Eva lifted her head and let her legs dangle over the edge of the cot. “Bill, I know that you’re confused. But I want to help you,” she said, using the back of her hand to dry her face. “I won’t say anything about what’s happened. I just want to help you get better before you do anything you might regret. Please, just let me help you.”
He charged at her, stopping inches from her face. She stiffened and her chest shook as she inhaled. “You’re testing my patience, Eva.” His breath stunk like old bandages. “I’m willing to help you, but only if you’re willing to help me. Can you do that?” She nodded stiffly. “Great. We’re going to have an exchange. I’ll tell you something you want to hear, and then you tell me something that I want to hear. Okay?” He stood and shuffled back a few steps. “The reason your dad left you. Do you want to know what made him run?”
His eyes scanned her face, and she uttered a weak reply, “Yes.”
“I did. It was me. He left because I got free. Daddy tucked his tail and ran because he was scared. He knew I would come looking for vengeance and my hunt would lead me straight to you. He didn’t want to deal with it, with you. That’s why he left you, because he’s a coward. And because he understood that under my caring exterior is a creature to be feared and respected. You understand that too, don’t you?”
Bill’s phone rang and Eva felt a sliver of relief as he pulled it out of his back pocket. He looked at the screen and his eyebrows lifted.
“Wowee, wow. It’s your mom. If that’s not great timing, I don’t know what is.” He waved the phone in front of Eva’s face.
She opened her mouth, ready to yell the moment he hit the answer button. With one hand, he grabbed her by the neck and drove her against the wall. Her head hit the concrete with such force that it made her vision dance. He pressed the side of his face to hers and spoke into her ear. “Make a noise and I’ll crush your windpipe. Fear and respect. Remember that, Eva. I’m the good guy. Right now I’m being patient.” He ran his nose through her hair and inhaled before answering the phone.
“Hi, Lori.”
Eva faintly heard her mother’s voice. Tears burned her eyes as she struggled to breathe against the pressure of Bill’s hand.
“No, I don’t think you’re being ridiculous at all. A mother’s instinct is a powerful thing, and you’re right to trust it.” He paused as Lori said a few more words. “Yes, of course. I have to tie up a few loose ends around here, and then I’ll be right over.” He hung up the phone and let go of Eva’s neck. “Wow. She sounds rattled.”
Eva balled her hands into fists. “Don’t hurt her.”
Bill chuckled sadly. “I won’t. Not today.”
“I swear to God, if you even touch her I’ll—”
“No, no, no, Eva. Fear and respect. Fear me. Respect me. I know you’re capable of it. Your father did it very well.”
Eva’s voice caught in her throat.
“Eva, I’m going to tell you how this is going to go, and I’m honest. You can trust me and what I tell you. I’m going to be there when the police notify your sweet mother that they’ve found her baby girl’s body. Then, I’m going to be there when she has to identify your lifeless corpse. And when she’s devastated and needs someone there to wipe away the tears? You got it. I’m her man. I will live your death every day, and it will be my greatest triumph. Fear me and respect me, Eva, for I am always the victor.”
She unclenched her fists. His mood swings frightened her more than his threats of violence. Each time she began to relax, he snapped and stripped her of the confidence she’d gained.
“You look hungry, and I can’t imagine you ate at that terrible party. You need your strength. I’ll be right back with some breakfast.”
The blue basement door creaked as he opened it, and he didn’t attempt to close it when he left. Eva watched his body disappear up the carpeted stairs. She waited and looked for shadows in the square of sunlight that slipped through the open door.
Certain he was gone, she slid off of the bunk and landed softly on the concrete floor. Her knee was stiff, but she could bear weight on it. She took two steps forward when the shackle around her ankle pulled tight against her skin. She bent over, grabbed the chain with both hands, and pulled hard. It didn’t budge. She crouched on her hands and knees and looked under the cot. He’d bolted the chain into the concrete with a fat metal screw. She yanked at the metal again; this time using her body weight and focusing her strength in short bursts. Nothing. The stairs creaked behind her, and she quickly and noiselessly took a seat back on the lumpy bunk.
“Hope you like cereal,” he called from the stairs. “Don’t really care for it myself. Not much of a gourmand. Everything else that he had up there is rotten. The visitors I have usually don’t stay alive very long. So.” He dropped a box of Honey Nut Cheerios in her lap. “Here you go.” She couldn’t make herself look at him. Instead, she stared at the happy, heart healthy Cheerios bee.
“I’m going to go away for a little while. When I leave, are you going to try to escape?”