What surprised Lilith when she woke up hours later to the sound of the front door opening, was how safe she felt in the little room. She had woken up in the darkness, Nora packed into the small of her back, and realized that she almost preferred this room to the rest of the house. If only she had managed to keep the phone longer. She would have sent a text, and it would've caught a signal and would've pushed through by now.
The room was pitch black, the only light being a white sliver at the bottom of the door. She pulled the covers back and walked over to the door, then slowly inched the open slot. The hallway wall was plastered with photos of the family that she hadn't noticed earlier. There had to be more than fifty of them, as far as she could see.
She saw black and white photos that depicted a woman with dark, feathery eyes and sharp lips, men with doe eyes and unsettling smiles, and kids with dark hair and the same face. The hallway was lit by the kitchen light, but she couldn't make out the details. The kid in the picture was in overalls and had a wide chubby cheeked smile. Momentarily, she thought it looked like Andy, but she couldn't imagine such a cute kid turning into such an asshole.
She pressed her face to the door and could make out a little table with a tall, Chinese looking white vase with blue scribbled all over it. It held a bush of sticks and magnolias. They sat right beneath a large framed photo of a woman with kind eyes and an oxygen tube. Grandmotherly.
Was this someone else's house? Maybe a dying family member?
"You should go back to bed," Tom said, walking up to the door plucking pens out of his pockets. He looked at the rectangle of face showing. Her round eyes bored into him.
"You should mind your own business." She snapped behind the door, taking a step back so the light only touched her lips. She frowned. Tom raised a brow and crossed his arms. He had half the mind to walk in and slap her.
"Do you need something?" He asked, restraining himself.
"Nothing from you." She said, reaching up to close the slot, but Tom halted it with his hand.
"Do I need to teach you to watch your mouth?" He hissed venomously. Lilith's heart leaped.
"What are you going to do, huh? Hit me?" She spat back, and Tom almost took the bait. He caught himself at the last second and bit his lip before smiling.
Oh, he wanted to hit her, but the tone of her voice made him want to bend her over his lap. His hand slipped into the slot and grabbed her jaw, jerking her against the door. She flinched in pain.
"Only if you ask." He retracted his hand and shut the slot. She frowned, feeling her stomach knot. She wanted to stop attracting that kind of attention. Her only line of defense was verbal. But she needed to make a decision: her pride or her body.
She thought about just being quiet. Dismissive. That hadn't worked with Andy earlier. It was laying sugar water out for mosquitoes. He was immediately attracted to the sense of submission and it set him off.
Lilith slipped back into bed and Nora rolled over. Tom seemed to be the opposite. Any lip enticed him. He demanded to be listened to and if you didn't, it ended with big problems.
Though the one thing she didn't realize was why she had been taken in the first place. Cause if she had, maybe she would've realized earlier that kissing Andy to win had been the worst choice possible. It set off a chain reaction that caused everything to happen, just like it did.
Andy was leaning on the railing of the back porch when Tom came out. Tom was still decked out in his grass green nurse scrubs when he sat on the floral porch swing. The morning light had turned the sky milky and everything was covered in a shimmery dew. A stream of smoke was swirling from Andy's cigarette. Andy had only been awake for an hour, and he was looking cranky as ever.
Tom, never really fearing Andy's childish outbursts, cleared his throat. Andy ran his hand through his hair and looked under his arm at Tom. There was a moment of silence before Tom laid both of his arms over the back of the swing.
"She kissed you." He said flatly.
"She kissed me." Andy agreed, looking back out into the fenced yard. Beyond that was a field of grass and tall turning trees. It was a gorgeous cloudless morning.
"I'm not interested." He grunted letting the smoke roll over his upper lip. He should've had a hangover, but he had had worse binges before. He stuck the cigarette back in his mouth and stretched both arms over his head. His shoulder blades squeezed together and he turned around. Tom mumbled under his breath, still deep inside his sour mood.
"For fuck sake, Tom. Want me to fuck her to get it over with?" Andy spat, throwing his hands out. Tom's face tightened and Andy leaned over the little fold up table.
"I can bring her out here and bend her over this god damn table if you fucking want." Andy pounded on the table. Tom stood up glaring at him. It was a warning not to push any further.
Andy ignored it.
"I bet she's a real screamer in bed-"
Tom socked him. It landed solidly making a sick wet sound. Andy looked up at Tom licking the blood off his reopened lip. He was grinning.
Tom's eyes were smoldering. Andy gave him a cheeky smile. Blood was smeared over some of his teeth. He had a real flair for the dramatic.
"Feel better, cowboy?" Andy stepped back and crossed his arms. Tom just took a couple of deep breaths and sat back down. Andy's perkiness after a fight was mildly annoying.
