I rolled over on the black couch, seeking a cool portion of its leather, but my head throbbed when the light hit my eyes through the French doors. The ice pack I had was now melted on the floor; a heavy sigh left my mouth at the thought of getting a new one.
I knew I would regret going to sleep, as resting tends to make physical symptoms more apparent. At the time, it seemed like a good idea, since my concentration was okay and my balance was mostly unaffected. I needed to stop feeling sorry for myself regardless of how shitty I felt now. It wasn't anything I couldn't handle.
I felt my ass vibrate and reached up to fish through the back pocket of my jeans. After pulling out Melody's phone, I could tell how trusting she was when it unlocked without a hitch. I suppose she didn't anticipate there would be someone like me in her life, but I didn't plan on leaking her nudes or posting something that would get her scholarships stripped away. My curiosity just got the best of me and to my surprise, it was a Snapchat message from her friend, Jacky.
I shifted my attention to her text messages and discovered why her parents weren't worried about her.
With Alice under the impression that Melody was staying with a trusted friend and Jacky thinking she was getting dick, I slid the phone back into my pocket to give my eyes a rest.
I was smiling to myself, thinking of Jacky's messages, when I heard someone pound on the front door. I groaned as I lifted my head to look in the direction of the sound, contemplating if I could even stand. Depending on who it was, finding out wouldn't be worth the effort. Hell, for all I knew it was Daniel, but I couldn't give in to perturbation—that boat had already sailed.
Eventually, the person started pounding with such intensity that I thought it would alarm the neighbors. I forced myself up, feeling as though a twenty pound dumbbell was attached to my head, and went to open the door. On the other side of the screen I found my best friend, Ben Garrison, with panicked eyes.
"Hey," I whined after realizing it was him.
"Hey yourself. We need to talk," he huffed through dry, parted lips.
I rolled my eyes as all I desired was some peace and quiet, but I knew he was here for an important reason and not just a social call. It didn't seem necessary to stand in the doorway and reprimand him for coming to my house unannounced. Instead I unlocked the screen to let him in and he followed me into the kitchen so we could both sit down for a lengthy discussion.
"So what's goin' on B?" I asked with little interest. I propped my elbows up on the table and massaged my temples with cool fingertips.
He leaned towards the table and bombarded me with an inquiry. "So we found your guy and I would really like to know why you just left him in the open like that?"—his eyes widened when he threw his hands in the air—"And I don't understand why you haven't been returning my calls or answering my texts for the past three days! I feel like a crazy girlfriend; I even called your work and found out you were taking the week off. What the fuck is going on?"
I smiled kindly at him even though his yelling made me want to stuff his head in the oven. "I'd say I hid the body pretty well, but that isn't the point." I briefly paused before disclosing, "Daniel's out."
His brow furrowed in surprise but relaxed once he accepted the shitty news. "What are you going to do?"—Ben put a hand up again—"And please don't tell me you're gonna do something stupid."
I defiantly crossed my arms, knowing I didn't want things to unfold this way, but I had to commit. "It's a little late for that. Melody is in The Room."
He swiftly stood to his feet, causing the chair legs to scrape against the floor. "You mean his daughter? What the fuck, dude?"
God, that's a little dramatic don't you think? Please STOP yelling.
"Sit down, B." I clenched my jaw.
He ran his hands through his ashy blond hair while he considered what to do next. Honestly, he was always one to overreact. And yes, I knew it wasn't ideal, but still, what else could I have done? Killed her?
"How could you be so stupid! Don't you realize her dad is going to come after you?"
I stood to his height with the help of the table. "I have thought about this week for the past five fucking years. I know what I'm doing. I am not afraid of that inbred cuck."
Ben and I stared at each other as an attempt to assert dominance. We were both waiting for the other to break the silence, but it was unlikely I'd say anything else after the way he reacted. He needed to be more like me—content—but that was wishful thinking.
His vehement blue eyes trembled. "When he did that shit to you I made sure there were no consequences waiting for you once you recovered. How could you be so selfish as to keep me in the dark? If you get caught dropping bodies they are going to start asking the tough questions."
Understandably, he made this about him as Ben was the one to find me hanging—bleeding to death in The Room just down the hall. But still, this was something I needed to do on my own. I didn't care about the consequences.
"So she's in The Room," he said, breaking eye contact and making a beeline for the hall.
"Hey! What are you doing?" I yelled after him.
I worked my way around the kitchen table and staggered into the hallway. I put my hand against the wall to steady myself and saw Ben standing in front of the door.
"I just want to see her," he said.
I slowly crept towards him. "Do you want a mask?"
He tilted his head to the side. "Do you plan to keep her alive?"
I shrugged. I still couldn't make up my mind. What decision could I live with?
My indecisiveness caused him to sigh and I could see the vexation on his face. "Fine. Give me one of those suffocation devices you always prance around in."
I veered off into my room to find one laying on my dresser. It was the one I had used the night I snuck into Melody's bedroom. Ben and I have always had similar taste in clothes. If Melody did get a good look at me in her closet, she could easily mistake me for him.
After he put it on, I waited for him to pull up his hood then unbolted the door. I looked back to ensure he was ready and he gave a nod. Twisting the handle, I pushed the door open and strolled inside to find Melody writhing in the chair.
A couple years ago, I removed all the carpet and ceramic tile. The glue that was left on the concrete irritated me for a while, but I was eventually able to remove it with enough free time.
