| Chapter
Four
She
was woken by the sound of someone in the shed. It was pitch-black
but cold so she knew the door might be open.
"Wren?"
A
match flared and the lamp was lit, the wick adjusted. Brad stood
over her, a smile on his face. "Come in and have some dinner."
She
uncurled from her warm spot in the blanket. He waited as she got
to her hands and knees, bare skin reacting to the cold air.
"Inside."
Brad left her, the lamp still burning.
She
took a moment to pee in the yard and crawled to the back door. She
peed because of the cold, not because she'd drunk much today. Her
stomach was used to short periods of hunger; she'd gone for a day
or more without eating in the past year. That didn't mean her stomach
ever gave up complaining.
She
let herself into the house, went into the kitchen were Brad was
making burgers. He turned and smiled at her. "You must be hungry."
She
knelt at the door, noticed for the first time his new shoes, brown
leather shiny where not dusty with light colored powder.
"They
weren't too rough on you today, were they?"
She
shook her head.
"You
look like you're in one piece. No marks or signs of abuse."
He turned back to the stove and flipped the two patties in the frying
pan. "Did you like it?" He wasn't looking at her when
he asked the question.
She'd
learned the dark one was called Doer, she guessed that was his last
name. Doer, Luther and Scott were okay. Pretty unoriginal and without
much imagination. Did she like it? She wouldn't have traveled to
Texas just for that. She could get that anywhere, anytime. It was
a pity none of them had much staying power.
"Did
you?" Still not looking at her.
She
shrugged her shoulders. Okay, I guess, was what it meant.
He
turned toward her and frowned.
She
shrugged again.
"You
can talk, you know." He waited.
"It
was okay, I guess."
"You
have a nice voice, you should talk more. And smile more."
She
cocked her head at him. He put the two cooked burgers on a plate
in the oven and started on another two. He faced her while those
cooked. "You don't need to stay there on the floor. Take a
seat."
A
new pair of shoes made Brad a different man. She stood by a chair;
he shook his head. "Better wash up first, don't you think?"
The
bathroom was dark like the rest of the house. She clicked on the
light, a fixture over the mirror. Water ran in the toilet. The mirror
didn't show her anything new. She filled the sink and used a washcloth
and soap to clean herself. Her knees and hands were dirtiest, plus
the leavings from earlier. She washed her face and used her fingers
to get the worst tangles out of her hair. An earring was missing
-- unlike most women her ears were pierced; it had been gone for
some time now. Before New Orleans at least.
Her
history wasn't dependent on dates -- it was structured by locations
-- Savannah, New Orleans, Texas coast and north, were the most recent
ones. Plus all the small towns with no name.
"Dinner's
ready," Brad shouted.
She
dried her hands a second time and left the bathroom, turning out
the light. He pointed to a seat at the small table in the kitchen
with a place set for her -- another chair and placemat were across
from her.
"Upsey
daisy," Brad said, fingers dancing under the hot plate between
oven and table. He said the same bringing his own plate.
"Just
okay, I guess?" Brad watched her from his sat. "You need
to tell me. And this morning?" He grinned.
"Better,"
she said, reaching for her burger.
"Two
things before you start. One," his voice changed. "The
hamburgers aren't garnished yet. Two, who the fuck said you can
use your hands?"
She
let her hands fall into her lap. "Sorry."
"Dog
shit, when will you ever learn? Not a peep. Remember? Don't move
an inch." He left her.
His
new shoes must pinch. She waited, enjoying the warmth, only a little
afraid.
"This,"
he said behind her, "is sorely needed. Lean forward."
She
felt him brush her hair from her back, forward, so it fell around
her face. He strapped a leather collar, it smelled new, around her
neck. A leash, cold chain, was fastened to the collar, and the leash
end was tied to the chair. He gave the leash a jerk and she sat
upright, staring straight ahead.
"Hands
on the table."
She
placed them on either side of the plate, palms down.
"Look
at me."
She
turned sideways and up. He held a black bladed kitchen knife.
"Good.
You'll be punished, dog shit. Don't you dare move." He lurched
forward with the knife. The knife came down and chopped her burgers
in quick, short strokes. Then he gathered her hair, stroked it,
and hacked it off, tossing the clump onto her plate.
She
was frozen stiff, thinking, I can take whatever you do to me. I
can take it.
He
cut her hair haphazardly, tossing handfuls onto her plate, over
her hands or onto her lap.
"And
this," he said, standing opposite her, across from the table.
He slashed her workshirt, stabbing and dragging the blade, cutting
only on some of the blows, the knife was too dull to cut cloth,
or hair for that matter, without sawing and force.
He
tossed her workshirt aside. "Your name is dog shit. You don't
talk. You'll never wear clothes again. You're a sorry fuck at best
and fucked you'll be until it pleases me to get rid of you. You
fuck up again I'll carve your face. Understand?" He smiled,
laid the knife on the table. "Understand?"
She
nodded.
"Good.
I'm glad you're enjoying your brief stay here, Miss dog shit. We
aim to please and please and please. And when we're done with you
you'll fucking well know how to behave, suck and fuck. Like a proper
young piece of dog shit. Understand?"
She
nodded. She realized she was shaking, about to cry.
"Good.
Final garnish and then you'll fucking eat every bite."
He
stood by her, took her hands and held them behind the chair back,
forcing her forward. He wrapped the leash around her wrists, lifted
her head and spat on the plate covered with hair.
She
waited, counting; it was twenty-six when he shoved her face in the
mess.
"Eat,
goddamn it."
She
tried to find bits of burger and bun with her tongue, choking on
the hairs. She didn't raise her eyes, concentrated on looking good,
even though she wasn't eating, to Brad.
Brad
didn't talk while he ate. She heard him get up, get something from
the refrigerator, pop a cap and she was sure she smelled beer.
She
didn't need a shirt to leave. She'd like to have her clothes and
rucksack but if she needed to flee stark naked she could. Hoping
this was all a game Brad was playing, she'd stay the night and see.
Brad
left her, face down on her plate, and went into the living room
where he watched TV. She heard him laughing in the other room.
Once
a hair got in her mouth she couldn't get it out. Her mouth was full
of hair.
"Hey,
dog shit," he said.
She
raised her face and listened.
"Come
here."
She
got up as best she could, knocking the chair over backwards. She
knelt unsteadily and walked on her knees, arms behind her, still
leashed.
"Good
girl, you piece of shit. Over here."
He
undid the leash, pushed her forward onto her hands, so she faced
the TV. She heard him undo his pants, say, "A little ketchup,"
and he forced himself into her ass.
She
gasped, fell forward onto her elbows as he fucked her, felt the
tug of her leash and raised up onto her hands. The hairs in her
mouth made her gag; she tried spitting them out.
"Doer
said he'd give me a hundred, cash for you." His prick jerked
in and out of her. "Think you're worth it?" His fingers
dug into her hips as he finished. Her ass shot him out when he was
soft.
"You
sorry piece of shit. Clean me off."
It
took a moment and a tug of the leash to realize what he wanted.
She turned around and saw his prick, slimy and limp with red in
his pubic hair. She could smell the ketchup.
"Do
it."
She
licked him clean as best she could while he watched TV and laughed.
He shoved her away.
"Go
lie over there and play with yourself."
She
looked up to his face, saw his eyes, pale, watching her. She lay
on her stomach, fingers under her and masturbated while he watched.
The
room was almost too hot to be in.
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