Chapter Nine

Elise

Three Days Later

I collapse on to the bed beside Lucian, laughing. “I’m having so much fun teasing you,” I say breathlessly.

“That was the meanest thing I think anyone could ever do,” he says as he cleans us.

Lucian came up to change after a meeting, so I pushed him back on the bed so I could straddle him and get myself off while he watched. Within seconds of me touching myself, he started doing the same thing. Every time I tease him, I am also teasing myself too. I think it’s best that we wait to have sex, but I want him inside of me so badly, I can’t stand it.

“Just a few more days, and then we get to see who is better at hide and seek,” I say, still laughing.

“Elise, you and I both know I will catch you. You wouldn’t consent if you didn’t want me to catch you. That’s the beauty of it,” he says.

“Maybe I just want to beat you at your own game,” I say as I prop up on my elbow to look at him.

“Remind me of that when I’m balls deep in your ass and you’re screaming for mercy,” he replies coolly.

“Meh. I’m not concerned,” I say. “It’s not big enough to cause discomfort.

“You little shit,” he jokes as he rolls us and pins me to the bed.

“I love irritating you,” I smile. “You get all… feral.”

“You are digging a pretty deep hole,” he warns.

“I don’t have to dig too deep to keep away from your dick luckily,” I joke.

“Mhmm,” he says, kissing me. “Let’s go down to the basement.”

“Okay,” I say happily before wiggling out from under him. We get dressed and go downstairs to start reading and sorting through Mom’s things.

We are down here for nearly an hour before I finally get through with the box I’m working on. I get up and go to the corner to find my next box. As I am stacking the box up, it catches on another and the entire stack comes tumbling down. I screech and jump back to avoid being crushed, but fall back on my ass instead. A few boxes land on my legs and I laugh.

“Lord have mercy, woman. Are you trying to kill yourself?” Lucian asks as he moves the boxes and helps me up.

“Thanks,” I laugh. “That’s the third time I’ve almost died down here.

“It’s a good thing you have help now, or we’d find you days from now trapped under a pile of this shit,” Lucian jokes as he starts stacking boxes back up.

“Wait,” I yell at him, and he steps back. I see the corner of what looks to be a safe, so I start move boxes over to reveal a fire safe. Lucian steps over to help get it out of the corner and onto the table we have set up. “Why was it hidden?”

“Let’s open it and find out,” he says. “We probably need to move this upstairs where the lighting is better.

I run ahead of him to open the basement door as he brings it up to sets it on the coffee table. It’s a four-digit code from zero to ninety-nine. So, there are endless possibilities for what it would be. Lucian calls Carol, Laura, and Bradley over while I pace the living room, thinking.

“You know her better than anyone,” Lucian says to Carol. “Any idea?”

“Try her birthday,” Bradley suggests.

“She wouldn’t pick that day. She was probably raped on her birthday,” I say.

“Okay, yours,” Bradley counters.

“She gave me up. Why would it be mine?”

“Because she gave you up,” he says. “I doubt she wanted to give you up. She just didn’t want the constant reminder of her rape. She did what she thought was best to protect her mental health.”

“1-0-3-1 doesn’t work,” Lucian says.

“Try... 10-31-19-99,” I say.

“Uh… nope,” he says.

“Same thing, just backward,” I suggest.

“Got it,” he says. As the door to the safe opens up, he moves over so I can sit with him. I stare at the slightly ajar door for a moment before taking a deep breath and opening it.

The first thing I pull out instantly brings tears to my eyes. I hold a small hospital band and stare at it. It has my date of birth on it. The next thing I pull out is a tiny hat, and Lucian wraps his arms around my body to hug me. If I stop, I’ll fall apart. Next, I pull out a silver necklace.

“What’s that?” Laura asks.

“Uh. It’s a necklace. I recognize the symbol,” I say.

“It’s a Wheel of Fortune,” Lucian says. “It’s a symbol of destiny. It has many origins, but it’s most often associated with the Roman Goddess, Fortuna.”

“Woah,” I say as I pull a small statue from the safe.

“That is Fortuna,” Lucian says. “That is likely solid gold.”

“Why did she have it?” I ask.

“Probably an heirloom. The necklace too,” he says.

“Would it be weird if I wore the necklace?” I ask.

“I think it’s safe to say that she put this stuff together for you,” Lucian says, picking up the necklace. I hold my hair up and he clasps the necklace around my neck.

The last thing I pull out of the safe is a leather-bound journal. When I open it, a folded paper falls out.

My dear, sweet Elise,

I don’t know how much longer I have. The cancer has progressed quickly, so I am finding that this will be the only way I can answer the many questions I know you have.

To start off with, I am not your aunt. I am your mother. I’m sorry I lied; I just wasn’t ready to face it yet. Now that I am, it’s too late. They say I could have days or even just hours before I will inevitably slip away.

I want you to know that you are both the best and worst thing to have ever happened to me. I know that is confusing, but I am hoping this journal will better explain. I loved you then and I love you now. I never wanted to give you up, but I felt like I didn’t have a choice. Upon reflection, I should have asked the others for help. You deserve more than a letter full of excuses, so I’ll spare you that. Just know I wanted you, but I couldn’t keep you. — I found you because you belong in the community with my people. O ur people . Your destiny is here. You will find peace and safety with the community, but also love. I rejected the idea of connecting with another after you came into existence, and that was my destiny. I have to believe that you are destined for more. — A few things you should know about the community. You are safe. You will experience things here that might seem strange or maybe even inappropriate, but do not fear the unknown… Carol can be abrasive, but she is the most kind and gentle person I know. I hope that she will become the mother for you that I wish I could have been. — Lucian will be the leader when Felix passes, so he will be your leader as well. Don’t be afraid to find comfort in him. You are both destined for greatness.

