Ruby swallowed hard, fished around in her backpack, and reluctantly handed it to him. She was sure tonight she’d get emailed another hundred pictures of him trying to break into her phone. She didn’t think he could guess her password—7326. Sean’s name, and she doubted he’d keep trying enough to permanently lock her phone…at least she hoped not. Get the gun, get the gun, getthegun—
“And don’t even think of trying to shoot me with that gun in your night table drawer,” he said, reading her mind again.
Her heart dropped. How did he even know about it? “Gun?”
“The unloaded one. I emptied it and put it back on your bed. I believe I’ll keep the bullets. Otherwise, you might get some ideas.”
She opened the door to her room and closed it quickly on his mocking laughter. The gun was on the bed, and she immediately locked the door behind her and checked the chamber. It was empty. The extra box of ammunition she’d just bought was gone too. Fat lot of good that had done her. She sat down on the bed and hugged herself. She had other bullets, but they were stored in a box in the garage. Fuck. What was she going to do? No way could she fall asleep with that…psychopath in her house.
She thought of something horrible. What if he’d found her Sean scrapbooks? Or her Tara pictures? That sex tape was nothing compared to what he could do to her with the information hidden in her safe. At least she’d locked everything up and kept it locked up after he’d broken in here the last time, but still…
Heart hammering in her chest, she scrambled over to her closet and opened the door. Her fire safe looked fine. It was out of position—she really needed to get Hilary to bolt that thing down—but it still appeared to be locked up tight.
She found the key that she’d taped into the seam of one of her pillowcases, opened the safe, and sighed with relief. It was all there. Her original scrapbook and photo album, her copies of Jeremy’s threats on her answering machine, as well as Tara’s threat that came in right before her death. She found the thumb drive containing the three pictures of Tara she’d taken right before she’d killed her—she really did need to get rid of those…She swallowed hard, as a plan began to form in her head. There was the jump drive containing the video of Sean cutting his grass…Yep. The only thing missing was the sex tape. Why hadn’t she destroyed it earlier? So easy to take a hammer to, and so hard to un-ring this bell now! Well, tomorrow she’d get a safety deposit box. She put everything back, closed the safe, and hid the key in one of her boots.
She shut the closet door just as her bedroom door rattled. “What’s going on?” Jeremy said.
“I was getting ready for bed.”
“Open the door. I don’t like locked doors between us.?”
She probed the inside of her swollen cheek with her tongue and opened the door.
“I thought you were getting ready for bed.”
“I was doing my sit-ups.”
He stepped inside and looked around suspiciously. “Okay…but don’t lock this door. You don’t want to make me angry.”
She shut the door behind him, rushed over to the window, and drew the curtains. It was still raining, but she could wait until he was asleep and go for help. Then the police would come and—she closed the curtains. She couldn’t bring the police here until she got her tape back. If Sean found out about it, he’d break up with her, and when it came right down to it, she’d rather be raped and killed by this maniac than break up with Sean Chaplin.
She became aware, suddenly, of how crazy that sounded. She chewed her cuticle until it bled, wiped it on a tissue and shrugged. It might very well be crazy, but that didn’t change how she felt. Sean was her everything.
No, she’d get her tape back first, and then call the police. And she’d make sure he was arrested far away from her house.
She collapsed on her bed and buried her face in her hands. If only he hadn’t found her gun.
She imagined herself quietly opening the door, stepping into her living room, and shooting him in the head as he slept. …No, wait. She didn’t want to ruin her couch. She’d drag him off it first, then shoot him in the head.
She’d get away with it too, because she was being held hostage. The police would cut her some serious slack. It would have been easy as pie.
CHAPTER 30
The next morning Ruby awoke to the sound of rain on the roof, and the feeling of a warm body cuddled next to her. She smiled and opened her eyes expecting to see Sean, only to jerk away from Jeremy, who was sharing her pillow and staring into her eyes.
“You look so beautiful when you’re sleeping,” he said.
