Held & Pushed (2 book bundle) (11 page)

From his
front pocket, he pulled the key to the handcuffs that bound me to the water
pipe. He leaned across me and unlocked the one secured around the pipe. He
helped me to my feet and led me up the stairs, one hand on my wrist, the other
around my waist.

I couldn’t
help but be excited. I was still trapped here in this house with a madman, but
at least I was out of the basement. I’d successfully made him think I’d learned
whatever lesson he thought he was teaching me. When I got home, I’d have to a
clear a shelf for my Academy Award. Until then, I’d have to continue to make
him think I’d learned something in the basement.

In
reality, I had learned many things down there. I’d learned that he was far more
dangerous than I’d previously thought. I’d learned that a few whacks of an axe
would completely dismember a body. I also learned that when repeatedly shocked
with an electric cattle prod, human flesh smells like burning bacon. I learned licking
seeping rain water from a concrete wall chafed the tongue. I learned that
necrophilia existed, though I’d previously failed to believe
anyone
would ever stoop to such grotesque levels. Most importantly, I’d learned that Ron
was a sick, twisted psychopath who flew from one extreme to another, and who
enjoyed inflicting torture on other people. He saw joy where others found pain.

Yes, I had
learned many things down there.

Chapter
16

Once we
were in the hallway upstairs, Ron turned to me and said, “You smell most foul.”

Trying to
keep up the attitude he liked, I said, “Don’t hold back, Ron. Tell me how you
really feel.”

He led me
to the bathroom, opened the door, and turned on the light. As he removed the
cuff from my wrist, he said, “You take a shower and I’ll bring your things.
Once you’ve cleaned up, I’ll make us that dinner I promised you.” He smiled.

I went in
the bathroom and happily, though weakly, showered. When I was finished, I
pulled back the shower curtain and saw my things stacked neatly on the counter.
Feeling better than I had in quite some time, I rushed to them.

The first
thing I did was put on my clothes. I’d been naked for too long. Then, I brushed
my teeth longer than I ever had in my life. While I scrubbed away the gross
taste and germs, I wondered how effective a toothbrush would be as a weapon.
Then, I combed my hair.

When I
opened the door, Ron was standing there waiting for me. He filled the doorway,
as if he thought I might’ve had the strength to attempt to flee. I’d barely had
the strength to clean myself. Fleeing was out of the question.
At least for now.

After he
snapped the cuff back on my right wrist, he led me to the kitchen where he once
again snapped the other cuff to the underside of the table. He then set about
making our dinner.

While he
worked, I rested my head on my arm on the table. I must’ve dozed off because
the next thing I know, he was shaking me gently and holding a plate of hot
food.

My eyes
snapped open at the delicious aroma. I sat up quickly, allowing Ron to set the
plate where my head had been.

Ron had
kept his word and made me something nice for dinner.
Steak,
mashed potatoes with gravy, and green beans.
For
dessert, chocolate mousse.
I shoveled food into my mouth with the spoon
until I was certain I would burst open, spilling the contents onto the floor.

After he’d
cleared the table and started the dishes in the dishwasher, he asked, “Would
you care to partake of a game of cards?”

“I would,
but I’m exhausted. Would you mind if I just went to bed?” It was true. I was so
tired I could hardly keep my eyes open.

He smiled
and nodded. “Sure. There’s always tomorrow, isn’t there?”

As he led
me to bed, undressed me, and restrained my arms, I kept hearing his words
echoing through my mind.

There’s
always tomorrow, there’s always tomorrow...

Was that
my life now? Stuck here in this house with him while he killed women in the
basement? Thinking of ways to keep him liking me, and yet keep him from having
me.
Always trying to think faster than him, trying to guess
his next move.
Trying to do or say whatever would set him off the least.
Jumping in my skin every time he moved, wondering if this was the time he’d turn
his anger on me.

I couldn’t
do it. I couldn’t live like that forever. I had to get out of this house and
away from him. I didn’t know how or when, but I knew that I had to. But any
attempts I was to make would have to wait until I’d regained my strength.

I was
pretty certain that while I was naked and strapped to the bed, I felt his hands
not only fondling my breasts, but sliding up and down my thighs. I fell asleep
quickly, but I never felt him touching my crotch while I was awake. As crazy as
he was, there was no telling what he did after I drifted off.

The next
morning, I woke to find Ron standing beside the bed. His arms were folded
across his chest. Though he was looking at me, he didn’t seem to see me. He was
too lost in thought. In fact, he didn’t even notice that I was awake for a few
minutes, which was more than enough time for me to notice the blood under his
fingernails.

At first,
I thought I was imagining it. After all, he was meticulous about cleaning.
Surely, he wouldn’t walk around with fresh blood caked under his nails. But
after blinking to clear my vision, I clearly identified it as blood.
Fresh blood.
Some of it still seemed wet.

I wouldn’t
have brought myself to his attention at all. I would’ve continued lying there
while he remained lost in thought. But I really had to pee.

“Ron.”

Nothing.

“Ron.”

When he
spoke, it was quiet.
Too quiet for me to clearly hear.
But after concentrating hard on what I had managed to hear, I deduced that he’d
said, “I’ll just kill her.”

I wasn’t
sure what to make of that. Was he referring to me or Melinda? Or maybe he was
remembering Stephanie. I had no idea what to think.

On the
verge of pissing the bed, I said, “Ron,” with more force than before.

This did
the trick. His eyes cleared and he focused on me.

“Good
morning.”

“I really
have to pee,” I said squirming a little.

“I’m sure
you do,” he said without moving.

