Page 51 of Outlawed Treat
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Caliana
COLD.THAT’S THE firstthing I notice as I wake up.I’m freezing and feel as if I’m wearing next to nothing as the coldness seeps into every inch of my body and into my bones.It’s the kind of cold that takes you forever to warm up from in the middle of winter.The next thing is I can’t move my arms or legs.They’re tied down with zip ties against metal.The plastic edges cut into my skin and I have a feeling I’m bleeding based on the slickness of my skin as I barely move my body.I’m tied to a damn metal chair.I’ve been over this scenario with the men of the Phantom Bastards.It’s going to be hard as hell to escape from my bindings, but not impossible.I just have to move right and the zip ties will snap.My head hurts and I’m thinking I was either drugged and this is a side effect of that or I was hit in my head with something hard enough to knock me out.So far, my body doesn’t hurt, but that could change in a matter of minutes based on who has me.I’m guessing it’s Darren.He’s finally made his move.
“You’re finally awake.I was beginnin’ to think I hit you too hard and killed ya,” Darren says, his voice cold and hard in ways I’ve never heard before.
Darren’s voice has never exactly been soft and gentle when he talks to me.Well, after he left for bootcamp that is.Lately, I’ve realized Darren was playing a character when we first got together and he used every trick in his playbook in order to not only get me to be with him, but then to remain committed to our marriage.Once he was back from bootcamp and realized I wouldn’t leave him no matter what, the changes started to take place.Small things I never truly picked up on until now.Maybe it’s because I didn’t want our son to grow up in a broken home or that I didn’t know how to ask for help.Either way, I was the fool and now it appears the game is coming to an end.
There’s always been an underlying hint of disdain and annoyance whenever Darren talked to me.That’s if he chose to talk to me at all.Bryce is the only one who ever got the soft side of Darren after he left for bootcamp.I don’t know when it changed so much, but by the end, Darren expected me to be a mind reader.He wouldn’t say a word to me but would get angry if I didn’t get him what he needed when he wanted it.I have no clue how I was supposed to read his mind when it was clear I never truly knew the man I married at all.Still, I refused to hate him because he gave me two of the best gifts I could ever ask for.Bryce and Rory.
“Ah!”I scream out in pain as the hood covering my head is literally ripped off with several strands of hair.
“Shut the fuck up!”Darren yells from his crouched position in front of me just before he smacks me so hard my head whips to the side and I immediately taste blood filling my mouth.
“Darren?”I question, knowing I already believed him to be alive but seeing him in front of me is something completely different.
Like the man I saw outside the diner, Darren is completely unkempt in his appearance.Something he never would have allowed to happen before.Even when he was heavily drinking, Darren always made sure to take a shower, dress nicely, and keep his hair styled.He never wore more than scruff on his face for a day at most if he didn’t want to shave that morning.Now, his hair is all over the place as if he’s been running his fingers through it in agitation.Something Darren used to do a lot when things got to be too overwhelming for him or a situation wasn’t going exactly as he wanted it to.The beard covering his face is shaggy and looks as if certain parts of it are matted.His skin that’s exposed has traces of dirt while his clothing is ripped and has stains I couldn’t even begin to identify.I’d say his life has been extremely hard this past year, but I know deep in my soul this is all part of his plan.
“I guess you’re not as stupid as I thought you were,” Darren sneers, standing up so he’s towering over me in a display of power.“I always thought you were so fuckin’ stupid for not seein’ how in love with you Caleb was.You could have been with him any time you wanted.Instead, you chose to ignore all the signs he was tossin’ your way and became easy prey for me.”
“What are you talking about me being prey for you, Darren?I’ve never done anything wrong to you,” I ask him, needing to know what the hell his game is.
“Everythin’ you did was wrong, Doll.You never once stood up for yourself when I purposely did somethin’ you hated or gave you things you couldn’t stand.The roses.I spent so much on roses in the beginnin’ and knew you hated every single time I handed them over to you.You’d scrunch your nose up at the smell and I could see the way your fingers would twitch with the need to throw them away.Still, you did and said absolutely nothin’.You just accepted what I gave you like the pathetic whore you are.