She sat up, yanking the covers to her chest. “What’re you—Aaugh!” she moaned, putting one hand up to her cheek, the other to her side. It was agony to talk, her face felt swollen, and she had a raging headache. Even her teeth were sore.
He looked concerned. “I think you need some more ice. You’ve got a bit of a shiner going.”
“What?” she put her hand to her eye, realizing she couldn’t open it all the way. “I can’t believe this. Damn you!” she said, forgetting, for a moment, how dangerous he was.
He took hold of her chin and turned her to face him, ignoring her wince of pain. “Now, don’t pout. You’ll be back to normal soon enough.”
She jerked her chin away and rubbed the spot where his hand had rested. “Why are you in here? You promised to stay on the couch.”
“I checked on you earlier, and you looked lonely in this big bed by yourself.” He put his hands up and grinned. “But I was a perfect gentleman. I didn’t cop a feel or anything, even though I could have.”
Ruby scrambled out of bed, groaning. She couldn’t fully straighten up, her throat was on fire, her side ached, and her back was tight. The leg he’d kicked felt like it might collapse. …She was a mess.
She stretched out her hurt side experimentally. Though it was super sore and likely bruised, she probably didn’t have any broken or cracked ribs. Thank goodness! She’d cracked two ribs as a teenager, when she was thrown from a horse, and that was a pain she would never forget.
She turned and caught Jeremy watching her with hunger, glad she’d worn period panties, sweatpants tucked into thick socks, a flannel shirt, and a sports bra to bed. He wasn’t getting a free peek at anything now that’s for sure. “You should go home now,” she croaked.
He stood up on the other side of the bed and stretched. “I’ll be leaving soon—I have to be at work at nine, but first I need you to write that apology to me.”
She crossed her arms. “Wow. You beat me up, then expect an apology.”
“That was punishment. I thought you understood,” he said. “You fucked my friend, and you had to be punished for it. I didn’t like doing it, but you needed to learn that actions have consequences. Hopefully you did, and now it’s over. But it won’t be forgiven until you’ve made amends, and that starts with a written apology.”
She stood stiffly, keeping the bed between them, thinking dark thoughts.
“The reason it’s got to be written, is to prove you’re serious,” Jeremy explained. “So I’ll know you put some thought into it.” When she still didn’t speak, he said, “Unless you don’t want to be forgiven. Because if that’s the case, I’ll just release the tape today and leave you to explain to Sean why it’s on the internet.” He cocked his eyebrow at her. “I think he’d want you to apologize rather than risk that. Don’t you agree?”
She bit her lip. “I’ll write it. Then, can I have my tape back?”
He threw his head back and laughed heartily. “You’re always working the angles. I like that!” He sobered up quickly. “But I already told you how to get that it back. You have to marry me first.”
“Fine then. I’ll write it, and then you can leave.” He was never giving it back, she realized. He was on a power trip. She let that fantasy go and started looking for ways to take it back. But first, he needed to leave her house.
She swung around and headed for her bedroom door, but he grabbed he
r arm. She hunched her shoulders, waiting to be struck. “The paper’s out there,” she said.
“I don’t want you to write it if you don’t feel like it. It has to come from your heart. You must be truly sorry. Otherwise, don’t bother.”
She swallowed hard. “Silly. Of course, I want to write it,” she said. “Come on.” He followed her into the living room. Her gaze darted around, searching for her tape, but she didn’t see it. At least she now knew he hadn’t made a copy of it yet. He needed two VCRs for that, and she’d only had the one. She spied it broken against the wall and felt a ball of hope open in her chest. Maybe—
“You won’t find it,” he said.
“Find what?” She went and got stationary from her desk.
“The tape. It’s hidden, and I’ll be taking it when I leave. Forget about it.”
She went to her drawing table to get a pen. Thank God she always kept her cartoons locked up, or no telling how much damage he would have inflicted on her work.
“I said, stop looking for it!”
