Beware The Fury

by C. I. Lopez

  Tomas let it go, but he hoped she would let him know some time. He wanted to know all about her. “Do you like movie stars, Yasmin?” Tomas asked her with a smile.

  “I do. I think the men are very handsome, and the women are all beautiful. As a child, I dreamed of one day going to the city to become a movie star if I had the talent for it.”

  “Is that the reason you left home? You are as beautiful as any movie star I have ever seen.”

  “Thank you, Tomas, but no, that is not the reason I left home.”

  The tour continued without Tomas saying another word, as he led the teenage girl through a stainless-steel commercial looking kitchen. Two uniformed chefs were cutting vegetables so fast that it reminded Yasmin of humming bird’s wings. The cooking aromas brought back now-familiar nausea. Yasmin told her guide how beautiful everything looked, but that she was tired and would like to get some rest.

  Consequently, Tomas led Yasmin upstairs via a grand double-sided stairway and directly to the guest bedroom with its extravagant marble ensuite bathroom.

  One look at the comfort of the striped white on white silk sheets and king size bed filled with fluffy pillows reminded Yasmin of how tired she felt. Longing for the softness of the bed, the sleepy-eyed girl thanked Tomas for his generosity and bid him goodnight. She reminded him of his promise to drive her the rest of the way to the city the next morning.

  “Will you have dinner with me tonight?” Tomas asked. “The cooks always prepare a feast.”

  “No, thank you, Tomas.” The memory of the aromas in the kitchen earlier, brought back persistent nausea she’d been suffering. “I think I’ll sleep. It’s been a long day.”

  “If you need anything, I’ll be sleeping down the hall later.” Chacon smiled, running his eyes over her one more time before exiting but leaving the door open. He paused in the doorway to look back at Yasmin. “What kind of a host am I? Before I have my dinner, I’ll bring you a nice cold fizzy drink. You must be thirsty after traveling all day. I’ll leave it on your nightstand if you are asleep.”

  “Thank you, Tomas, I look forward to the drink. I am parched.”

  Yasmin closed the door without locking it and took a moment to carefully fold her clothes neatly on a chest at the end of the bed. She intended to dress quickly in the morning. Yasmin checked if the money Ofelia had given her, tied into a handkerchief, was safely tucked in her skirt pocket.

  The shower in her room had so many handles, it made Yasmin feel like she was flying an airplane instead of taking a shower. The deliciously warm sprays of warm water, together with the exotic aromas of the gels that she used for the shower, caressed her tired body. The sprays of water further relaxed her and aroused her at the same time. Already she was missing Federico and wondering if he would wait the seven months she’d be away.

  Tomas had hurried down to the kitchen to get the drink before the girl fell asleep. While she was in the shower, Tomas had surreptitiously slipped a pill into the ice-cold fizzy drink and left it on the nightstand.

  Coming out of the shower and groggy with sleep, Yasmin wrapped herself in a soft, cozy terrycloth robe that had been hanging in the bathroom. In the comfort of the warm wrap, she saw that Tomas or his housekeeper must have come and left her a sparkling fizzy drink by her bedside while she was showering. Yasmin was grateful for their thoughtfulness and drank it down to the bottom of the glass. Yasmin lay down, and when her head touched the pillows on the comfortable bed, her eyes closed. Disturbing dreams eventually brought about a fitful sleep.

  PART TWO

  Chapter 2

  Welcome to my Parlor

  The morning sun nudged Yasmin awake. Her degree of alertness elevated slowly as light began to fill the sizeable white-on-white bedroom. Fragmented memories of the night started to enter her barely conscious state, like a poorly edited movie. The accident, the smell of gasoline, the handsome older stranger, the face of the terrified taxi driver.

  She shook her head, hoping the gesture would somehow reveal what she was remembering had only been a bad dream. The movement didn’t produce the desired result. Instead, she experienced an intense pain that seemed to emanate from above her left eye. A hesitant exploration revealed a tender lump carefully bandaged. It really happened, she mouthed as she bolted upright. “It really happened,” she repeated, but aloud.

