This chapter is dedicated to a very special reader who goes by the username Jung_Gieun :-)
Enjoy!
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Chapter 9
"Y- you do like me, don't you?" The young man sitting across from Kate was looking more and more hurt by the second. He knew where this conversation was going.
Kate shifted uncomfortably in her seat. This was the worst date at Starbuck's they'd had yet. She didn't want to hurt him, but she knew she couldn't continue seeing him either. "Of course I like you, Matt. You're a great guy-"
"Oh no," Matt groaned miserably. "Don't, just don't. You're about to say the whole 'it's not you, it's me' thing, aren't you? Please, just save the speech. I get it... I guess." He sighed. "It's just, I thought things were going so well. This is totally out of the blue."
"I've been thinking about everything. Senior year was amazing. It was so much fun. Being able to say that you were my boyfriend made me feel special and I loved spending time with you. But high school's over, Matt. You're going off to college, I'm not. Do you really think a long distance relationship would work?"
"I think we could make it work. Sure it would take some effort. But then, everything takes effort, right?" Not receiving an answer, he leaned forward across the table in order to talk to Kate so that others wouldn't hear. "I guess if we're breaking up, I shouldn't feel bad pointing out something you really need to work on. Everything takes work, Kate. I don't think you've ever understood that. You run from everything when there's the slightest problem. You can't keep doing that. You have to put effort into things. And I'm not just applying that to this. I'm applying it to everything in your life. School, your family, your friends."
Matt found he couldn't take sitting any longer. He stood and looked down at her. "So yeah, maybe these can be our 'parting words'. Everything in life takes work. Someday you might be glad I told you that. Good-bye, Kate." And then he walked out of the coffee shop leaving a stunned Kate looking after him.
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A rather long, low moan emerged from Kate's lips as the dream ended. Her eyes felt strangely heavy but she forced them open anyway and blinked some. She was slowly waking up from what literally felt like a coma. And she wasn't quite sure why it felt like that...
Everything was still except for a sort of swimming feeling in her head. It caused her to moan again. What happened to make me feel this sick? As time continued to pass, realization and reality began to sink in.
Kate was becoming very aware of her physical state. One, she was lying on an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room. Two, she was naked. Three, her head was starting to pound in pain. And four, other areas of her body were beginning to hurt.
Brief blurry images suddenly played back through Kate's mind. They were memories. Memories of being kidnapped, of the basement, of the den, and of the wine...
Just the remembrance of that foul-tasting liquid was enough to make her want to puke.
She reached for some bed sheets that were in a disheveled pile on the bed next to her and pulled them over her body with a shiver. Why can't I remember any of this? She was lying naked on what she assumed was Todd's bed. We were in his den drinking, and the last thing I remember was him pouring more wine in my glass.
It didn't take much to guess what had occurred. The burning pain coming from certain areas of her body confirmed it all. He took advantage of me. I was drunk and.. he raped me.
Kate slowly gripped the bed sheets tighter as that shocking thought replayed in her mind over and over again.
She felt tears come to her eyes and bile rise in her throat. She never thought her first time would be like this... She never thought she would experience rape. Kate took a moment to look under the sheet covering her body. Examining herself, she gasped when she saw a blood stain on the bed.
Kate quickly recovered herself. This is real. And the more she thought about it, the more guilty she felt. I let myself get drunk, Kate recalled shamefully. How could I be so stupid? His intentions were obvious from the beginning. He kidnapped me for God's sake! Did I honestly think he wouldn't stoop this low? I'm a fool.. And I allowed this to happen.
"Oh God," she whispered between spurts of breath feeling filthier by the moment. Her pulse was racing with growing dread, nausea, and panic.
Knowing what was about to happen, her eyes moved around the room to what appeared to be a bathroom doorway. Kate sat up and stood from the bed being sure to keep the bed sheet securely around her.
Just standing caused her head to ache and nausea to get worse, so she quickly made her way to the bathroom. She just barely had enough time to close and lock the door before vomiting in the toilet.
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Todd was drinking coffee downstairs in the kitchen, his eyes pleasantly distant.
His thoughts were on nothing but the triumph of the previous evening. Everything had gone exactly as planned, from the wine to what had happened upstairs. But it was the latter of the two that he really couldn't stop thinking about. It had been nothing less than perfect.
Making love to his Katie was even better than he had thought it would be. She didn't protest at all. She just let him love her the way she deserved to be loved.
Every movement, every touch, every kiss... It was all he could think about. Not only had he given her what she deserved, but she'd done the same for him. She was a doll. His doll.
