Hiya!
April: Yes, Maria is with the enemy now;) But maybe it won´t turn out that bad
****
Part 5
We sit in a car: Rath in the drivers’ seat, Lonnie next to him and I´m in the backseat. My hands are still bound behind my back.
Rath glances at me in the rearview mirror every now and then. As Lonnie realizes it, she uses the integrated mirror in the lens hood to stare at me with her black-framed eyes.
I don´t want to know what she’s thinkin’ about.
I try to slide down a little bit, unnoticed. I feel really awful, I can hardly keep my eyes open. How can I think about sleeping at a moment like this?
Ten minutes later...
We arrive at a parking lot in front of a high and old building.
I try to imagine Rath´s flat and I´m sure, it´ll be worse than my own home. Cold, small, and filthy. Probably with lots of posters of naked women on the walls and when you open the door, you’ll be able to hear the mice, creeping back into the cracks. I get goose bumps from the thoughts alone.
I run out of steam as we go up the stairs - Rath has to pull me after him. He lives on the top floor; I lean on the wall gasping while he tries to find his keys.
“What is taking so long?” Lonnie asks, annoyed. She rolls her eyes.
“Whatever!” Rath answers, uncaring.
***
I can’t believe me eyes as the door to Rath´s apartment opens. We enter and already stand in a huge living-sleeping-room combination. There is a bright, fluffy carpet on the floor.
There is also a black leather sofa, the matching armchair and a flat-screen TV in the living room part. The huge bed is seperated by a shelf from the rest of the room. At the other side there is the kitchen, shielded by a counter and some bar stools.
Rath kicks the door shut and leads me to one of the stools.
“Sit down,” he orders and then goes into the next room, which I guess would be the bath.
Lonnie turns on some music, but she keeps her eyes glued to me. She really scares me...
Rath comes back to the living room, plops down on the couch and takes a magazine from the table in front of him. Lonnie slips onto his lap and attacks his neck with her lips without warning. He ditches the magazine and his hands go directly to her ass.
Urgh! Like animals! Hey, I´m still here! I don´t want to see this!
“Do you really have to do THIS now?” I ask tetchy.
“Shut up!” Lonnie spits.
“I won’t! I don’t want to see this!” I snap back.
She rises to her feet and looks at me angrily.
“This bitch is ruining the mood”, she says to Rath. “I’m outta here. Have fun”, she adds sarcastically and gives me a threatening look.
Within seconds she´s gone and I sigh with relief.
Rath watches me from the sofa.
“Don´t stare at me!” I snap, because I´m so pissed right now.
He raises his eyebrows. “Your name’s Maria, right?”
I nod.
“Well, Maria, I think you´re not in any position to be giving orders here,” he declares coolly.
I ignore his comment and continue: “What´s your real name? Nobody would call their son Rath!”
“As far as you’re concerned, my name is Rath!” he says.
I roll my eyes. “Fine...! So how long do I have to sit here? My wrists hurt; can’t you untie me at least?”
“Can´t you just shut up? I don´t want to make small talk.” He mutters.
“Too bad! You kidnapped me.... so deal with it!”
Suddenly he stands up and walks over to me.
Well, when I think twice... maybe you can just sit down again, okay?
This guy really freaks me out. I look at the ground when he stands right in front of me. One of his hands is shoved into his pants pocket as he searches for something there.
I cringe when I see what he pulls out... a knife.
“Relax, blondie!” he says with an outrageous grin and cuts the bonds on my wrists.
Then he goes to the front door, locks it and sticks the key in his pants pocket.
No worries! I won´t willingly try to get them from there!
***
I don’t know how long I sit on that damn chair. I´m bored, hungry and very pissed.
“Can I ask you something?” I look at Rath, who sits at the sofa watching TV.
“No!” he answers coldly.
“What´s the point of all this?” I snap.
“I thought I said no?!” Rath furrows his brow.
“Just one question, okay? What do you guys expect to get from this kidnapping thing?”
He shrugs. “It was Max’s idea. He wants to provoke Billy... so logically, his girlfriend would be the best tool.”
I laugh out loud, the sound sardonic. “Yeah... maybe you think so. But believe me, you won´t get much success with that. He doesn’t care if I’m with him or not.”
Rath grins. “Billy’s an arrogant guy; this’ll injure his pride. Even if he doesn’t normally give a shit about you.”
His words hurt me, because it´s the truth.
“That’s ridiculous!” I deny.
He looks at me as if he wants to say: Come on! It‘s blindingly obvious!
But instead he says: “Well, if you say so… even better!”
Great! Now I’m angry more than ever!
“What’re all these adolescent antics really about? I can’t stand to hear that shit anymore! ‘That´s our territory – Fuck off, or else we’ll beat the living daylights out of you!’ I wonder, how all of you can have so much rage without any reason?!”
