Haunting Past

A month after she started working, she grew tired from listening to everyone talk about that one 'perfect girl', as she called her. This 'perfect girl' had brown hair that swayed at the middle of her back, her amber eyes luring men in, high cheekbones, and full pouty lips. To add on, she had a nice little petite body. She was literally like a fairy, tiny and beautiful. Yet, Cassandra envied her; as she was the centre of everyone's conversation, and in the dreams of everyone that worked with her. Everyone knew that she was out of bounds, as she already has a companion. Yet, everyone liked her. Everyone except for Cassandra.

Cassandra was the leader of a well-known gang called: The Skeletons; meaning that she had a lot of communications. A month went by and she was getting fed up with it; the same old talk, the same look on everyone's faces when she would walk in or when she would talk.

'The only way to get rid of her is to kidnap her' thought Cassandra as she got into her car, and drove off to The Skeletons' headquarters.

"I command you all to gather in the main room this instant" Cassandra spoke into the intercom once she got to her office. She took a file that held all the information she could find about 'perfect girl' before heading to the main room. She got there and found everyone awaiting her arrival. She threw the file at her right-hand man silently ordering him to take a look at it. He quickly flicked through the papers as Cassandra started her speech.

"I gather you all here for an extermination cause" she started, then stopped for a dramatic pause.

"Who are we going to exterminate?" asked one of her very impatient workers, Juan.

"I was getting to that, Juan" snapped Cassandra as she glared at Juan. She cleared her throat before starting again.

"As I was saying, you have a mission of extermination. Tank there has a file about 'perfect girl'. You've all heard of her before. Now, all you guys have to do, is go to her apartment and bring her here. She will be put into the torture room straight away. Now, scurry along. I want the mission to be done by tomorrow morning maximum" she ordered as she walked out, leaving everyone else behind planning their mission and buzzing around like bees.

Meanwhile, 'perfect girl' was at home, watching TV when she heard a small beep coming from her laptop, indicating that there was something off. She took a look at it, to find that the camera's that she had set up outside her apartment were showing unidentified faces; faces that she had never seen before. She quickly scrambled to her feet and rushed to call her companion. As if they sensed her, the door flung open and five men came swarming into the room. They circled her, like lions circling their prey, until they cornered her. Literally. She was out cold by one swift bang to the head, delivered by the one and only, Juan.

The four other men stood there gaping at him as he swung her unconscious body over his broad shoulder and started walking out.

"come on guys, we've got work to do" he shouted over his shoulder at them.

The guys gathered their jaws from the floor and walked out.

Juan laid her unconscious body in the back seat of Tank's car before climbing into the front seat. Tank sped to the headquarters as fast as he can.

Surprisingly, 'perfect girl' woke up just as they parked in front of HQ.

'Where am I?' she thought to herself quietly, as she took in her surroundings; laying in the back seat of a car that she doesn't recognize. Then reality hit her, as she regained her memory. She'd been kidnapped.

She screamed and started to kick and punch about in the back seat. Juan quickly jumped out of the car and rushed to her, putting a drugged cloth over her mouth and nose. She inhaled the drug, her hits got weaker, her eyelids got heavier, until she fell into a deep, deep sleep.

Tank carried her unconscious body into HQ, Juan and the other three following closely behind him. He carried her to the torture room straight away. Laying her on the bed in it, binding her hands to the headboard and her feet to the foot-board. Making her immobile. Tank walked out and locked the door behind him. Before he could move a muscle, Cassandra's voice came echoing down the long, empty corridor.

"Mission accomplished?" she questioned Tank, cocking an eyebrow up and folding her arms on her chest as she walked towards him.

"Yes, ma'am" he replied, "she's in there sleeping" he finished, pointing a thumb towards the locked door.

Cassandra hummed in approval "good-no- great job, Tank. Come to my office with the guys you took with you for your prize" she ordered him as she walked back the same way she came.

Tank obeyed her orders and went to get the four men that were with him.

"we are going to get some money!" Juan sang happily as the five of them approached Cassandra's office.

Tank knocked on the door three times before he heard Cassandra allowing them to come in.

"Please, take a seat" she politely suggested.

The men took a seat on the big couch that on the other side of Cassandra's desk.

"Thank you for your hard work" she started.

"it wasn't that hard" Juan mumbled under his breath.

"Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Juan" Cassandra shot at him "as I was saying, your hard work will be payed for. In each envelope, there's the sum of ten grand. Enjoy!" she chirped as she handed them the money-filled envelopes. The men took them happily, opening them and admiring the sum of cash in them.

"You are all dismissed" Cassandra ordered from behind her desk, as she got back to her work. Flicking through some files.

The five men got up, and scurried out of the room. Buzzing in happiness, bragging about partying for the night.

'Perfect girl' got up after being knocked out for about four hours. The place she was in was pitch black. Her wrists and ankles hurt, as the ropes she was bound with dug into her skin. She realized that she couldn't move. Not one bit. She tried to scream., but her voice only bounced off of the walls. She had no idea where she was, or why she was there in the first place. But she figured that she could probably get out of she was smart enough.

The next week, 'perfect girl' didn't have much to eat or drink. But so far, no one has done her any harm. She has no idea who her kidnapper is. She's not scared, she just doesn't know what to expect. There had been two men that came in and had little conversations with her, but she never got their names. She had tried to get out multiple times, only to be stopped by one of the guards that stood in front of her door. There was a window in her room, but it was too high for her to reach and too small for her to get through. It was a lost cause for her.

After two weeks, each day a new man would come in. They'd have a small conversation with her, before beating her. They hit and hit and showed no mercy. That carried on for two months.

Then, it got worse. Bigger men would barge into her room, and beat her black and blue. She was sure that she had a few broken bones here and there. But she still couldn't put her finger on who was doing this to her, nor could she figure out why.

Four months passed with the same old thing going on. She predicted all of the moves that came to her, all of the nasty words. Everything. She got bored of it to be honest. Until one day, her door opened, and in came sauntering, the one and only Cassandra Collins.

"Hello my dear" Cassandra greeted her as she walked in. The irritating sound of her heels clicking as she walked made 'perfect girl' want to jump on her and kill her right that second.

Cassandra sat on the bed next to the black and blue girl. "not so sassy now, I see, huh?" she chuckled. "cat got your tongue?" she pressed on.

'perfect girl' lazily opened her eyes and looked over to Cassandra, "it was you?" she spoke, her words came out more like a question, and her voice groggy and barely there. 'I should've known; all those dirty looks and nasty comments. But why?' 'perfect girl thought to herself, before her mind went fuzzy and her view turned black. The only sound heard was the evil laugh from Cassandra.

Six months, no proper food or drinks, and no treatments. 'Perfect girl' sat in a corner all alone, crying. Why didn't Cassandra just kill her? Cassandra told 'perfect girl' her plan of extermination, yet she never did exterminate her.

'She probably just wants to see me in a bad state. She's killing me slowly' the 'perfect girl' thought to herself.

There was nothing in her room. They had even taken out the bed. If they could, they would've taken out the concrete underneath her too! She wasn't living, nor was she dying anytime soon. Her soul was there, but her body was almost gone. She lost a lot of weight; she had turned skin to bone. Even the clothes she was given to wear that once fit her, turned very baggy on her. She hadn't seen herself for six months; as there was no mirror in the room. But every time she'd look down, she'd notice how bruises covered her abdomen, she could feel her broken bones. She couldn't wait for the day Cassandra would walk in through the door with a gun and shoot her between her eyes.

'Perfect girl' didn't feel so perfect after what she had been going through. She felt the exact opposite.

She sat all alone in a corner. Her knees were brought up to her chest as she hugged her legs. Her sobs could be heard, as the sound bounced off of the walls and back at her. It was dark, no light was in the room. That was until a door opened, and beams of light partly filled the room. There, stood a figure, tall with broad shoulders. Face features unknown. It slowly made its way towards her. Her cries got louder as she stuck her arms in front of her; in hopes of making it go away. Strong hands caught her weak ones, pulling her up to stand. Her legs were weak and her knees buckled underneath her, but she got herself to stand. Her legs gave out, but the strong hands didn't. They kept her standing. Pulling her out of the dark room, and into a much lighter one. She squinted her eyes when they made contact with the bright light. Taking a good look at her surroundings, she noticed broken glass scattered on the floor, bloody bodies thrown around. The place was trashed. The strong hands pulled her along with them, taking her through room after room, until they stood in front of a large metal door. She kept her eyes glued to the ground, scared to see who the strong hands belonged to. The strong hands left hers, pushing the heavy door open to reveal a dark blue coloured sky. The strong hands caught hers once more, and pulled her to a car. Opening the passenger door and pushing her in, closing the door behind her. The person got into the driver's seat and started to drive. She laid in the comfy backseat and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Awoken by her back hitting a soft surface, and a vaguely familiar voice, she sat up and looked at the place around her. She was sat on a large king size bed, in a massive room. The room was coloured in black, grey and beige. Lights were dimmed and a door at the far end of the room was slightly ajar, letting in a little amount of light from outside. The door swung open revealing a familiar yet unfamiliar face. She laid back down, her eyes glued shut, as she pretended to be asleep. She heard the man talk.

