Chapter 42 Stalling
STALLING
Present day
Shaw had a way of easing you into the worst kind of situation.
He would completely disarm you with his easy chatter and relaxed demeanor.
He went from a casual football score to the last dude that he tortured had stolen a few thousand.
After separating the skull and mounting it on the plate for presentation to April, he had drawn a cartoonish dick on the forehead and thrown stale chips at it.
As he chatted with the disembodied head for an hour in front of his coconspirator.
The dude was batshit crazy, but I already knew that.
The stairwell was dimly lit, and the temperature dropped as we got closer to the door.
The last time I was down here was shortly after I paralyzed Uncle.
The small glimpse I had was enough to tell myself I never wanted to be back here.
Anxiety curled in my stomach as Shaw started speaking again.
“So you know your going to be staying until its done right? I don’t need to remind you of that, but it is best you get used to it.
Personally I would just drug you and get it over with, but it’s something about alcohol and drugs aren’t the best in cases like this.
Maybe if we diluted the dose, but again Mrs. Blackett doesn’t want to risk anything.
Too bad we can’t starve you either, that really gets the brain on board.
If you ask me she is a bit old fashioned with having it done naturally, with all the technology they have now.
It would be just as easy to set something like that up.
But ya know. Ah I know torture. That is a great way to train your senses.
So I’ll give you an option. Torture now or later?
” He asked so casually while I was scrambling to get caught up with the rest of his word vomit.
It was like you gave an ADHD kid a fidget spinner and they still managed to sidetrack themselves.
Nauseating and tiresome. The dude never shut the fuck up.
“What?” I blinked back against the harsh fluorescent lights as he smashed buttons on the panel next to the door.
“Torture, yes no?” Irritation crept into his voice having to repeat himself.
“You just sent the doctor away, are you sure you want him back here so soon, even I could admit Melody had chemistry with him,” I chuckled a little nervously.
Hell with his face, I was surprised she stayed with me as long as she did.
The nervous smile disappeared from my face when I realized it was never real.
Dread seeped into me with the question unanswered.
Shaw couldn’t kill me. At least not until I had knocked her up.
Even the thought of betraying Summer like that had me clutching my stomach.
I did not want to be used as a breeding mutt and then discarded after the job had finished.
Shaw just stared at me like I had slapped him.
The door hadn’t released the latch, and I found myself at the sharp point of his knife again.
“If you ever mention that again I will gut you where you stand,” His voice was eerily calm, and the seriousness with which he held the knife left no room for debate. I swallowed the words I had just been about to say, and blood beaded on the tip of his blade. “Do I make myself clear?”
“Crystal,” I whispered barely audible. He tapped my cheek with the flat side of the knife, that vicious smile on his lips.
“Great now that’s settled, here are your quarters for the next eh nine months or so,” He pushed the door open, and I heaved a sigh.
“What are you going to do to me?” There was a steel chair bolted to the floor and a small steel table bolted opposite it.
The fluorescent light swung on chains from above, and there was a constant sound of something dripping.
I looked towards the sound only to see a musty corner and water leaking down on the floor, almost purposeful .
Fear sank into my skin as I moved further into the room.
I didn’t want to be here. When I turned towards Shaw, he was closing the door, and it locked behind him.
“I don’t plan to touch you, at least not yet, be a good dog and do as your told and this will be a smooth ride.”
“And if I don’t want to?”
“I am counting on that.” A twisted grin crossed his face as he set down the blade he had threatened me with earlier.
I glanced at it, judging whether I could reach it in time as he stalked towards me.
Think clearly; you’re already down an arm—that’s it.
Realization hit me about the item the doctor slipped into my cast. It was as if all my attention focused on it while I struggled to keep my emotions in check.
My steps measured as I backed away from Shaw.
I needed to convince him I wasn’t a threat, but how?
He just continued forward, laughing slightly.
It was one of those slow, manic laughs that dripped with the irony of the situation.
“Tell me, did she ever love me or was it all just a ruse? Did she do it only to keep an eye on me? Did April set this all up from the beginning?”
He paused in his steps, clearly giving it some thought, and I paced back and forth.
Hatred settled as I expelled the restless energy.
My skin dripped with sweat despite the coolness of the cement prison.
Something wasn’t right. I should be freezing, shivering, but I was clammy.
I swiped at the back of my neck, noticing the beads of sweat that formed.
Dreading the answer to that question, I backtracked.
“Wait. No, don’t answer that, just tell me this.
If I do as I am told will you kill me after?
” My mind was a chaotic mess of choices, and my body seemed to protest at every minor shift of a muscle.
If I hadn’t come to April, I wouldn’t be in this situation.
God, I fucking left the only woman I have ever given two shits about in a fucking psych ward.
I really did fuck up. And Cole, he offered me a way out, but I was so goddamn angry.
“I would kill you, yes … ” Shaw pronounced it so calm so gleeful I could hear the venomous hate spewing from the words. “But, I wouldn’t have to kill you, because once you impregnate her, you’ll be so sickened with yourself and you are such a coward. You will save me the trouble of killing you.”
“You seem so sure,” I nervously chuckled. “Why would I kill myself?” My face felt hot; a flush of heat spread from my stomach to the edge of my throat. Current conversation aside, I felt like I was going to be sick. Oh God, I can’t do it.
“You think you could live with yourself being a father when you look at her with disgust? You think your little blonde bitch would want you after you have a child with another woman? How you would never be complete afterwards, you’ll be lost to your mind.
It’s perfect really. So yeah I am sure you will save me the trouble,” Shaw’s laughter echoed across the walls, and I shivered.
Would I kill myself if it came to that?
“You’re lying,” I spat the words, but nausea rolled up my stomach, and I choked on acid as I threw up.
“I think you and I both know the truth on that one,” He grabbed my shoulder, setting me in the chair. I was never going to be good enough. Not for Melody. I was never going to be good enough for anyone.
Puke had never felt more comforting than in that moment.
I hadn’t even been down here for a full hour, and yet my stomach evacuated everything it could — the lunch, the coffee.
Everything. Please, God, grant me a stomach virus from that hospital so I may delay my suffering.
I repeated the prayer for the hundredth time.
Shaw had come with a galvanized bucket after the first few minutes.
I had never seen so much disgust on his face as he held back a gag, his shirt pinched to his nose, and dropped the bucket a few feet away.
I would have smiled if I could have managed it, but all that came out was more vomit.
My throat constricted in a violent spasm, cutting off my airway.
Oh thank God. The acid projected from my mouth, spewing into the bucket.
With nostrils burning, I finally managed a smile right up at the camera in the corner.
I sagged against the bucket zapped, lead weights settled in my head and I passed out.