“I thought you’d like it.”
“Oh.”
“Do you know what’s going to happen next?”
“How would I know that?”
“If you’d seen it before, you’d know.”
Uh oh. Abby took another sip of lemonade, trying to remain calm. Did Randall have some reason to believe she’d seen this movie? Was she supposed to have seen this movie before? “Maybe I’ve seen it,” she said. “A long time ago. Maybe that’s why I can’t remember it.”
The next moment was a blur. Randall was in her face. The glass of lemonade was knocked out of her hand, flying all the way into the dining room where it shattered and a scattering of drops ran down the wall. Randall was on top of her, punching her in the stomach. Then, aware he could do too much damage, he flipped her over and started pummeling the back of her thighs with his fists. He pulled down her bikini bottoms and began raping her. Because of his Viagra addiction, it actually worked. The entire time her face was smashed into the thick furry rug on the floor. She couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. She was floundering around, trying to catch her breath. She began seeing sparkling stars and passed out.
When she came to, she was the floor, lying on her side. Her ass was bleeding. She was certain her ribs were broken, and her face throbbed from being shoved against the floor. She couldn’t get up. The house was dark and quiet. Randall must have gone to the Reeds’ alone. She tried to stand up, but she couldn’t move. She lay like this for hours, oozing in and out of consciousness.
Hours later she heard Randall come in, put his keys in the drawer in the table by the door, go into the kitchen, and open the refrigerator. A moment later he was standing over her, sipping a bottle of water.
“You missed a good time tonight, Sugartitties,” he said.
She tried to speak, but she could only moan a little.
“What’s that? I can’t understand you.” He laughed. She expected him to kick her, but instead he kept talking. “You were missed today. Not by the women so much, but us men like to have some eye candy around. Fortunately, Earl Carver was there with his new girlfriend. Her name’s Amber. She’s a twenty-four-year-old preschool teacher. Isn’t that sweet? Her tits look like watermelons. Her face isn’t bad either. So we made do.
”
“I need to go to the hospital,” Abby managed to whisper.
“What’s that? I couldn’t hear you. You said you want a blanket? I can get you a blanket.” He took one of the cashmere throws that was draped over a chair by the fireplace and knelt down, carefully arranging it on her. Except for one ankle, she was on the wood floor, not the faux fur rug, and in too much pain to move herself onto the rug. As he stood up he said, “I don’t know why you’d want to sleep there. It’s not very comfortable. But suit yourself, Sugartitties. Do what you want to do. You’re the boss.”
“Hospital. Please,” she whispered.
“Clark Lorbmeer was there today. I let him know you’ll be out of town all next week. I thought he’d be upset to not have you around the office on such short notice, but he really didn’t seem fazed. Tell me you’re not just taking up space there, because, frankly, that would be an embarrassment to me.”
“Please…”
“What? What’s that? I can’t understand what you’re trying to say. Now, before you so rudely interrupted me, I was saying that I told Clark you’re going to a spa retreat for a week. I told him you need a little rest and relaxing. Spiritual healing. All that bullshit. Do you think you can remember that if he asks you? Do you?”
Abby nodded a teeny bit. It felt like she was nodding, anyway. Maybe she wasn’t even moving.
“Good. Do your best. It can be hard to keep up with all your lies, but do your best to remember that one, at least.”
She tried to nod again.
“Goodnight. Sleep tight,” he said. Moments later, the house was dark. Another couple of minutes went by and she heard his loud chainsaw snores coming from their bedroom as he fell into a peaceful sleep.
Chapter 28
“I’m ready to make this happen,” Abby told Charlie. “I’m ready to disappear.”
“Well then, I guess it’s time for us to get serious about it,” he said.
“Yeah, I guess.” She pulled the brim of her baseball cap down a little, and sank down farther in the booth.
“You nervous?” he asked.
“Well, always.”
He didn’t respond. Instead he took a long, noisy sip of his shake.