Hey everyone! Thanks for being so kind with the reviews! I love hearing from you all, really. It seriously makes my day! Doodles on tumblr :)
Eddie was kind enough to let her change into her patient jumpsuit in the shower stall. He said it wasn't proper for her 'soon to be husband' to see her naked before their wedding night. The thought had made Clair shiver – she was sure Waylon would come and find her or she'd find a way to escape before that happened.
Now, though, she sat on a dirty little mattress and watched her captor tailor a wedding dress. He'd been at it for a while now and had, surprisingly, been silent. She assumed it was because he was so focused on his work. The man clearly had passion. Clair's eyes landed on a long, thin piece of fabric on the floor right outside her cage. She knelt down to pick it up, to tie her hair up with it, and her movement drew Eddie's attention.
"NO!" He boomed, his voice sounding more panicked than anything. Clair's body went still and she dropped the fabric, letting her mop of curly dark blond hair fall to her shoulders. Eddie relaxed and adjusted his vest before stepping over to the cage. Clair instinctively shrank back, but he motioned for her to come closer. She reluctantly did as she was told.
"I didn't mean to startle you Darling." Eddie said as he opened the door. "It's just – I like your hair down. It looks more feminine, it looks more like…"
He trailed off and reached a hand out towards her face. Clair flinched, assuming he was going to hit her, but was surprised to find him playing with a lock of her hair. She watched as he stroked it absentmindedly between his pointer finger and thumb.
"She had hair like yours, you know." He said softly. "Hers was just darker – like mine."
Eddie pulled away from her now, his expression shifting suddenly to one of anger and shut the door in Clair's face. "She was a fucking whore." He spat. Eddie walked back over to the wedding dress and picked the needle he had been using out of a pin cushion.
"I like it better on you, darling. You're not like her – not an ungrateful, abandoning, slut." He seemed to become lucid for a moment, his brow furrowed as if he were remembering. His clarity didn't last long and his crooked, large grin returned to his face.
"Unfortunately, sweetheart, my parents won't be attending the wedding. My mother is off visiting distant family and my Father and Uncle are on a long hunting trip – can't pull them away from that." Eddie turned to Clair, "and your parents my love? Will they be coming?"
Her parents? She paused for a moment, only now realizing how long it had been since she thought of them. Years. It had been years.
"Um, no. They won't be coming. They live so far away – and they can't afford the plane ride."
"Such a pity." He replied as he continued to work. "They're going to miss how absolutely stunning you're going to look in this dress."
He stepped back from the mannequin to admire his work, then moved to look at her with his eyebrows raised, obviously pleased with himself. Eddie stepped over to her cage and unlocked it, leading her out towards the dress with one large hand placed on the small of her back. She was about to ask if she could go bring the dress to another room to try it on when she felt him start to unbutton her jumpsuit.
"I-I thought you didn't want to see me naked till after the wedding!" She pointed out hastily.
"You're not going to be completely naked Darling, don't be so embarrassed." Eddie said softly while he took his time pulling the outfit off her arms. Clair stepped out of it and shivered when his rough hands were placed on either side of her hips. He trailed them up to her green undershirt and lifted it up and over her arms.
Eddie lingered behind her, his hands resting on her shoulders. Clair felt them creep up to her neck and her eyes went wide when his fingers curled around her throat. He didn't grip her hard, but tight enough that she felt panic start to rise in her.
"You're just so small." He said more to himself then to Clair. "My petite soon to be wife – how easily I could snap you in half."
A rush of air left her lungs when he finally let her go. She stood there, shivering, as he removed the dress from the mannequin.
"I apologies for getting a little vulgar my dear." He said while putting the dress over her head. "Don't worry though, after the wedding, once we're married, once we're able to start our family, I'll be a different man. I promise."
Eddie stepped away from her after buttoning up the back and asked her to turn and face him. She did as she was told. The dress was still a little big in some areas, but it fit her well overall.
"Breathtaking." He said, walking over and placing a hand on her cheek. "You're so much more beautiful then all those other whores, Darling."
Eddie took long strides down the hall as they made their way to where she could only assume he wanted them to get married. He seemed frazzled, rushed, as if this processes had taken much longer then he had expected. As they turned a corner Eddie stopped fast and his grip on Clair's arm tightened, probably leaving bruises. There was a patient in the corner, crying, just several feet down the hall in front of them.
"As both our folks won't be showing up – we should invite some guests my love."
Eddie let go of Clair and advanced towards the sobbing patient while pulling his knife from the back of his belt. Just let him do it she told herself. Maybe he was just going to bring him with them? But then the knife wouldn't really be needed. The thought made her sick, this man looked just as terrified as she was.
Clair lost all resolve on letting Eddie butcher the crying patient when he started to beg for his life.
"Wait!" She called out, running over to him and placing her hand on the arm holding the knife. Eddie looked over at her, confused and angry.
"I want to have a private wedding." She said, rubbing her fingers on the exposed skin between his glove and shirt sleeve. "It's more intimate that way – more romantic. Don't you think?"
Eddie regarded her for a moment, his expression one of irritation.
