“No one is looking for you. You’re smart enough to know that.”
“Agatha must have noticed I’m gone.”
He pushed his chair back. “You’re upset, and I don’t want to upset you any further. It was good seeing you. I promise I’ll come visit again when I can.”
“Don’t bother.”
He gave me a sad smile and walked toward the door. “You are strong, Jonah. Remember that.”
“And you’re a horrible person, Eliot. Remember that.”
Bo entered the room shortly after Eliot left. I sat on the bed, drained to my core, my rage still hot and unrelenting.
“Nice reunion?” Bo asked, smug as usual.
“Lovely.”
He came to stand in front of me. “Did he get you the books you wanted?”
“Yes, but I don’t want…” I couldn’t finish my words because I wanted books almost as much as I wanted the sun on my skin and the wind on my face.
“You like being spoiled, don’t you?”
I stood up. “Does it look like I’m being spoiled?”
He closed the distance between us. “Not everyone gets books after one good shoot.” He glanced around. “And not everyone gets such a big room.”
If this room was considered big, I dreaded seeing the smaller ones. “Nobody’s doing me any favors. If they were, I wouldn’t haveyou.”
“Is that so? And here I thought we were becoming a hot item.” He held my chin. “Don’t you want to be my sweetheart?” His breath smelled like an ashtray.
“You don’t care what I want.”
“Oh, come on. You can pretend I’m Eliot if it will get you wet.”
I shoved him back. “Fuck you!”
He laughed and punched me in the face.
*
I was led to the basement four days later—enough time for the thought of losing my room and books to terrify me. When Bo offered me the drug, I drank it without hesitation.
They chained my hands to the ceiling, and I could barely stand on my tiptoes. The harsh lights hurt my eyes and made myskin hot. Master Derek stood behind me, whispering vile things in my ear as the crew checked on the cameras.
Even with the drug, I couldn’t hold back my screams as he shoved things into me, each bigger than the last. Some had spikes, some vibrated, and some produced electricity that shot up my spine and made me howl. My body was being torn apart, and the people filming had the audacity to look bored. The bright light made it impossible to spot The Director sitting at the back, but I knew he was there, seeing everything.
The hardest part was knowing how much worse it could get. All around me were torture devices, the kinds that could leave scars and wounds.
When Master Derek finally stopped with the toys and fucked me, it was almost a relief. He grabbed my hair from behind, rocking my body while the shackles kept my arms high and immobile. After he came, he made me face one of the cameras. With his semen dripping down my thighs, he jerked me off until I came on the filthy floor.
I used to love cameras, but they had been turned into weapons, and I was defenseless against them.
*
Bo woke me up later that day.
“The Director wants to see you.”
