“Shut up.” Gavin let go of my face and slapped me hard. I still couldn’t stop screaming and he slapped me again.
I tried to get my breath under control, whimpers leaking from my mouth. My body was vibrating, something warm pooled under my legs and I realized I’d peed myself. Gavin looked down.
“Jesus Christ.” He looked at Crystal. “What the fuck are you doing? Get back on the bed.”
She didn’t move, still staring at me, her eyes panicky and full of tears.
Gavin walked over and slapped her hard in the face.
I screamed as her head rocked back. He turned and glared at me.
“You scream like that again, I’ll shove my foot down her throat, get it?”
“I’m sorry. Please don’t hurt her!”
Now he was looking back and forth between us, his eyes narrowed, and I realized my mistake. He’d figured out that there might be a connection between us. He walked over to the stereo, which was sitting on an old wood dresser, and turned it down. Then he flipped on the light.
I could see it all now—the plastic bucket in the corner, the messy bedding, the pale blue blanket ripped and stained—and gasped when I got a better look at Crystal. Marks covered her breasts and stomach, looked like bites. Her face was bruised, her top lip scabbed and puffy.
“I said, get back on the bed,” he said again. She climbed onto the bed, watching us with a horrified expression on her face.
He came back to where I was sitting. Knelt in front of me.
“Why were you in my house?”
“I was going to rob you.”
“Bullshit.” He looked at Crystal, then at me. “You two know each other?”
“No,” I said. He stared at me. I tried not to look away, but his eyes terrified me.
He walked over to Crystal, grabbed her rope leash, and pulled her off the bed. She stood up, and he turned her to face me, standing directly behind her. He started to pull the rope tight around her throat.
“Who the fuck are you?” he yelled at me.
Crystal was trying to shake her head, signaling me not to say anything, but her face was turning red, her eyes bulging.
“She’s my aunt!” I yelled back, sobbing.
Gavin let go of the rope. Crystal fell to the floor, wheezing for air.
“Your aunt.” Gavin stared hard at my face again, realization spreading across his. He came closer, grabbed my chin, turned my face side to side.
“How old are you?”
Crystal was shaking her head again. Gavin stood up, took a lunging step toward her, and kicked her in the ribs. She cried out, curled into a ball.
“Stop!” I yelled. “I’m seventeen.”
He walked back toward me, crouched down so he could see behind me. I felt his hand on mine, bending my fingers.
“You’re his kid.” His face was so close to mine I could smell his breath, coffee and cigarettes. “Which bitch is your mother?”
Tears filled my eyes. I’d screwed everything up.
“The youngest one.”
I couldn’t read his expression, anger but almost a weird sort of triumph, then it turned mean. My body tensed, waiting for the blow.
His phone rang. He stood up and took it out of his pocket, looked at the screen, then answered it. “Yeah, I’ll be there in a minute.” He stared at me while he listened. “I said I’ll be a fucking minute. Had an issue with the truck.… No, I fixed it.” He ended the call, shoved the phone back in his pocket.
Suddenly he kicked me hard in the side. I cringed against the wall, trying to get away from his heavy boots. He glared down at me.
“You can thank your daddy for that.”
He left the room, locking the door behind him. I was shocked he hadn’t tied me up. As soon as I heard his footsteps going downstairs I got to my feet and hobbled over to Crystal, who was still on the floor. I dropped down beside her and got our bodies close, even though we couldn’t wrap our arms around each other. I could feel how frail her body was, how she’d lost weight. We pulled away, looked at each other.
“I’m so sorry,” I said. “I messed up. I was trying to rescue you.”
She was making grunts and moans behind her gag, her eyes questioning. I had no idea what she was saying.
“Mom and Dallas don’t know I’m here. I ran away.” I was crying, realizing how stupid I’d been. “But when I don’t come home she’ll figure it out. They’ll come looking for us.” I prayed it was true. But Mom wasn’t expecting me home until Thursday. What would happen to us until then? Would they kill us?
Footsteps coming back up the stairs, sounds of the door unlocking. I cringed beside Crystal. She pushed me behind her with her shoulder, like she was shielding me.
“Isn’t that sweet,” Gavin said when he walked in.
He was carrying a coil of rope, some fabric, a bottle of water. He took off the cap and held it to my lips, letting me drink, but he poured it so fast it bubbled out of my mouth, making me choke, running down my body.