While all my expenses would be paid for, me not bringing many clothes had nothing to do with shopping. It had to do with not getting comfortable. Not allowing this to become my true reality. About me distancing myself from the situation as much as I could.
Anyway, Charles Beacon most likely had told him all about me. No need to wallow in my financial situation by divulging this to him. I didn’t have much, but I still had my pride.
“Nope. I know how to work a washing machine.” I said this moving to the bathroom which was about the same size of the closet. All in all, the bedroom, closet, and bathroom were bigger than my home. What did someone do with all this space?
Did Garrett have a big family or something? Maybe this wasn’t his home; maybe it was Charles’, or maybe it was a rental. I had questions, but I didn’t dare ask.
“Right. We’ll get you sorted tomorrow.”
For a moment, I wanted to ask what get me sorted meant, but again, I decided against asking anything right this moment. Frankly, the more questions I asked this man, the more uncomfortable I became with his answers. From saying he was ‘breaking me’ to a name like Garrett that I wasn’t completely sure was his actual name, my head was spinning.
The bathroom sparkled. Yes, actually sparkled with the sun shining in. There were windows, but they had this frosty glaze on the bottom to give privacy, but still have the light.
The tub.
Holy hell, the tub.
At home, we didn’t have a tub. Only a shower. I’d seen movies about women taking these long baths and always wondered what it would feel like. Probably like heaven.
Before I left I promised myself I would find the good things where I could and hold onto them. I was going to make the best out of this if it killed me. Which meant I was getting in that tub soon. I had determined this could be the most miserable experience of my life, or I could find ways to make it tolerable. That tub was a start to tolerating the worst.
There was a shower off to the side with several different sprays and big enough to fit a football team.
Turing around, I jumped when Garrett was right behind me and gasped for breath. “Jesus.” Was the man like a damn ninja or something?
“No need to be so jumpy, kitten.”
Kitten? Where the hell did he get kitten? He didn’t even know me.
But, I let it go. KISS—Keep it simple, stupid. That was going to be my motto. Keep everything compartmentalized and just make it through my time here.
There was something bothering me. I needed to know, therefore, I steeled my nerves and let it out. I didn’t miss his phrase, our room, but he couldn’t be serious? Could he?
“Why are your clothes in the closet if I’m sleeping in this room?”
He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned his shoulder into the doorjamb. “Because I sleep here too.”
“What, on the floor?”
“Nope.”
“Outside on the deck? It’s not like I’m going to run away.”
“Nope. We’re both in the bed.”
It was time for my arms to cross over my chest. “We are not. That was not the deal.”
“If I remember correctly, your deal was to do whatever Mr. Beacon told you to do. He told me you would be doing this. Therefore, we are most certainly going to be in the same bed.”
Why on earth would a man who ‘owned’ me, wanting me as a possession, want me to be in bed with another man? Thoughts assailed me thinking of a Lifetime movie. The one where the husband shared his wife around to all of his friends. By the end of it the woman was so broken, she barely pulled herself out of it.
Broken.
Break you. His words rattled in my skull. Garrett was to break me in. Sexually? Physically? Mentally? What was going on here? While crazy thoughts ran through my mind, I kept my emotions at bay. Garrett could kiss my ass.
“No. My deal is with Mr. Beacon. Not with you. I’m not sleeping in the bed with you.”
“Yeah, you are.”
He was stern, but not harsh. In fact, the casual vibe he gave off told me he was completely confident and comfortable. He had me rattled while he was set like stone.
No, I wasn’t sleeping in a bed with him, but carrying on with this petty shit was above my pay grade. I would just move to the couch at night when he fell asleep, easy enough to do. Okay, plan in place, my mind settled knowing I would face it when the time came.
I blew out a breath. “What do you mean by break me?” There, I said it. No holding back. If I had to endure this new life for who knew how long, I was going to do it eyes wide open.
His smile turned wicked, sending chills down my arms and legs. It wasn’t happy—it was sinister. “That will be answered in time.”
“I’m not going to sleep with you.” Nor Mr. Beacon, if I could get away with it, which I had a sneaking suspicion wouldn’t hold true. It didn’t mean I had to like it, just endure it. But not from Garrett.
“Right,” Garrett said, moving out of the doorway. Coming out of the bathroom, my bag was in the bedroom and I went to it, picking it up and plopping it on the bed.
“You say I’m here for a month?”
“Or two,” he replied casually.
I’d brought a couple pairs of shorts and t-shirts; those would have to do on this excursion, including my bathing suits.
“Fine. Can I have some time alone please?”
“Nope.” He moved his head, coming to the left side of me. He was already infuriating. I wanted space. I wanted to breathe, dammit. I wanted to think. “You need any help?” he asked, like we were the best of friends as I folded a shirt and placed it on the bed.
Alright, buddy, if this was the game he wanted to play, then I was ready. I picked up a box of tampons. “Yeah. Make sure you look and see what kind these are. When I run out, you’ll need to get me the same brand.”
Garrett’s lip lifted in a small tip of the corner, and dammit all to hell it was very attractive. “That’s what the Internet is for.”
“Right. You have a harem of girls around here you attend to?”
“No. You’re the only one.” He didn’t elaborate about other women and why I wanted to know, well, I wasn’t quite sure.
“Great.” While I didn’t show that it gave me a small thrill, it was there all the same, but I still was not feeling this breaking me thing.
No one would break me.
Not break me to do whatever they wanted, nor would I be treated like shit. While I more than likely knew what Mr. Beacon wanted, it was still my choice. If I chose not to, my mother wouldn’t get the treatment. Therefore, I knew what needed to be done. This whole thing now with Garrett was out of the realm of everything I prepared my mind for.
My arrangement wasn’t about someone taking from me and breaking me. This was a give and take; I had to give in order to receive the help for my mother.
Mentally, I focused on that.
This Garrett guy, or Mr. Beacon’s lackey, wouldn’t get into my head. I was strong and would remain that way for the rest of my days.
“Do you need anything?” Garrett asked.
There were many things I needed, like a ticket home and away from this mess, but that wasn’t an option for me. My mother needed the meds. “I’m going to take a shower.”
“Sounds good.” Garrett wiggled his eyebrows at me, and I wondered what was going on in that thick skull of his. It had to be something naughty from his expression.