Page 52 of Embracing My Nightmare
“Let me guess . . . you’re pissed that I killed that bitch. Wasn’t she the one who let anyone fuck her for five dollars? I heard about her. She was the loosest cunt in the Flats, and supposedly, your pathetic little dick couldn’t get the job done.”
He kicked me again and I fell over, wheezing at the burning in my side. I laughed at him, and he hit me with the stun gun again. The shock was weak, but I played the part and twitched on the floor, making a ruckus, hoping to cover Chuck’s entry into the room down the hall.
Cameron moved the crate in front of me. He sat down and leaned over, watching me on the floor with sick pleasure. “You know, her pussy is almost as sweet as her mom’s. Too bad I had to wreck it before you got here.” He grabbed his crotch and licked his lips. Trying to charge him, I was met with the gun against my head again.
“And I made sure to tell Penny all about your sick little obsession with her. She knows everything.” His smile was wide, and I looked past him, seeing Elise standing in the middle of the debris-filled room, her face bruised, and her eyes filled with pain. She was filthy, her shirt torn, and her hollow stare was locked on me.
“Elise,” I said and he turned toward her. He smiled and held his hand out to her. The bile rose in my throat as she smiled and linked her fingers with his.
“My name’s not Elise. It’s Penny. But you knew that, didn’t you? How could you do that to me?”
“Let me explain, lamb.”
“I’m not your lamb, you sick freak.” Her eyes glistened with tears and the last of my humanity was destroyed.
Cameron cackled as Elise stepped backward from me and I felt my heart catch fire, burning to ash inside my chest.
***
Elise
ICOULD HEAR WHISPERSoutside the window but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Cameron was banging around in the other room, so I knew whoever was outside wasn’t with him. I pulled my wrist from the zip tie and silently crawled toward the sounds seeping through the boarded window. I poked my head up and could see the outline of two men hunched down outside, speaking low and fast.
Cameron had grown silent in the other room and I glanced over my shoulder to see where he was. Unable to locate him, I turned back to the window and heard something that gave me pause.
“Be careful, Devlin. She loves you.”
Chuck’s voice filtered through the dirty glass and I covered my mouth to silence the sob pushing from my chest. Chuck was here to save me, and he’d brought Devlin. They cared enough to find me. Then, pain lanced through my heart, realizing Devlin was only here to get his pet back. He had groomed me to be a faithful puppy to him and it sickened me.
I was hunched next to the window when I heard a soft rubbing as the glass was inched up behind the boards. A cool breeze flowed through the cracks in the boards and I inhaled deeply, trying to smell anything but garbage and vomit.
“Elise?” Chuck whispered into the small room and I pushed my face up to the boards, my eyes locking with his.
“I’m here,” I replied, and I could see relief wash over him.
Tears fell down my face as Chuck pressed his fingers through the open window and I could touch the tips with mine. The contact with him gave me hope that I would survive this ordeal. I didn’t know if I would survive Devlin, but I vowed to get out of this house and put this nightmare to rest.
“Sweetheart, I can’t get the window open any more. Can you pull the boards off?”
I shook my head and whispered, “There screwed in. There’s no way out from in here.”
Terrifying yells came from the other room, and I knew it was Devlin. I turned to look out the door but couldn’t see him or Cameron from this angle. Looking back at Chuck, I asked, “What do I do?”
“Elise, you have toget out of there. Take this. Remember what I taught you.” He slid a Ka-Bar knife through the open window, and I used my fingertips to pull it through the boards.
“I c-c-can’t.” Tremors wracked my voice as I gripped the knife, my knuckles white from fear.
“Yes, you can. You’re my daughter and I know you have the strength to survive this.”
His daughter.
Then, uncertainty filled me, and I felt the scared little girl pushing to get out. “What about Devlin? He kidnapped me and killed my mom and—”
Chuck snapped his fingers one time and whispered, “Focus on me. Devlin did the wrong thing for the right reason. I promise, I know everything, and he loves you.”
Shaking my head, I spoke quickly, “No, he doesn’t.” Doubt and fear were ruling my mind as I peered out the gaps in the boards and stared at the face of my father.
“Elise, if you ever trusted me, believe me now.”
