Dirty Assets

by Rumer Raines

  “Why are you doing this, Garth?” I ask him as I turn to face him.

  “Till death do us part, Adele. Do you remember those words? I meant them and when we get home you are going to prove to me that you meant it too.” He shoves me and forces me to start walking again.

  Garth parked his car right outside the park. He opens the trunk and looks at me, motioning for me to get inside. I shake my head knowing that I have no choice, but to get inside and not put up a fight. I walk over to the trunk and Garth grabs my arm stopping me.

  “If I let you sit inside the car, will you behave, Adele?” he asks and I close my eyes and nod. He closes the trunk and walks over to the passenger door, opening it for me. I climb in and watch as he walks to the driver’s side. He turns to look at me, pointing the gun.

  “Don’t make me regret this, Adele,” he warns me and I again nod my head.

  I lay my head back as I watch the traffic. I can’t believe I am going home with Garth. He promised me that if I ever ran from him he would find me. I close my eyes and I think of Alex. I think about the first time I met him and what a jerk he was. We hated each other on sight. I then start to think about his smile and how he protected me. Alex would never hurt me and I trusted him. I hope he comes looking for me.

  I open my eyes when I feel Garth’s hands crawling up my leg. I look out the window praying that I don’t start to cry. I told him that I wanted to start over and he believed me. He’s going to make me suffer for saying the words.

  “Are you getting wet for me, Adele?” he asks as one of his hands is on the steering wheel and the other is moving further and further up my thigh.

  “I think you should focus on the road, Garth. I want us to make it home safely.”

  Garth looks back at me and pulls off at the next exit. He pulls into a rest area and pulls between two semis.

  “Let your seat back and pull down your pants, Adele,” he tells me as he leans back unsnapping his pants.

  I look over at him and swallow the vomit that is starting to force Its way out. He is going to force me to have sex with him and I won’t have any choice but to do it. I almost wonder if it would be best for me to just let him kill me now before letting him touch me.

  I slide my seat back and I unsnap my pants to pull them down. Garth climbs over, positioning himself on top of me. He moves his hand down to grab himself and I can feel him at my entrance. I close my eyes as there is a tap on the passenger window. I look up to see there is a police officer shaking his head and motioning for us to leave the area. He shouts through the window that this is our only warning and we are in a public rest area. Garth climbs off me and swears as he pulls up his pants and we eventually pull back onto the highway.

  “You’re going to pay for that, Adele.” Garth threatens me as I try to focus on the road.

  “All you had to do was lose the pants and give your husband the pussy he hasn’t been getting. Now I have to wait and you’ll pay later.” Garth promises and I close my eyes praying that I think of a way to avoid his threats.

  Alex

  I am glaring at the television in the hospital waiting area. Ma, Frank, Oliver, and Thomas are sitting with me and none of us say a word. We have been waiting for nearly an hour for the doctors to give us the status on Alexis. She never opened her eyes on the way to the hospital. I hear Ma crying and I look over as Frank consoles her. I decide to head to the hospital chapel to pray for my sister. I walk in and face the hanging cross and I close my eyes wondering if I am going to get struck down for just entering the chapel. I can’t lie to myself and believe that God is happy with me. I have always chosen the side of the devil and I can’t deny it. My life has always been full of violence, drugs, and sex. Would God even listen to me if I spoke to him? I walk to the front of the chapel and sit on the first bench and close my eyes. I take a deep breath and for some unknown reason, I feel a calmness that doesn’t feel familiar to me. I ask God for forgiveness. I won’t promise to be perfect because God would know that I am lying before I even open my mouth to say it.

  I ask God to heal Alexis. I don’t know what injuries she may have suffered, but I want her to heal quickly and fully. I also say a prayer for Adele. I know her husband has her and I have no idea what he’s doing to her. I pray that God keeps her safe and lets me find her in time. I know God doesn’t owe me anything after the life I have lived, but Alexis and Adele are innocent in all this. He must keep them safe even it is me asking. As I am silently pleading with God, I feel a hand touch my shoulder and I turn to find Frank.

