Highest Bidder

Twelve

I follow Mr. Loafers—Jeremy—down the long hall, going in the opposite direction then what Jenna had brought me up in. We come to a sudden stop outside a door, just short of the stairs, and he abruptly turns towards me, causing me to take an automatic step back.

“Size 6?” he asks roughly, gesturing with his hands towards the direction of my bare feet. I assume that he wants to know my shoe size and nod my head to confirm, but keep my mouth shut. I don't want to risk any kind of punishment for speaking out loud.

He doesn't say a word; instead, he flings open the door that we are stopped in front of. He sticks his head partially in very briefly before popping it back out and then reaches in this time, grabbing something. He shuts the door promptly, and tosses the objects in his hands onto the floor at my feet. I look down to find the objects are actually a pair of pink fuzzy slippers, the pink a slightly lighter shade than the baby doll, as Jenna had called my outfit and the robe, that I have on. I slip them onto my feet, and Jeremy is once again moving, heading down the stairs. We reach the bottom, and he turns towards me once more.

“Turn around,” he demands, making a twirling motion with his finger. I comply immediately, too afraid to ask any questions, and turn so I am faced away from him, clasping my hands together in front of me. I bow my head and wait for my next set of instructions.  

“Hands,” he snaps, after a few moments of silence. I unclasp my hands and place them behind me. The sting of the cold metal bites into my skin as he places handcuffs on my wrist, causing me to cringe slightly. A piece of material is slipped over my eyes, making me blind to the world around me. I feel a set of hands being placed on my shoulders, causing me to tense.

“Let’s move,” he commands. My stomach twists in fear as I shuffle my feet along, not wanting to fall and get punished for being clumsy. My heart beats erratically against my chest, nervously ticking with each shuffle I make. The loud sound of my heart in my ears makes me deaf to anything else.

A whiff of strong smelling perfume tickles my senses, causing me to sneeze. I hear a small ‘bless you’ being said, before I hear the sound of what I assume is a front door being opened. The hands on my shoulders that have been guiding me, tighten slightly as we seem to step outside.

“Stairs,” he states blandly.

I reach my foot out, my stomach in a jumbled up knot as I guide my foot along until I reach a solid mass below me, and I am stepping down.  I repeat the process with the next and the next until I finally reach the bottom without kissing the cement for the second time in one day.

I take a few shuffling steps forward before the  pressure increases on my left shoulder, and I start walking in that direction. When the pressure decreases on the left shoulder, I continue  shuffling, now in a straight line. I'm tugged to a sudden stop, and it causes me to take a few stumbling steps back. I land roughly against a hard body mass, but without missing a beat, I straighten up and step away from the body I just crashed into.  

“Sorry,” I quickly mumble out. Hopefully a quick apology will keep him from being too mad, and I can get out of here without any sort of punishment. I hear a car door being opened before Jeremy's gruff voice reaches my ears.

“You're getting into a car. Turn and walk backwards until you bump into it,“ he states. “And no funny business,” he adds immediately, almost as if it is an afterthought.

What kind of funny business would I try? I am dressed in only underwear and a robe that doesn't cover much more. I might as well be naked in my opinion—not that anyone has asked—not to mention handcuffed and blindfolded. I can’t exactly run off, and if I did, really? How far could I get? I bump into cold medal against my calves and stop moving.