The Assistant (39 page)

“I’m not hungry.”

“Emily. You need to eat,” David murmured.

“No, I don’t.”

“Fine. Starve for all I care. It’s not going to change anything. I’m still going to have you.” He let go of my arm and stepped back before picking up his drink and sipping on the straw.

“I’ll send some more clothes to your room if you want to change or shower.”

“I
want
to go home,” I growled through gnashed teeth.

“And you will. When I get what I want.” He turned to the door after that, and I watched as he pressed in a code I wasn’t able to make out before the door clicked open, and slammed shut behind him.

My body un-tensed as soon as I realised I was alone in the room, before my eyes landed on a thin, black piece of technology that was left on the counter.

My eyes immediately widened as the phone lit up. A call was coming through and I picked up the cool metal object immediately.

No caller ID
blinked back at me in bold letters, and I answered it immediately in hopes that it would be Adrian. “Hello?” I breathed, tears springing to my eyes.

The other caller gasped then stayed silent on the other line, before my ears were greeted with beeping; telling me they had hung up.

I instantly put the phone back onto the counter just as voices from outside the door reached my ears, and I quickly made my way back to my room just as the door to the hotel room clicked open again.

David Walter walked back in, looking suspicious as he grabbed a hold of his phone and tucking it securely into his jacket pocket before leaving the room once again.

I sighed before shutting my own door softly and leaning all my weight onto it. Who was I kidding, why would it have been Adrian? There was no way he’d associate with him thanks to the message David had sent from my phone earlier. I began to replay the last conversation I had with him, and sighed again once I realised it was more of a fight than a conversation.

I looked around my small room once more and found a small blue book gathering dust on the vanity in the corner of the room. I walked towards it and picked up the firm cover, wiping it gently.
The Lovely Bones
was printed on the cover, and I took the book back to my bed and began reading it with Adrian on my mind.

***

I had drifted off to sleep, and woke up with the book open on the page I was reading last sprawled across my chest.

I made a mental note of the page number I was on before closing the book and placing in on the table beside me. I noticed the chicken soup had been taken out of my room and replaced with a pile of freshly ironed clothes.

It occurred to me then that my hair was still filled with chemical products sprayed into now-flattened curls from the event two nights ago. I grabbed the first pair of clothing within the pile and entered the adjoined bathroom to have a quick shower.

I was towel drying my hair and exiting the bathroom when a knock sounded at my door. I didn’t reply, not wanting anyone to enter the only room I felt secure in, and froze in my position.

“Emily?” David’s voice sounded from the other side of the wooden door.

I threw the towel on the chair that was currently guarding my gold dress, and opened the door slightly. David stood there with his usual smug smile and was wearing a plain red shirt. “I see you’ve made the most of the new clothes I’ve given you. I hope you’re comfortable?”

“What do you want?” I asked, not bothering to comply with his small talk.

“I was thinking we could have dinner together. I’ve brought up a chef to cater for us and so you don’t think I’ve poisoned your food.” He laughed at himself, and I blinked back in reply.

“No thank you,” I replied shortly, getting ready to shut the door.

David put an arm out before I could close the door fully; grabbing a hold of my arm in the process. “We’re going to have dinner together,” he stated again, giving me a warning look.

I didn’t say anything as he dragged me over to a dining table set up near the kitchen, where a man with blue eyes in a chef’s uniform was standing. He looked me over briefly, then smiled as he spoke. “Good evening. I am Victor Clerval, I will be your chef for tonight.”

David positioned me in front of a chair before smiling stiffly.

“Take a seat, Emily.”

I did as I was told, but did not bother to acknowledge any of the men in the room.

“We have Ravioli on the menu today-” the chef began.

“I don’t like Ravioli,” I lied bluntly, looking over at David with a glare.

“Yes you do, I asked my little birdy.” David smiled.

I glared. “You can call her by her name now instead of disrespecting her by comparing her to an animal.”

David began to laugh. “Oh yes, how could I have forgotten? It’s Anna.”

The chef cleared his throat beside us, making us both turn to him. He faltered slightly before speaking up. “Uh… So Ravioli?” He began again.

“I’m allergic to pasta. How about you just give me a glass of water and we’ll call it a night?” I smiled up at him, before patting my sweats down.

“Ravioli,” David growled in confirmation, giving me an annoyed glare.

“Right away,” the chef announced, scurrying to the kitchen.

The dinner didn’t last long.

Partly because of the fact that I wasn’t actually
eating
, even though it smelled delicious, and partly because I wouldn’t speak to David whenever he’d try to make conversation.

Chef Victor looked like he was ready to jump out of small window in the kitchen from how thick the tension was in the room.