  “This is the last place I thought I would find you,” Frank tells me with a small smile on his face.

  “It’s the last place I thought I would come. Did you hear anything about Alexis?” I ask him and he shakes his head.

  “Ma was worried about you, so she asked me to come check on you. Alexis will be okay, Alex,” Frank tells me and I turn away from him to face the cross.

  “I did this, Frank.”

  “You had nothing to do with what happened to Alexis or Adele,” Frank says and I look at him.

  “We know for sure that Adele was with her?” I ask and Frank nods his head.

  “Thomas grabbed Alexis’ purse and Adele’s backpack from the backseat of the car,” Frank responds and I close my eyes in anger.

  “I did this, Frank. This is all my fault.” I stand up to face him.

  “Alex, this isn’t your fault damn it! We can sit here and blame ourselves, but it’s not going to help Alexis or Adele. The only thing we can do now is pray for Alexis and once she is out of the woods, we’ll find Adele.”

  “I killed for the first time when I was fifteen, Frank,” I tell him and Frank’s eyes widen in surprise.

  “Why are you telling me this, Alex?”

  “I skipped school when I knew Ma and Pop wouldn’t be home. I brought a buddy home and we found Pop’s gun. We played around with it and took turns pointing at each other. I accidentally pulled the trigger. I shot him in the middle of his forehead. He was dead instantly. I didn’t know that Pop had come home and he heard the shot and came running into his office. I thought he would call the cops on me, but he didn’t. He told me to take off all my clothes and had me walk to my room to change. He told me not to come out until he called for me. Within one hour, he called me back to the office and it looked like nothing had happened. There was no body or blood, there was no signs that anything bad had happened. There were men all over the place making sure the office was spotless. Pop drove me to school telling me that I was never to mention what happened and told the school I had a doctor’s appointment.” I share with Frank what I have never told anyone.

  “I had no clue, Alex,” Frank says with astonishment as he sits on the bench.

  “I have been a monster ever since. Adele and Alexis are being punished for my sins, Frank. I have tried to protect them both and look at what happens,” I moan as I shake my head.

  “I don’t think that’s how it works, Alex. You were a kid when that happened. You made a mistake and Pop protected you. I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same for my own kids. What you could do is maybe stop focusing on yourself and focus on being strong for Ma and Alexis?” Frank suggests and I notice he has a small smile on his face.

  Alexis is in the hospital for two weeks because of a hematoma. The doctor said he didn’t see any brain bleeding, but I think the four of us surrounding him had him nervous. He wanted to make sure that Alexis was in the clear before he released her. Ma stayed by her bedside, which made it difficult for any of us to question her. I am not sure how much we would get from her since she has been oddly quiet. When Frank finally can get Ma out of the room, I decide to question Alexis. I know she has been through a lot, but two weeks is a long time for Adele to be with Garth.

  Alexis turns to look at me as I walk into the room. As I approach her bed, I notice her eyes start to water and I feel sick as I sit beside her. As Alexis starts to cry, I grab her hand and give it a squeeze letting her know that everything
will be ok.

  “Is Nick dead?” Alexis asks me and my eyes rise at hearing his name. How in the hell does Alexis know Nick?

  “Nick?” I ask believing that I misheard her. Alexis nods her head waiting for my answer.

  “How do you know Nick, Alexis?” I ask not wanting to give her an answer.

  Alexis closes her eyes and turns her head looking up at the ceiling. I can tell she is squeezing her eyes shut because she does that when is getting pissed at me.

  “IS… HE... DEAD?” Alexis yells at me and this time I close my eyes as I run my fingers through my hair.

  “Yes,” I answer and she breaks down and cries as I try to comfort her.

  When I finally have calmed Alexis down and she can talk, I ask her about Nick. She tells me that she met him at the mall when he was visiting with Lola. They started dating, but he wanted to keep it private. He didn’t want Lola or Frank to know they were involved. He told her it was because of Frank being overprotective, but I am sure it has more to do with his own Mafia connections. Alexis tells me that Garth practically bragged about killing Nick to her and Adele. She tells me how afraid she was that he was going to kill them both and then she tells me how Adele promised to go home with him and work on their marriage.