“When I fucked you, I thought of all the women I was fuckin’ when I wasn’t with you.It was so easy to cheat on you because Caleb and Kreed were so wrapped up in makin’ sure you were happy, they never paid attention to the times I disappeared to fuck someone I truly wanted to.That’s the only way I could ever get my dick hard enough to fuck you, Caliana.Even then, it was a chore to complete and I couldn’t do more than stick my cock in you until I found my release.I never once cared if you got yours and hoped you didn’t most of the time.Fuckin’ you was the worst experience ever.You never got into it and I had to picture so many other things just to get myself off usin’ your body.Seems like I was the only one you were like that with though.Saw the performance you gave when you were with Caleb.You didn’t just lay there with him and not make any noise,” Darren says, shocking me into silence as anger fills me with the thought of him watching Caleb and I together that night.
“You’re a fucking vile human, Darren.I wish I had never met you.Marrying you was the worst decision I ever made in my life and the one thing I’ll regret until the day I die.Your own son doesn’t even ask about you.Hasn’t since a few weeks after you died and we buried what we thought was you.In fact, he’s been telling Caleb everything you’ve ever done from the time he can remember you being a complete fucking asshole.
“I did everything for you, Darren.Cooked for you, cleaned the house every damn day, took care of you when you were sick or too damn drunk to get off the couch, and raised the kids all on my own.You did absolutely nothing for me or the kids.I never once got a penny from you and even your death benefits were signed over to your father.I can’t wait for him to go to prison for fraud since you’re alive and right in front of me.You always wanted to die a hero like the men in your family before you.Darren Foster, you’re nothing more than a vile coward who took the easy way out and hid from the people who gave you everything you could ever need or want in life,” I spit out, not thinking of everything I want to truly say to the asshole standing over me.
Darren starts to beat the shit out of me.My skin splits open in several spots as the pain starts to become unbearable when he lands hits in the same spot.He’s wearing a ring I’ve never seen before and it has some sharp edges to it.Especially when he hits me just above my eye and my skin immediately opens.I can’t defend myself with the way my hands and legs are tied to the chair.I’m slowly working the zip ties on my legs so they’ll break apart when I’m ready.All I need is for Darren to leave the room for a minute and I should be able to get myself free.
“You did do everythin’ for me.And I treated you like shit in return.Tellin’ you the food wasn’t edible and the house was never clean.Every vile word I sent your way you just took and came back for more.If anythin’ you worked harder to please me while buryin’ the anger and resentment you felt toward me.Do you think I don’t know you cried every damn night when you thought Bryce and I were sleepin’?I fuckin’ laughed when I heard you cryin’ yourself to sleep.Do you know how many nights you dreamed of Caleb comin’ in to save the day as if he’s some kind of knight there to rescue you?I lost count of how many times you’ve murmured his name in your sleep.No, I wasn’t jealous.Again, I laughed my ass off because I know even now he hates that he fucked you in Kreed’s bed.He’d rather remain loyal to a ghost than to be with a woman he claims to love,” Darren spits out, spittle hitting my face as he takes a brief break from beating on me.
“Why would you fake your death, Darren?How did you manage to fake your death?”I question him, trying to distract him as I prepare myself to break free from the zip ties.
“You’d really like for me to answer those questions, wouldn’t ya?Well, I’m not goin’ to.Those are questions Caleb, Playboy, and Slim get the answers to.A bitch like you doesn’t deserve anythin’ from me.Oh, I did want to ask how it feels to know my parents, mainly my father, got you not only fired from your job but blacklisted from ever bein’ a nurse again?The day I found that shit out, I celebrated so hard it took me two days to get out of bed again,” Darren asks me, laughter filling his voice as my anger turns to rage with the reminder of no longer being a nurse in Glendale because of his family.
