chasing me, but it irritates me further. Picking up a stump that is used for sitting, I use all of my might and throw it at the screen door. It rips the metal mesh, landing at Romeo’s feet.

My breathing is hard as we stand, glaring at each other.

“I’m giving you three seconds before I catch you.” His words are slow and deliberate. I look back at the dog, not wanting to be torn to pieces. Romeo does a whistle, and the dog leaves the bottom of the stairs and lazily walks into the shade to lie down.

“One, Mississippi,” he counts, and I take off.

My heart is beating frantically as I search for a place to hide. There are no neighbors for miles. No one will hear if I scream. Romeo continues to count, his voice still at the house. Each step is uneven as I head closer to the pigs.

My eyes dart in every direction. I toss my shoe into one of the pens, the pigs completely giving away where I am with all the racket they’re starting. I keep on running. I go behind the pens, closer toward where Max goes.

As quietly as I can, I sneak around the butcher shop. The thought has a shiver rolling down me. Prickles sting my foot with no shoe, but I keep going, trying to place it on softer ground. There’s a distinct bleach smell wafting in the air. I crouch on the balls of my feet, looking at the area before me. Romeo is long done counting. But I can hear his whistle. It taunts me with its tune.

It’s then I see a small shed off to the side. It’s camouflaged in the trees, making it hard to notice. I keep myself close to the ground and head closer to it. The lock unlatches. Romeo’s whistling stops, and I pause, keeping my air in my lungs. It lasts only about three seconds but seems like three minutes. His tune carries into the wind, and it sounds like he’s at the pigpen.

I open the door enough for my body to slip inside. The floor is clean, and it smells fresh. Unlike every other part of this farm. My feet shuffle me into a corner, and I hug my knees, trying to think of my next action.

The silence is deafening. I can hear each of my heartbeats. My breathing sounds like soft drums pinging my location. Slowly, my eyes adjust to the darkness of the area. Chains hang from the middle of the roof. Hooks are placed in two areas on the walls. Nothing good happens in this room.

Light pours into the room. My head snaps up, and Romeo is staring at me with amusement in his eyes. His smirk is cocky as hell. “Hello, Gia.”

I gulp, knowing I’ve been caught. I don’t stand; my legs probably wouldn’t hold my weight anyway.

Part of his hair falls into his eyes, and he tosses his head back to move the unwanted hair. He’s wearing shorts and a red shirt. All I can think is that the red will hide my blood if it gets on him.

“I think it’s time we’re honest with each other.” His voice is low and gravelly. He hasn’t moved from the doorway, watching me with interest. “Get up,” he demands.

His look conveys he will not accept any of my attitude. On shaky limbs, I stand. My head tilts, trying to fake my confidence.

“Now, tell me again, what has your panties in a knot?” He comes closer, and I shuffle down the wall farther from him.

This is a new side of Romeo I’ve never seen before. It’s intense, demanding, and controlling.

“If you’re going to kill me, do it now. Get it over with.”

His smile grows larger. His thumb swipes across his bottom lip. “Gia, my plan is better than killing you.” His eyes roam my body, causing goose bumps to scatter across my skin. “Let’s get back to what has you so upset.”

He’s calm, coming ever so closer to me. I feel everything but calm. My feet continue moving inch by inch as we play this cat-and-mouse game. For every small step I take, he does the same.

“Who writes a list of why they hate someone? I would expect something less childish from you.”

His eyes dance as they light up.

“It just shows you’re still a boy trying to be a man.” I shouldn’t taunt him. What he thinks shouldn’t affect me. He means nothing to me. But the hurt I felt is still there, digging its way deeper into me.

He takes two large steps, and I take one baby step. My feet stick to the ground. He tsks, stepping closer once again. “Is that what you’re searching for? A man? I have no problem showing you just how much of a man I am.”

I blink, and he’s in front of me. His crisp, woodsy scent wraps around me. It’s familiar, which makes me inhale deeper. My lungs welcome the intake like the traitor it is. His eyes hold mine. It’s impossible to look away.

Romeo picks me up by my underarms. A small yelp escapes just as he wraps duct tape around my wrists. Severing our connection, my eyes fly down to look at what he’s done. He’s moving my hands above my head and latching them onto a hook.

He keeps his grasp on my waist. My feet dangle off the ground. I can’t look at him, knowing the end is near. I look everywhere but at him. What is this place?

“I made that list you found to remind myself you’re off-limits.”

I turn to look at him once again, trying to gauge if he’s lying.

“Every time I tried to get your attention in high school, it was like I was a ghost. You looked past me each time. People are normally afraid of me or want my attention. But not you.”

My mouth opens at his confession. My heart speeds up once again, but not in fear this time. We’re both breathing hard.

“So yes, there was a part of me that wanted to watch you suffer in pain. But when I had to witness it because of that fucker Alfonso, I hated every second.”