Survival ( Book 2: Stronger Series )

26. Routine

The following week slugged on as I spent most of my time lying down on my stomach or sitting up perfectly straight. The pain in my back was so terrible it affected my energy, my strength, and my ability to walk. Darren's sympathy was completely absent as he blamed me since I was the catalyst for it all. He didn't even offer me any painkillers this time.

As often as he could, Darren refused to let me out of his sight. He worried I might regress after his punishment, and he wanted to ensure its effectiveness. And I suppose it was effective because I didn't say a word to him unless he had spoken to me first.

Darren had the usual amount of business to take care of, but worked from home as often as he could. When he was home, I spent my time watching movies in the theater or reading while he took care of business. He was planning some kind of acquisition based on the phone calls I overheard in my presence. He would usually lay my head down in his lap while he stroked my hair and read his documents. That was when I would eventually fall asleep, and he didn't seem to mind, probably because I was quiet for once.

Many times throughout the day, he would tend to my tattoos and examine them with sparkling eyes as he admired the handiwork. He would reapply ointment over my skin on a daily basis, and God help me if I ruined the tattoo in any way, Darren had said to me. I heeded his warning like my life depended on it, and it probably did.

Sunday night could not have come quick enough as I longed to finally be away from him and his overbearing presence. I needed a break from him, badly.

After dinner, Darren gave me a large blanket and told me he'd meet me out on the beach for the sunset in ten minutes. Laying the blanket down by the shore, I sat down and watched the sky as the sun painted it with golds, pinks, and bright oranges; it was nice to finally have a singular moment to myself. Twenty minutes later, though, Darren still had not come down to meet me, and I was beginning to wonder where he was.

By the time nothing but a sliver was left in the sunset, I was starting to get cold as the ocean breeze began to pick up. I looked back around me and wondered if I should go and look for him. I pulled the ends of the blanket around my shoulders, huddled into it, and continued to wait. Two minutes later, the little hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I felt a hand on my shoulder and flinched up to find Darren standing behind me.

"You missed it," I said lightly.

"I know. I'm sorry. I got held up," he said sincerely.

I stood up and kept the blanket over my shoulders as Darren took my hand and led me back to the house. Looking down at the hand that held mine, I noticed his knuckles were slightly bloodied and bruised, and I brought them up to my face to get a closer look.

"Darren, what did you do?" I asked softly, looking up at him. But the glare on his face made me immediately regret it, and I turned my eyes back to the ground. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to question you."

"Good girl," he said darkly and continued up to the house.

When we got to the patio, I shook the blanket of the sand it had accumulated and handed it over to Darren as he held out his hand for it. He just tossed it over the railing and held the door of the house open for me. As we entered, I kept my head forward, but my eyes scanned for any possible signs of a struggle, however, there was none to be seen. I couldn't help but be on high alert.

"Relax, Jaden," Darren said noticing my old scanning tendencies as he led us to the stairs. "The only danger you need to worry about is me."

Because that makes me feel so much better.

After washing up and using the bathroom, I climbed into Darren's bed and laid down on my side. My back still ached slightly from the week before, and I had made damn sure I avoided all mirrors so I wouldn't be tempted to turn around and witness the damage Darren had done to me.