Jimmy (9 page)

     “If you don’t I’ll hang you for twenty minutes.”

     Her hands still had numb spots from the last time and she knew she didn’t want to do that again.  But she also didn’t want to put that disgusting stuff in her mouth.  No.  She couldn’t do it.  Just the thought was going to make her sick.

     “One, two, three - ” he began, his own hand wiping the residue from himself onto his bare leg.

     Samantha took a deep breath and brought the hand to her face.  Hesitation gripped her.  Her eyes looked up at Jimmy.  He was staring down at her, his face hard, his eyes mean. 

     She stuck out her tongue and touched it to one of the globs on her finger.  The taste was unlike anything she had ever had inside her mouth before, and it disgusted her.  It seemed salty and - she didn’t know what flavor it was.

     “Do it,” Jimmy ordered, his impatience growing.

     Samantha ran her tongue against her finger and scooped up a gooey strand.  This time the taste was ten times worse than the small sample she had taken and caused her to gag.  The urge to vomit almost got the better of her, yet somehow she forced it back down.  She then took another lick from her hand, this one nearly falling off her tongue as the weight of the glob shifted, and quickly swallowed it.  No gag followed and she took another quick lick and then another and another until her hand was cleaned off.

     Once finished the sickness hit again.  Like before, she managed to fight it off.  She wondered if it was a fight worth winning.  Did she really want that stuff swimming inside of her?

     “I’m going to reward you tonight,” Jimmy said while handing her panties back.  Satisfaction and excitement filled his words.  “You’re not going to stand all night.”

     “Really?” she asked while pulling the panties on.  Relief at having that area covered nearly overwhelmed her. 

     “Yes,” he said.  “Stand up and put your hands behind your back.”

     She obeyed.

     Jimmy began wrapping the rope around them and then pulled the knot tight.  “Walk over to the pipe.”

     She did.

     “Sit with your back to it.”

     She sat and he tied the rope around the pipe.  This gave her about a foot or two of movement in her arms and also made it so she could move to the side and lean against the wall.  Her mind was so warped by this that she actually said, “Thank you,” and hoped the night would never end.  She just wanted to sit there forever.  It felt so good.

*  *  *

     “Do you know a girl in your class named Samantha King?” Rebecca asked Tina that night at dinner, one which had started out pretty quiet thanks to the bitterness from the night before.   

     “Maybe,” Tina said.  The name sounded familiar but she couldn’t put it to a face.    

     “Well I was talking to Martha today and she said a girl named Samantha King was kidnapped while walking home from school yesterday.”  Her mother spoke slowly, the way people did when something terrible had happened and they wanted to show concern, yet didn’t really feel it.

     Now Tina knew exactly who her mother was talking about.  Her disappearance had been an impromptu topic in a few of her classes today.  Some had even gone so far as to speculate on her being kidnapped, but most thought it unlikely?

     “Everyone I talked to says she ran away,” Tina said. 

     Rebecca shook her head.  “Martha says the girl was an honor student and was planning on going to college in the fall.  Girls like that don’t just run away.”

     “Maybe you’re right?  After all, you’re the expert when it comes to running away.”

     Her mother slammed her palm on the table after that causing the dishes to jump, and said, “You know, I’ve just about had enough of your attitude and guilt-trip attacks.  You think you know everything that happened between your father and me, but you don’t.”

     “Maybe if you had picked up the phone once in a while, you could have filled me in,” Tina said.

     “Maybe if you had picked up the phone yourself, I would have known you were interested,” Rebecca said back. 

     “Yeah, blame the kid,” Tina said.  “That always looks really good.  While you’re at it, why don’t you just go ahead and tell me that you left because of me too.  Tell me everything was fine until I showed up.”

     “You were the reason I left, but not in the way you think,” Rebecca said.

     “So it was my fault,” Tina said, unwanted tears starting to fall.  “Good, I’m glad we cleared that up, though now I guess I have to accept the fact that my father was a liar because he always said it had nothing to do with me.”  With that Tina left the table and headed for the backyard.

     “Tina, stop,” Rebecca called from the table.

     Tina ignored her and stepped out into the backyard.

     A few seconds later, her mother was at the back door and called out to her.  “Tina, I’m sorry, that didn’t come out right.”

     Tina tried to ignore her but could only walk so far before she hit the fence of the neighbor’s yard. 

     “Tina, at least come back and finish your dinner!”

     Tina didn’t respond, her mind wishing she had grabbed her purse on the way out so she could drive into town.  Now she didn’t want to walk back into the house to get them, not with her mother trying to be all sentimental.  No.  Instead she would rather have her mother stop pretending like she cared and leave her alone, almost as if the two were roommates that hated each other rather than mother and daughter.

    
Now how are you going to get the dress?

     Earlier that afternoon before Rebecca had come home from work Tina had gone into town and looked at some of the prom dresses that were on sale, several of which she liked.  Her favorite had been a beautiful burgundy gown that had fit her nicely when she tried it on, her body “displayed like a delicate flower” according to the salesman.  Unfortunately the price had been too high for her savings account which had dwindled considerably since her move to Ashland Creek that winter, the local businesses barely able to provide part-time work for adults, let alone teenagers.  Had Tina been a year older this wouldn’t have been a problem because once she turned eighteen she could access the money left to her by her father, which had been an eye bulging sum - apparently her father had made some really smart investments during the stock market bottom in early 2009.  Now though it seemed her only option was to ask Rebecca for some money, which she had been planning on doing at dinner.

