Page 56 of His Toy
Was it right to torture those followers, when they were victims too?
I shook my head. Was I truly reconsidering my ultimate design? Now that I was within reaching distance, Heather had made me see it in a different light.
“Sir, she can’t be trusted. You’ve only known her for—”
“But I do trust her, Grant. Like I trust you.”
Grant stared at me for a moment. The shock of our mutual respect hung in the air. He added, “If she retaliates and tells Eric what we’re planning—”
“She won’t,” I said. “She will not betray us.”
Grant narrowed his eyes. “If she knew her sister would be safe, what would stop her?”
I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t sure about a lot of things. Heather had seen to that. But I did know one truth: Heather wouldn’t betray me. She might hate me, despise me, run away from me, but as long as I did not harm her sister, or her, she would not go against me.
“What about her sister, sir?” Grant asked.
“Hazel will stay in the clinic until Eric is a non-issue,” I said. “She will be safer there.”
Grant nodded, but there was still a hesitant look on his face.
“Heather will leave, sir. She will taste freedom and not look back.”
A part of me wanted her to escape. To run away from me. She needed to be exploring the world, being one with nature, doing what she loved. Not lost in the shadows.
“You love her, don’t you?”
I turned towards Grant. His brows were raised, his jaw slack. Did I love Heather?
“That will be all for now, Grant,” I said. “Thank you.”
On the screens, Heather stood in the backyard beside the wildflower garden, inhaling a bud’s scent. She smiled, an infectious look, one that rivaled her surrender. I’d never get tired of making her bounce between those two expressions. I wanted to make her squirm, to come, to yearn and yield to every pain and pleasure I could give her, that she would endure. I wanted to make her smile, to give her everything this world had to offer. And I wanted to protect her, to make sure she never had a reason to search for safety again.
I watched her cross the monitors as she entered the house. For now, it didn’t matter what this meant. What mattered was making sure she had the ability to leave if she needed to. If she wanted to. It wasn’t solely about my design anymore.
Heather was in the kitchen, munching on an apple. Through a full mouth, she said to Donna, “But I’m serious. You can eat an apple core. I learned that from my roommates back in California. Why waste it, right?” She took another bite. “You should try it sometime.”
Eating an apple core? I grinned. How strange.
Donna looked up from the cutting board and glowered at me, as if to say,Save me from this verbal torture.
“You can talk to her Donna,” I said. “She’s a guest now.”
Donna turned curtly to Heather, who kept chewing.
“That’s disgusting,” Donna said, her voice haughty. “A disgrace to the apple itself. Who eats the apple coreandthe kiwi skin?”
Heather waved at me, her cheeks full. Half of the apple core rested in her palm. She swallowed.
“Nice to meet you too,” Heather said.
“There’s no reason you should subject yourself to that. You know where the compost bin is. Use it! And I should say, Mr. Vale,” Donna said, turning towards me. “She may not be a prisoner anymore, but with how freely she uses the kitchen, she isnota guest.”
It was Donna’s way of showing that Heather fit in well. She may not have cared for Heather’s intrusion into her domain, but she tolerated it. Heather held up the rest of the apple core and opened her mouth to finish it, but Donna shouted, “Don’t! You! Dare!” She threw a hand towards the backyard. “Compost bin!”
Heather and I exchanged glances. Then she pranced to the bin and dropped the rest of the fruit, then came back inside. As soon as she returned, I reached for her hand.
“I have something to show you,” I said. She took my hand, letting me lead her.