It had been a few days since Emily's pleas fell on deaf ears. She tried to be sweet and kind to him, he looked like he desperately wanted to give in before brushing her off and storming out of the room. He had taken to keeping her locked in the master bedroom with nothing to do. The only time she saw him was when he dropped off her daily meals and at night, which was when he would drunkenly have his way with her. She was unsettled when he called her Lenore and said many degrading things to her, choking her at one point.
Emily hated him with every fiber of her being, but lately she was having conflicting feelings. She was confused and lonely. Emily missed her parents, which surprised her. It had been a year or more since she had seen them. Were they thinking about her too? Surely they noticed they couldn't contact her? Or did they forget about her since they had turned off her cell service shortly after she moved out? She shook her head, she needed to get out of here.
Bill dropped off Emily's lunch without a second glance. She stared at it from her spot on the floor. It looked like a salad. She broke and tore into the food. After not eating for a couple of weeks she was too ravenous to keep it up. The basic chicken salad was so good. She finished it quickly.
Emily got up to wash her hands. Bill hadn't allowed her any utensils or even plastic dishes since a few months back.
She got back into bed. She had been so tired the last month, she could barely keep her eyes open half the time. Being with Bill was also incredibly draining. She wondered if he was trying to break her by keeping her in his room with absolutely nothing to do until he came in. Could she speed things up and pretend? Have a huge breakdown? Would he even care now?
Emily was startled awake when she felt the blanket being pulled off. She watched Bill warily. He gave her a dirty look before pushing her down onto her back. He laid his head on her stomach. His stubble pricked and irritated her skin, he smelled of beer and body odor. Emily was mad she was woken up for this annoying shit. Her stomach churned, it was so disturbing to be treated like a walking incubator.
Bill left a barrage of kisses on her stomach before abruptly leaving. He locked the door from the outside and walked away.
Emily felt so dirty, she wanted to crawl out of her skin. She felt infected with his virus, eating her from the inside. She got up and went to take a shower. The shower was dingy and in need of a good scrub. She wasn't even sure if she could get clean in there. The water was a good distraction though.
She wondered how much her body was going to change. She was already feeling unpleasant. He was the one in control, even down to the most personal way he could be. He controlled her body now in more way than one. She let out a wretched sob. This waking nightmare made her wish for death. How can someone be so evil and delusional? Didn't he see her as a real person? She was trapped. She played around too much and is now paying the ultimate price.
She wondered if she was at fault for getting herself pregnant when she was pretending to give things a go? She shook her head. Emily looked down at her bloated stomach in disgust. She was stuck. Even if she did get away, she doubted Texas would be on her side with the anti-woman laws regarding abortion.
She washed her hair, it was so tangled since she had nothing to brush it with. She put in half a bottle of the cheap conditioner and began working on carefully detangling it. Her hair was her baby and she was going to start taking care of it like she used to. It had gotten so long. She hated when Bill would fuck with it. Even he quit taking care of it. There were so many split-ends and breakage now. Not much she could do about that now. She won't let him have everything. Emily swayed on her feet, she had been unwell and light-headed since she had been starving herself. Since this thing was rooted in there good, she was going to do her best to take care of her. She wasn't going to be pregnant forever.
Her hair was so heavy, her arms grew tired and sore from working out the knots. It went down to her hips while wet. A good while later, she finished untangling her hair. She rinsed it well and squeezed the water out carefully. She grabbed one of her old styling products, surprised it wasn't expired yet or thrown out. She worked a good amount of it through her hair and turned off the water. She dried off and scrunched her hair, defining the nice waves and curls.
She hated her wet hair on her bare back. She grabbed one of Bill's sweaters and put it on. Who knows what he did with her stuff? Maybe he locked it away as some punishment? Emily shrugged. She needed to eat and regain her strength. She wouldn't be overpowered anymore.