    
Guess again,
her mind taunted.  And then,
Just face it, you’re not getting that dress.

     Her fingers gripped the fence rail while thinking this, her knuckles turning white.    

*  *  *

     Jimmy had never planned on letting Samantha sit on the ground all night, but after seeing the embarrassment on her face about the bathroom bucket, and then actually feeling bad for forcing her to eat his semen even though it was a huge turn-on, a soft spot had gotten the better of him and he couldn’t help himself. 

     Ideally he would have used handcuffs or some form of locking shackles to attach her to the pipe, but he didn’t have either.  Thankfully he was confident that his rope work was solid.  He also was pretty sure that her exhaustion from standing up for an entire day coupled with the mental exhaustion of being in a state of constant fear would make it so she pretty much fell asleep right away.  The blanket he had wrapped around her added strength to his theory, though he was sure it would fall off once she started moving around.

     Either way, he knew she would be grateful for being allowed to sit all night long, which made him feel good as he started up the stairs to the trap door, which he slowly eased open.

     Voices echoed.

     Startled, Jimmy lowered the trapdoor back down, his mind having been prepared for someone to be around at some point, but not expecting it.

     “Dude, if he came through here half an hour ago, then he’s probably long gone by now,” a recognizable voice said.

     “Yeah man,” someone else said.  “Besides, where the hell would he be going?  He probably just pulled in here to take a piss or something.”

     “No.”  This voice belonged to Brett.  “I pulled up and waited so I could clip him with my door or something, but he never came back out, so wherever he was going, he went through this way.”

     “But there is nothing through there but forest and soy fields, man,” the first voice said, one which Jimmy now knew belonged to Matt. 

     “And the school,” the other voice said, this one belonging to Ron.  “You can get there through there.”

     Matt and Ron were Brett’s little sidekicks and had pretty much been by his side since the fourth grade when all three shared a class, one that Jimmy had unfortunately shared with them as well.  As single identities the two couldn’t inspire fear in anyone, especially Matt who was about five three when walking with good posture.  Alongside Brett, though, who would have been a formidable obstacle on the football field if he had the grades to play, the two had been able to instill fear in plenty of classmates and under classmates in earlier years.  Now most didn’t give a shit and just saw them as idiots, ones who the system was going to leave behind eventually, but the three didn’t realize this and still felt like they were in control over everyone.  They thought the lack of confrontation by other classmates was out of respect or fear, but really it was due to indifference.  No one cared anymore.

     “I don’t give a fuck where he’s going,” Brett said.  “I just want to be here when he gets back.  The little shit has been disrespecting me and needs to be taught a lesson.”

     “Man, I don’t want to sit around here waiting for him,” Ron moaned.  “What if he’s already gone?”

     “If you want to be a pussy go on home, I don’t give a flying fuck.”

     “Do we still have beer inside?” Matt asked.

     “We should unless some cocksucker stole it all,” Brett said.

     “So there,” Matt continued.  “We can chill here for a while with a beer and see if he comes back.”

    
No, no, no!
Jimmy silently screamed.  He didn’t want to wait around for them to get bored and leave, especially with his bike tucked away in the bushes because they would find it if they decided to look for it.  Even worse, he didn’t want any sort of confrontation near the fallout shelter even though it was well hidden because if he could find it by accident one day when not even looking, they could do the same, especially if they were interested in why he was hanging out here. 

     Jimmy lifted the trapdoor a little more so he could see out into the yard of the Hood place.  Brett and Ron were sitting on the back porch lighting cigarettes - or what appeared to be cigarettes.  A second later Matt came out through the broken window with some beers, the plywood covering the window, which they had probably pried open a bit at one point, slamming back in place.   

     “Seven?” Brett snapped when looking down into the bucket.  “How much did we drink last time?”

     “Don’t know,” Matt said, “but this is all that’s left.”

     “Fuck me.  I’m gonna have to get my brother to buy us more.”

     “Man, can’t you find someone else to buy us beer,” Ron whined.  “He charges too much.”

     “Maybe you can find someone to buy it, shithead.”

     Ron didn’t reply.

     Jimmy considered his options.  The three were about thirty feet away, which meant he could get on his bike and ride away from them without a problem, so long as he didn’t get tripped up somewhere.  The only trouble was he didn’t want them seeing him anywhere near the fallout shelter. 

    
What a mess.

     He lowered the lid and looked back down at the main door at the bottom of the stairs and thought about heading back inside with Samantha, but really didn’t feel like it at the moment.  He also had to pee really bad thanks to the handjob, something which always happened after he ejaculated and didn’t feel like using the bucket.

    
Thank God they weren’t back there when I went to clean out the bucket,
Jimmy said to himself.  He had taken the bucket all the way around to the hose on the other side of the house and sprayed it clean.  While doing that he would have been completely vulnerable and while the metal pale would make a great weapon, especially if he hit one of them in the face, he would still have to contend with the questions on why he was hanging out at the Hood place, both from them and from the police who would undoubtedly investigate the fight, especially if he used the bucket as a weapon.  Without it, however, he wouldn’t stand a chance.  One on one he could take any of them down without too much trouble.  Three on one, well, that was a different story. 

     He lifted the trapdoor again and looked out.  The sun was setting, but not fast enough for his liking. 

     He lowered the lid and waited.

     Once it was dark, he would be able to sneak away, though hopefully the group would get tired of waiting and leave before that.  Until then he was stuck.