When Your Knees Buckle
Chapter 10: The Truth Won't Set You Free
"Phil, Phil, Phil... You really screwed up this time. Open your eyes..." I obey and let them dance open. My surroundings are strangely familiar but still so foreign. Mike kneels in front of me and showcases a glass of water in my face. I look around hazily at the vicinity. I'm in someone's bedroom on a twin bed, handcuffed to the frame. He moves the water closer to me and tells me to open my mouth. I do. The cold water stings going down, as it is so brisk and satisfying. "Sleep good?" He asks, laughing. I can tell he doesn't expect and answer while he tapes my mouth shut.
"You know, I met Lloyd tonight. He's a real character. He didn't recognize me at first... But I reminded him." I looked at him bewilderingly. "I'm guessing you don't remember me, Phil. That's only fair, seeing how you were pretty young the last time I saw you... Well, Lloyd and I used to work together at WizrdTech, long before you were born. And he used to-"
The door on the far wall opened, arresting his speech. It was Keely, beaten and battered. "... Sorry, but he's about to wake up."
Mike looks at me and smiles. "Rain check on the story?"
They both leave the room and I take the alone time to gather my surroundings. From my point of view, there's a door leading into a hallway on the opposite wall, maybe a closet door to my right, and a large bay window behind me. There was a dresser against the wall to my left and a black lamp standing beside it. From what I could tell, the room was well decorated. The only thing out of the ordinary was the bed, small and battered, with no sheets, blankets, or pillows. The window treatments were different shades of red and the carpet was a simple beige, but so clean that it was as if no one had walked on it. The wallpaper was pearl-colored with picture-less frames scattered on each wall. From my position, I could only see the unclouded sky and a dying willow tree out the window. It's all so horrifying because it's not mine. It's not my life or my house or my bed.
I attempt to pull my hands through the cuffs, but they're too big and the failed attempt leaves my with a couple of scratches. At least knowing that my feet and legs are free gives me comfort. I sit up up on the bed and try to get a better look out the window. I discover that I'm on the first floor of this house and there is a long winding path leading to a road. No cars pass by as I continue to observe.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Mike reenters the room, but with company this time. Yurna Oglesbee in the flesh, standing arm and arm with Mike. "Yeah, I inherited it when my grandfather died. That was when I was just nineteen. I've had it ever since. You know, I'm surprised you don't remember it. You'd come here all the time with Lloyd and your mother when you were a baby. It was like a second home to you."
He nudges Yurna and she approaches me, ripping the tape from my mouth. "Where's my dad?" I ask after the painful sensation leaves my lips.
"He's here," Mike answers with another spiteful laugh. "You know who else is here with us? Well, upstairs, there's your mother and Pim. They've been really anxious lately. Especially, Pim. I'm guessing she doesn't take too kindly to cramped spaces... Does she?"
"She was in the closet?" I ask myself aloud. He claps for me, like I've finally figured it out. "I wanna see my family!"
"Keep it down," he hushes me. "And it's not like they want to see you anyway... Barb left you, Lloyd was too busy deceiving all of you to come home, and Pim... She doesn't even like you. So what makes you think any of them care about you now?"
"They're my family!" I hiss.
He scoffs and turns toward the door. "That's hardly a family, if you ask me." With his hand gripping the knob, he turns for a last remark. "I'm going to run some errands, Phil. Try not to yell." And he and Yurna leave.
Within minutes, I see a car driving down the winding path and onto the road. I hear footsteps in the hallway upon an entrance seconds later. Keely walks in consciously bearing another glass of water.
"How are you?" she asks.
I'm stunned that she even asks, seeing me this way. "I'm great. My head still aches and I'm cuffed to a bed, but I've never felt better."
She looks sad for a moment as she crosses her arms. "I'm sorry that you have to deal with this, Phil. I didn't know Mike would keep you and your family here."
"You wanna tell me what's going on, Keely?"
She walks over to me with the water in hand and assists me as I take a drink. The eye contact it killing me. Even though I know she is part of, or the whole reason I'm here, I don't feel any differently towards her than I did that night in her apartment.
"Phil, believe when I tell you, you don't want to know about our situation. It'll only make things worse," she reveals, sitting next to me on the bed.
"You don't think Mike is gonna tell me sooner or later?"
She looks out the window curiously before answering. "I know he will... But I don't want you to know."
Not a very lengthy chapter, but I promise lucky eleven will be. I like to average a thousand words per chapter and I've succeeded... But look for a few hundred more in the next couple chapters. Don't forget to review.