hold you tight

Rosalie kept her head ducked down as her husband, almost sixteen years her senior, interlocked his fingers with hers, his vice tight grip on her hand almost painful, as if she'd run away. Although there were times where she wished she could, Rosalie knew if she dared try, he'd find her, and he'd kill her - something he made quite clear to her when he got her. Following his lead into a grocery store, Rosalie watched her feet as she walked, listening to him speak but not responding, just wanting the trip to be done. Although the thought of going back home and sleeping in the same bed as this monster made her stomach twist with nausea.

Luke walked through the grocery store with Michael, having told his best friend he needed help. Tour had been a long one, and all of the food that Luke had foolishly left in his house, instead of donating it, had spoiled, and he needed to restock his fridge and cupboards instead of living off cereal and dry crackers. Looking at a box of American cereal he'd never heard of, Luke raised his eyebrows. "Mikey," he murmured, lifting his head. "Have you ever tried this?" He showed the box to Michael, before throwing it in the cart anyway, eager to get back home. Luke had always considered grocery shopping a mundane task.

Michael looked over when he heard Luke’s question, eyeing the box for a moment before he shook his head. “Not that one, no,” he said before motioning, “That one’s pretty good, though.” And, while he didn’t need it, he went ahead to grab the box for himself, grinning slightly, because, while they were there to do Luke’s grocery shopping, he wasn’t going to pass up on the chance to grab a few things for himself. “What all do you need to get, anyways? You should have made a list.” He grinned teasingly but his gaze ran over the store for a few moments before his attention was caught by a blonde woman who had her head ducked and who looked like she wanted to be anywhere but there.

Laila chewed on her lip anxiously as she followed her husband around the store quietly, his hand firmly gripping hers, in a way that, if he squeezed too hard, she was sure it would break her knuckles. A part of her knew that it was to remind her that she was his - he’d paid a hefty sum for her, he’d won her fair and square, in his mind, and he never let her forget it. But that didn’t make living with this man any easier. Ducking her head, she made sure not to look around, not wanting to give him a reason to be angry with her, not wanting to slow him down, just wanting to get out of there.

Luke groaned. "You make shopping so difficult," He complained to Michael, sighing as he threw the box Michael held into the cart, grabbing one for himself too. Pushing the cart forward, Luke looked to Michael when he heard his question. "Uh, food, mostly." He shrugged. "Dude, I swear, the milk was alive when I got home, I was terrified." He looked to Michael with mock fear, shoving his best friend as he continued to walk, pausing when the sight of a brunette beauty caught his eye - practically being dragged along by a man much older than her, who was holding her hand in a vice tight grip. Frowning as Luke spotted a bar code tattoo on her wrist, his brows furrowed in confusion, because something about the situation seemed off.

Rosalie lifted her head as she ran her free hand through her hair, although her hair was tied into a ponytail, a few loose strands continued to fall into her face. When her husband continued to pull her along though, she almost flinched with how painful his grip on her hand was. He'd paid a lot of money for her, as she was reminded every damn day, but she just wished she'd be a little kinder. She didn't dare speak against him though, afraid of the consequences if she did. As more people began to come into view, Rosalie breathed out a sigh of relief as her husband seemed to act more... normal, less suspicious. She waited patiently for his command, shifting foot to foot anxiously.

Michael offered a small grin in response. “Oh, please, you’d die without me,” he joked lightly as he listened to Luke, but he made a face. “Gross, mate.” He laughed when Luke shoved him, but the movement had given him the opportunity to catch sight of a gorgeous woman walking with a man. It wasn’t anything too odd at first, not until he saw the barcode tattoo, but, even then, he assumed perhaps it was some new trend? What caught his attention the most was how the man and woman were interacting, how they were walking silently, and how the man seemed to be watching the woman’s every move.

Laila kept her head ducked as she walked, pretending to be reading the grocery list, doing her best not to attract attention to herself and her husband and, moreover, trying to avoid meeting anybody’s gaze. The last thing she wanted was for somebody to notice anything they shouldn’t - she was well aware of how her husband would react if things got to the point of irritating him. After all, with the price he’d paid for her, he hadn’t been wanting any trouble to come along with her. As they walked, she made sure to grab what they needed, her husband leaving the duty up to her.

Luke snorted with laughter with Michael's words. "I'd be perfectly fine without you." Luke promised teasingly. Hearing Michael's amused reaction to his story about the milk, Luke chuckled, moving forward still, getting closer to the couple he'd become interested in. The way the two interacted with almost unnatural, and the beauty walked with her head ducked, feet almost apprehensive about taking their next step. Watching her grab at items, Luke's gaze fell to her husband, and he frowned - he seemed so much older than her. "Weird," Luke murmured to Michael, following the couple with his cart, trying to look as normal as he could.

Rosalie kept her gaze on the ground as her husband tugged her along, his hold on her hand tightening to the point it was almost painful. Knowing she couldn't debate, or tell him to stop, Rosalie tried to keep her pace as fast as his, picking up things that he'd told her they needed before entering the store. Lifting her gaze for a moment, Rosalie was sure she felt a pair of eyes on them and she tried to ignore the urge to meet the gaze of whoever was watching, because she knew it would lead to nothing but trouble.

Michael hadn’t really been paying attention to what Luke said, his gaze on the woman who was being tugged along. From where he was, it almost looked like the man was being rough, and Michael frowned with the thought. The beauty certainly didn’t deserve to be treated like that. When he registered what Luke said, though, he blinked, looking over. “What’s weird?” he asked, wondering if Luke had noticed the woman too.

Laila kept her head down throughout most of the shopping process, only lifting her gaze when her husband’s phone rang and he excused himself to walk away to take the call. She felt anxious, then, being left alone, and she stayed put, shifting uncomfortably, not wanting to get in trouble by wandering off.

Luke watched the woman that kept her head down, her expression sullen and dousing Luke's curiosity with a little extra fuel each time he stole a glance, and watching as her husband went to take a call, Luke decided now was his chance to indulge himself and say hello, to see if she was okay. "Hold that thought..." Luke murmured, moving away from Michael to approach Laila. "Excuse me?" Luke smiled softly. "Are you okay?"

Rosalie paused as her husband caught the sight of a friend, and telling her harshly to stay put, she watched as the man walked away, all smiles as he turned a corner to catch up, his obnoxious and false bravado echoing back to Rosalie. Exhaling, Rosalie kept her gaze down, her hands on the cart, just to feel something.

Laila looked up when somebody approached her and she tensed slightly. If her husband saw a man talking to her, she knew it would only end badly. “I’m fine,” she quickly said, offering a weak smile, no matter how forced it felt and how much she hated having to lie. “Truly. There’s nothing to worry about. Thank you for your concern, though.”

Michael watched Rosalie with curiosity and concern, his brows furrowed. With Luke gone, there was nothing stopping him from going over there, so he made his way over after a moment, watching her with concern. “Excuse me,” he mentioned as he watched her, his expression gentle as he took her in. “I don’t mean to intrude, but you just seem… Upset.” He offered a kind smile. “Are you alright?”