Had I ever known?
Was that something people knew? How they sounded when they laughed?
It had to have been Tuesday the 6th, I was sure of it.
The door opened and my heart skipped a beat. It was Phil and this time he brought some food with him.
A slice of bologna and a carrot.
I pulled on the chains as he shut the door behind him, his eyes taking me in while mine remained on that food. “They’re feeding me,” I said, my voice hoarse, raspy.
“Good,” Malachi said through the earpiece.
“It’s a show of good faith,” Phil explained, walking up to me. “In hopes that you’ll give them something.”
I tried to push forward as he stopped in front of me, my mouth open, saliva pooling from the tip of my tongue. I didn’t care how I looked; I was starving. I had never been this hungry in my entire life. I needed food.
Phill rolled up the slice and held it out, gently placing it on mytongue.
Fuck, it was the best food I had ever tasted. Better than anything my chefs cooked for me when I was growing up. I chewed quickly and swallowed it whole, opening my mouth for another taste.
Phil watched me carefully before glancing at the door and back. “You need to slow down, Olivia, savor it. I don’t know when they’ll feed you again. Especially if you don’t give them anything in return.”
“Please,” I pleaded, trying to lean closer. “Please, I’ll be good.” I opened my mouth again. I would be so good. I would do whatever he wanted me to do if it meant I could have just one more bite of it. One more.
Phil released a breath and let me take another bite. “They’re going to come in and clean you,” he explained quietly. “With a water hose.”
“Good,” I groaned around that piece of fake meat, swallowing it whole and opening my mouth again.
He gave me another bite. “Olivia, a high-pressured water hose. It’s going to reopen some wounds. It’s going to hurt.”
I swallowed it again, this time it was painful. “A hose is a hose. More.”
He frowned, holding it back. “You have to listen to me.”
“Why?” I asked, staring at that last bite of bologna. “You probably get off on it. You’re probably excited to see me all wet and whiney. All shivering and cold, my nipples hard, my skin tight. I bet you love it. I bet you jerk off to it when nobody is around.” He had to. They all had to. Why else put me through all this other than to see what I looked like underneath? Steven did, mom hated and loathed the way I looked, she had been using it to her advantage my entire life.
They probably liked it too. They probably fantasized about me, about fucking me while I was chained to this wall. Itmade me feel horrible and disgusting, but I couldn’t stop their imaginations. I couldn’t stop their thoughts. All I could do was hang here and hope that I was wrong about it all, even though rationally, I knew I was right.
His eyes dried, his frown growing. “I have a wife and child. A boy. I don’t fantasize about you, Olivia, I feel sorry for you. I wish you didn’t have to be here.”
I straightened as much as I could given how I was hanging. “Sorry?” I released a breath that maybe could have passed for a laugh. “Don’t feel sorry for me,Phil.” I jerked against the chains, using my body to thrash against them. “Fuckyou,” I snapped. “I’m fucking stronger than you,better. You couldn’t fucking last an hour in here, let alone a full day.”
He lowered the food a few inches, his eyes filled with shadows. He licked his lips, gears moving in his eyes, until finally, he sighed. “It’s been a week, Olivia.”
My heart stuttered and he stepped back, taking my food with him. “No,” I said, thrashing against the chains violently. “No!” I screamed. “You’re lying to me, Phil!” I snarled, jerking and shaking. “You’re a fucking liar!” I yelled as he turned away, heading for the door. “Aliar!” I screamed until the door shut behind him. “You goddamn fucking piece of shit liar!” I roared.
I was panting, staring at that door, my anger quickly disappearing when I realized it wasn’t opening back up.
I gasped, holding my breath, waiting for him to come back, but thirty seconds passed, a minute, two minutes, and he never came back. He had taken my carrot, and he had left. “Wait,” I called pathetically. “Wait, no, wait, I take it back.I take it back!I’m sorry!” I cried, tears streaming down my face. “I’m so-sorry, please. I’m so hungry. I’m so…” I couldn’t breathe. My eyes lifted, seeing the dried blood cracking around my wrists, my fingers purple and I felt the scream rip through me. Over and over again.
I couldn’t breathe.
I couldn’t think.
The room was smaller, I know it was. It had gotten smaller. They had put me in a different room without telling me. Without saying a word. “What,” I gasped, frantically looking around the room. “What the fuck, where am I? What thefuck?Let me out of here!” I screamed, ripping my throat to shreds. “Please!”
“Olivia.”
