Pet: A Dark Menage Romance Read online

  “What do you mean?” I asked her, and she got up from the sofa, came over to me, and lifted my skirt over my ass.

  “Mom!” I cried out, but she ignored me, looking at my exposed butt.

  “Your… behind.” She gasped again, a hand flying to her mouth. “I saw when you bent over… Your skin, Sapphire! What on earth happened?”

  I tried to remember.

  I’d been spanked a few days earlier. He didn’t want to, even though I’d misbehaved on purpose. So I’d begged and begged and cried and cried until he’d turned my ass black and blue.

  “Oh, Mom.” I gave her a big smile and pulled my dress down. “It’s nothing, I promise.”

  Dad was staring at me and Mom burst into tears.

  “What the hell, Sapphire?” he said, his voice shaky. I tried to ignore the fact my dad had seen my butt. “Did that man hurt you?”

  “Of course not,” I said. “He did nothing I didn’t ask for, Dad.” God, I was burning up here.

  “What on earth…” Mom cried harder.

  “Calm down!” I giggled nervously, realizing I was only making things worse. “Mom, Dad, seriously. I deserved it.”

  “What?” Dad glared at me. “Are you kidding me? You let that man hurt you?”

  “It’s not like that at all,” I stuttered. I really was getting us both in trouble now. “I… You just wouldn’t understand, I’m sorry.”

  “Understand what?” Mom wheezed through the tears. “That the man you’re seeing is beating you?”

  “He’s not,” I insisted. “I asked for this! I swear, he never meant to hurt me.”

  Dad came up to me and gripped my forearm tightly between his fingers.

  “You’ve fallen down a rabbit hole,” he said. “The one your therapist talked about, remember, Sapphire?”

  “Don’t talk about that,” I hissed.

  “I have to!” Dad insisted. “We were told this would happen again. We knew it would! We’ve been worried sick!”

  “I’m fine,” I said, but my voice was shaky, and I felt tears pricking my eyes. “I swear, Dad, I’m totally fine.”

  “You’re not,” Mom said. “You’re bruised. I’m going to report him.”

  I reached her in two steps, grabbing her hand. She gave me a hurt look.

  “Don’t,” I told her pointedly. “Don’t tell anyone. King hasn’t done anything wrong.”

  “I thought he was a good man,” Mom whispered, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

  “I’m going to call the police,” Dad spoke up. “He’s abusing you.”

  “Please don’t,” I begged. “You don’t understand at all, please. Let me explain.”

  “There’s nothing to explain,” Dad said darkly, and Mom nodded.

  “I agree,” she said. She made me look at her. My bottom lip was quivering. “It’s okay, Sapphire. We always knew you were broken.”

  “What?” I choked out, staring at her.

  “It’s okay,” she repeated. “We’ll get you the help you need. We’ll get that man away from you.”

  “You can’t,” I hissed. “King’s the only one who’s helped me. The only one I feel close to!”

  “Close enough to call him by his last name,” Dad scoffed.

  “Close enough to let him treat you like a piece of meat!” Mom howled. “That’s it, Sapphire. You’re moving back home, and cutting off all contact with that man.”

  “I will do no such thing,” I told her coldly. “No fucking way.”

  “It’s not your choice,” Dad argued, “and mind your language!”

  “We’ll get you the help you need,” Mom said. “We’ll get you back to your therapist. We’ll make sure you’re okay. You should’ve never stopped going.”

  “Don’t,” I whispered. “I’m not doing this. I’m leaving.”

  I ripped my arm out of hers and took my purse, nearly stumbling on my way to the door.

  “You’re not leaving, Sapphire!” Dad called out after me. “Get back here!”

  Mom was on my tail, desperately grabbing at me to stop me from leaving.

  “Let me go!” I screamed. “I don’t want to be here.”

  “You won’t let me help you!” she sobbed. “I want to help you!”

  Too.

  Fucking.

  Late.

