Page 20

Chapter Six

Branson

It takes me days to dust and clean everything upstairs with Teddy following me around harassing me at every turn. I do what I can to not react, knowing that is what she is really looking for. Eventually Jane tells her to leave me be and I hear her tell Teddy she’ll send Bud to get her a new ‘toy’. I shudder when I think of the boy the other day and what he told me.

Did she really rape him? Is the girl I knew so far gone?

For the first time in years, I let familiar mantras run through my head.

Tachycardia, ventricular, Tachypnea, Tailbone, Tapzol.

What is in my head is the only freedom I have. The thought is strangely comforting. She’ll try to bully and torture and tease, but at least I’ll always have the respite of my own head.

The familiar sound of Bud’s steps leaving the house signal time to make my way upstairs to finish up the living room. I’m eager to finish for the day before he gets back with their new victim. Maybe if I’m lucky, I won’t get stuffed in the cage.

I enter the living room and Teddy is sitting on the worn couch with a magazine in her hand. I manage to peak over to see what she’s reading and see a man tied up in leather on the cover.

My teeth clench but I don’t say anything and continue my work.

One night a few months ago there had been a show on about sex and different fetishes, specifically something called BDSM. I was fascinated by it all. The man on TV spoke about submissives and Doms, how people found pleasure in pain and in humiliation. I imagined myself with the power to grant pleasure or pain. My eyes dart to Teddy and I feel my dick twitch at the thought of telling her what to do, hurting her for pleasure. Hers and mine.

“Maybe we should get you an outfit like this?” she says, breaking me from my wayward thoughts. I look over and see someone in a full body latex suit, even covering their head. I shudder at the thought of being so confined, but say nothing. She laughs and turns the page.

“Why do you rape them?” I finally ask, not stopping my task to turn and look at her. I hear her huff behind me and put down her magazine.

“You can’t rape a boy, silly,” she tells me matter-of-factly, “I couldn’t do it if they didn’t want to!”

I frown, but don’t respond immediately. A second later, she steps in front of me and my heart picks up in pace. She’s wearing another of her ridiculous dresses, this one with little cherries all over it. Despite the childish attire, she’s definitely grown into a woman the last few years. The lanky girl's body has made way for curves and it takes everything in me not to look down the ample space at the top of her dress.

A single finger reaches out, trailing down my bare chest.

“See,” she says softly. “Men only want one thing, only think about one thing.” She hums lightly, dropping her hand down to the bulge in my pants. My eyes bug out and I try to pull away, but she squeezes lightly in warning. “Even you, Branson, dear. Despite how much you hate me, you know you want me.”

My teeth are clenched so hard I’m afraid they might crack, but I manage to keep my voice even and level, leaning my face forward, just a touch closer to hers.

“I will never, ever want you,” I lie, my voice quiet but firm. Her eyes flash with something and a grin crosses her face.

“We’ll see,” she says, equally softly, before something pricks my neck. I frown, turning in time to see the syringe just a moment before I fall.

???

When I wake up, my head is pounding and my mouth feels like it's filled with cotton. I let out a groan before I notice how cold my arms are. My head lolls forward and I jerk as I realize I’m upright and tied. I have to blink a few times, but when my vision clears, I find myself in a room I’ve never been in. It looks like someone took pictures of a little girl’s room and tried to create a poor imitation. Faded floral sheets cover the bed and in one corner, a small aging vanity is covered in stuff I’ve only ever seen in movies—makeup and jars and perfumes. Besides them are a familiar tray of knives and I know whose room this is.

As I come more into awareness, I realize I’m also naked save for the collar. Ropes dig into my wrists as I struggle to get off whatever device I’m strung to.

“Ahh, you’ll not get free of those, pet,” Teddy’s voice says from somewhere behind me, “I have been practicing my knots.”

She pops in front of me, winking as she gives one of the knots a little tug.

“Let me down, Amelia,” I say through gritted teeth, angrier than anything. I hiss when she darts a hand forward and slashes something across my chest. She comes right up to me, her face only inches from mine.

“You can call me Teddy,” she whispers, before sticking her tongue out to lick up the side of my face. I grimace, pulling back as much as I can, but the board behind my head prevents me. She laughs again, clapping in a gesture that reminds me all too much of Jane.

“Now that we have that clear, we can proceed,” she says before turning to a drawer and pulling out a small, black speaker of some kind. She fiddles with it for a moment before it starts working and music begins to play. I can do nothing but watch as she begins to sway with the beat to a song I don’t recognize. The frilly outer layer of her dress moves with her and my brow knits together, trying to figure out what the hell she is up to.

Turning, she smiles at me.

“Now, pet,” she begins, reaching behind her dress, “I believe we were having some disagreement that I intend to settle.”