Page 79 of Ruining Vanessa

“You know me. I’m a night owl.” Giulio strokes my shoulder. “But how can I help?”

“I’ve been having problems with my recent acquisition,” Savage says, sounding almost bored. “First the detox—I had to tie her down for part of it—and then getting her to even eat right.”

Recent… It doesn’t take me long to put the pieces together. Doctor Savage had to be the one who bought Stef. I can’t even be relieved that she’s gone through detox, because being tied down for part of it sounded miserable and cruel. I don’t want her to still be on drugs, but this man doesn’t sound even remotely sympathetic.

I don’t say anything, but I desperately want to. I want to ask how Stef is. I want to talk to her. I want to do… something. Anything.

I look pleadingly at Giulio. Maybe if he’s displeased with Stef, he’ll want to return her. Then she can come back here, and it won’t be my fault she got sent to a worse fate anymore.

“Damn, that sucks. There’s no refunds though, you know,” Giulio says, smirking at me. “Unless you want to trade her in for a different model.”

“I might,” Savage answers just as coldly.

Suddenly, I hear Stef crying, “No! Please, please don’t! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it!”

I sit up straighter, looking pleadingly at Giulio. I don’t dare say anything. I’ve already caused enough pain for Stef, and speaking out of turn would only make it worse. I have to bite my tongue to keep myself from begging on her behalf, and tears glisten in my eyes. “Please,” I mouth to Giulio, trying to get him to pay attention to me. I’ve done better. I’m doing better. Can’t we fix some of the problems I created?

“Hey, Stef!” Giulio says loudly. “You enjoying yourself with Doctor Savage?” He puts an arm around me and kisses my cheek, clearly mocking me, and I shudder.

On the other end, Stef sobs loudly. “Yes. Don’t send me back, please, Master.”

Giulio bursts out laughing, even as horror stabs through my heart.

Master. He has her calling him Master? That’s horrible, and I don’t know why Giulio thinks it’s funny. I cover my mouth with my hand to stop myself from saying anything.

“Then next time, don’t make me regret my purchase,” Doctor Savage says. “My patience is running thin.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” More sobbing, but it breaks off.

What is he doing to her? What kind of monster is he?

“Should I be asking for a video call?” Giulio asks with an amused chuckle. “I’m always up for more porn. Hey, speaking of, do you want to see the pics of—”

The call suddenly ends.

Giulio looks at his phone, caught off guard. “He hung up on me?”

It’s a wildly inappropriate time to remember Damien’s response to the last time someone had hung up on Giulio in my presence. I’d been terrified, but the words had sunk in because Damien had been so dry, so matter of fact, when he’d said, it’s a wonder more people don’t hang up on you.

I’d never say that to Giulio, though.

“Can you… Can you call him back?” I ask, brushing at my tears. “Please, Giulio. Please take her back. I’ve been good, haven’t I? You can stop punishing her now.”

Giulio shakes his head and puts his phone away. “You heard her. She’d rather be with him than here. Shouldn’t you be glad, anyway? Sounds like he got her to detox. No more easy, drugged up life for her.” He grabs for his container of ceviche again and lifts it up to sniff at the food.

“Well, yes, I mean…” Flustered, I find it hard to get the words out. I catch scent of the ceviche, which smells especially strong to me. It doesn’t look or smell as gross as when my father had gotten it. “Can I try that?” I ask abruptly, trying to get my mind off of Stef and the doctor she calls Master.

Giulio shrugs and hands me the entire container. “Sure.” He grabs the rotisserie chicken and “yucas”—what appear to just be fat french fries—for himself.

I’m surprised he’s willing to go for the boring meal, but the ceviche smells more appetizing to me than the chicken. Something about the lemon, maybe.

It tastes really good too, I realize. Is this what I was missing out on when I’d skipped the sushi Giulio had brought? The tanginess, the texture, the onions and… everything.

I’ve eaten half of it before I even realize what I’m doing.

“So you do have an adventurous palate in there somewhere!” Giulio says, smiling. “Do I get the rest of that?”

“No,” I mumble, a little embarrassed, but I don’t want to eat the other stuff either. The smell of the chicken is actually off-putting, and I have no desire to touch it. The yuca, maybe, but definitely not the chicken. “Are you sure there’s nothing off about the chicken?” I go back to eating the ceviche, marveling at the way the flavors dance across my tongue.

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