"D-don't you want me to be happy? On such a special day?" Clair licked her lips as her eyes darted over his face. Had she gone too far? Eddie seemed to relax and a condescending smile formed on his lips.
"Such a needy little girl you are Darling. But a happy wife makes a happy home." Eddie said in a sing-song voice. His smile immediately wilted when he looked back down at the patient, who had apparently been staring at Clair. Eddie gave him a quick head motion and the man bolted away from them and disappeared into the darkness.
The wedding chapel he brought her to was sparingly large. Clair's eyes followed the line of white chairs till they stopped at the altar. There was a man tied to it – rope wrapping around his body several times allowing only his hands to stick out. She was about to walk down the aisle to him, when Eddie stepped in front of her.
"Now you stay here sweetheart." He said affectionately. "I'll tell you when to walk down." Eddie turned on his heel and walked towards the altar. It was only now that Clair noticed the obscene amounts of blood that paved the way to where Eddie and the patient were standing. Some of the blood had seemed to have already dried, but the majority was still wet and fresh. She wasn't wearing shoes.
Clair heard Eddie call to her and her head snapped up in response. She looked straight ahead and struggled to smile as she walked down the blood covered carpet. Why the hell was there blood here? Had he done this before? Her head was swimming but Clair still managed to grin at him when she finally reached her groom.
The patient was holding a slip of paper, which she guessed Eddie had handed to him, and started to read. It was the very basics of a ceremony and it wasn't long before it came to the part she had been dreading.
"Do you," the patient said, "Eddie Gluskin take-"He paused. The patient looked confused and tried to lean over and whisper to Eddie.
"You left this part blank." He said in a hushed voice.
The two looked over at Clair expectantly and she was momentarily stunned by how unreal the situation was. He put blank spaces in the instructions. This was not his first time here.
"Clair Johnson…" She said quietly, and Eddie's smile widened. He looked back at the patient and the man continued to read.
"Take Clair Johnson to be your lawfully wedded wife."
"I do. With all my heart dear." Eddie said sweetly, giving her small hands a tight squeeze.
"And do you, Clair Johnson, take Eddie Gluskin as your lawfully wedded Husband?"
Clair paused for only a moment, her voice not seeming work. She felt the grip of Eddie's hands tighten around her own threateningly.
"Of course I do!" Clair basically yelled. She threw on her fake smile and Eddie loosened his hold.
"Then I now pronounce you husband and wife – you may kiss the bride." The patient grinned at the two of them and clapped his hands together in celebration.
Clair's eyes widened into full circles when she saw Eddie step closer to her. He placed his hand on her back and brought her snug to his chest. The shower had washed away all the blood that had covered his face, but the allergic sores and blood eyes still remained. He didn't necessarily look unattractive, but he was horrifying. Clair felt his hand gently grip her chin and lift it up, his thumb brushing against her lips. Eddie leaned in and placed his rough mouth on her soft one.
He held the kiss longer then what was normally accustomed at a wedding, and when he finally did pull back he didn't move far. His lips hovered over hers and his hand kept her face firmly in place.
"It's been quite some time," He said, his voice holding a hint of clarity, "since I've kissed a woman."
Eddie straightened his back and gave her a charming smile, the veil of his fantasy falling back into place. He scooped her up in his arms and started to carry her down the aisle to where they'd entered before. They didn't get far before a variant tackled them both to the ground. Clair thought she recognized the man as the patient she'd helped before, but she couldn't tell. Eddie was wrestling the man on the ground and shouting out obscenities.
This was her chance. Clair scrambled to her feet and dashed down a conjoining hallway. She hiked the dress up to her knees and continued darting around corners till she came to a pair of large doors. Clair pushed through and immediately tripped. She fell forward onto a web and felt her body send reverberations across the rope covered floor – it looked like some sort of pulley system. As soon as she started to push herself up Clair felt a sprinkling of – what she hoped was water- dapple her face and exposed arms.
She willed herself to look over at her skin and her worst fear was realized – blood. She was covered in drops of blood. Clair's eyes shot up to the ceiling and she instantly turned her head to try and vomit, but there was nothing to come up. There were bodies hanging from the beams above, their genitals sliced off and fake breasted sewn onto their bodies. Eddie had done this – she just knew. This is what the saw in his work shop was for. Why he was so surprised to see an actual woman here in the asylum.
Clair heard the door creak open and she turned her head to see the broad shouldered silhouette of a man. Eddie. He must have killed the patient. He walked into the room slowly, his whole body surrounded in an aura of rage.
"I see you've found my whores." He said while lifting his hand and indicating to the ceiling. "I thought you were different Darling. That you weren't going to leave me!"
"No!" She yelled out, her legs shaky as she tried to stand. "No, no. You're mistaken. I was scared of the man who attacked you – I thought he would hurt me." Clair was gasping, her body shaking violently as she tried to ignore the 40 odd bodies dripping all around her.
Eddie stood in silence. She wasn't sure if he believed her or not, but his expression did seem to relax – but not by much.
"Let's get you out of that dress now my dear." His voice still rough and angry. "Wouldn't want you to sully it anymore then you already have."