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ofloveandblood

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Before the blackness had overtaken her, Caroline remembered hearing a sickening crack. As icy cold water streamed across her body, now naked, she wondered if the sound had been her skull fracturing to splinters. She opened her eyes and caught a stream of water making them sting and shut. Rough hands gripped beneath her arm pits and lifted her from the flooring of the tub.

Through the fog that clung in her head, Caroline spotted what looked like a black spider web on the white wall of the shower.  She didn’t know if it was a blessing or a curse that the shower wall had given rather than her skull. Carelessly, the hands released her and she fell to the floor. Pain slithered up her buttocks and back. She crumpled on her left side and stayed that way, crying and shaking from the cold water that still saturated her skin.

When she could finally manage it, she peered up to view Ronnie. Once more he clutched Ben’s heart in his hands. Caroline sobbed in both grief and anger. Must he keep fucking doing that? The fire had been knocked out of her and, for the time being, crying was all that was manageable.

Ronnie kicked the seat of the toilet open and without any hesitation dropped the grey muscle into the bowl which splashed water over the brim and gave a resounding plunk. Caroline’s own heart seemed to fall down into her stomach. No lover should have to witness such things as this - to see their evil ex-boyfriend treat their husband’s heart as if it were nothing more than refuse.

“Too bad I don’t have to piss,” Ronnie spoke, laughing as he washed his hands in the sink.

He turned the faucet off and turned to flick the water onto a physically hurt and emotionally broken Caroline.

“God your husband is a real pig, isn’t he?” Ronnie said standing over the commode. “Son of a bitch left a floater. That’s just rude, crude, and unacceptable in a house with a lady present. I honestly don’t know what you see –I’m sorry, saw in the guy. ‘Cause I didn’t see anything special while I was diggin’ around in there.”

He pushed the lever on the toilet, making it flush. Fresh water rushed into the bowl but the heart acted as a blockade to the water that was already there. With no escape route the water could only rise. Soon the pink tinted water ran over the bowl and pooled in the bathroom floor, running beneath Caroline’s feet and legs. Ronnie just gave a sneer and trudged through the water toward Caroline with towel in hand.

Though pointless, she pulled back to avoid the touch of his hands.

“Now, now. No sense in acting like that. I just want to dry you off. I know that water was freezing. For god sakes your damn teeth are chattering, now stop fighting me. I could knock you out again. You are more cooperative that way but somewhere along the line that’s really gonna start to be damaging to your health, here.”

Ronnie touched a finger to Caroline’s forehead to emphasize her brain. He spread the towel out and leaned forward but still Caroline pulled away from his grasp and cowered into a ball. Annoyed, Ronnie balled up the towel and threw it in her face.

“Have it your fucking way then!” Ronnie barked as he stepped to the doorway. “I’ll just watch!”

“And I’ll just freeze for the time being,” Caroline defiantly spoke whilst carefully covering her herself.

Ronnie just stared unperturbed, making Caroline wonder what he had up his sleeve.

“You know there’s a lot more I could take off and out of your husband? It doesn’t matter to me; I could do this all night. And somewhere between now and morning I think you’ll start listening to me. At least you will if you want anything left of what’s his face, to bury.”

“Yeah, like you’ll give me a chance to bury him. You’re going to kill me as well."

Ronnie snorted, “Kill you? Not hardly. If I wanted to kill you don’t you think I woulda by now? No Baby, I’ve got a lovely night in store for us. And depending on how good a girl you are I just might ask you to marry me before it’s over.”

Caroline laughed out loud causing Ronnie’s smile to contort into a frown.

“You unbelievable bastard. You’re out of your psycho-fucked mind, you know that? I’m not going to marry you. You murdered my husband, ripped out his damned heart and now you think I’ll marry you before the end of the night. You honestly think that?”

“Oh I know that.”

“Not fucking hardly.”