I decided it best to do a little construction, thus I placed some staggered studs, damping glue and several layers of drywall. Then I used black sound panels to help soundproof the room, which helped it look more appealing to the ladies I occasionally brought in. Although I will admit, depending on the screamer and amount of spray, my design can be a bit shit.
Don't even get me started on the ceiling...
They were never loud enough to cause any police to show up at my house. I ascertained my neighbors always thought I was watching horror movies or having sex. I personally didn't care what they thought as long as it never caused me any trouble.
"Duct tape? Really dude?" Ben judged my choice of bondage.
"What? Sorry if I was feeling a little lazy after getting a concussion." I pointed two fingers at my head, like a gun. He chuckled, knowing I normally took my time when it came to binding people to certain surfaces.
"It's okay, I know you're just a bitch. No need to try and convince her otherwise. I'm sure she'd agree." He motioned to Melody, chuckling.
"Hardy har har." I clasped my eyes shut and gave him a stupid grin. "Doubt she'd admit it. Thank you."
I leaned forward and ripped the duct tape from Melody's mouth. She groaned in pain and moved her jaw around to shake off the sticky feeling residing on her smooth lips.
"Who's he?" she inquired with that sort of loathing that'd make your heart drop. I mocked Melody's behavior from earlier by snapping my fingers in front of her face and attracted that distasteful gaze. Before I could get a word out she spit up at my face. "Fuck you! You are a bitch," she yelled, causing her voice to reverberate off the walls.
I dropped the piece of duct tape and covered my ears with both hands. When I removed them, I could hear Ben laughing and I turned to him.
"Peace and quiet. That's all I ask. I'll duct tape you both so I don't gotta hear it."
I took a deep breath, knowing I couldn't live in denial anymore. I thought I would be able to keep her out of this, but the more time that passed, I realized using her as bait was the only way. Deep down, I knew that she would have to sit in this room one day. Just the thought of getting what I needed—this control—was enough to make my heart skip a beat.
She opened her mouth to say something but I interrupted, "Nuh-uh, before you say anything sassy. You did this to me and I'd be down for round two. You know... for compensation. Hate fucking is always enjoyable, but something tells me you wouldn't really consent."
"Really?" Her nose scrunched. "What is wrong with you?"
You couldn't ask that question enough.
Ben took a step forward. "Honey, I've known him for years and—"
His words faded until they were no longer audible and my vision became blurry. I started to lose my balance, but caught myself by leaning against the foam wall. I shot a quick glance at Ben, who seemed to have a worried expression on his face.
I brushed off his concern and in a stern voice, I told Melody, "Your dad deserves to die for what he did."
"From what I know about you so far, I'd say he made the right call." She continued to push all the right buttons, making my face turn red.
I took a deep breath. "After that one-night stand with your mom, she would call me to come to her house frequently when you and your father were away. I finally found out she was married and had a kid, but it didn't phase me because by that point in our relationship I didn't care about her flaws. I've known people to do much worse than commit adultery."
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Ben quickly turn his head to look at me. I didn't talk about this with him much. He must have realized there was more to my anger than the torture I endured; it was also about the humiliation and personal disregard.
"She convinced me that Daniel knew and I believed her."
Melody's face contorted in disgust. "What? You believed her because you wanted to get your dick wet?"
Her response was well deserved. I responded with validation. "Yes, I suppose I did, but I became deeply infatuated with your mother and once she realized that, then she was done with me. She went out again to seek another kid about my age and brought him home. Needless to say, my adolescent ego was a bit bruised so I found the kid and beat the shit out of him. That didn't stop them, so I took it a step further. After—"
"You killed him?" Melody interrupted, her voice trembling. I was sure I could have left that detail out, but I wanted her to hear the whole truth and not something I sugarcoated when I was tied to a chair.
I nodded my head and tears swelled in her eyes. "I-I should have left. Every thing would be okay if I just left." Her chest heaved as she struggled to catch her breath. "Please... please get me out of here," she begged, looking at Ben.
"Look, you need to calm down. You need to breathe." Ben was quick to her side, trying to comfort her.
Her body convulsed, causing the chair to creak underneath her. "I don't want him to kill me," she screamed. Her wrists pulled again the tape, wrinkling the edges. "Please."
Can't care, don't care. She had to have known it was always a possibility.
"Get away from her, bro," I commanded with irritation.
Ben glared back at me then got off his knees. I could smell the mint on his breath as he got in my face, fuming. "When you're done being a dick, I'll be in the living room."
He rushed out of the room and slammed the door behind him. Cringing, I sat on the floor in front of Melody. Her crying had subsided to sniveling and she stared off into the corner.
That night Alice found out about what I did to Javier, she decided it best to tell her husband that I had raped her. I don't think he believed her, but if he knew what I did he might have felt unsafe himself. Everything after that was a game of chess, seeing who would checkmate the other. In a sense, it was a draw. He tortured me in an attempt to incite fear and my injuries gave the jury the incentive to send him to prison.
Again, prison wasn't an adequate punishment. I wanted him to feel what I felt: helpless. God, that is the worst feeling man has ever felt. Helplessness had a way of crippling you, knowing you couldn't do anything to stop someone from having their way.
It was utterly humiliating to have my best friend find me strung up, completely stripped of my dignity. I never wanted any of it to happen. I was a good kid, a really good kid, but I was brainwashed into believing someone loved me and when you love someone back, you'll do everything you can to stay with them. It's never healthy, but I ended up learning my lesson when it left me both physically and psychologically scarred.
Sadly, I'm starting to believe nothing is going to extricate me from this incessant torment.