“I wasn’t.” She held up the pen. “Relax.”
She sat at the table and took out a sheet of paper. He hovered behind her chair, and she fought the urge to cringe. She didn’t like him where she couldn’t see him. She sat with her pen poised above the paper, ready to write whatever he dictated. He remained quiet though, and she finally said, “What do you want me to write?”
“An apology!” he thundered, and she hunched down to make herself as small as possible. “You know what you did! I’m not dictating it for you!”
Ruby trembled, risking a quick glance over her shoulder. He didn’t look sane. She swallowed down the thick saliva in her throat and carefully wrote:
“Dearest Jeremy:
Please accept my most sincere apology for betraying your trust with Sean.”
Jeremy, who was reading over her shoulder as she wrote, said, “That’s a good start. But make sure you mention how you betrayed it.”
“It was wrong of me to…” She hesitated. Should she write fuck? Sleep with? Have sex with? Make love with? Fall in love with?
“Fuck around on you,” he interjected. He leaned over her shoulder and tapped his finger on the paper.
“…fuck around on you,” she wrote obligingly. “And I will never, ever forgive myself for hurting you this way.”
“That’s good. That’s really good,” he said. He began massaging her shoulders, and she leaned forward and shook his hands off.
“I hope you can forgive me someday and…” And what? She drew a blank.
Jeremy helped her out. “…and I promise I’ll never see nor even mention that lying dog Sean Chaplin’s name to you ever again!” His voice rose as he spoke, until he was shouting by the end. He was losing it!
She scribbled furiously, and when she’d caught up, he continued, “I know it will take time for me to gain your trust again, but I’ll do whatever it takes to regain it.”
She wrote quickly until she came to the “whatever it takes,” part, and there she stopped. “Whatever it takes,” he repeated ominously.
Just get him out of here. She quickly complied.
He read it over and said, “Well, that’s very nice!” And his voice was happy again. “Now just sign it and you’ll be done.”
Ruby signed “Love, Ruby,” without being prompted. Some things she could just figure out on her own.
Jeremy dragged her to her feet, noticed her wince, and gently took her in his arms. He stroked her hair. “Ruby, Ruby my love. You don’t have anything to fear from me. I’d never hurt you.”
She stood in his arms with her hands fisted. What the hell was last night then?
“If you’re good, I’ll never be forced to punish you again,” he said, reading her mind again. “And you’ll be happy to know that I accept your apology.”
Ruby sensed he expected a big reaction from her. She let all her muscles relax and wiped her brow. “Whew. Thank goodness,” she said. “What a load off my mind.”
She broke away from him and looked at the clock. “It’s after eight. You should go now.”
“Oh, we’re not done yet.”
The hairs stood up on her arms and the back of her neck and she felt icy fear. “What’s left?” Was he going to rape her?
“Now you have to call Sean and give him the brush off.”
Her mouth dropped open. No way in hell was she doing that! She didn’t mask her expression quickly enough because his face hardened. “I thought you wanted to make it up to me, so I’ll trust you again?”
“I do, but—”
“But?” he thundered.
“But I don’t have a home phone anymore and my cell’s dead, remember?” she said, suddenly grateful.
“No, it’s not.” He reached behind her bookcase and fetched her cell, which was plugged in to a charger he must have brought with him. “Here. I couldn’t figure out your password—You will be giving that to me today, along with all your passwords, the keys to your safe and the locked cabinets beside your desk —no more secrets between us—but it’s fully charged. Now call.”
“He’s at w-work! He’s teaching in M-Mc—”
“I don’t care! If he doesn’t answer, leave a message.”
“But…”
“Now!” He shoved her.
She stumbled and caught herself on the couch. Filled with dread, she slowly reached for her cell. Of course, she’d call Sean back as soon as he left and explain everything, but still. …Her mind searched for a way out. What if she called a wrong number instead of Sean so she could leave a message? But what if a real person answered? No, that was too risky. She could call 911 but that didn’t have enough digits. What if…
“I have an even better idea.” Jeremy said this as though he’d just thought of it, but his tone suggested that whatever he was about to say, had been well thought out in advance.