Several
seconds passed and he still hadn’t moved. He just kept standing there smiling
at me.

“Ron, I
really have to go.”

“I know.”

“Do you
think you could undo these cuffs and let me use the bathroom?”

“Sure.” He
kept smiling, and he kept not moving.

“Ron,
you’re really starting to piss me off here. I have got to go.”

“I know
you do, Nicole.” His smile, which had been up to this point a regular smile, was
now the smile I would expect a psychopath to have. There was nothing in those
crazy eyes of his. His smile had an evil undertone.

Angry, I
said, “Do you want me to piss the bed?”

“Do you
think that’s wise?”

“Do you
think it’s wise to leave me laying here, knowing I have to pee?”

“Do what
you feel you must. I believe you don’t need to go as badly as you think you do.
It’s all a matter of the mind, Nicole.”

“No. It’s
a matter of the bladder. The damn thing’s full and screaming for me to let it
out. But I can’t do that if the asshole with the key won’t unlock the
handcuffs.”

“Really,
Nicole, that language isn’t becoming of a woman of mine.”

“A woman of yours?”
I asked in a snotty tone. I faintly remembered that I was supposed to be on his
side, buying myself time to find a way out. It was hard to do at the moment,
though.

“Yes.
You’re a woman of mine. And you really shouldn’t say things that a woman of
Melinda’s sort would say.”

“Well if
I’m a woman of yours, you really shouldn’t leave me here in pain, begging you
to use the toilet,” I said as I squeezed my legs together as best I could.

“Maybe
you’re right. But maybe you need to learn control. You need to learn to control
your body, Nicole. It’s mind over matter.”

“Now it’s
piss over foam, you dickhead. I just pissed the bed because of you.” I couldn’t
help but cry. I was ashamed of myself. I hated him. How could he do that to me?
How could I let him?

Quickly,
he jerked the blanket off my naked body and watched as the sheet grew darker in
a growing pool around me. He watched until I was finished. All I could do was
cry. I couldn’t hide my face. The best I could do was
turn
my head to the right as far as I could.

As my
thighs and butt grew warmer, I hated him more and more. I hadn’t wet the bed
since I was three, yet here I was at twenty-eight, wetting the hell out of a
bed because of him. If I ever managed to pull my hand free of the cuff, I’d
kill him, even if I had to do it with my bare hands.

“Do you
need to release your bowels, as well?” he asked.

“No. There’s
enough shit going on in this room,” I snapped.

He
chuckled. One of these days, I’d knock the chuckle right out of him.

He finally
released me from the bed and led me to the bathroom for my usual morning
routine. I took longer today than usual. I stayed in the shower until the hot
water ran cold. I brushed my teeth until my gums bled. I combed my hair until
my scalp burned. Fuck him. He made me piss the bed. The least I could do to him
was
make
him stand in the hall and wait for me.

Chapter
17

Two days
after I’d pissed the bed, Ron sat across the table from me. We’d finished a
delicious breakfast of fried eggs and bacon and were halfway through a game of
Gin Rummy. I was winning.

“I have a
surprise for you, Nicole.” I could tell by the way his face lit up he was
excited.

“Really?”
I asked
as unenthusiastically as possible.

“Yes,” he
said getting up from the table. “I’ll be right back.” He briskly walked out of
the kitchen.

As I
listened to his footsteps fade down the hallway, I tried to pull my hand free
of the handcuff. I struggled with it until I heard his footsteps return.

He held
something behind his back and sat in his chair. Smiling, he revealed that he
was holding a stack of papers.

“What is
it?”

“What is
it?” he asked as if I’d just asked the world’s silliest question. “You know
what it is.”

“You’re
right,” I said. “Of course I know what it is. I just have a horrible habit of
asking questions I already know the answer to. It’s kind of a hobby of mine.”

He shook
his head and smiled. “I sure love having you here.”

“I’m so
lucky.”

“It’s the
book.”

This
piqued my interest.
“The book?
The book I’m supposed
to be helping you with?”

“Yes, and
you are helping me, Nicole. I’ve learned so much from you. You really have made
this character come to life for me. She’s more than just a name on a page to me
now. When I think of her, I think of you. I suppose that’s how it will always
be,” he said fondly.

I said
nothing.

“Would you
like to read it?”

I
considered reading it. I wasn’t sure if I should or not. It would probably be a
good insight into the mind of a maniac, but did I want to see that?
Wasn’t it bad enough knowing
what I knew about him already?
Did I really want a behind-the-scenes look at the workings of a monster?

“Yes,” I
said.

“Well you
can’t,” he snapped.

“Why not?”

“I don’t
want you to read it until it’s finished. I’d like it to be a surprise to you.”

“Why the
hell would you ask me to read it if you weren’t going to let me?” I asked
angrily.

“I just
wanted to know that you wanted to read it. And now I know,” he said smiling. He
put the stack of papers on the floor by his feet, out of my sight and reach,
but not out of my mind.

I couldn’t
help myself. “I hope you get a paper cut from those papers and it gets
infected.”

He laughed.
“I’m sure you do, Nicole.”

A while
later, I asked, “Do you have a television?”

“No.
They’re nonsensical and impractical. They waste a lot of valuable time.”

“They
don’t waste time. People waste time watching the stupid crap they put on TV.
But there’s a lot of good stuff on there too.
Lots of
educational programs.
For example, and this should interest you, there
are several shows devoted to serial killers.”

“Is that
so?” he asked, obviously amused with me. I’d thought I was treading on some
thin ice making such a statement in such a crass way, but it seemed to only
entertain him.