  “You’re not really going to choose that man over your family,” Dad got out through gritted teeth. “Are you, Sapphire?”

  I hesitated and he laughed.

  “Brilliant,” he said. “Some loyalty, Sapphire!”

  “I always knew this would happen,” Mom muttered. “Always knew you’d get in trouble! Since you were a kid, Sapphire.”

  “Stop,” I begged her. She was hurting me. “Please, don’t talk about it.”

  “It’s true,” she hissed, giving me a hurt look. “You were trouble since you were a child.”

  I felt tears pricking my eyes. “Mom, please. You’re making me feel terrible.”

  “How do you think we felt?” Dad argued. “We lost you for half a year, Sapphire! You’re barely eighteen!”

  “I know what I’m doing,” I said. “I promise. This is the best thing I can do for myself right now. And I need to go.”

  “If you walk through that door,” my father bellowed. “You are done with this family. You didn’t accept our help, Sapphire! You walk out of here, you are done!”

  Mom sobbed harder. I took a good, long look at the two of them.

  And I left.

  I left my old life behind, finally.

  I chose him.

  “Where the fuck have you been?”

  He advanced on me the moment I came into the apartment. My hands were shaking and I dropped the key, tried to bend down to pick it up, but King smacked my hand away.

  “I’ve been fucking calling you!” he said. “And you’re two hours late, Pet.”

  “I’m sorry,” I muttered.

  “Not fucking good enough,” he said. “Not good enough!”

  “I… I had to get away,” I said.

  “From me?” He was really upset.

  “No,” I muttered. “Not from you.”

  From me.

  From myself.

  “I don’t believe you.” He rubbed his temples. “I fucking don’t! You want to get away so badly, don’t you?”

  I shook my head no and he paced the room. He didn’t say a word.

  “Maybe I’ll leave for a while longer,” I said, feeling numb. “Go… somewhere, I don’t know.”

  “Please.” He never said that word. When I looked into his eyes, I could see how hurt he was. “Don’t go.”

  “I have to,” I said. “I have to, I can’t be here right now.”

  I wanted him to stop me.

  So.

  Fucking.

  Badly.

  But he didn’t.

  I walked out of that door, and as soon as it closed behind me, I collapsed in the hallway, pulling my knees to my chest and holding back the sobs.

  And then I picked myself up, and walked out of there.

  I knew how to pretend everything was okay by now, and do it well.

  After all, I’d had a lot of practice.

  Sixteen

  King

  Life without Pet wasn’t worth living.

  Of course, I’d known that for a while. Ever since she stumbled into my life and showed me her everything.

  It had only been two days and I was going stir-fucking-crazy. She’d left a gaping hole behind, but I kept my distance. I knew it was important for her to come back by herself. This time, I had no plans of dragging her back home. She needed to realize where she was supposed to be.

  I blew off work, and spent the time alone digging. I needed to fucking know, and I was no closer to finding out who had abused her.

  But then, on a rainy afternoon, I finally made some progress.

  I had gotten Pet’s school records a few hours prior, and had been putting off going through them. I’d pulled on so many stri
ngs to get those files, but now that I finally had them, the prospect of what could be inside terrified me.

  Finally, I poured myself a Scotch and sat down with my glass in hand, opening the heavy file.

  Her name stared at me from the paper, offensive and inappropriate. She’d only ever been Pet to me.

  I read through her file. Her grades had been average, though several tests she’d taken indicated a higher level of intelligence. There was nothing special in terms of disobedience, she’d been written down for being late here and there, but that was it.

  Until I hit the jackpot.

  A file from the school counselor, who had arrived at her school a year before Pet graduated.

  It was brief, to the point, and eye-opening.

  The notes the counselor had made on her were clear, words scribbled in tilted handwriting. They felt like bullets to my chest.

  Impulsive.

  Reckless.

  Emotional.

  Self-harm.

  Anxiety.