“You’ll change your tune before the night is through, believe me. When you hear my proposal, trust me you’ll wise up to how good and caring of a person I really am.”

Caroline could not believe this. He was serious; he was dead-fuck serious that Caroline would marry him before the end of the night. A snowball had a better chance of rolling from one side of Hell and out the other unscathed than Ronnie had of having Caroline as a wife.

Through gritted teeth and as mean and convincing a look she could manage without looking fake Caroline spat her refusal, “There is no force on this Earth, no, in this fucking universe that could make me marry a murdering, lying, no-good, rotten pig such as you Ronnie. So you take your wedding proposal and shove it up your ass.”

Ronnie stepped in front of her shaking his head left to right. Caroline stood straight, balled her fists, and raised her chin. Ronnie leaned in close to her, his breath causing a few strands of hair to sway.

“In time you’ll see. Either your hand in marriage or your heart for all time.”

Before Caroline had time to question such a harrowing statement, Ronnie had snatched the towel from around her body, gripped her arm with painful, powerful force and yanked her from the bathroom. From there Caroline was dragged down the hallway into the master bedroom where she was slung onto face first onto her mattress. Ronnie gazed down upon Caroline as she clutched at blankets to cover herself. She must have looked a pitiful sight, for Ronnie laughed.

Kneeling down, Ronnie lifted his left pant leg. Around his ankle a knife sheath was strapped. Unsnapping a buckle from around the small black handle, the knife slid from its scabbard. Holding it in front of his face he marveled at it, turning it this way and that. Caroline saw now that the knife was more of a dagger. The blade was small, probably no more than four inches from tip to handle, and was mostly a matte black color except for the edges. The thing was double-sided and both edges were a shiny silver that glistened in the yellow light of the room.

“Nasty little bitch, ain’t it?” Ronnie asked, looking quite pleased with his weapon. “I call it Caroline, ‘cause it’ll cut ya’ good and deep, just like you.”

“Kind of small isn’t it?” Caroline asked sarcastically. “Should’ve called it Your Dick.”

Ronnie shook his head and smirked, not looking pleased with Caroline’s comment.

“There you go, hurtin’ me again.”

Without warning, Ronnie sprang from where he stood in front of the dresser and television and was now midway through the air, about to land right on top of her. Caroline screamed as he bore down on her, the dagger’s edge glinting in the overhead light. Soon it would glint red with her blood. Eyes screwed shut and waiting for the feel of the blade parting her flesh Caroline contemplated what it felt like to be stabbed? In the chest? What was the struggle like to pump air into a collapsed lung?

Questions which would have answers very soon, of this she was sure of.

The bed shook, Ronnie’s buttocks slammed down onto her stomach. The sudden weight of his frame drove the wind from her body. The estranged couple face to face, nose to nose. The heat of his breath warmed Caroline’s cheek. The smell of cigarettes gagged her. When the dagger didn’t immediately puncture her body as she was sure it would, she unscrewed her eyelids and stared into the maniacal eyes of her ex-boyfriend.  

His left hand gripped her face, pressing her cheeks painfully against her teeth, wrenching her mouth open. Then came his right hand with dagger firmly clutched in its grip. She kicked and bucked beneath him, trying desperately to throw him from her. When that didn’t work she slapped at his face with her fingernails.

A cut appeared under his left eye, a spot of blood seeping forth. His hold on her face released, Caroline clawed more vigorously at his face, unable to land another effective scratch. When the back side of Ronnie’s left fist bashed her left cheek she tried to shrug off the blow and continue the fight. Her persistence only enraged him further, a fact he let be known when the fist struck her again only with more force.

Caroline’s arms went flaccid and tears rolled down her cheeks.  Breathing was a grueling struggle. Her cheek bone throbbed, the skin already puffing and swelling, a black eye on its way.

