I stood, motioning for Crystal to do the same. I leaned down and pressed my shoulder into the side of the mattress, pushed with my body. She understood quickly what I was trying to do and started pushing. We used our bodies to shove the bed toward the other wall. I was closer to the fan and stereo, but they were still a frustrating foot away no matter how hard I strained.
We pushed the bed back into place. My bladder ached from holding on for so long, pains shooting through my stomach. I hooked my thumbs in the back of my shorts and tried to shimmy them down so I could use the bucket, but they were too tight. I had to pee my pants again, feeling ashamed and dirty. Crystal looked away, like she was trying to give me privacy. I tried not to think about it, tried to focus on escaping.
I wondered if Crystal had tried anything yet and wished we could talk. What should I do when Gavin came back? Try to fight or beg for my life? I had to get him to untie me somehow.
The room was even hotter, sweat dripping between my shoulder blades, my hair wet at the back of my neck and my forehead. My shorts were damp and uncomfortable. I could smell the sweat and urine on my body. Flies were walking around the edge of the bucket, some landing on Crystal, crawling on the bite marks, but she didn’t move, not even a twitch. I worried she’d get an infection, then I thought maybe she didn’t care anymore, maybe that’s how she’d been surviving. She’d looked terrified earlier, but now she just seemed kind of out of it.
Flies were buzzing near me now, circling and landing on my jeans shorts. I wiggled my body, trying to get them off.
I remembered the waitress telling me about the record heat waves in the Sunshine Valley. Gets so hot around here you can fry an egg on the sidewalk. Was Gavin just going to leave us up here to die of starvation or dehydration? I imagined my body turning to a husk, my skin cooking, the flies eating at my eyes.
The hours passed slowly. He had to be getting off work soon. I strained my ears, wondering if I’d hear his footsteps over the music. I figured I was in some sort of shock, my body breaking out into waves of shivers, and then a numb feeling coming over me. I felt faint sometimes, my head woozy if I moved too fast. It was weird not being able to talk to Crystal. She’d cry sometimes, looking at me, then I’d start crying too.
It felt late in the day now, seemed like I’d been trapped for hours and hours, but I’d lost all sense of time. I had my head resting on my knees when I noticed the doorknob turning. I looked up with my heart beating fast.
Gavin walked in, gave us a smile as he turned down the music. He was still wearing work clothes, his jeans covered with dirt, his red T-shirt stained with big sweat circles under the arms. He smelled like manure.
He was also carrying a couple of sandwiches, the bread squished in his big hand, and two bottles of water.
“Sorry I’m late, girls. Had some business to take care of. Goddamn, it’s hot in here.” He set the water and sandwiches on the dresser, took his baseball cap off, and rubbed at his sweaty hair. “Miss me?”
I glared at him. Crystal was watching, a nervous expression on her face.
He sniffed at the air. “You girls stink.” He came over with the water and the sandwiches, squatted in front of me, sniffed again. “Guess you couldn’t get your shorts off, hey?”
He undid my gag. I inhaled deeply, finally able to suck in a big lungful of air. My mouth was sore from being stretched for so long, my tongue thick and swollen. I licked my dry lips, the salty sweat at the corners of my mouth.
He reached up and grabbed one of the bottles, fed me the water. I sucked at it desperately, trying not to let any spill out, swallowing it all down. When the bottle was empty he shoved a sandwich into my mouth, let me take a bite. It was dry, tasted like old meat and cheese, but I bit and chewed as fast as I could.
He replaced the gag then moved on to Crystal and repeated the process. Then he stood up, threw the bottles toward the door, and came over to me.
“Get on your feet.”
Fear rushed through my body. Was this it? Was he going to kill me? I glanced over at Crystal. Her eyes were terrified again.
“Don’t look at her.” He gripped my arm, pulled me to my feet. “I found your car. You won’t have to worry about the cops impounding it.” That mean smile again.
His hands were at the front of my shorts. I screamed behind my gag, tried to step backward. He grabbed my rope leash, gave it a quick snap. The rope tightened around my throat.
“Unless you want more of that, stand still.”
I froze, tears forming in my eyes and dripping down as he undid my button and zipper, staring into my face, his tongue licking his lips.
He stepped back, lowered my shorts, leaning over slightly, his face brushing against my crotch. I closed my eyes. My body was shaking violently.
“Lift your feet.” I lifted them one at a time. He took off my shorts, threw them into the corner. “Going to have to burn those.”
I felt him step closer, felt the heat of his body. He put his finger inside the waistband of my underwear, and I flinched. He circled his finger around to my lower back and then the front again.
“You like that?”