Cristina wished she knew what time it was when she awoke but guessed it was sometime in the morning, judging by the floorboards creaking. Her heart thudded, hoping he would leave her alone at least for a few hours until she could adjust again. She ignored the fact that she was thirsty since it was obvious he wouldn't be as sympathetic as he had been yesterday. Because of this, he could easily say she would be alright and starve her for two to three days which caused the young woman to whimper loudly.
I should be lucky he was decent enough to feed me yesterday. I don't know what starving actually is.She licked her dry lips, hoping to make them moist until the privilege of receiving water was given to her.
Since Mac's work bench and station were stored down here, she had hoped that a sink was installed but even if one was, she was bound tight. Even if she desire to stand up or crawl, there was no way she would be able to and in her mind, his voice echoed through her: "You're not going anywhere." And then she begged him for water, having him only respond with: "You want something to drink? Drink this bottle of ammonia and you will be filled right up." What would Mac do if I dared to refuse? Hold the bottle to my mouth and force it down my throat, poisoning me as he laughs devilishly? What's more scary, though? Him actually committing the act or me thinking it up?
A full hour passed by before he felt like checking up on her as if he were a babysitter checking on a child who was supposed to be asleep to make sure they are, in fact, little angels sleeping on a cloud bed. "Morning, pretty Crissy." He teased, reaching in his jeans pocket, pulling out a silver rectangular tin. Opening it, he dipped a finger in and rubbed some white powder across his ugly, black teeth. "How's the floor treating you?" When he received no answer, he rambled on. "I bet you thought I forgot about you, that I would leave you all alone…"
She could only hope.
"I was eating breakfast," He practically rubbed in the fact of his stomach being full. "Toast and eggs with a cup of coffee…Damn was it good." She may have not been hungry at the moment but her mouth screamed for water. "I think that maybe for lunch, I'll have Walter cook me up a bacon cheeseburger…What? Am I torturing you?" He was trying his best to hide it but for one tiny second, she swore she saw a smirking on his face, like he was an overpowering demon.
She hated him.
"Heh, you look thirsty. Want something to drink? Open your mouth,"
Cristina could only anticipate Mac grabbing the sickening bottle of ammonia, coercing her into swallowing the harmful fluid. Instead, he drew saliva in his mouth, ready to spit straight into her mouth. But that never happened. Managing to bring her legs up, Cristina suddenly kick him square in the stomach. "Leave me alone you bastard!"
Rage flickered in the greasy hick's eyes as he pressed his lips together, making his jaw prominent and knelt down, pounding a fist into her jaw like a madman. The moment his fist connected with her face, a tooth cracked in the back of her mouth, then she tasted warm blood as it pooled onto her tongue. "You bitch!" His intentions were to yank her face terrifyingly close to his but was rudely stopped by Cristina giving him a face full of her blood. He meant to put her in her place, break her until she screamed, raising another fist when the sound of a door bell ringing echoed throughout the house, saving the poor girl from a vicious beating. Mac froze in midair, his dark eyes gazing up at the ceiling, nostrils flaring. Whoever this was on his doorstep, it better be damn good, he thought, whipping out a rag covered in sweat and grease.
She nearly vomited as the new gag was put in pl ace, choking her but as she tried spitting it out, Mac wagged a finger, the door bell continuing to ring. "You are to not make a single sound, regardless of who this goddamn person is. If you try to scream and I hear you, I will kill them. Do you understand?" Mac warned, speaking in a dark, menacing tone, almost demonic. "And if you try to get their attention, I'll have you begging to die. Be good and just maybe I'll think of untying you." For better understanding, he put a finger to his lips and stood, making his way up the stairs, leaving her to think about what just happened.
The plus side of the whole situation was that he left the door wide open for easy access to eavesdrop. Cristina strained her ears, lifting her head up for effect. Who would ever come visit him? From what I saw, this place is a complete shithole. Maybe the mail man? Who the hell gets mail all the way out of here, though?
"Morning Sheriff," Mac, being the "friendly" guy again, she imagined the warm, soft look he was giving.
Wait! Did he say Sheriff?Her eyes widened as her stomach churned.
"Hello, Mac. It's pretty nice out today, not too humid. I'm sorry to interrupt as I understand you have work today, no?" Sheriff Collins greeted him probably tipping his hat at the dumb hick.
"It's not a problem. I make my own hours, if you've forgotten…"
What's the sheriff doing here? Does he know about me? Oh god…
"Remember that new girl, Cristina Abernathy?" The sheriff asked, kindly interrogating.
Mac paused momentarily to make it seem like he was trying to remember the girl bound in his basement until it hit him like an oncoming truck. "Samuel Abernathy's niece, right?" He failed to say he had attacked her at the Luna Mesa but how on earth could the sheriff ever forget about that incident?
"Also the girl you forced yourself on…Forget about that?"
The sheriff sounds upset.. He knows something is up…he has to, otherwise he would never have come here.
"I was drunk that night, sheriff. I apologized later on that night. Called her up once I sobered." Explained Mac, working his charm successfully. Cristina wasn't there to call him out on his bullshit so anything that came out of his filthy mouth was considered true. It was up to the sheriff if he believed it or not.
"That may be so but yesterday, I drive out to Samuel's house to check up on the poor girl and discovered his brains all over the living room and little Miss Abernathy long gone. I also found various signs of intrusion and I can't help but wonder one thing…Do you know anything about that, Mac?"
He knows, he knows! Sweet Jesus, I'm going to be saved! He'll find out that I'm down here and take Mac into custody. I'll be untied and sent back to New Jersey and this nightmare will feel like a dream to me.
"You think I broke into their house and killed her uncle?" Mac sounded offended, gasping in horror at the accusation. "I didn't step foot near her or her uncle. After leaving the Luna Mesa, I came straight home to feed the dog. You can even ask Walter."
"Well, you did have an altercation with her that night…" The sheriff trailed off. "But if you say you weren't there…" The look Mac had to be giving him must've been serious, truthful because he instantly took back his accusation. "I didn't get reports of you showing up at the residence but you need to understand I'm only following the protocol."
"I understand, sir…"
"I'm sorry about this Mac. Have a good day, now." And with that, Sheriff Collins took off, leaving behind a satisfied criminal and a furious, frantic victim.
"No, no, no!" She screamed, no longer caring about Mac's warning. "Sheriff Collins! Come back! I'm down here! Sheriff! Help!" Her screams were muffled from the disgusting rag, though she tried being loud but by that time, he was already driving off in his police cruiser. He fucking got away with it, that greasy fuck! He's out of the clear and free to do whatever he wants with me. What am I going to do now?
Her mind flashed back to him promising to untie her. No, he said he'll think about doing it. There's a difference between actually doing something and thinking of doing something.If he ever held onto his end of the bargain then just maybe she could find a way to distract him and finally escape. Like all her other ideas, it would be risky but her life depended upon it.