And I had never been Axel’s wife.
I had just been an assignment.
He wasn’t coming. I was on my own.
Sergei seemedto choose the most depressing, grimy motel he could find.
I sat in the car, handcuffed to the steering wheel while he went in to pay. I looked for someone who might be walking by, someone I could call out to, but there was no one around. There was only one car in the entire parking lot, and it was parked in front of the room closest to the office.
He got back into the truck and drove to the other end of the parking lot. There had to be at least nine empty rooms between ours and the parked car. No one would be able to hear me scream.
“Wait here,” he told me.
He disappeared into the motel for a few minutes before finally reappearing. Without ceremony, he unlocked the handcuffs from the steering wheel but kept the cool metaldangling from my wrist as he led me into the room. It was dingy, with a sagging bed, brown particleboard on the walls and a small yellow fridge in the corner.
“You can use the washroom.” He pushed me toward the back.
I gingerly turned on the light. The bathroom was distressingly grimy, but I used the facilities, avoiding my reflection in the mirror. I didn’t want to think about what was coming next.
“Open the door,” he told me.
I did, bracing myself for the worst.
“Sit down on the floor.”
I slid to the floor, and he grabbed my wrist and clicked the handcuff to the radiator.
“You should be able to reach the sink for water, and the toilet,” he said. “Good enough.”
I stared blankly at him, too afraid to hope that he might leave me alone.
He kept the light on, but he shut the door. I listened carefully, but I couldn’t hear anything from the other side.
I took that moment to finally let hot tears slide down my cheeks. I wiped them away with my sleeve as fast as they came, but I couldn’t stop them.
I sat there for an unknown amount of time. At first I heard some dragging and some other noises, but now I couldn’t hear anything from the room except the low drone of the television. I wasn’t even sure if Sergei had somehow slipped out without me knowing. I sat there long enough that my arm, the one attached to the radiator, started to go numb. I also couldn’t feel my butt.
Had Sergei left? Or just fallen asleep? I listened intently, but the only thing I heard was the distant sound of cars on the highway, the television and the drumming of rain on the roof.
“Pizza delivery,” I heard someone shout through the outer door.
“Coming,” Sergei said, surprising me with his voice on the other side of the door.
I heard the sound of bedsprings, and then feet hit the floor.
Sergei had been so quiet I was surprised he was still in the room.
I listened carefully. He had told me that he needed to eat, and he’d obviously ordered pizza.
Maybe he’d share some of his food with me. I was so hungry. I wiped my nose and face as best as I could with my sleeve and listened to his footsteps crossing the room.
I heard the rattle of the door chain and then the creak of the door opening.
Bang!
That was followed by a loud crash and then intense fighting. I recognized the sound of fists hitting skin. Grunts of pain. Items, both large and small, being smashed.
I sat there in horror, wondering what the hell he was doing to the pizza delivery guy.