"I'm not free tonight" he spoke.

She didn't hear anyone reply so she assumed that he was on the phone. She couldn't make out who was on the other side or what they were saying. Her mind wandered off, thinking of the face she saw just moments ago. She thought about her past, the people that she'd worked with. There was something familiar about that man. The jawline that was sharper than a knife, the glistening grey eyes, the way his dimples showed without him moving his mouth, not to forget his voice. It was all too familiar.

She laid there squeezing her brain, until she finally recognized the face. She slightly opened her eyes; the man had his back to her. He was still on the phone. She looked through her lashes as she peeked at him. He was now facing her. His face very clear, revealing a face she never thought she'd see again...

His face hasn't changed since the last time she saw it. That was nine years ago. There, stood the man with the very grey eyes she fell in love with seventeen years ago...

"I know you're awake" he spoke, his husky voice filling the room.

She opened her eyes just a bit. He was standing right next to the bed, towering over her small frame that lay on the massive bed. His grey eyes boring into her soul, jaws sharper than a knife, his mouth curled up into a smirk, showing off his dimples. She just laid there dumbfounded.

"Miss me?" he asked. His smirk growing wider by the second.

Locating the door, she jumped out of the bed, wincing a bit in pain before regaining her posture, and started to walk backwards towards it. Her hands in front of her; hoping that he would stay away.

"Why would I ever miss you?" she spat back, but her voice betrayed her, as it was shaky. She turned around and made a dash for the door. She managed to get to it and open it a bit, before it was slammed shut by a strong hand.

"Where do you think you're going?" he sneered. His minty breath fanning her cheek and the back of her neck.

The enemy was literally breathing down her neck.

Heat radiated off of his body, only to cover hers. She stood there, frozen. Not knowing what to do, or what to reply.

She finally found her voice and stuttered "what do you want?".

His reply was one chilling word, a word that she became so very fond with: "revenge".

That one word brought back many memories. Memories that she had worked so hard on burying for the past few years of her eventful life. She was frozen on the spot, thinking of how that one word turned her life upside down and inside out, more than once. Slowly leaning her head on the door as she gulped and let out a shaky sigh. Flinching, as she remembered all the things that happened to her because of that word. He backed away a bit, as he noticed her flinch. Debating on whether or not he should ask her if she is ok, he decided to ask her.

"Are you ok?" he softly asked her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

She flinched as his hand touched her shoulder, from both shock and pain. Sensing her flinch under his touch, he quickly retrieved his hand.

"Why do you care?" she spat back in anger, slowly turning herself so she was now facing him. Only then did she realize how close they were. She slowly put her hands on his hard chest and pushed him, he took a step back, confusion covered his face.

"Personal space" she answered his unspoken question.

Much to the surprise, as he looked into her amber eyes, memories flooded his brain. Remembering things that he, too, had worked so hard on burying for the past few years of his eventful life.

He snapped out of his thoughts and replied "I never said I cared".

"Well it sure seemed like it" she shot back "now, what do you really want?" she questioned him again.

He rubbed his face with both his hands as he let out a sigh of annoyance. "Like I said before, revenge" he replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

"On whom, may I ask?" she asked, leaning onto the door behind her.

"You're just full of questions, aren't you?" he replied.

She just rolled her eyes, as she pushed herself away from the door, made her way around him and walked to the bed. She sat on it and rested her head in her hands. Letting out a shaky breath and taking in a short one. Things had taken a twist ever since that new work colleague walked into the office that she worked in. Even though her actions led her into a dark room, where she got beat badly and went on for days without eating, then being taken by someone she never thought she'd see again, she doesn't regret her actions. In fact, she was proud of her actions.