  Boredom.

  Emptiness.

  Unstable.

  My Pet, in those barely legible scribbles that devaluated her from a person into a textbook case.

  I got so angry I nearly tore the file into pieces. Instead, I set it down, and dug up some dirt on the school counselor on my phone.

  Mr. Davies. Ezra Davies.

  He was a middle-aged man. Handsome enough, according to my image search, not balding, either. Not that I should’ve given a shit, but Pet being in the company of a man like that, him analyzing her, trying to understand how her pretty mind worked… it set me right the fuck off.

  I found his phone number and called without a second thought.

  He was working as a therapist now. I got through to his secretary and faked my way into a meeting with Mr. Davies. I name-dropped my own name and she got me an appointment in the next hour. I got off the phone and grabbed my shit before heading to his office.

  I tried not to think about my Pet, and where she could be, but fucking failed.

  I made a quick call to someone I trusted to make sure she was fine, and headed out the door.

  “Let’s be honest with each other,” Ezra Davies said with a smooth smile.

  I shifted on his uncomfortable couch, wondering how he expected anyone to talk to him openly while sat on such a shitty piece of furniture.

  “I’m an open book, Mr. Davies,” I told him, and he gave me a doubtful smile.

  He’d let himself go since those pictures I’d seen were taken. He had a gut now, though he was still reasonably handsome. His shirt had pit stains on it, even though the AC was on in his office. He looked like he’d given up.

  “I assume this isn’t really about supporting my small business,” he told me with a sly grin. “So why don’t you start by telling me exactly what you’re doing here, Mr. King.”

  I hated the bastard. He was slimy.

  “Well, I have a… personal interest in one of your former patients,” I said with a smile, and the man chuckled.

  “I’m sure you know, Mr. King,” he said. “I am not at liberty to discuss my patients.”

  “It was before you started working here,” I told him. “When you worked at Pine Hill High School.”

  “Oh?” His brows shot up. We both knew exactly who I was talking about, yet he feigned ignorance. “And who might you be interested in, Mr. King?”

  “Sapphire Rose Faye,” I said through gritted teeth. “She was a senior. Graduated half a year ago.”

  “I remember her,” he said, and I wanted to punch his teeth out.

  I bet you fucking do, prick. Bet you still jack off to her tight little ass every night.

  I focused my gaze on the wedding ring on his hand, and he rubbed his fingers when he felt me staring.

  “What would you like to know about Miss Faye?” he asked. “Of course, I am not willing to say too much, you understand.”

  I glared at him, pulled a couple of hundreds from my pocket and laid them plainly on his desk.

  “How about now?” I asked.

  He made a semi-desperate grab for them. So business wasn’t going that well, then.

  “Sapphire Rose Faye was a very troubled girl,” he said with a sigh, pocketing the cash. “Very pretty. Very aware of it. A very, very troubled girl she was.”

  “Elaborate,” I said.

  “She was a poster child for Borderline,” he said. “Of course, I wasn’t allowed to prescribe her medication, but I did my best to help with her situation.”

  “Situation?” I asked, and my heart pounded painfully in my chest. Surely, she hadn’t told this monkey what had happened to her?

  “She was a very dramatic girl,” he said. “Very… prone to lying.”

  “That’s news to me,” I said.

  “You better believe it,” he said, his tone almost patronizing. “She lied to me so often, Sapphire did. To the point where I didn’t believe a word she was saying.”

  I wondered if we were even talking about the same girl.

  “And how did you attempt to help her?” I asked him.

  He sighed and stretched on his chair.

  “In my expert opinion,” he started. “Sapphire was extremely troubled, and would not accept help.”

  “What do you mean?” I stared him down.

  “She refused to take my advice,” he said. “Refused to do what I said.”

  “So?” I asked. “Doesn’t every teenager rebel?”

  “Perhaps,” he said. “But she refused to get better. She refused to admit to her own mistakes. The fact that she was mentally older than her age suggested.”

