“Please don’t.”

She grins and holds the scissors up to the dress.  I struggle against the bungee cords binding my wrists to the bed, and feel the tears running down my face.

How could I be this stupid?  How could I trust her enough to go off alone with her? After everything she’s done to me? She asked me if I could go to the bathroom with her, because she didn't want to go alone. I don't know why I said yes.  God, why did I say yes? When we got to the second floor, she twisted my arm behind me, and I tried to cry out, but she shoved me into a bedroom before I could do anything.  I fought her so hard, but she was too strong for me.  The next thing I knew she had pinned me down to the bed, and bound my wrists to the headboard.  I couldn't make a sound. I was paralyzed, and terrified that Max was going to come in and do something awful to me.  He never came.  Jules got the scissors instead, told me it was time for me to pay for what I did the other day at the Mission.

They welcomed Justin and I to the table like we were equals, like they accepted us, and for a while at least, I was sure what Justin said at the Mission had made an impact.  I thought things were going to change, that I would finally be able to come home and not live in fear of Max and Jules.

Nothing is that simple.

“You think you can just march your little boyfriend into our lives and have him demand that we be nice to you smelly?”  She moves the scissor blades under one of the straps of Adam’s dress and snips it off.

“Why are you doing this?” I sob.  “Just let me go, Jules.”

“You’re getting what you deserve.  Max wishes you well on your trip downstairs, by the way.  He can’t wait to see everyone’s reaction to your change of clothes,” she laughs.

Snip.  The other strap gets cut off, and then she starst to pull the whole dress apart.  It rips halfway down my body and then the whole thing is yanked off me. Adam’s dress is completely ruined and I would say good riddance, but this situation is a little too extreme for me to dwell on it.  I’m in nothing but a bra and panties now, and when she puts the scissors up to my bra straps, and snips them off too, I know I’m doomed.  She’s going to strip me naked and parade me in front of Jeanine’s entire gala.  It's flashbacks from that day they did this to me in high school, but... I won’t just be the laughing stock of the family after that.  I’ll be the laughing stock of Hollywood.  People will take pictures.  I’ll end up on the internet for sure.

Justin won’t want to be with somebody that’s a laughing stock.

I’d rather be dead than face this humiliation.  

“Bye bye panties.”

Snip.

I’m completely naked now.  I shudder and sob.  When she unties my wrists, I know it’s over.  I know there’s no choice but to face humiliation.

She yanks me to my feet.  “Go downstairs.”

I just stand there and sob, holding my breasts tightly against my chest.

“Go!” She pushes me roughly, and yanks the door open.  “I said go!”

“Ellie!”

I hear Justin’s voice somewhere down the hallway.  Oh God.  I can’t let him see me this way.

Jules is laughing.  

“Ellie!”  Adam turns the corner first, and stops in his tracks when he sees what’s happened to me.  He doesn’t hesitate, he races to me and shields me with his whole body.  “What the HELL did you do to her, Juliet!” He screams.

“She got what was coming to her,” she grins.  “Have a merry Christmas, Adam.”

She saunters away.  She got away with it.  Of course she did.  So did Max.  But Max would never have been the initiator.  He’s the delegator, getting his sister to do his dirty work so he’ll never take the blame.  “Adam get me out of here,” I whimper.  “Please.”

“You’re okay, honey.”

“Just get me out of here.”

“El.”

Justin is standing at the end of the hallway, looking absolutely bewildered at my current situation.  I’m mortified.  “Adam…” I cry.

“Justin, go back to the party, okay?” He tells him.  “It’s a bad time.”

“Wait…where are her clothes?  What did she do to her?”

“Justin go!” Adam yells.  “Just go.”

“Ellie,” he says tenderly.  “Ellie come on.  Talk to me.”

But I can’t.  I’m too humiliated.  I can’t tell him that I let her strap me down to the bed and rip my clothes off like a weakling.  I just can’t.  “Go, Justin.  Just leave.  I’m sorry.”

He looks like somebody just sucked all the life out of him, as stares back at me, like he can’t believe what I’m saying.  But I meant it.  I can’t…I can’t face him, not now, like this, on Christmas Eve.  I don’t know when I’ll be able to.

“I’ll call Roger.” Adam whispers to me as he leads me into another bedroom.  “We’ll get on a plane in the morning okay?”

I just nod, and let him take me away from all of it.  It’s all I can do right now, although, that small voice inside my head is telling me I might be making the biggest mistake of my life, walking away from Justin, after I promised him I wouldn’t.

I never said I was good at this.