  Adele

  Garth sold our home and bought a new house for us to live in. Our old house had four bedrooms and he moved into a two-bedroom house. When he pulls into the driveway, he looks at me and tells me he downsized since we won’t be having kids. I close my eyes and turn to look back at the house which will become my new prison. He gets out of the car and walks over to open my door for me. He notices that I don’t move and so he reaches inside to pull me out. As he takes me into the house, I start to have flashbacks of all the times he hurt me in the past. He pushes me against the door and moves closer to me, putting his hands above my head.

  “I think you owe me something, don’t you?” he tells me as I close my eyes to avoid looking at him.

  “ADELE!” he yells and I force my eyes to reopen.

  “Yes,” I whisper and Garth lowers his hands to shove my pants and panties down.

  When they are both at my knees, he lifts his foot to shove them the rest of the way down. He opens my legs with his knees and shoves three fingers inside of me. Anger fills his eyes as they meet mine.

  “I guess you’re going to have to figure out how to get wet for me. Don’t think I won’t take you wet or dry, Adele, but you might prefer it wetter,” Garth says into my ear as takes my arm pulling me into the bedroom.

  I close my eyes and pretend to be anywhere else but lying in this bed with Garth inside of me. He rams into me over and over and I close my eyes in pain. I know he doesn’t care that my groans are in pain and not in pleasure. He moves up onto his knees pulling me closer which only allows him to push himself further inside me. He throws my legs over his arms as he fucks me harder and grunts his own satisfaction as I feel tears forming in the corner of my eyes. When Garth notices, he leans over putting his hands around my throat.

  “Don’t you even think about starting that shit, Adele. You took it from that Nick. You’ll take it from me!” he tells me as he tightens his grip around my throat and his thrusts become even harder

  I don’t know how long it took for him to be through with me. I only know this is just the beginning. Garth walks into the bathroom to clean himself off and climbs back into bed. He throws his arm and leg over me to make sure I don’t move and he falls asleep. Every time I moved, his grip tightened and I silently cry myself to sleep.

  The next morning, I wake up after hitting the floor. I sit up to find Garth looking at me with a smirk on his face and I notice that one of his legs is bent towards me. I shake my head realizing that he kicked me out of bed. I stand up remembering that I am still naked and start to cover myself with my hands. I look at Garth who has started laughing at me.

  “No need to cover yourself from your husband, Adele. Besides you have work to do,” he informs me as I notice he is stroking himself.

  “What did you need, Garth?” I ask praying that he doesn’t demand this…

  “What do you think, bitch? I want your mouth on me now,” he orders me as he leans over to grab me and yanks me onto the bed.

  Garth repositions himself onto his back and grabs me by the hair. He forces my head down towards his cock.

  “You better make sure I enjoy every fucking second of this, Adele. Every second that isn’t enjoyable will be two seconds you’ll regret later,” he threatens as he forces my head down and sticks his dick into my mouth.

  I am not sure how I can make this enjoyable for him since he is basically fucking my mouth. He is moving his hips, pushing himself into my mouth and I want to gag as he practically is forcing himself inside my throat. I just take it from him until he finally comes inside my mouth and holds me still making sure I swallow.

  When Garth and I finally get out of bed, he takes my hand and leads me to the kitchen. I look around for my clothes and I notice he is watching me with disgust in his eyes.

  “What are you looking for, Adele?” he asks.

  “My clothes. Where are they?”

  “No clothes for you until we have resolved our trust issues. You wouldn’t run off naked, now would you?” Garth taunts me as he rubs his chin.

  “What about when you go to work? You wouldn’t want me sitting around here naked when you’re gone would you?”

  “Oh... my stupid Adele. I am not going to work. People are so caring, that they worry when a wife goes missing. When I told them I found you, I was given personal time off. I can take as much time as I need to get you straightened out.” Gath tilts his head waiting for my reaction.