The sudden slam of a door upstairs graced Todd's ears like a symphony. "She's awake," he whispered. Placing his coffee cup on the table, he stood from his seat and excitedly left the kitchen.
He wasn't surprised to hear her next violent sounds as he walked upstairs. His poor Katie was hungover and sick. He would have to take special care of her today.
Reaching his bedroom, Todd walked over to the bathroom door and knocked politely. "Katie? Honey?"
Kate nearly choked at the sound of her rapist knocking on the door and calling her name as if nothing had happened. Just the thought of what other things he had in store for her caused more vomit to come up.
Todd decided not to open the door and instead waited patiently outside.
After several minutes, Kate finally pushed herself up off the floor so that she was standing. She knew he was waiting on the other side of the door for her and was actually a little surprised he hadn't yelled at her for locking it yet. She supposed a locked door wasn't a problem for him, though. He would get in one way or another.
"Katie, baby, may I come in now?"
Her heart stopped. What do I do? She didn't want to unlock the door and let him in. She didn't want him to hurt her again.. But, at the same time, if she didn't open the door he would find a way to. And he wouldn't be happy about it, she knew. "Um, just a second," she squeeked weakly.
He didn't say anything, nor did he try the door.
Kate looked in the mirror above the bathroom sink and her eyes widened at the number of hickies covering her body. She cringed before immediately getting the bed sheet off the floor to cover herself.
Looking in the mirror again, her eyes noticed a window on the wall behind her. Kate turned to stare at it. However, there was no reason to rejoice. It was a small frosted window up near the ceiling. There was no way she could fit through it.
"What are you doing in there, baby?" It was then that Todd tried the door knob. Locked? Instead of overreacting, he closed his eyes briefly. Perhaps she didn't want me to walk in on her while she was sick out of courtesy? "Will you please open the door, Katie?" He forced his tone to be kind and patient.
There was no response.
"You're not in any trouble, honey. Trust me.."
Shit, Kate thought while continuing to look in the mirror. Her body felt frozen. After everything he'd done to her so far, he honestly thought she could trust him? "I just-.." I just what? "I'm in a lot of pain."
Her meek voice caused him to smile, despite the fact that he could tell she was stalling. "Of course you are, honey. You're hungover, it's understandable."
The fact that he thought that was the only reason she was in pain caused her worry to intensify. If he didn't think she was physically hurt in her lower regions, he wouldn't hesitate to rape her again. What was she thinking, though? Her pain probably wouldn't phase him or prevent him from fulfilling his sick urges..
There has to be a way out of this, her mind screamed. Kate's eyes moved back and forth from the tempting window to the door several times. And then, "Can we just talk?" She wasn't expecting those words to come out of her mouth. Really, the last thing she wanted to do was talk to the psychopath who had kidnapped and raped her.
But maybe, just maybe, conversing with him and getting to the bottom of this ordeal would be to her advantage. At the very least, it could give her time to make a plan.
Todd's eyes lit up with joy. "Yes, yes, let's talk! Just open the door and we can go downstairs. We can talk about anything you'd like!"
There was a very long pause before Kate replied, "Ok." She unlocked the door and opened it being sure to keep covered up. There Todd stood with a broad smile on his disgusting face. Kate produced a small smile of her own.
He loved that she was finally happy. Last night had been good for both of them. He leaned forward to give her a kiss on the lips. "See, you're not in trouble. Now come, let's go downstairs. We can talk in the den. I know you don't feel well, but don't you worry. I'm going to take good care of you today." He beamed down at her before turning to lead her to the den.
Kate took a deep breath and grasped the bedsheet tightly around her. There were two reasons she'd smiled a moment ago. It wasn't just to please him. It was also because, between the time that he suggested that they go downstairs to talk and her response of 'ok', Kate had discovered something useful.
She'd opened a drawer of the bathroom sink and, much to her amazement, had found a hair comb. Each tooth of the comb was sharp, and so was the comb's handle. It didn't take much for her to decide what to do with it. She'd picked it up and rolled it underneath the bedsheet right where her hand was holding the two ends together so that she stayed covered.
The comb was easily hidden there, and Kate was sure Todd wouldn't become suspicious. After all, one of her hands had to hold the sheets together. He would never suspect a weapon to be concealed underneath.
Yes, it was a bit unnerving to think that she would eventually have to use the comb against him, but, well, she was willing to do anything to get out of this mess, even if it meant killing him...
When the time's right.
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-Lauren