Until There Was You

Chapter 1

Liam

'Another round on my tab.' I say
to the sexy waitress named Sasha, I think.

'Certainly Mr Coltan.' She
replies in a seductive tone, yes tonight shall be a good night. God
knows I deserve it after spending the day with my Mother and
Melissa the airhead, plastic bimbo from her country club. Ah
Melissa Reddington, daughter of the millionaire Donald Reddington,
a miniature version of my Mother and like hell do I need that! One
of that woman is more than enough to make life miserable if she
decides to be difficult.

As the only son of Landon and
Rose Colton there is a lot of publicity as well as money involved
so I 'just must' take a wife and she 'just has to' be a decent
respectable, well bred young lady and end my playboy antics that
bring shame on the company and my most importantly my Mother.

Snapping out of my depressive
thoughts I notice the waitress is back placing our drinks in front
of us, leaning a little further over than necessary. My friend Paul
winks at me mouthing 'Your in there bro'.

'Nah to easy.' I reply out loud
causing a roar of laughter from the lads and earning me a glare
from Stacey or Sasha or whatever, jeez i was only stating the
obvious.

'Your bad man.' my best friend
Nate says chuckling. Like what he does is any better, at least I am
honest upfront that I am not a nice man. I will not be sweeping
anybody off their feet, I will never own a white horse or a damn
Wife.

'Hardly.' I retort sardonically
as I smirk at the rest of the table. Lads night out, nothing
better.

'Dude you could of tapped that.'
Laughs Paul, and Nate chuckles with him.

Nate and Paul have been my
friends since college, they are the only to people who get me. I
met them at a party where a girl tried it on with all three of us
one after the other, we laughed about it and have been friends ever
since. After a few more drinks , I am tired and the thoughts of my
Mother and Barbie had soured my mood so bad, that not even the
amber liquard that slides down my throat can lift my spirits. I
downed the drink in my hand in one and reveled in the burning
sensation in my throat, deciding it was time to head home I make a
move to grab my jacket off the back of my chair. I regretted
pissing of the waitress as a bit of easy would be good about now
but at least I won't be having the uncomfortable 'get out we are
done' speech later. I am a stickler for my rules, I never stray
from the rules. Ever.

Rule One: When I am done, we are
done. You need to leave.

Rule Two: I don't need your
name, it's completely irrelevant if your a Sophie or a Danielle.
You will always be Babe to me.

Rule Three: One night is enough
unless you really blow my mind. Don't hold your breathe though.

I say my goodbyes to the lads
and head for the door. Dem, my driver would be waiting, as I step
outside I am hit by the cold air and the sound of laughter. Pulling
my jacket tighter to fend off the cold, I head towards my Black
Bentley Continental GT. The door is already open as Dem stands
behind it, his face completely blank and I do not honestly think I
have ever saw any emotion from him. The man is a fucking
machine.

'Home Mr Coltan?' Dem inquires,
holding onto my door handle. I have told him countless times that I
can open and shut my own fucking doors, but he never seems to
listen.

'Yes please Dem.' I answer him
as I climb in. I am about to remind him Mr Coltan is my father
-again - when I notice out the corner of my eye two men yelling at
a young, barely dressed girl trying to force her into a car. At
least that's what it appears to be, part of me wants to drive on,
this isn't any of my business but something about her makes me
pause.

'Wait!' I yell at Dem. 'Stop the
car!'

I get out and approach them,
both men are more concerned with their argument, so I go unnoticed
giving me chance to take in the scene unfolding before me.

'Please don't make me do this,
please.' The girl pleads to the first man, fisting his tatty shirt
in her small fists. She look so small, so scared it tugs on
something inside my chest.

'Stop making a scene and get in
his fucking car!' He glowers back at her, prying her hands from him
in disgust.

'Please...' She begs in a low
voice, hands clutched together like she was praying hard. She
should never have to beg for anything, let alone her safety. The
thought has rage flooding my system in seconds.

Out of nowhere he backhands her
across her face with such for her small body lands on the cold,
unforgiving floor, her head bounces off the pavement with a
sickening crack and my stomach turns at the sound. I opened my
mouth to speak, to yell, to do something - anything - when the guy
by the beat up, barely functioning car cuts me off.

'Hurry the fuck up slut, I don't
have all night!' He grabs her arm lifting her up off the floor to
meet his eyes and I feel it the last of my tightly coiled control
snapping at the sound of her small pained whimper.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter Two

Lexi

'Get ready bitch, tonight's the
night your arse earns its keep.' Mike yells through the door of my
dirty, scarcely furnished bedroom. It used to be nice, safe and
clean but now - like me - it will never be the same again.

Mike is my Step-Father and he
used to be one of the best men I knew, I had so much love and
respect for him that I was proud to call him my dad. I never knew
my real Father, he died when I was barely two months old. I haven't
ever known any other dad, but aslong a I had Mike, I didn't mind.
Until I turned fourteen he played the part of normal, caring Dad
and I of the bright, happy Daughter. Until my mum got pregnant. At
first we were all beyond happy, they had been trying for so long.
We were going to have a new member of our little happy family, life
couldn't be better. I had always wanted to be a big sister. Until
the day I came home from school and found him crying, I had never
saw him cry before. Thinking there was something wrong with my mum
or the baby I rushed to his side, When he shoved a white piece of
paper under my nose I could do nothing but stare down at it in
complete confusion and betrayal. To this day the word's I read that
day will haunt me forever, it will always be the moment my world
crumbled down. The day my heart was torn out, I still remember
every word and each time I relive them I feel my heart being torn
from my chest.