Groaning in agony, her head rolled to the side, her face squinting from the pain. Beads of sweat fell on to her neck and chest and Ronnie’s hot breath only made her more uncomfortable. The feel of his rough palm pressed down on her head, pushing against the swelled skin of her cheek bone. The pressure felt immense just below her left eye. He grabbed her chin and spun her head so she faced him again.

The grip on her face returned, once more her mouth was forced open and held. The dagger returned to her vision and all Caroline could do was whimper as it came closer to her face.

“Talk shit now,” Ronnie yelled, as he spit a projectile of mucous into her mouth. “I dare you to talk shit to me now, bitch.”

Caroline felt her stomach lurch, a chunk of Ronnie’s snot was now resting upon her tongue. As she gave a gag, rough hands pushed her jaws shut. The sharp point of the dagger pressed against her lower left eyelid. Oh God how she wanted to spit the wad of mucous back into his face. Hell, how badly she just wanted to spit it out of her damn mouth. Afterwards, she’d either puke or swash her mouth with rubbing alcohol to sterilize and clean Ronnie’s filth.

“If you spit that back in my face then you can kiss your eyeball goodbye,” Ronnie spoke as he clamped her mouth and kept the dagger steady. “I always did believe in an eye for an eye.”

The sick fuck, Caroline knew exactly what he would command before he voiced it. Her stomach lurched and churned, her forehead broke out in beads of sweat. Ronnie looked down with fascinated eyes. He really wants me to swallow the fucking thing!

What he did next was rather unexpected but it came in the nick of time, for Caroline’s stomach was about to violently refuse the notion of swallowing the snot.

Ronnie gave a chuckle and pulled her jaws apart, turning Caroline’s head to the left. She spit what saliva had pooled in her mouth across the room, coughing and sputtering at the sight of the broken down clump of mucous that took flight with it. It was a second’s reprieve. The grip returned to her chin and forced her gaze back on Ronnie.

The dagger came to rest on her lower lip, the blade lay there flat for the time being. Caroline stared down and then up into Ronnie’s face. The skin was tinged red from anger and physical exertion. Veins protruded in his neck and forehead. Though he was highly pissed off, that evil grin had manifested itself again.

“What?” he lowered his face until the tips of their noses touched once more. “You don’t have any more pillow talk for me?”

Caroline shook her head carefully, not chancing cutting her lip on the dagger.

“Well then,” Ronnie raised his head from hers and gave a wink. “Lets head on to the foreplay then, what do ya’ say?”

The dagger began to creep forward. The black paint of the blade was coarse and rough, rubbing painfully over Caroline’s dry lip. Her eyes were wide with terror. She couldn’t let him do this, but to rebel now would be risking swallowing the knife. But would not rebelling be risking the same fate?

The tip of the blade pressed against Caroline’s tongue, pushing it against the bottom of her mouth. Suddenly the blade wasn’t flat anymore, but on its side and sliding slowly back from whence it came. Ronnie must have filed the blade to a razors edge for it was wicked sharp; requiring no effort whatsoever to slice Caroline’s tongue open. The iron taste of blood filled her mouth.

Thankfully, the knife was no longer inside of her but in one quick movement it was pressed against her throat.

Ronnie looked at her sternly and spoke, “Try anything and I’ll kill ya’.”

He mouthed the command as his head stooped lower and lower. Just before his lips pressed against hers he gave one more command.

“Resist me and I’ll kill ya’.”

Then his tongue was stroking hers. When she didn’t oblige him by returning the kiss, the blade pressed a little more against her esophagus. Hesitantly, the kiss was returned and forgiveness was begged immediately. Internally, Caroline begged Ben to forgive her for her wretched past that had cost him his life and for what she was being forced to do at that moment. Caroline promised her now deceased husband she was only buying time. The bedroom was where she wanted to be all along and now Ronnie had unknowingly granted her that wish.

His knife was sharp and dangerous; that was an established fact. But the sick bastard didn’t know that he had just positioned Caroline that much closer to the .38 revolver waiting patiently in the bedside table.