  A wide-eyed and completely awake Yasmin started taking in her surroundings. The large bed and tall ceiling made her feel small and vulnerable. Memories of the events since she entered the house struggled to assemble the fragments into something she could understand. Complete clarity was elusive, and the many questions found few answers. She remembered the handsome, nicely-dressed man who lived in the house and the dark-skinned young woman with the strange accent whom Tomas had called Miss Belky.

  It must have been Miss Belky who had placed the bandage on her forehead last night after she was asleep, and it was Miss Belky who now entered Yasmin’s room to change the dressing. Without speaking a word, the woman tended to Yasmin’s wound. When she was done, she seemed to glide towards the bedroom door in her bare feet. In the young girl’s clouded mind’s eye, the woman walked so lightly that she was sure the lovely housekeeper could fly like a fairy.

  “Please, wait,” Yasmin called before Miss Belky reached the bedroom door. “Where are my clothes?”

  Miss Belky still hadn’t spoken to Yasmin on this occasion. She nodded toward the chest at the end of the bed, where she had earlier placed two boxes secured with a white ribbon, and then she left the room.

  Trying to focus, a slightly unsteady Yasmin, navigated her way to the chest at the end of the bed to discover the two boxes and a card propped on top, white, of course. Puzzled, the girl ripped open the envelope and read the card.

  ‘For Yasmin Samudio.

  Thank you for last night.

  Tomas’

  Yasmin was confused. Why is Tomas thanking me? I should be thanking him for rescuing me after the accident. Rummaging through the contents of the boxes, she saw there were two beautiful new outfits and shoes to match, but she couldn’t find the clothes she’d taken off before her shower the night before.

  Still wrapped in the terrycloth robe, Yasmin ran to the hallway outside her room to catch up with Miss Belky, calling out her name in desperation until she caught up with the housekeeper.

  “Mr. Chacon promised to drive me to the city this morning, but I need the clothes I wore when I arrived. I laid them by the bed last night, and now they are gone.”

  The fifteen-year-old girl’s questions were ignored, as the attractive black woman walked back into the room. She opened the box at the end of Yasmin’s bed, revealing the exquisite dresses and lingerie which Yasmin had looked at just moments before.

  The clothes and shoes were precisely her sizes, Yasmin noted with surprise. “I can’t accept these!” Yasmin turned to Miss Belky, whose face suddenly looked sad. “I need to find the clothes I wore last night—”

  Before Yasmin finished the sentence, Miss Belky quietly turned and left the room, disappearing down the hallway. Without trying on the clothes, Yasmin knew they would fit her perfectly. Her premonition was soon proven to be correct as she dressed and assessed herself in a mirror. Yasmin let her hair fall loosely over her shoulders. She saw herself as the glamorous young woman she had dreamed of being one day, instead of the country girl who had fled her house in misery the day before.

  As the girl primped in front of the mirror, she was startled by a movement behind her. She whirled to confront who she hoped was Tomas ready to take her the rest of the way, only to discover a smiling Miss Belky holding a tray of food.

  “I imagined you were hungry after all your adventures last night,” Miss Belky said in her strange accent. She wore a smile that showed bright white teeth with a small gap between the two front ones, which somehow added to her exotic beauty. “You’re going to like this. I know ’cause I made it myself.” The maid appraised the guest. “And, little girl, you are a sight to beh
old in those pretty clothes.” Miss Belky stood holding the tray.

  “I am so sorry,” Yasmin blurted out, “but I can’t eat this.” A bout of nausea overtook her. “I am sure your cooking is delicious, but I don’t feel well.” A distraught Yasmin felt wretched at seeing the disappointed look on Miss Belky’s face. She ran to the bathroom where she heaved loudly, coming back, looking pale and holding a towel to her face.

  Miss Belky remained in the same place, holding the tray in her hands, her eyes fully opened, understanding Yasmin’s condition.

  “I’ll keep the coffee and milk, and the glass of juice, thank you,” Yasmin said, “but I can’t eat the rest at this moment.”

  Miss Belky placed the requested items on the table and quickly picked up the tray with the rest of the food, but not before asking Yasmin if the Boss Man knew of her condition.