  “What’s that got to do with anything?” I asked.

  “She was seventeen at the time I met her,” he said. “Yet she didn’t act like a girl. She fought me on everything. It was like she was a combination of a petulant child and a know-it-all adult.”

  “Your point?” My tone was cold.

  “My point,” he continued, “I deemed her unfit to attend college.”

  “You what?” I practically jumped out of my seat.

  “I suggested to Sapphire, as well as her teachers, that she take a gap year,” he said. “She was unfit to be in school.”

  “Did you ask her what she wanted?” I asked.

  “She had some dreams of an Art History major,” he waved a hand dismissively. “Not realistic, given her situation.”

  “So you fucking buried her academic career,” I sneered. “Did she apply to colleges?”

  “She did,” he said simply, looking irritated. “It was my decision to deny those applications, in Sapphire’s best interests, of course. I explained all this to her.”

  I was ready to knock him out, but I had more questions.

  “You told her to take a year off,” I said, and he nodded. “What did her parents say to that?”

  “They were not aware of my conclusion,” he said. “Sapphire dealt with it herself.”

  So he fucking made her deal with his executive fucking decision. Way to be a fucking adult. Way to fucking help a seventeen-year-old with fucking Borderline.

  “One last question,” I sneered, getting up from my seat. “I want to know why you keep talking about her in the past tense.”

  He sighed and rubbed his temples, and I fantasized about dislocating his jaw.

  “When Sapphire walked out of here,” he said. “She told me she would kill herself.”

  “What?” I was left speechless.

  “Of course, it was all part of her dramatic personality,” Davies said. “I knew it was an empty threat. However, the girl did disappear. He parents contacted me after, told me she was gone. All her friends, the school, everyone lost touch with her.”

  “And you…” I just stared at him. “What the fuck did you do about that?”

  “What could I have done?” he asked. “I’d done anything and everything I could have. She was an adult – on her own. My job was done.”

  I walked around the bastard’s desk, pu
lled him from his seat, grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall.

  “You ruined an innocent girl’s life,” I spat in his face. “You convinced her she was overreacting.”

  “Let go,” he wheezed.

  “You told her she was being dramatic when she was looking for fucking help. Begging for it. You told a girl who’d been abused as a small child she was unfit to continue with her life.”

  “I…” The fucker was turning purple.

  “You ruined her fucking life,” I hissed. “Tell me one thing, Davies. Did you make a fucking move on her?”

  The fear in his eyes told me everything. I fought every urge in my body so I wouldn’t snap his slimy neck.

  “She acted older,” he choked out. “She was a fucking tease!”

  I slammed him against the wall again before letting go. He doubled over, choking on his own breaths.

  “She was a manipulator,” he got out. “The little bitch led me on.”

  “You’re done,” I told him. “In this career, this city, this fucking country. Your life as you know it is fucking over.”

  “Please,” he laughed. “You can’t touch me.”

  “Watch me,” I spat out.

  “Is she dead?” he asked, smoothing down his shirt and giving me a big grin. “Is this some kind of fucking vengeance thing? Little bitch finally offed herself like she threatened she would?”

  I counted to three, stepped right up to him, and broke his arm in a single motion. His scream was ear-piercing, and he cried like a fucking pussy.

  I twisted his arm uncomfortably and looked him in the eye.

  “I want you to know,” I told him smoothly. “What’s going to happen to you is your own fault. And you fucking deserve it.”

  I left him bawling on the floor of his office, and walked right past his hysterical secretary, and away from the emergency sirens pulling up on the curb.

  It was a nine-block walk back home, and I practically ran the whole way.

  It all made fucking sense. The way she’d isolated herself, cut off everyone who meant something to her. The dead-end jobs she worked, the non-existent friendships.

  She was getting ready to end her life, gathering the courage to do it. She’d been planning to kill herself. That’s why she dropped off the face of the earth.