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Authors: Kimberly A. Bettes
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was smart enough to know not to leave it where I could get to it. That made him ev en more dangerous in my opinion because even when it seemed that he’d lost all touch with reality and his thoughts and emotions, he still knew what not to do. Scary.
Thinking of a way to get back on his good side and back to the main floor of the house, I asked, “What are you going to do now?” I hoped he didn’t detect the tremor in my voice.
“I’m going to have to get rid of it. It’s going to start smelling soon, and I don’t want you to have to smell that.”
Good. He was looking out for me, in a sick sort of way. All hope wasn’t lost. I felt certain that soon, maybe later today or tomorrow, he’d take me back upstairs. He still liked me enough to not want me trapped down here with the smell of a rotting corpse. Of course, my hope was destroyed when I asked for food.
“ Ron, what time is it?”
“Why? Do you have somewhere you need to be?”
“Yeah. I need to be at home with my family, but since that isn’t possible, I was just wondering.”
Glancing at his watch, he answered, “Seven thirty.”
“I’m hungry, and I need to pee.”
After staring at me for a few seconds, he put his foot against a plastic bowl that set on the floor between Stephanie’s body and me and pushed it my way. I watched the bowl slide toward me and stop a foot or so away from the mattress. I reached out and pulled it the rest of the way to me. Looking inside, I thought he was joking. He must be.
“What’s this?” I asked, looking up at him.
“If you’re hungry, eat that. It’s what I fed Stephanie until she quit eating. Poor thing starved herself to death,” he said looking over his shoulder at her body.
“No, I’m pretty sure you bea t her to death with that there poker.” When I saw him snap his head back to face me, I quickly moved on. “If this is what she had to eat, no wonder she wouldn’t eat it. What is it anyway?”
“It’s dog food.”
“Are you serious?” I looked into the bowl again. It didn’t look like dog food. Of course, with the maggots and flies covering it, who could tell what it was?
“It’s the good kind. None of that cheap stuff. Besides, dog food is required by the FDA to be fit for human consumption. People eat it during recessions like this. It’s fine.”
“It’s got bugs all over it.”
“Yes. It’s been down here a while. Let’s see, she quit eating over a week ago, maybe close to two weeks. Pick them off. Or eat them. They’re full of protein.”
“You know what else is full of protein? Steak and eggs. Why don’t you run upstairs and make that happen for me?”
He laughed. “There’s the girl I love.”
Love? What happened to like? I didn’t dwell on the use of terms. What captured my attention was that I was back in his good graces. One step closer to getting back upstairs.
He headed up the stairs.
“Are you going to make me something to eat?”
“Eat what’s in the bowl, Nicole. When you’re down here, you don’t get the luxury of my cooking. And if you need to pee, do it on the floor.” With that, he went through the doorway and closed the door behind him, leaving me alone in the basement with a full bladder, a battered corpse, and a bowl of rotten dog food.
Chapter 12
I waited and waited for Ron to return, but he didn’t. My belly growled, but I ignored it. If Stephanie could go nearly two weeks without food, surely I could go a couple of days. That should be long enough for him to allow me back upstairs.
Funny how I h ad begged him to let me go home, and now I was begging him to let me go upstairs. The worse my situation got, the better off I realized I’d had it before.
Eventually, I could hold my pee no longer. I looked for a bucket or a hole or anything, but other than the bowl containing the dog food, there was nothing. So I squatted on the mattress with my butt hung over the edge and let it go. I cried as I peed, having been reduced to
Thinking of a way to get back on his good side and back to the main floor of the house, I asked, “What are you going to do now?” I hoped he didn’t detect the tremor in my voice.
“I’m going to have to get rid of it. It’s going to start smelling soon, and I don’t want you to have to smell that.”
Good. He was looking out for me, in a sick sort of way. All hope wasn’t lost. I felt certain that soon, maybe later today or tomorrow, he’d take me back upstairs. He still liked me enough to not want me trapped down here with the smell of a rotting corpse. Of course, my hope was destroyed when I asked for food.
“ Ron, what time is it?”
“Why? Do you have somewhere you need to be?”
“Yeah. I need to be at home with my family, but since that isn’t possible, I was just wondering.”
Glancing at his watch, he answered, “Seven thirty.”
“I’m hungry, and I need to pee.”
After staring at me for a few seconds, he put his foot against a plastic bowl that set on the floor between Stephanie’s body and me and pushed it my way. I watched the bowl slide toward me and stop a foot or so away from the mattress. I reached out and pulled it the rest of the way to me. Looking inside, I thought he was joking. He must be.
“What’s this?” I asked, looking up at him.
“If you’re hungry, eat that. It’s what I fed Stephanie until she quit eating. Poor thing starved herself to death,” he said looking over his shoulder at her body.
“No, I’m pretty sure you bea t her to death with that there poker.” When I saw him snap his head back to face me, I quickly moved on. “If this is what she had to eat, no wonder she wouldn’t eat it. What is it anyway?”
“It’s dog food.”
“Are you serious?” I looked into the bowl again. It didn’t look like dog food. Of course, with the maggots and flies covering it, who could tell what it was?
“It’s the good kind. None of that cheap stuff. Besides, dog food is required by the FDA to be fit for human consumption. People eat it during recessions like this. It’s fine.”
“It’s got bugs all over it.”
“Yes. It’s been down here a while. Let’s see, she quit eating over a week ago, maybe close to two weeks. Pick them off. Or eat them. They’re full of protein.”
“You know what else is full of protein? Steak and eggs. Why don’t you run upstairs and make that happen for me?”
He laughed. “There’s the girl I love.”
Love? What happened to like? I didn’t dwell on the use of terms. What captured my attention was that I was back in his good graces. One step closer to getting back upstairs.
He headed up the stairs.
“Are you going to make me something to eat?”
“Eat what’s in the bowl, Nicole. When you’re down here, you don’t get the luxury of my cooking. And if you need to pee, do it on the floor.” With that, he went through the doorway and closed the door behind him, leaving me alone in the basement with a full bladder, a battered corpse, and a bowl of rotten dog food.
Chapter 12
I waited and waited for Ron to return, but he didn’t. My belly growled, but I ignored it. If Stephanie could go nearly two weeks without food, surely I could go a couple of days. That should be long enough for him to allow me back upstairs.
Funny how I h ad begged him to let me go home, and now I was begging him to let me go upstairs. The worse my situation got, the better off I realized I’d had it before.
Eventually, I could hold my pee no longer. I looked for a bucket or a hole or anything, but other than the bowl containing the dog food, there was nothing. So I squatted on the mattress with my butt hung over the edge and let it go. I cried as I peed, having been reduced to
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