Bill waved at Dave as he got into his new truck, well new to him. It was a dark green Chevy truck. He was going to take his old car to the junk yard and have it crushed for scrap metal. Having to get a new vehicle wasn't so bad since it was an upgrade. He still wasn't happy about why he had to get a new one or how the salesman kept eyeing his face. He mulled over what she had said to him the other night. Bill wasn't sure what he wanted to do. She did seem sincere this time, but she had the other times too. Though this time there was a certain desperation to her voice. She was also carrying his baby. He analyzed the language she used. She kept correcting him whenever he said it was his. Did she have a change of heart finally?
He didn't want to give her any power over him again. He was the head of the house and he would be respected. She lied too many times. Bill would put her in her place. This little bitch wasn't worth the headache she caused him. Damn his desperation. Still his heart ached to be gentle with her. All she was good for now was making his baby. He shook his head at the coldness of that thought. He didn't really feel that way. Bill let out a heavy sigh. Maybe he would take her up on pleas to be a family.
Bill stopped by a store and picked out a nice colorful bouquet. He would try to make up with her one last time. She wanted to be a family then they would be a family. He didn't want to be like his own father. He would treat his wife right, especially their child. She would need to learn some manners and class. He would take her to church next week after he was sure she wouldn't try anything and embarrass him. He wasn't afraid of her making him out to be bad, they knew how things were, he knew they would take her down a peg if she tried to escape. Most of the wives were quiet and obedient, he hoped Emily would take a page from their books and cook and clean for him.
It would be nice to have a few kids, while he got to sit and watch the game while she cooked. Or watch the kids while he went fishing or out with his friends. He knew she could take care of him in other ways, but would she be enthusiastic about it like when she was faking it? Who was the real Emily? He thought of her as some immature new adult, but there was more to her that he missed out on. He realized he only had the romanticized version of her in his head. He would find the real Emily soon.
Emily jumped when she heard the door unlocking. What could he want? Usually he didn't come back until he was dropping off her dinner, it was too early for that judging by the sunlight.
Bill calmly walked in with a nervous smile. His breath left him when he saw her standing looking at him worriedly. She was wearing one of his old sweaters and her hair looked so pretty. He pulled the bouquet from behind his back and presented them to her. He prompted her to take them when she just stood there.
"They're pretty." She said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I thought about what you said." He said, clasping his hands behind his back.
"Yea?" She asked in surprise, eyeing him suspiciously.
"I want that more than anything. God knows I do. I don't trust you since you've lied to me so much." He said, pacing back and forth.
"One last chance, Bill." She asked, hiding her lower face behind the bouquet.
"Yes!" He rushed to her and enveloped her in a crushing hug. Bill crushed his lips to hers desperately. Emily swallowed bile, this was her last chance, she had to play it right. She mustered the energy to match his passion.
She pulled away breathlessly, "Do you have a vase for these?"
Bill tensed, he still didn't trust her. "Yes, I'll take care of these, Love."
"Thank you." She whispered.
He pulled back when he noticed her wedding band. "Where did you find that?" He asked in alarm.
"It was under the bed." She shrugged. "Is something wrong?"
"No, I'm just surprised to see you wearing it." He said, caressing her hand.
"Why wouldn't I?" She laughed nervously.
Bill shook his head with a smile and kissed her hand. "Let me take care of these." He took them from her and left the room.
Emily followed behind him, surprised he wasn't keeping her locked in the room at the moment. She watched him snip the ends and and put them in a plastic vase from the locked cabinet.
"Does this mean I can use real dishes now?" She asked with a joking voice.
Bill gave her a tense look, " You have to earn that."
Emily blinked, what? "Seriously?"
"As a heart attack." He answered seriously.
Emily stopped herself from rolling her eyes. If only you had a heart attack. "H-How do I earn them back?"
"You'll know it when you do." He said sternly. Emily scoffed and crossed her arms. "I don't want you breaking them and using them against me." He added.
"You have to trust me for this to work." She said with barely veiled anger.
"You have to respect me above all else for this to work, Emily." Bill said, his upper lip twitching.
Her shoulders slumped forward. "I love you." She whispered and went back to the room.
He wasn't expecting that reaction from her. He was waiting for her to throw a tantrum and attack him again. Maybe she did come to her senses? He rushed to their room and pulled her into his arms. "I love you too, baby! I love you so much!" He said as he crushed her to his chest.