Page 54 of Beautifully Used
“Yeah.”
“Um… are you coming home soon?”
I laughed. Not because I thought the question was funny, but because I couldn’t believe that was all she had to say to me.
“Brodie?”
“What?”
“Please come home.”
“Is your mother gone?”
“Yes.”
I hung up the phone without saying goodbye. It was childish of me, but I didn’t trust myself to talk on the phone for fear of what I might say without seeing her face when I said it.
I said goodnight to Derrick, and he waved. “Good luck with paradise.”
The house was dark. Even the front porch light was off. It seemed strange to me, but I figured she’d decided to go to bed, and maybe she was upset about the unannounced visit from her mom.
As I went to turn the knob, I realized someone had left the door slightly ajar. Maybe Gabrielle really had been upset about her mother’s visit and forgot to shut it all the way when she’d left. I pushed the door open the rest of the way and walked in. I flipped the switch on the wall since the room was pitch black, and what I saw when the light came on almost had me on my knees. I was wracked with regret and guilt that I hadn’t come home when she’d called the first time, or fuck, even that I had left in the first place. Gabrielle sat in one of the kitchen chairs, tape over her mouth and her hands tied behind her back. The horror emanating from behind her eyes told me someone was behind me, but it was too late as something struck the back of my head. Right before everything went black, I remembered noticing that Jeff had left the bar about thirty minutes before me, but at the time, I was too busy to think about it.
Chapter 44
Gabrielle
* * *
I sat whimpering in the chair. I had never dreamed Jeff would come here. I hadn’t locked the front door after my mom had left, thinking Brodie would be back any minute. I was trying to be thoughtful and make up for the cowardice of not being able to stand up to my mother and introduce him as my boyfriend. I so needed a do-over on that one. I only prayed I’d have a chance. I wasn’t sure what Jeff’s intentions were. He’d snuck in while I was in the kitchen making some tea and grabbed me from behind. I didn’t have a chance to fight back as his heavy body quickly overpowered me. A pain in the back of my head throbbed. He must have knocked me out because I couldn’t remember how he’d gotten me to the chair and tied me up. He’d made me call Brodie and tell him to come home. I was afraid to say anything to give him away since he had one of our kitchen knives pressed against my throat as I spoke. I wanted to tell Brodie I was sorry, but I didn’t want Jeff to know we’d been fighting. I knew he’d use that for whatever purpose he saw fit. He placed the tape over my mouth after I had made the call and turned out all the lights.
I screamed into the heavy tape covering my mouth when Jeff struck Brodie from behind.
“Now isn’t that convenient?” Jeff laughed as he stepped over Brodie’s body. “I get both of you at the same time. You, because you owe me, bitch, and your lover boy here, well, just because he’s had the pleasure of your body before me.” He pulled a pair of handcuffs from his pocket and yanked Brodie’s hands together to slap them on his wrists. “Got these a while back when I thought you and I would be hooking up after the wedding. We would have had some kinky fun if you hadn’t gone all frigid on me. Let’s not forget to thank my ex-girlfriend, Kate, for vouching for me that night in the woods. Of course, considering she's known me for quite some time and knew what would happen if she didn’t, she really didn’t have much choice.” He pulled some twine from his pocket and attached it to the handcuffs Brodie wore, bringing a line down to his feet and tying them together so that Brodie lay in a fetal position.
“I bet you’re wondering how I got your cell phone number, huh? Well, now, you’re a very careless young lady, leaving your phone lying around for anyone to pick up at that pathetic excuse of a bar while you go up on stage and sing your little heart out for all the guys to drool over. The way you move and sway your perfect little ass around up there, well, it’s just sinful. That’s what it is.”
Brodie groaned and opened his eyes, struggling when he realized he was tied up.
“Don’t waste your energy, Skippy. You’re not going anywhere.”
Brodie’s eyes found mine. “Are you okay?”
I nodded.
“What the fuck do you want?”
“Now, now, you’re not in any position to start asking questions, but since you asked so nicely, I’ll tell you. She owes me, and I want to fuck her. Simple as that. And since you’re here, you get to watch. How’s that?”
“You’re a sick bastard.”
He laughed. “Let’s see, where should we do it? Perhaps we should go to the bedroom.” His eyebrows rose up when he said “bedroom” like it held some secret sex allure. “We could do it in the bed. That way every time you fuck her, Brodie, she’ll be thinking of me.”
He looked around the room like he was looking for something specific. Then he sat on the sofa, wiggling the knife at Brodie. “Only one problem with that, Skippy. I don’t feel like dragging your sorry ass into the bedroom and tiring myself out. How would it look if I got you in there, then her, and I was too exhausted to perform? How would that make me look? Not very good. So, out here in the living room? Have you two done it here yet? No?” Jeff reached over and stroked his finger down my cheek.
“Don’t touch her!” Brodie said through clenched teeth.
“Well now, aren’t you just mister-save-the-day-all-tied-up-there, like a calf gone to market?” He chuckled.