  Yasmin ignored the question, finding it irrelevant. She asked Miss Belky if she knew where Mr. Chacon was, explaining that he had promised to drive her to the bus terminal at the capital. “I need to be there by mid-day to meet someone. It’s critical. Can you tell me where I can find Tomas?”

  “So sorry, pretty one, but the Boss Man departed very early and left strict instructions you can’t leave the house until he returns. I learned the hard way that when Mr. Chacon asks you to do something, it gets done.” Belky’s eyes expressed a clear warning that Yasmin would be wise to do as she was told. “I’ll check up on you later and change your bandage.” Miss Belky exited with the tray of food.

  Yasmin’s protests were wasted on Miss Belky, who seemed to disappear as soon as she reached the hallway. Confusion was morphing into panic as Yasmin ran down the endless carpeted hallway in her pretty new dress and shoes. She was hoping to catch the mysterious housekeeper. Yasmin needed help to make sense of what was happening to her. Miss Belky was gone, absorbed by the vastness of the house, and Yasmin’s frantic search produced nothing but locked doors and dead ends.

  As tears filled her eyes, Yasmin spotted the door through which she’d entered the night before and where she had left her shoes. With no clear plan in mind, the teenager knew she had to get out. She ran down the massive staircase toward the door, determined to leave the strange house. Between her and escape, stood a big, ugly man with a shaved head, a massive rifle in his hands, and a no-nonsense demeanor.

  “Please let me out, Sir. I need to meet someone in the city today. Mr. Chacon must have forgotten he promised to take me there.” Yasmin begged the man, sure she would find a way to the city even without the money she had in the clothes she’d worn the day before.

  Looking straight ahead, ignoring the pleading girl in front of him, the guard took a step to block her way, holding his gun firmly, with no intention of letting Yasmin through. The frightened and defeated girl turned and slowly ascended the staircase, feeling smaller and more vulnerable than ever.

  Returning to the solitude of her room, the reality of her situation emerged like a snake from its hole. She was held against her will in a stranger’s house, for reasons unknown to her. Still a bit hazy from the bump on the head she’d suffered the previous night, Yasmin felt helpless and alone. Close to tears, she tried to make sense of what was happening.

  *

  The teenager lay back into the bed, staring at the white ceiling. The haze started to clear, and the painful memories emerged in bits and pieces.

  She remembered taking a shower and laying out her clothes on the chest at the end of the bed, then laying upon the softness of the bed after consuming the delicious fizzy drink. In a confused memory, she recalled awakening in the dark and seeing Tomas’ face hovering over her. Her head hurt so bad; the swelling made it difficult to discern dream from reality. In her somnolent state, she thought Tomas embraced her and kissed her passionately, his hands moving freely over her body, taking liberties beyond the timid familiarities she had known over the past two months with Federico.

  “I’ve been waiting for this moment all night, baby,” Tomas had said. “You know I want you.”

  Yasmin remembered those words being spoken while the man’s eyes drank in her young woman’s figure. He’d opened the terrycloth robe, exposing and caressing her naked body all the time, telling her how beautiful she was.

  She remembered with embarrassment how he’d awakened an unexpected longing in her body. No one had ever spoken to her in such a way before, and to have a man like Tomas speak with such familiarity made the girl feel an unprecedented attraction to Tomas. Her innocent ego became inflated by Tomas’ declaration of desire for her. She had felt grown up and beautiful in the arms of this man and was overcome by a careless abandon.

  Tomas had quickly shed his own clothes, and his steel-gray eyes were scanning her body. It made Yasmin feel both mortified and thrilled simultaneously. A spark of desire had struck her like lightning as he laid next to her in the bed. She had enjoyed the handsome man gently caressing and sending sensuous chills through her exposed body until her heart pounded thunderously.

  Yasmin suddenly sat up in bed startled, as she realized with clarity that what she had experienced had not been a dream. The memories of the previous night came flooding through.

  Tomas had been saying, “Relax, baby. Just relax and enjoy it. I’m going to make you feel so good.”

  Too breathless to respond, Yasmin’s body had attuned itself to intimacy, unsure of what to expect.