My Dearest Mike and Alexis,

This is the hardest thing I have
ever had to tell anyone and I can only hope in time you can forgive
me. Mike, my sweet Mike, I am so very sorry. I have lied to you, I
am in love with someone else and I am certain this baby is his. I
wish it hadn't of come to this but I cannot allow another child of
mine to be without their Father. I am truly sorry for any pain I
have caused you it was never my intention. Please forgive me. Lexi
my darling daughter, you have turned into a beautiful young woman
that I am proud to call my own. You may not know it now but you do
not need me anymore and although it truely breaks my heart to leave
you I have to but this baby first. I hope you can understand. I
pray you realise that I wanted to take you with me but Mike, he
needs you more. Please look after him and I promise we will see
each other again. Maybe you could meet your brother/sister, if
that's okay with Mike, I mean. This is not a goodbye, this is until
we see each other again.

Stay strong.

Love you always,

Anne x

Yeah right Mike needed me, from
that day on I went from daughter to slave, chef and my personal
favourite punchbag. Because I look like my 'whore of a mother' with
my dark blue eyes, dirty blonde hair that falls untidily to the
middle of my back and my slim frame, mostly due to the fact I don't
deserve to eat. I am lucky if I earn the right to eat at least one
meal a day yet somehow I always fall short. I once tried stealing
food after the fourth day of nothing but water, after the beating
he gave me I decided it just wasn't worth it. Maybe with time my
body would give out, somebody might notice the girl wasting away
before their eyes. Nobody ever did, not the neighbours or the
school. I am alone. It has been this way for over four years and
tonight it was about to get a whole lot worse.

You see the abuse never got
sexual, apart from the close call one night when he came home
hammered and started calling me 'Annie Baby' grabbing my behind and
breasts. His breath was vile as he shoved his tongue down my throat
causing me to gag. I knew I had to fight but in that moment fear
had me frozen, I could move, my mind was screaming at me yet my
body won't move. As I finally gathered the strenght to roll him off
of me, he started yelling about how I or My Mother as he thought I
was is a whore and started to beat me, I have never been so
grateful for a beating in my life.

'You have five minutes. Do I
need to dress you myself?' He sneers from the doorway. He looks
nothing like the man I used to call Dad, that man left with my
Mother. I am at a loss for what to do when a pathetic idea hits me
but at this point, I really do have nothing to lose.

'Please... Daddy I will get a
job, I promise. Please I don't want to do this.' Bile rose to up,
burning in the back of my throat as the name Daddy left my lips but
I am desperate. I am trying to reach the man that was once My
Daddy, wishing with everything I have, that he can still be
reached. That a small part of him is still inside the cruel, harsh
man stood before me.

He reaches out and snags a
fistful of my hair pulling me up to my feet, as pain shoots through
my scalp. I bite down on my bottom lip so hard I taste blood, I
know better than to scream. It wouldn't do any good anyway.

'I ain't ya Daddy ya little
bitch, your 'Daddy' got himself killed so he didn't have to see how
much of a whore you would turn out to be. That's if he was even
your daddy knowing your mother' He spits at me as tears burn my
eyes but I refuse to let them fall, they are the only thing I have
left that are truly mine to control. He throws me down onto the
dirty matress I call my bed and storms out of my room yelling
'three minutes slut.' Hopeless takes hold of me as I try to fight
the panic bubbling inside of me threatening to bring me to my
knees. There is no way out, I know there is no way out. So I give
in, I switch it off. I go numb.

We stand at the end of an
alleyway near a high class club, I am freezing in a tattered black
dress that barely covers anything and patent leather, red boots
that are black around the toes where the red has been scuffed away.
I don't know where he got them and quite frankly I don't want to
know.

He leaves me standing by the
wall as he talks to random men, trying to sell me like I am a piece
of meat. Thankfully though there are no takers, nobody seems
interested in a skinny, dirty looking, no doubt terrified looking
girl wearing ratty clothes. My teeth are chattering so loudly, I am
so, so cold that goosebumps cover every inch of my skin, all most
to the point of pain. I wasn't aloud to wear a coat as it would
cover the 'goods'. Ha, like the black and purple bruises don't look
worse. Still I was thanking the heavens for small mercies that at
least nobody wants me.

Story of my life, blessings
don't last long as a tall, skinny man wearing a smart blue shirt
and black jeans comes closer to Mike, and in turn closer to me. He
isn't awful looking with his blonde shaggy hair that came over his
eyes, he looks nothing like the monsters my mind had conjured up.
Yet the sadistic glint in his eyes terrified me more than anything
my mind could of created. Please god don't let this monster take my
virginity.

They continue to discuss me for
a few more minutes, talking like I am a object, how anything is
allowed for the right price, it's a bargin price as I am unused. I
feel the sick in the back of my throat as he hands Mike some money,
I really can't tell how much but it doesn't matter. When Mike comes
towards me with a sickening smirk plastered on his face I know the
game is up, this is going to happen.

'Right bitch, here's the score.
You're going to get into his car, you're going to do whatever he
needs you to do, no questions asked. He is going to keep you till
10 am then you get your arse home. Do i make myself clear?' He
demands at me, he looks pleased with himself and in this moment,
more than ever I know how it feels to truly hate another
person.

'Please Mike.... I don't want to
do this.'

'Do.I.Make.Myself.Clear?' He
commands again, harsher this time.

'I'll move out, I will get a
job. I will do anything but please not this... Please anything but
this.' I am crying now, fear of the situation I am trapped in
eating me up inside.