I see the ironic grin on his face as Rath shakes his head slightly.
“What?” I almost scream.
“None of those losers have ever told you, right?”
It’s all Greek to me.
“What the hell do you mean?” I ask furiously.
“There was a fight at the basektball court almost two and a half years ago. Max, his little brother Danny, Kyle and I were playing, when your friend Billy and two of the other freaks arrived. They started to provoke us and accused Max of stealing some money – of course it wasn´t true. Billy was only looking for a reason to punish somebody. He went for Max, but Danny got between them when Billy pulled a knife out of his pocket. Billy shoved him at the street – and Danny was hit by a car.”
Rath grimaces at the bitter memory.
“He died in Max’s arms moments later,” he adds quietly.
I look at him in disbelief, my body quivering.
“So it’s Billy’s fault, that Max’s brother died,” I whisper uncertainly.
“Yeah. And he got out of it with two years on probation. That´s absurd! That day changed everything. Max hates Billy… and I hate him because Max hates him.”
He pauses a moment and then Rath leans forward and looks squarely into my eyes – I have the feeling he can see my darkest secrets.
“Oh,... I destroyed your perfect little world now, right?”
“Shut up!” I scream. “You know absolutely nothing about me or my life, so don’t you dare judge it!”
I’m sick. Could it be true? I don´t want to believe it.
Am I the girlfriend of a …. killer?
***
It’s almost 7:00 pm and I´m still sitting on that chair.
“Do I have to sleep while sitting on this chair tonight?” I ask Rath, pissed.
He shrugs. “Depends on your behavior!”
I stare at him open-mouthed. “My behavior? What´s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, if you’re gonna be bitchy like now, you can sleep on that chair, otherwise maybe you’ll get the couch.”
“I´m only bitchy because my ass hurts and I´m pissed and bored and annoyed... oh yeah and I´m cold because some jerk ripped my shirt. Should I go on?” I look at him rebelliously.
He sighs and runs his hand over his face.
“Fine!” He stands up and walks to a wardrobe.
“Here!” He tosses a shirt in my lap. “You can have a shower; towels are in the bathroom. I’m gonna go get a pizza.”
I nod, but hate that he bullies me... but a shower and pizza... there´s nothing I should complain about, nothing at all.
So I plop down on the chair and practically run to the bathroom.
I can´t wait to feel the warm water running down my skin, so I rip off my clothes in a matter seconds. A little moan escapes my mouth, as the first drops run down my face.
“Awesome!” I mumble to myself.
***
I get back into my clothes after at least 15 minutes in the shower. Rath´s shirt is much too big, but it’s better than my ripped top.
He´s still gone, when I go back to the living room. Maybe I should try to escape? But how?
The front door... locked – what else?! It´s a strong door, no chance for me to it get through it with violence.
No fire escape.
Way too high to jump out of the window.
Well, I´m trapped I I can´t do anything about that.
I go to the leather couch and sit down. That´s much better than the damn chair over there.
A magazine on the table catches my attention. It´s a TV paper, but I´m only interested in the delivery address.
“Michael Guerin”, I read out loud, my voice quiet.
So his real name is Michael – sounds much better than Rath to me.
The moment I put the magazine back, he walks in.
“Make yourself at home”, he hisses, as he notices me on his couch.
“Okay, MICHAEL”, I cheer in my sweetest voice and act as if I don’t hear the sarcasm.
He looks at me puzzled, but then he spots the magazine. Without saying anything else, he puts the pizza on the table and drops down into the armchair.
We sit there in silence for a while, eating the pizza. I can´t remember the last time I have eaten something like this. It tastes so good, and I’m almost sated.
“You don´t seem that disappointed about your situation here.” Michael notices.
“Well, I can´t escape anyway, so...” I try to hide my insecurity, because he´s right. I can´t shower at home, I don’t have anything to eat, it´s damn cold in my room... and I don´t like hanging around with Billy at all.
“You can´t fool me, girl. I know how Billy usually treats you,” he says directly.
I lean back and gaze into my lap.
“Is it that evident?” I whisper. I don´t want him to know so much about my life; I am ashamed of it.
“Well, I’ve known Billy for a very long time. Why’d you become a member of his gang anyway? You’re not a member from the beginning – as far as I know.”
“Sean – my cousin – initiated me. I had no other friends and so I joined them.”
“Not the smartest decision of your life, huh?” Michael looks at me quizzically.
“Maybe not”, I confess quietly and try to look at him. “At least, as long as I´m in his gang, he won´t beat up on me and my lip won’t look like yours.” I gesture to his swollen bottom lip.
“I wouldn’t count on that!” he tells me, his tone one of warning.
Then he gets to his feet and disappears in the bathroom, leaving me flustered on the couch.
***
TBC