  “Now if you wouldn’t mind cooking my damn breakfast? I’ll need plenty of energy for the rest of our day.”

  I find eggs in the refrigerator and scramble them for Garth. I find cheese and peppers adding them in and place it on a plate. I watch as Garth looks at me and I place the plate in front of him and walk over to sit across from them. Garth stares at the plate and smirks. He stands up and walks over towards me and slaps me across the face knocking me out of the chair. When I try to get up, he kicks me in the stomach and falls beside me yanking me by the hair to look at him.

  “Did I ask for fucking peppers, Adele? You are such a stupid little bitch!” He grits out as he slaps me across the face. I start to cry as Garth flips me over onto my back and puts himself between my legs. I listen as I hear his pants unsnap and he leans over and shoves himself inside me. He holds my arms down as he pushes inside of me and pulls back out. It’s a constant in and out as I listen to him breathing into my ear.

  “Why…do…you…MAKE…me…hurt…you?” His grunts are punctuated with vicious thrusts and then he falls on top of me squashing me into the floor. Garth pulls himself out of me and leaves me lying on there. I turn to my side and cry as I think about Alex. When Garth leaves the kitchen, I run to the bathroom to clean myself up. I stand in front of the mirror and notice that the bruises I already have received from Garth. I close my eyes thinking about Alex and think of how he would never hurt me. I hope he found Alexis and that she is okay. Garth hit her pretty hard with the gun, but hopefully, Alex found her in time. I also pray that he is looking for me.

  Alex

  It's been a month and Alexis is recovering well. She has been staying with Ma and we all have catered to her every whim. She doesn’t mention Nick again and I have promised that he will be our little secret. I can tell that she is still heartbroken over him and it hurts me to see her in this kind of pain. I would never have thought I would know what it felt like to lose someone you love, until now. It’s been harder than expected to track down Adele and Garth. He sold their old house and moved. He doesn’t have any family that he keeps in touch with and neither does Adele. I work at the club during the day and try to find her at night. He has taken her out of Chicago, so it hasn’t been easy.

  Thomas decided that he is sick of seeing me mope around an
d took me out one night. We went out and I got drunk and I did the one thing I never thought I would ever do. I got several tattoos, but the pain was nothing compared to the pain I feel in my heart. I told the tattoo artist I didn’t care what he did, but I wanted it big and I wanted it to make a statement. The only specific thing I wanted was a tattoo of one name written across my heart, Adele. I don’t know if I will ever find her, but I know she will be the only woman I will ever be able to love. No woman will ever come close and I won’t let any woman ever try.

  I go back to the tattoo artist several times for him to complete it. When it’s done, I couldn’t have asked for anything more perfect. I head to the club the next night and head straight for the office. I haven’t been helping Teddy at the bar lately. I haven’t been in the mood to talk to anyone. As I am completing paperwork there is a knock at the door and I yell for the person to come in. I look up as Angie struts into the office with a smug smile on her face. I put my hand on my chin and watch her as she approaches me. I only hope she doesn’t cross any lines because I am in no mood for her.

  “I haven’t seen much of you lately, Alex,” she smirks at me as she walks behind the desk.

  “What did you need, Angie?”

  “I actually need you. How about you and me…” I cut her off as I get up and walk to the other side of the desk.

  “Not happening, Angie. Do you want to keep working here?” I ask her and her eyes widen in disbelief.

  “Yes, I need this job, Alex,” she tells me.

  “If you need this job, you need to focus on this job. You’re the worst waitress we have and if you don’t get your shit together, I’m letting you go,” I tell her and her mouth drops open and I know she is in shock.

  “I don’t understand?” she tells me.

  “What is there to understand? Shape up or your ass is going to be shipped out, Angie. Now get back downstairs and back to work,” I order as I walk over to open the door for her. When she walks out I slam it shut and go back to work. A few minutes later there is another knock on the door and I immediately get pissed. I yell for Angie to come in, if it’s her, but when the door opens, it’s Thomas.