"We'll keep the door closed, but you're banging or knocking anything won't help, since poor Echo couldn't hear you anyway. My advice to you is to be as cooperative as you can be, otherwise you'll make it even more difficult for yourself, understand?" she added, her eyes cold and her lips tight. She turned to Skeeter. "Gag her first," she decided. "I don't want to hear any more of her lip. I'll bring her some water when we return. I'm getting dressed and getting over to the hospital to break the news to dea
r old Mom." she told him, and left.
He searched one of the dresser drawers and found a pair of socks. I shook my head and tried pushing myself away from him, but he gabbled my ankles, straddled me, and then put the sock to my lips. I kept my mouth locked shut.
"Rhona's not going to like your resisting like this," he said. "She's very imaginative and clever. She can come up with worse and more painful things for you," he warned.
He grabbed my jaw between his fingers and thumb and squeezed. It was so painful. I couldn't keep up the defiance. As soon as my mouth opened a little, he shoved the sock into it and then, using a belt, he wrapped my face so I couldn't spit it out. It was hard to breathe and I began to panic.
"Relax and it won't be so bad," he said. "If you struggle, you only make it worse for yourself. I know, Something similar was once done to me by this girl I met in New Orleans. but I enjoyed it."
He began to undo my jeans. I tried to make it difficult by twisting and turning, but he sat on my ankles and then began to lower my jeans and panties together. Once he was below my knees, he rose and pulled off my shoes, and then the jeans and panties. He tossed them across the room and stood there, smiling down at me.
"I kind of like your tummy." he said. "It turns me on."
He located another belt and wrapped it around my ankles. Then he lifted me under the arms and pulled me to the closet. He took clothing out to make room for me. I tried desperately to keep him from getting me into the closet, but it was a useless effort with my hands and feet bound.
"I'll be back." he said, smiling, and closed the door.
I tried to push out the sock with my tongue. I managed to get a little more breathing space. but I couldn't get it out far enough for me to make any loud sound. The belt was too tight around my face. Who would hear it anyway? I thought, and fell over on my side. The tears from my left eye ran over the bridge of my nose to join the tears from my right. I squirmed and struggled against the wire around my wrists. It loosened a bit, but not enough to get my hands free and it hurt terribly to pull and push against it. I had skinned off my wrists a bit and it was raw beneath the wires. Helpless. I stared at the little light coming from under the closet door.
Suddenly, it was thrust open and Rhona, now dressed, stood there with the chamber pot in her hand.
"Here you go. sweetie. Try not to fill it up too quickly. I'll bring your regrets to my mother. She'll be so very disappointed.'
I cried out against the gag. She shook her head and closed the closet door. I felt horrible for myself, but all I could think was poor Mrs. Westington. She was liable to believe them and then she would become so despondent. She was too proud and independent a woman to permit herself to be bamboozled like this. It would break her heart, but there was probably not much she could do under the circumstances. She wouldn't even understand why Trevor wasn't coming around. I hadn't had a chance to tell her about his mother dying. She would feel totally deserted.
And Echo? What would she think when they told her I was gone? How lost she was going to be in just a little while and there was nothing I could do about it, do about any of it. The ironic thing was that when someone has done such terrible things to you and made you so defenseless and incapable of doing anything to help yourself, you end up hating yourself more than you do them,
Why hadn't I anticipated this or something like it? Why did I put up with them after last night? Why didn't I just take Echo and run out of here when I had the chance? I let myself get trapped like this. I am stupid and my worse enemy, and because of me, other people will suffer, people who don't deserve it. I was drowning in self-disgust.
With all my strength. I shouted and pulled against the binding on my hands and feet. My muffled scream died inside me and I collapsed with the effort. I closed my eyes and fell back, looking up at the ceiling of the closet and listening as hard as I could. By now Echo was surely running about looking for me. Would they be leaving her here? Would she see Skeeter drive my car away?
I thought I heard her calling me and then. I did hear the door of the guest bedroom open. Despite knowing she couldn't hear a sound. I cried as loud as I could. The sock muffled my screams and made them reverberate in my head. I then leaned back and struck the wall of the closet with my feet. I waited, hoping that somehow she would sense my being in here. but I heard nothing. The house became very quiet. I imagined Echo had gone out to look for Trevor. She would see he was gone as well and she would know that for now she was totally alone and had no idea why or for how long.
Frustration tied my stomach into knots and then my mind ran away with itself. I envisioned the hospital room and Rhona putting on her act, explaining why I had left. She would exaggerate every detail and certainly tread on the verge of being disgusting when she told her what Tyler had told his mother about me. If she aggravated and upset Mrs. Westington as much as I imagined she would, surely her blood pressure would go up and maybe she would even cause her to have a heart attack and die. Hopefully, the doctor and the nurses would prevent Rhona from doing that, but then how would they know what she was intending to do? All they would think was that as her daughter. Rhona had a right to speak to her mother.
I closed my eyes and, only as a way to avoid frustration and pain, willed myself to sleep. I did drift off, dreaming I was with Uncle Palaver again and we were traveling on some wide highway. The classical music he loved was playing and he was talking to me and telling me one story after another about his experiences on the road. I saw myself laughing and so happy that I was with him.
Then I thought about my mother and father and Brenda and put myself back in time to when we were all together and I was on the sidelines with my mother watching Brenda and Daddy play basketball in our driveway. Brenda was only about fourteen in the memory I had. She was trying so hard. Daddy would look to us every once in a while, impressed with her. She was so quick and wily, he had trouble keeping up.
"Ho," he cried, holding his side. "You're killing your old man." Mother was laughing. Daddy put his arm around Brenda's shoulders and shook her lovingly. I longed to have him do that with me and for a while, when no one paid any attention. I went out by myself to the driveway and practiced. but I was never any good. I was too awkward and clumsy and after a while, grew too discouraged to continue. I'd have to find another way to get my father to embrace me with such affection and admiration. Would I? Would I ever?
Not being able to see my watch or look outside. I had no idea how much time had passed when I woke from my sleep and dreams. I listened hard. I thought I heard Echo sobbing in her room, but then I realized, it was my own sobbing I was hearing. I had to piddle in the pot. It was awkward getting myself over it without tipping it. but I managed and then I rolled over and stared at the dark rear wall of the closet.
Finally. I heard heavy footsteps and then the closet door was opened. I turned and looked up at Rhona, who was carrying a jug of water. She smiled at me and knelt down, placing the jug on the floor to undo the belt from my face. As soon as my mouth was free. I took in large gasps of air.
"Well now, you'll be happy to know Mother is going to be very cooperative. Despite what you expected, she bought into the whole story, especially when I got into your love affair with your sister's girlfriend. She's also going to have her pacemaker put in, but not for a few days. The doctor won't do it right now. He said her blood pressure shot up again. I wonder why."
She poured a glass of water for me and brought it to my lips. I didn't want to take anything from her. I wanted to spit it into her face, but my throat felt like it was blistering from dryness. I swallowed quickly because she had no patience and was pouring it so fast. In fact. I gagged and she had to stop.
"I've been thinking," she said. "This is really a big favor I'm doing you. I'm really not going to feed you anything. You'll lose a few pounds. I'll have to keep you here a while longer. It will take until tomorrow for Mother to get what she has to get signed and then I'll return and turn you loose. If you're a good girl, that is."
"What about Echo?" I asked.
"What about her? After I'm gone and Mother comes home, if she comes home, she can put her in that school or any school that handles disabled people. Everyone will be happy, except Mother maybe.
"I see Trevor has not returned. Where is he? I don't want him coming around here looking for you or things can get even nastier."