She knew she wasn’t going to like it. His eyes gleamed so brightly, he looked almost feverish. Uh-oh. “What?”
“I want what Sean got last night.”
“What’d Sean get?”
“While you’re breaking things off with him, I expect a blowjob. Same as Sean got.”
He’d known they were fooling around while Sean was talking to him? Her face flamed. But there was no way. “But—”
He cut her off. “Spare me. I didn’t catch on right away, but it soon became obvious that something was going on. Then at the end, when you got on the phone, I knew for sure. Now I just want the same thing. No more, no less. Fair’s fair.”
He’d have to kill her first. “You’re wrong.” she said. “I didn’t give Sean a blowjob yesterday. I never have. That’s totally disgusting. You imagined it. I swear.”
He suddenly looked unsure. Then he smiled. “Well, good girl then. Even better! I still want one, and it’s the least you can do. Remember, you said you’d do anything I wanted to make it up to me. This is a good start.”
He grabbed her hands and shuffled backwards towards her writing chair, pulling her in his wake. He sat down, released her, and began unfastening his jeans.
Her mind worked like lightening. “I can’t. My mouth’s too sore from last night when you hit me. I can barely open it—”
“Suffer.”
Ruby felt desperate tears sting her eyes. He was just going to have to beat her again, because she wasn’t doing it. She thought of something else that might save her. “I can’t do it and call at the same time. How would I talk?”
This stumped him. “Well…you could, maybe…” He stared at her. “…Did I ever tell you how much I hate that awful haircut of yours?”
“What?” She felt like she was going insane.
“We’re going wig shopping tomorrow. We’ll get you some long, dark hair so you’ll look beautiful again, like you used to, and you can wear it until yours grows out—” His face brightened. “I got it! First, you’ll call Sean’s phone and break it off, and then you’ll do me. On the recording!” He chortled with del
ight. “That’ll teach him not to mess with me.”
Ruby glanced at the door. The chain was on. If she made a break for it, could she get out the door before he was on her? …No. He’d caught her last night and the door had been wide open. She had her phone! Just dial 911 and the police would come and—he’d have plenty of time to beat her to death before they arrived.
She began to cry. “Please don’t make me do this.”
He sat forward and squeezed her upper arms tightly. She yelped, amazed again at how much stronger he was than her. He squeezed her harder until she began to struggle, and whimper, afraid he’d break something. “Stop it! You’re hurting me! Let go of me!”
His grip let up just a bit, but he didn’t release her. “I’m getting tired of waiting.” She could feel how much he wanted to hurt her again. Ruby felt hot tears begin rolling down her face, as he shoved on her shoulders and forced her roughly to her knees in front of him. He took his penis out. It was small and white and circumcised and almost hard. She shuddered. “Call,” he said huskily.
Instead of calling Sean, she dialed Georgios pizza. She had the number memorized and she’d been thinking about it—no one would be in yet. She knew they had a message machine because she’d once called after closing time.
This way Sean need never know her humiliation. Of course, the Georgios’ staff would be confused, but at least there would be a tape to back up her story with the police.
The phone rang once before the machine picked up. She put her hand over the receiver as their message played through. Please don’t ask me to put it on speaker! “He’s not answering,” she said, watching Jeremy stroke himself contentedly, eyes closed.
At the beep, she hesitated. “H-hello Sean. It’s…” she didn’t want to give her name. “…me. Last night was a mistake. I’ve decided to end our relationship because I’m with,” her voice broke, “…Jeremy now.”
Jeremy snatched her phone from her and pushed her face into his crotch as he crowed, “She doesn’t love you! She loves me now and to prove it, she’s going to give me a blowjob! Listen and weep!”
Drawn To You: A Psychological thriller Page 28