I cleared my throat after taking another sip of water and got out of my seat. “Well, I’d say this was fun but then I’d be lying. I’m going back to my room.”

“Emily. You’re not going anywhere.” David shot out of seat, spilling a little of his wine in the process.

“Actually, I am. Good night. Thank you for the food Victor, it was lovely.” I smiled politely, before turning to leave once again.

David caught hold of my wrist tightly before I could go any further, and I gasped in pain as a small crack sounded from the area he was currently grasping. “Victor, leave us.”

Victor was out of the hotel room faster than I was able to blink, and an eerie silence settled over the room once the door locked shut behind him. “We, my little ray of sunshine, are not done for the night.” David smiled once I turned my gaze back to him.

Something in his expression told me what he had in mind wasn’t good; and my neutral expression faltered. “W- What else is there to do?”

“Well, why else am I keeping you around?” David laughed, pulling me into him by my wrist.

“Let me go, please.”

David’s laughter increased. “Manners aren’t going to get you anywhere in this situation, sunshine.” He let go of my wrist – which began throbbing in pain – before both his hands gripped my upper arms in a way where I wasn’t able to move away from him.

“Please,” I whispered desperately, attempting to wriggle out of his grasp.

“Stop fighting me on this, Emily. I’m going to get my way whether you like it or not.” He began leaning in, and my struggling became more dominant as I tried moving away from his face.

His lips briefly brushed along the side of my own, and I kicked him in his knee out of reflex.

David instantly let go and groaned in pain as he clutched onto the place where I had kicked him, before his head snapped up to me with another angry glare. “You little bitch.” He spat, grabbing me by the wrist again.

I tried to pry his hand away with my own free one, which just annoyed him even more. He brought up his free hand and a loud slapping noise echoed the room as it made contact with my cheek.

Tears instantly sprung to my eyes as my skin began throbbing from his hit, and I looked down at my feet to cover up the fact that the hit hurt me as much as it did.

David sighed irritably before letting go of my wrist, which was also throbbing and beginning to form light purple blotches. “I didn’t want to get to that stage with you, sunshine. Go to your room, we’ll talk tomorrow.”

I blinked my tears away and looked back up at him, glaring as harshly as I could. “No we won’t.” I didn’t wait for him to respond as I made my way back to my room, slamming the door shut behind me.

I looked over at
The Lovely Bones
before shaking my head as stray tears escaped my eyelids as my cheek continued to tingle in pain. I locked the door of my room softly before slowly making my way to the bed; covering as much as myself as I could with the sheets and falling into another deep sleep.

***

I woke to the sound of my door being clicked shut softly.

My eyes snapped open and I shot out of my bed awake and alert for any movement that would occur in the room.

I looked around and found nothing out of place except for a new jacket added to the pile of clothes in the room. The book I was reading was also moved from the table beside my bed and was now sitting next to pile of clothing on the table across from me.

The sound of voices caught my attention. They mentioned my name, and I instantly threw the sheets off my body to find out what they were saying.

I began walking to the door just as the voices became audible.

“-Kidding me? She has a fucking bruised cheek because of you!” Someone whispered angrily.

“It’s not my fault she was being so stubborn,” I faintly heard.

“I only agreed to play along with this because you promised you wouldn’t hurt her!” A feminine voice hissed.

My eyes widened and I pressed my ear against my room door in an attempt to extract more of the conversation.

“This is none of your business. I’ve paid you the amount we agreed to, now leave.” A lower voice responded calmly. I instantly recognised it as David’s.

The feminine whisper sounded enraged, and her voice level increased. “No! I can’t believe I played along with your stupid game in the first place! I undressed her for you, bought her new clothes to wear, told you everything she told me; all because I thought-”

“Be quiet!” David snapped. “You need to leave right now. And if you so much as
think
about opening your mouth to
anyone
about this-”

“You’re not going to get away with this,” the voice whispered back angrily. “They’re all searching for her. Adrian’s focusing on
you
in particular. I can’t keep quiet any longer. I want double of what you paid me. That’s the only way I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

A small gasp escaped my lips at the mention of Adrian.
He was looking for me?

I heard David sigh irritably before he spoke up again. “Stay out of my business. I’ll have the money for you by tomorrow. Meet at our usual spot. Now leave; the last thing we both need is for her to wake up to find-”

I decided then that this was a good time to open the door and catch them both in the act. My door flew open, and the angry expression I summoned onto my face instantly dropped as a resilient wave of betrayal washed over me; making me stumble back in shock.

The pair of heads snapped towards me, and I watched as one head let out another irritated sigh as the other face’s eyes widened in shock at the realisation of being caught in the act.