by S. M. Shade
“I wouldn’t do that.”
I turn to face him. I need him to understand how important this is. “I mean it, Airen. I know you and Joseph talk about stuff. I’ve heard you, and I get it. He’s your friend, and guys talk. Hell, girls do too, but you can’t tell him about this, Air, ever. Not even when we’re all teasing and trying to embarrass each other. It’s just too private. I’ve never done anything that made me feel so vulnerable before.”
Soft dark eyes meet mine. “It takes a lot of trust. I didn’t really consider how much. You can trust me, Abby. I’d never hurt you, and I’d never tell anyone.” He kisses my forehead tenderly.
“I know. I never would have done that with anyone else.”
“If anything we try makes you uncomfortable, you have to tell me.”
“I will. Why? Do you have something else in mind?”
“Maybe,” he says with a seductive grin. “Have you ever done anything...you know...”
“Kinky?”
“Mmm Hmm.”
“Depends on what you consider kinky.”
He laughs and plays with my hair. “Have you had sex in a car?”
“Yes, you?”
“Yeah.”
“Have you ever had a threesome?” I ask. He’s quiet for a moment, and I try to let him off the hook. “You don’t have to answer.”
“I have,” he admits. “I just don’t want you to think I’ve been with a bunch of women.”
“Airen, you’re gorgeous. I assume you’ve had plenty of experience,” I remark dryly. “I’d never ask how many.”
“Okay, and you? Any three ways?”
“No,” I reply.
“Have you ever kissed a girl?”
“No, you?”
“I’ve kissed lots of girls.”
“Very funny. Have you ever been with a guy?” He looks away from me, his cheeks coloring, and presses his lips together. Have I actually managed to embarrass him?
“I experimented a little when I was young,” he whispers. “That’s something you can never tell anyone, Abby. I’ve never told anyone.”
Deeply touched that he trusted me enough to share such a personal secret, I take his hand. “I promise, but it’s not a big deal. There’s nothing wrong with it.”
“I know. Have you ever been tied up?” he asks, changing the subject.
“Yes.”
“Really?” He glances at me, surprised.
His reaction makes me giggle. “Yes, you?”
“No, were you blindfolded when you were restrained?”
“No, I didn’t trust him not to take pictures once I was blindfolded. I only let him tie my hands to the bed with a belt from a robe. I could have escaped if I’d wanted.”
“Oh.”
“Let’s get out, the water’s getting cold,” I suggest. “I’ve had a wonderful time tonight, Air,” I say when we snuggle down to sleep.
“Me too, sweetheart.”
The next morning, while Airen and I walk back from our mini vacation, I decide it’s a good time to discuss the kids. “Before we head back to reality, we need to talk about something.”
He looks at me, alarmed. “What’s wrong?”
“Relax, it’s not a big deal. I walked in on Carson and Jayla kissing.”
His face relaxes, and he tries to conceal a small smile. “Did you talk to them?”
“Yes, and I think Jayla will come to me if things move too fast. I talked to her about the dangers of pregnancy and taught her about birth control.”
“You don’t think they’re…?” he asks, wide-eyed, with a gesture I don’t care to repeat.
“No! I just want to make sure they’re safe if the time comes.”
“I’d like to talk to Carson about a few things.” My anxious look makes him chuckle. “Don’t you trust me?”
“Of course I do.”
“I just want him to respect women and know how to treat them.”
I kiss him on the cheek. “You’re a good role model when it comes to that.”
* * * *
Mandy continues to be overly nice to me, and to everyone. She’s been helping with chores she avoided before, especially laundry and cooking, and isn’t flirting with Airen or dressing provocatively. I know she’s only biding her time, and I don’t trust her. Joseph announces he’ll have her power on in a few days, and she can move into her house.
She flashes a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes, and asks Sara, “Do you know which room you want?” Sara looks down and gnaws her lip.
Airen speaks up. “Sara is going to stay here.”
“No, she ain’t. She’s been with me since...forever. Ya can’t make her stay.”
