Page 39 of Caged Heart
“You remember me, little Mars?” He said, creepily and then it clicked where I recognized him, he was the governor. “You were always my favorite between you and your brother.”
This triggered Ares as he screamed out. “Get the fuck away from him! Now!” he yelled out, thrashing against his father and his father lifted his head up and slammed it back on the table, hard, drawing blood.
“Shut the fuck up, boy! You will not disobey who we are. What we are.”
“Fuck you.” Ares screamed out as he tried to move again but his father signaled someone else in the room and they put a gun to Ares’s head.
Ares laughed like a maniac.
“Shoot me, you sick fuck. I don’t give a fuck. The only one that will lose is you.” There was a chill to how he said it and it left his lips as it crawled down my spine.
His father leaned down over him as if to fit himself behind Ares and I wanted to lose the contents in my stomach because it was so perverse. Ares didn’t flinch, he was angry but remained quiet as if his father wasn’t doing what he was doing.
His father whispered something in his ear that caused Ares to stiffen up so much that even when his father stood back up, reached under and removed the bottom half of Ares’s clothing, Ares didn’t say or do anything. He wasn’t looking at me either, he was gazing right through me. His eyes glossed over as if he were transported into another moment, another time. Something went off in my head as I stood without thinking, I ran up to Ares and tried to push his father as tears fell down my face.
There was no time to think about the consequences as his bodyguard grabbed me from behind. Ares’s father slapped me so hard, I thought I was seeing stars. My left ear began ringing as Ares seemed to move fast by throwing a punch behind me to the man that was grabbing me.
“Get off her. Don’t touch her.” He said so calmly, it rendered me immobile. “I will kill you.” His promise was out in the air but I didn’t know who he was addressing as his father wrapped his hand around Ares’s neck like an animal for slaughtering.
He stood behind him and spoke into Ares’s ear as he didn’t take his eyes off me.
“I’ll take her and teach her everything I taught Artemis. She’d love it and love me. Is that what you want, boy?”
It didn’t make sense, and my heart sank further in as Ares shook his head, but Monica stole my attention as she screamed out.
“Stop it!” My eyes went to Monica as I was dragged back to the seat. The bodyguard dropped me down, forcing me to sit and the pain shot up my spine.
Mars was so silent as the governor leaned in and whispered something in his ear, but there were no movements from Mars, not one single word out of his mouth.
“Stop it.” Monica whispered but we all heard her.
“What did you say to me, little girl?” The governor asked as if he were deaf and not a fucking creep.
“Stop it!” Monica yelled out and she shoved him. “Don’t touch him! Get away from him!”
The governor let go of a naked Mars who shocked me because I had never seen him in the nude. I wasn’t staring because he was naked but because of the bruises, the marks and the burns on his body. He didn’t turn so I didn’t see the back, but if the small circular burns on his upper arms and shoulders showed anything, it was worse on his back. The Governor stole my attention again as he slapped Monica, I stood without thinking and someone grabbed me from behind, pushing me back into my seat.
Something awoke Mars because next thing I knew, the governor was on the floor and Mars was on top of him screaming as he rained his fists on his face. No one stopped him, no one said a thing as Mars sobbed uncontrollably but at the same time, I wondered if this was where all of us would die.
In this moment, Mars and Ares shifted into one person in my mind; their rage, anger, and all out behavior. I used to think they were completely different, but they weren’t. They just appeared like they were to me because they wanted to give something else off and my eyes shifted to a laughing Ares. There was something in his eyes… something so dangerous that even I was afraid to keep eye contact with him. He wasn’t just the man who gave me a room or said he would bring heaven to me. This was the man of a nightmare I’ve never experienced or had but knew he could be if he wanted to. He shifted as if something took over.
“We live, we serve. We die, we rise. For the Wick. For the other. For the next and because of before.”
He repeated the first time and I didn’t get what it meant but it triggered Mars to stop and he repeated the same thing as well.
“Good.” Their father finally said. “They’re ready.”
Those words of his unsettled me, acid sloshed a blistering trail up my throat that I felt like I would throw up but stopped myself.
Mars stood like the god of vengeance and grabbed Monica’s jaw, causing me to flinch at the whimper coming from her. Mars looked up at me and then his brother with eyes like balls of fire as he ripped Monica’s clothes off her.
“Mars, please,” Monica cried out as she tried to move away from him but he pulled her back to him.
“Mars,” I cried out, pleading to him.
He let go of Monica briefly as she tried to cover up her body.
“Her or him.” His father said.