  “You want this, don’t you, baby?” Tomas had whispered hoarse with desire, enticing her as she never had been before.

  Yasmin recalled that she had relaxed while listening to his words.

  “You have such a beautiful body,” Tomas had whispered. His hands had possessively plundered every inch of her. Her tension had disappeared. She’d allowed her natural responses to being stimulated by the fiery intensity of his need.

  Tomas had moved to a position on top of Yasmin while she’d laid unmoving, trembling, not with passion, but knowing what he would do next. He had entered her quickly, and she’d felt a series of stabbing thrusts, but rather than Tomas, she had seen images of Toni, the boy who’d forced himself on her.

  “So good … so good,” Tomas had groaned hoarsely in her ear just before his explosive release. He had moaned, jerked, and shuddered, allowing his full weight to rest upon her, making it hard for Yasmin to breathe.

  Yasmin recalled pushing with all her strength against his shoulders until she finally managed to roll the man from her. He had been totally spent, his arms and legs spread-eagled with no thought for modesty. Yasmin had been left with unfulfilled longing in her lower abdomen.

  As she’d gazed at the man laying spent next to her, Yasmin had felt abandoned.

  “Baby, you’re wonderful,” Tomas had murmured. “You make Daddy feel really good.” His words had made her wince and wish he wouldn’t use the word Daddy and Baby related to their intimacy. The throbbing need inside Yasmin had been slow to dissolve as she’d waited for sleep.

  As the sordid details of the previous night became clear, Yasmin felt dirty and humiliated. She was unable to accept that it had happened, but she finally understood the note and gifts she’d woke up to find. Angry at herself and disappointed with the man she had trusted to protect her, Yasmin wished she could rip off the new clothes and find her own. She was filled with regrets and tortured by memories of home and her boyfriend, Federico. She had betrayed him so soon.

  Yasmin couldn’t understand her own actions and responses with this older man until she remembered the drink she’d had before going to sleep. Tomas must have put something in her glass to make her feel that way or to relax her, leave her defenseless. How she hated him now.

  *

  Upon Tomas’ arrival at the house late in the day, he went directly to Yasmin’s room and flung open her bedroom door. He found the girl looking even more stunning, wearing the clothes he’d purchased for her.

  Anger flared from Yasmin when he entered her room, and she confronted Tomas by demanding to have her clothes back. She asked w
hy he hadn’t kept his promise to give her a ride into the city in the morning. It was what they had agreed the previous night.

  The man was amused by the teenager’s attitude and was content to let her rant.

  “Tomas, I know what happened last night in this room between us. I was still in a haze over the bump I suffered on my head. You took advantage of my muddled condition to seduce me. I accept my complicity in spite of my condition.”

  Tomas continued to smile and nod slowly as he listened to the assumptions and accusations.

  “I believe you put something in my drink to make me susceptible to what you wanted to do. I want the clothes I was wearing when I arrived here, and I need you to keep your promise to deliver me to the capital today.”

  “Your life has changed, baby. There is no need for you to go to the capital.”

  Not only had Tomas spiked the drink he’d left on the nightstand, but he’d also taken Yasmin’s clothes and her shoes. He needed them when he visited Rebecca’s boutique.

  Early in the morning, having abused Yasmin in the night, he’d called the owner of the store to get him new clothes and shoes fit for a young girl of his liking. In spite of the early hour, Rebecca opened her boutique for him, happy to help, knowing that the monetary rewards of catering to Tomas Chacon were worthwhile.

  After listening to Yasmin’s angry tirade, a relaxed Tomas, reached out to touch Yasmin’s face. “You won’t be needing those clothes anymore, baby, not after you marry me.”

  “Tomas, there is a reason why I am running away from my home. Didn’t you wonder about that?” An outraged Yasmin swatted his hand from her face. “Besides, the driver of the cab you hit with your car will let my family know that I left in your car. It didn’t escape me that you made a phone call in your car phone before we left, mentioning something like a tow truck for Manuel’s car.”

  “You don’t understand your new position, baby.” He grinned and slowly shook his head.