“Nobody is making her do anything. Sara is nearly eighteen years old, and this is her decision. She wants to stay here with Jayla. You know how close they are,” Joseph replies, attempting to smooth things over.
“Well, Jayla can live with us.”
“No, she can’t,” Airen declares.
“Oh, I ain’t good enough ta take care of a kid?” Her eyes blaze at Airen hatefully.
“Not my kid,” he snaps.
“Air, you aren’t helping.”
Mandy glares at each of us and shoots a look of pure loathing at Sara. “Fine! Do what you want. What the hell do I care?” she fires at her and storms off.
“I’m sorry,” Sara whispers, with tears in her eyes.
“Don’t be. You haven’t done anything wrong.” I hug her. “I’m so glad you’re staying with us”.
“So am I, sweetie,” Joseph says.
Airen agrees, smiling at her.
“Don’t worry, it will all blow over,” I promise.
Mandy returns to her pseudo-cheerful self by evening, continuing the facade even when Sara announces she’s sleeping in Jayla’s room. I don’t blame her. I can only imagine the bile Mandy would spew at her once they’re alone.
Come morning, Airen is outside, sweating over the garden. The tomatoes are getting destroyed by worms, and he’s determined to solve the problem without using pesticide. Mandy prepares oatmeal for breakfast before she heads to her house. The table is set, and Joseph and Walker are eating. A place is set for me with a bowl of oatmeal and a fruit cup. I grab some juice and join them.
“What are your plans today, young man?” I ask Walker, ruffling his hair. I dump the fruit cup into my oatmeal and mix it together.
“I want to play in the sandbox.”
“Sounds fun, I’ll rake through it for you.”
A sunny smile lights his face. “Why don’t I take vitamins?” he asks.
“The nutrition drink you have with lunch has all the vitamins you need. Why do you ask?”
“Just wondered. When Mandy added vitamins to your oatmeal, she said I didn’t need any.”
All the blood drains from Joseph’s face, and I freeze with my spoon halfway to my mouth. Thank goodness I didn’t take a bite! Joseph stares at me, and I shake my head slowly. We don’t want to scare Walker.
“Does Mandy always put vitamins on my food?”
“No, just today. I seen her get the new box from under the sink.”
“Will you show me?”
“Sure.” He jumps down eagerly and retrieves an open box of rat poison.
I swallow hard, trying to control the tremor in my voice. The crazy fucking bitch is trying to kill me! “Did she put it in anyone else’s food?”
“No, just yours. She said you deserved it.”
Joseph is still speechless, staring at me in shock and disbelief. “Go wash your hands really well, and you can watch some cartoons before you go outside,” he tells Walker.
Walker runs to the sink to wash his hands and then to the living room.
“She’s trying to kill you,” Joseph whispers, astounded. “We have to...have to,” he stumbles, unable to finish.
“Joseph, I’m okay. I didn’t eat it.”
“You’re okay,” he repeats, reassuring himself. “We have to tell Airen.”
A
iren will kill her. I don’t doubt that for one second, and I can’t let him kill another human being because of me. I know the scars it leaves even when it’s done in self-defense.
“We will, but I want to talk about what we should do with her first,” I agree calmly.
“He’ll kill her.”
As sure as shit sticks to a blanket. “We can’t let him. It’s a hard thing to live with, Joseph. I’ve been there.” I shudder as I recall twisting the wire around Mr. Disgusting’s throat. “Is there somewhere we can lock her up?”
“The last time Airen and I went into town, we looked in the county jail, just for fun. We were ridiculing it because the cells are so old they still use keys instead of electronic locks.”
“Okay, let’s tell Airen.”
I ask Airen to join us on the porch, where we always seem to congregate when there’s a serious issue to discuss.
“What is it?” Airen grumps. He’s worried, and I know it’s because of the look on Joseph’s face. He’s no poker player.
I sit next to Airen. “I have to tell you something, and you’re going to be really, seriously pissed off, but I want you to promise me you won’t react before you hear us out.”