"What are you thinking about?" he spoke suddenly.

Her head shot up as she looked towards him. He was sitting on a chair on the other end of the room. His hands were crossed over his chest.

"You're just full of questions, aren't you?" she shot back, using his words against him. It was a well-known move that she loved to use.

"How typical of you; using my own words against me" he smirked, "you haven't changed, I see" he finished, leaning back into the chair.

"Neither have you" she replied, a smirk made its way onto her face, too.

She took her time and examined him. He was still the same guy, just a bit bigger. His blonde hair that was dishevelled, as it always was. His glistening grey eyes that can hypnotize any girl, single or taken. His dimples that were apparent whether or not he moved his mouth. His sharp jaw that could probably kill someone. She smiled a bit as she thought of him slicing through people with his jaw. Little did she know, that he, too, was examining her appearance.

He thought that she looked exactly the same. The same small little petite girl that he fell in love with. The same amber eyes that can make a guy fall to his knees. Her once long brown hair, was now a bit shorter than the last time he saw her, indicating that she had cut it. But nevertheless, she looked the exact same. She was still as stunning as she was nine years ago, if not even more stunning now. They were both cut out of their thoughts as the sound of a phone ringing filled the silent room.

"You can stop staring at me now, creep. Go answer your phone" she urged him, closing her amber eyes as she laid down onto the bed.

He crossed his arms and leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. Observing her more, concentrating on every single line on her body, from head to toe; how a small shadow forms under her eyes whenever she closes them, how her long lashes curl up. She was an angel. He scolded himself for thinking that. Even after everything that she put him through, there he sat, thinking that she was an angel.

The continuous sound of his phone ringing cut him out of his thoughts. Sighing, he got up, answering the call as he walked out of the room, leaving the small angel on his massive bed.

She heard the door open and close as he answered his phone. She laid there, still as a statue. Her mind once more wondered off to what had gotten her into this messed situation. In the past six months, she had gotten kidnapped by her envious work colleague, got beat black and blue, and starved by her kidnappers. Then, she was saved by a far, not so forgotten, not so much of an ex-lover. She'd only had one other companion after him; the one that she's with now. She'd worked a lot on her memories; making sure to lock away all of his memories way in the back of her mind. She slowly drifted off into darkness as she thought of one thing: now what?

Finishing his call, he walked back into his room. She was still laid there, the synchronized rise and fall of her chest indicated that she was sleeping. She looked at peace. He remembered how she always used to say "I'm at peace when I'm asleep". He chuckled a bit at the memory, as he remembered her poking him in the chest as she spoke, after he woke her up. He took a few things from the work-space in his room and headed to his office. Once more leaving the small, now sleeping, angel on his massive bed.

She'd been asleep for three hours now. Every now and then, he would get up and check on her. Making sure that she's covered, that she's still on the bed and not on the floor. Most importantly, making sure that she's still there. He, once more, scolded himself for caring so much for her, but she was his first and only love after all.

Another half an hour passed and she still hasn't woken up. He sat next to her on the bed and slowly stroked her hair, moving some strands that had fallen onto her face. Now that he has a close look, he observed her again. She was wearing a tattered black over-sized t-shirt and black shorts. After inspecting the condition of her clothes, his eyes looked at her face. Noticing that she has a faded blue bruise on her cheek. His blood boiled, knowing that someone had been mistreating her. He slowly stroked the almost faded bruise, his brows creased together in worry. She slowly opened her eyes, causing him to retreat his hand quickly. He moved back a bit, giving her some space.

She sat up and looked around her. She was sat in a sea of sheets, she smiled a bit, she was like a small fish in the wide-open ocean. Her eyes finally settled on the man in front of her.

Her eyes widened as realization dawned on her. The first words that blurted out of her mouth were "Andrew Welsh".

"Emily Winston" he smiled.

Her vision blurred and her head started to spin. She closed her eyes as darkness welcomed her.

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A/N: the first chapter is short for a reason. I'm not being lazy, nor do I not have any idea what to write. I wanted the last few sentences to be the first time they both say each other's names after nine years.

This is a new story that I'm working on and I'm very excited about it. Hope you all like it.

Please make sure to comment what you think of it. Much love!

Word count: 3902 words.