I love you from the bottom of my heart, Elise. You have grown into an incredible woman, and I am so proud of the challenges you’ve overcome, but the fight is not over. Find safety among our people and have faith in your destiny.

Jennifer Hart

“This would be easier if she had said she hated children, or I was just an ugly baby,” I say flatly. When I open the journal again, there is a picture loosely taped to the inside cover. The woman looks nearly identical to me. She is in a hospital bed and is holding a newborn. She has tears in her eyes, but she is smiling brightly down at the child. “Fuck.”

“What?” Carol asks.

“Is this Mom?” I ask as I pull the picture free and hand it to her.

“It is,” she smiles.

“Damn. She did a damn good copy and paste job with you,” Laura laughs.

“She sure did,” Carol says, handling me the photo.

“She… She held onto a picture of us,” I say.

“I know in my heart that she loved you, Elise,” Carol says. “Every Halloween, she would put out an offering for Lady Fortuna. I never understood why, but now I know it was for you.”

“I’m glad I got to meet her,” I say, wiping a tear from my cheek.

“Were you with her when she died?” Lucian asks.

“Yeah. Her doctor called me and said that she didn’t have much time. She was in a hospital a few hours from here,” I explain. “That’s when I learned that she was flying across the country to see me. Although we talked daily.”

“How about this…you read the journal. Bradley and I will start going through the footage. Carol and Laura can try and decode Dad’s notes,” he says.

“Okay,” I say. I pull my feet up to sit cross-legged as everyone moves to do other things.

The first entry is dated for her twenty-fifth birthday. It immediately starts with her disclosing that she was raped. She was at home alone when a man came over. At first it was to just wish her a happy birthday, but it grew sinister fast. She was held down and raped on her couch. After, he said she would be his wife one day. She doesn’t mention him by name but says that he was an important part of the community.

The second entry is roughly three weeks later when she discovers that she is pregnant. She talks about being afraid for her life because the man visits her every night and repeatedly assaults her. She states that she plans to disclose it to the leader, and she is confident that he will handle her attacker. She returns the same day and states that she disclosed to the leader, and he was given the choice between going before the council or accepting banishment. He accepted the banishment and left.

The last entry is dated the day before her death and states that she wanted to try and find peace before dying, so she wanted to finally say his name.

“Daniel Fritz,” I say.

“I’m sorry?” Lucian says.

“That’s who raped her,” I say. “He raped her on her twenty-fifth birthday. She found out she was pregnant three weeks later, so she disclosed to the leader and Daniel chose to be banished rather than to go before the council. The day before she died, she said she wanted to find peace, and then just wrote his name.”

“I remember when he left the community,” Carol says.

“Why did he keep the rape hidden?” I ask. “Shouldn’t that have been something to tell others, even without mentioning my mom?”

“Daniel was his best friend,” Lucian says with a sigh. “He was his right-hand man, like Bradley is for me. He would have only done that if he thought he was a danger to the others.”

“That must be why there isn’t any record of this in his notes,” Bradley says.

“He’s dead,” Laura says. She turns her phone so I can see, and it’s an obituary for Daniel.

“He died shortly after she did,” I say. “He was… fifty-two.”

“So, what now?” Bradley asks. “If it’s not Daniel messing with you, then who is it?”

“He created a community similar to ours when he went off on his own. It could be any of them,” Lucian suggests.

“Well, all of the codes and locks have been changed. He can’t get in here,” I say.

“Yeah, he’d be hard pressed to get to you now,” Lucian agrees. “I think we can just focus on finding out what has been done so far and address those things but without anyone having access to the community, I don’t see how anyone could get to you. I would just advise that at least until after Halloween, don’t leave the gated community. Others can go out into town for anything you might need.”

“That works,” I shrug.

The others continue what they’re doing while I start dinner. When I am done, I bring their plates into the living room so they can continue working. When I return from cleaning up the kitchen, everyone is staring at me.

“What?” I ask.

“Come sit,” Lucian says softly.

“Oh God,” I sigh.

“This video is shortly after I left the first time I visited you,” he says.

I take his phone and hit play. I am on the bed asleep. A man in a vendetta mask comes into view and wastes no time pulling his dick out. He strokes himself for a while before moving to the bed. I am oddly thankful that he only shoves himself in my mouth. The video is silent outside of the sounds of him violently thrusting himself down my throat. Unlike what I did with Lucian, I don’t participate. I am limp as he assaults me. When he comes, I violently retch at the taste and end up spitting it out. The man is tense, but he cleans me before leaving the room.

“Well… That’s gross,” I frown. “I don’t know what to think about that.”

“Elise… Honey, that’s rape,” Carol says.

“I know,” I sigh. “I guess it’s just different because I don’t remember it. It’s like… it’s easier not remembering because I remember being raped as a teen. I don’t know how to explain it.”

“I understand,” she says.

“Elise, I’m so sorry,” Lucian says.

“Why are you sorry?” I ask. “I was very much consenting to you. You never crossed a line or did anything I didn’t want. Someone else choosing to hurt me is not your fault. I’m just glad it was orally, honestly.”

“We need to keep an eye out at the Halloween games,” Bradley says.

“We might need to cancel…” Lucian starts to say.

“No,” I say. “Just keep an eye on who shows up.”

“Elise, if this guy gets to you…” Lucian starts to say.

“I want to consent to you. If that means risking myself to do that, then so be it,” I say firmly.

“Okay,” he says softly. “I trust your decision.”

“Good,” I say, kissing him softly.