“Okay,” he replies, hesitantly.
“I’m serious, Air. You have to trust me.” I slip my hand into his sweaty, dirty one.
“I trust you. Now tell me what’s going on.”
“We need your help to capture Mandy and lock her in the county jail.”
“What? What the hell did she do? Did she hurt Sara?”
“No, Sara’s fine. She tried to poison me,” I blurt.
“What? How?”
“She put rat poison in her breakfast,” Joseph exclaims, finding his voice.
“What!” Anger and shock twist his face, and he grabs me by my arms.
“I didn’t eat it! Calm down!”
“Calm down? I’ll bury that bitch!”He leaps up. Joseph grabs his arm, but he shakes it off.
I catch his hands. “Airen! You promised! Please.” He sits back down and takes a deep breath while I explain what we want to do.
“What’s the point, Abby? She was going to kill you. Don’t you think she’d try it again? Why are you trying to spare her?”
“I’m not. I’m trying to spare you from taking a life. I don’t want you to have to live with that, and it’s harder than you think. I don’t know what we should do with her. I just want her locked up now, so we have time to figure it out.” He sits there with his hands in mine, pondering our idea, and I finally feel his grip loosen.
“Fine, we’ll lock her up. Joseph and I will go and get the bitch and take her to the jail, but you’re staying here,” he orders. I open my mouth to argue, and he shouts, “You’re staying here!” He’s furious, and trying to control his rage.
I lay my hand on his cheek. “I will, but be careful, please. Both of you,” I add, gazing at Joseph.
“Get the rifle,” Airen tells Joseph.
“What are you going to do?” I ask.
“Joseph will hold the gun on the bitch while I tie her up. We’ll lock her in the cell and come right back. Don’t worry, darlin’, we’ve got this.” His expression softens as he gazes at me.
“Do you promise you won’t shoot her?”
“I promise,” he replies, grabbing his rifle and heading out the door.
I try to picture what must be happening next door. At least they can catch her off guard since she has no idea we know about the poison. It’s been hours, and I’m a bag of nerves until I see the truck pull in, and Airen and Joseph hop out. I’ve been imagining all sorts of horrific scenarios.
“Well?” I ask, meeting them in the yard.
“She didn’t even deny it,” Airen replies, stunned.
Joseph looks shaken. He’s pale and his hands are trembling. I switch my gaze from him to Airen. “Did something happen that you aren’t telling me?”
“No, but she planned on killing you, Jayla, and Sara so there would be no competition for Airen,” Joseph whispers.
“She admitted that?”
“She’s still promising to carry through with it.” Airen laughs bitterly. “She’s locked in a cell with nothing but a few buckets of water, and she’s still threatening to kill my girls. Because I’m just too fucking pretty to resist!” he spits. He shakes his head and mumbles, “I need a drink.”
I gaze after him as he stalks into the house, not sure what I should do or say to reassure him this isn’t his fault.
“Give him a few minutes to cool down, Abby,” Joseph advises, and we sit on the step.
“Are you okay?” I’ve never seen Joseph look so upset. He nods quietly, but his eyes have a faraway look, and his usually red lips are pressed together so hard they’re nearly white. I run my hand down his back.
He starts to shake as he lowers his head into his hands, the enormity of our position hitting him hard. His whole body quakes, and he gasps for air. “She could have killed you all.”
When I wrap my arms around him, he embraces me tightly. “She didn’t. We’re all right here, and she’s gone.”
“What are we supposed to do with her? There are no cops! No courts! She’s an attempted murderer!”
“We don’t have to have all the answers tonight. She isn’t going anywhere. We have time to think, and we’ll figure something out.”
“I shouldn’t have insisted we bring them from Evansville. Airen didn’t want to. He was against it from the very beginning.” His voice is full of regret. Why are they both so quick to blame themselves?
“He was the same way with you,” I remind him. “Airen is suspicious of everyone, and that’s not a good thing. Would you rather Sara had been left with that crazy bitch?”