"Fuck off," Tom muttered looking off into the grass.
The sun had made it over the horizon and started sending orange rays of light through the trees. It was supposed to stay pretty cool throughout the day and Andy was enjoying the chill. It climbed into his muscles and shook the haze away. Tom stood up and Andy popped off again.
"She didn't use enough tongue for my tastes." He laughed and Tom couldn't help but let out a laugh, too. Sometimes he wondered if Andrew ever took anything seriously.
Lilith had yet to turn on the lamp, despite lying awake in the bed. It was easier to think when there was nothing else to focus on. She had a couple of problems and no solutions to solve them.
It was day two and she had picked up quite a few injuries and information. Her body felt like she fell out of the sixth story of a building and landed face first on the concrete below. She could feel the swelling on her face and the tender bruising around her neck. The back of her head had a growing soft spot from being thrown on the ground and her arms felt sore in several places.
But nothing was broken. The information she had learned was even better than not having any broken bones or fractures. Why? Because information was how she was going to get out of here. She pushed a couple of strands of hair off her face. She could feel them sticking to the oil on her forehead.
The quick version of survival was listening to Tom and avoiding Andy at all costs. Obeying Tom and listening to what he said was a surefire way to get through the day unscathed, but that wasn't going to work with Andy. She needed a different tactic. Would he get bored and just leave if she did nothing? How many kicks and slaps would he dish out before thinking it wasn't worth the effort?
She didn't have a clue. There were too many things that she didn't know. She rolled over and started for the lamp when the slot was opened. Andy peered into the darkness.
"I know you're up." He said, before taking a moment to unlock the door. Light flooded the room. Andy stood there and looked at her. She was hiding her legs under the blankets. He looked down at the jeans then back at her face.
"You don't have to get dressed. You're gonna take a shower. C'mon." He rubbed his eyelid and watched her slowly reveal herself. He ran his eyes over her thighs and saw the edge of her panties beneath the shirt. Andy grabbed her shoulder and led her to the bathroom.
He opened the door, turned on the lights, and pushed her in. Lilith took a few steps and Andy told her to do what she needed to do and he would be back in a minute. When he came back she was standing at the sink playing with the long strands of her hair. Her body was covered in bruises. Every mark on her pale body was his.
He tossed her new set of clothes on the counter and shut the door, leaning against it. She looked at him and he looked at her. Then he smiled.
"You gonna get in?" He asked, making her squish her brows together.
"No?" She answered, pulling the hem of her shirt down as if it would get longer. It didn't.
"Why not?" Andy asked, amused.
"I'm not getting in until you get out." She spat.
"You can do it yourself or I'll do it for you." He slid his hands into his pockets. "And you won't like it if I have to do it." Andy lowered his voice, looking down her body.
She was pretty sure she wasn't going to like it no matter what.
"Where's all the trust gone?" He smirked, watching her face change from shyness to mild anger.
"I won't do it."
"You don't get to leave until you do." He slid down to the floor and laid his crossed arms on his knees. Stalemate. Neither one was going to move first. This was exactly the disadvantage she had been thinking about earlier.
Andy looked up at her and breathed out, closing his eyes. When he opened them, the playfulness was gone.
"Come here." He commanded softly. She didn't move.
"I won't say it again." His cold, gentle gaze pulled her closer.
Lilith moved timidly towards his open hands but stopped right out of reach. He leaned forward, snatching her hand, and yanked her down to her knees. He dragged her into his bubble and looked up at her.
"It's eight in the morning and as much as I'd like to indulge your stubbornness, I'm exhausted. I'm hungover and I’m hungry." Slowly he ran his hands up her arms, pulling her closer inch by inch. When he reached her shoulders, he looked down at her lips and then back up again.
"So, stop pretending your body is worth my morals and take a shower." Her face twisted as he shoved her back towards the tub.
“You’re a piece of shit,” She hissed standing at the back wall.
“Get. In. The. Fucking. Tub.” He growled, lurching forward.
Lilith jumped over the edge of the tub, grabbing the curtain and holding it between them. Andy looked up from the ground where he was partially leaning forward. He grabbed a bar of soap and threw it at her. It hit the shower beside her and slid down to the drain. She closed the curtain and slowly took off her clothes and dropped them on the floor.
She could barely focus on bathing because even with the hot water pouring down her, she couldn’t stop thinking about how Andy was just on the other side. She sat down and wrapped her arms around herself letting the water wash the soap away.
“Hey,” Andy whispered. Lilith let out a gasp and covered herself. She looked around then stood up and peeked out around the curtain.
He was standing right there at the edge holding out a towel.
“Get out. I’m ready for coffee.”
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