“Of course not, but what are we supposed to do? There will be more people, evil people like Mandy and that man who kidnapped you. We can’t call the police. There’s no one to protect us from them.” The despair on his face is heartbreaking.
“We’ll protect each other, Joseph, just like we have been. We stick together and protect each other.” I hug him tighter.
Airen slips out the front door with a bottle of whiskey and gestures for me to give them some time alone. “He’s scared,” I whisper.
“I’ve got this.”
I give him a quick kiss and leave them to drown their worries.
The next day, after a long, heated discussion, we decide to tell Carson and Jayla the truth, minus the plan Mandy had for Jayla and Sara. We let Walker believe she has simply moved out again. Sara is devastated. She didn’t know what Mandy planned to do, but keeps apologizing, though everyone, especially Jayla and I, have repeatedly assured her she bears no blame. Jayla, however, is royally pissed off.
“I don’t understand why you locked her up. She doesn’t deserve to live,” she complains.
“We can’t just murder someone in cold blood.”
“Just quit feeding her and leave her locked up there to rot.”
I shake my head at Airen as he joins us on the sofa. “Are you sure she isn’t blood related to you?” He flashes a wide, beautiful smile and puts his arm around her. “You two are so much alike.”
“Thanks,” they reply in unison, making me laugh.
Troy
This place is a nightmare. I have no idea how long we’ve been here. “Here” is a horse stable with cots and a few bean bag chairs. It’s warm and dry, but we’re locked inside and at the mercy of maniacs who think we need to be saved.
Religion and I have never gotten along, for obvious reasons, and now we’re being held by a group of overzealous Jesus Freaks. There’s a woman here named Jennifer. She seems nice enough, but she’s as terrified as us.
“You have to follow their rules,” she mumbles to Micah.
“Fuck their rules.”
“You don’t know what they’re capable of,” she whispers, turning to me. “He’s going to get you both hurt.”
She should be a fortune teller.
A wee
k later, Abraham comes to visit. “It’s come to my attention that Micah refuses to kneel when he’s told,” he says.
It’s one of their rules. We must kneel before them whenever we’re in their presence.
“I’m not kneeling before anyone, you psychotic little shit.” Micah glares at him.
Abraham’s smile is cruel. “I believe a demonstration is in order. You don’t seem to understand how things work around here. You will obey.”
“Go fuck yourself,” Micah growls.
“Micah,” I hiss, but he ignores me.
Cole and Steve tie his hands to a beam along the wall. They take off his jeans, leaving him in only boxers, and force him to his knees. Cole places a piece of wood in front of him and pours a pile of dry rice on top, spreading it out. Cole and Steve then force him onto the board so he’s kneeling on the rice with his arms extended above him, tied tightly. They wrap a thick rope around each of his knees and stake the ropes to the floor, keeping him in place.
“If you don’t wish to kneel when it’s proper, then you can kneel here.” Abraham grins wickedly. “We’ll see if you reconsider after about twenty-four hours.” Abraham turns to Cole. “Him too,” he orders, gesturing to me.
“Troy always kneels!” Micah objects, seething.
“Then he has you to thank for this, doesn’t he? Besides, I think Troy has a far worse sin to consider.” I don’t even want to try to figure out what he meant by that. He walks out of the stable, and I’m trussed up next to Micah, kneeling on rice.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbles.
“Hey, I had nothing better to do. Want to play twenty questions?”
“Is the answer rice?”
“Got it in one.”
It’s going to be a long night. Cole and Steve take turns ensuring we don’t work our way out of the ropes. It’s amazing how painful rice can become after so short a time. I know it has to be worse on Micah since he outweighs me by a good fifty pounds. I quickly learn that moving or shifting my weight from side to side doesn’t help, but it’s hard to remain still.
After a few hours the pain in my knees has some competition with the deep ache spreading throughout my shoulders and back. I can’t feel my hands at all anymore.