Read my Lips

Chapter 19

Time passed strangely inside the twelve by fifteen foot room Eliana was locked in. She couldn't turn the lights on or off. And they didn't go on or off on their own. With no natural light and no clock, there was no way for her to judge the passing of time. Ten minutes in this place felt like an eternity. Exploring every inch of her room didn't take her more than a few hours. And once she knew there was nothing inside it that would help her escape, Eliana was left without any way to pass the time. The minutes stretched into hours. All Eliana knew for sure was that she fell asleep and woke back up twice before Casanova returned to torment them again. She might have slept for an entire day, or only a few minutes. Given the fact that she was still high from whatever drugs he'd given her, it was nearly impossible to tell.

Eliana's hand was resting against the hard surface of the reinforced door. There were a few cracks in the original wood that weren't completely covered over. She happened to be peeking through them when she saw Casanova enter Kate's room. But once the door was shut behind him, she couldn't see anything else. Unfortunately, Eliana could hear what was happening. And her mind filled in the rest. Kate was screaming as he beat and kicked her. Her screams turned muffled and gurgled as her mouth filled with blood from the abuse.

The low monotone of his voice drifted out, too low for Eliana to be able to make out what Casanova was saying. Her heart was beating overtime in her chest. Kate wasn't the only one that broke the rules. She called out. But Eliana answered her. When he got done beating Kate into the next galaxy, Casanova was going to come for her. And if he beat her, she wouldn't be able to walk. And if she couldn't walk, she couldn't run. And if she couldn't run, she was never going to escape. Eliana rose to her feet. If she couldn't run, she'd be stuck in this place, getting raped and beaten until Spencer rode in on his white horse to rescue her. He'd find her eventually. Of that she had no doubt. She had complete faith in him. But Eliana wasn't sure if she could wait that long. She stepped one way and then the other, her mind spinning from the rush of panic as much as the drugs.

Eliana stripped her hoodie off, tossing it on the bed as she jerked the top dresser drawer open. The sight of all the lacy provocative undergarments she knew were inside it made her stomach lurch. But she forced herself to swallow down the bile that rose in her throat as she wriggled her shorts and underwear down over her hips. She didn't put much thought into her choice of lingerie. Her ex always told her she looked good in red. So she snatched up the first red item she saw and jerked the slinky silk nightie over her head. There was a matching pair of panties in the drawer. She grabbed them and slammed the drawer shut. The little box of cosmetics rattled on top of the dresser. Eliana reached for it and pulled out a tube of red lipstick. The only mirror she'd been provided with was the sticky plastic kind kids put up in their lockers at school. Casanova wasn't stupid enough to give her a real glass mirror. Which was probably for the best, since it removed the temptation of breaking it and using the glass to slit her wrists. Eliana stared into the warped image, applying the lipstick as best she could given that her hands were shaking.

Eliana was trying her best to pretend she wasn't afraid. But the sound of her door being unlocked sent a jolt of fear rippling up her back. Her body went stiff. But she forced herself to take a breath and relax. It was easier than she would have expected. At least whatever he kept drugging her with was helpful in that regard. Casanova entered her room with his stun gun in one hand and his belt in the other. There was fresh blood splashed across his chest. And on the leather belt. The devil mask covered his whole face, making it impossible to read his expression. But since he paused in the doorway for what seemed like an eternity before he spoke, Eliana could only guess that he wasn't expecting to find her lounging against the doorway to her toilet area in lingerie instead of cowering in the corner of her prison room.

"Do you think dressing up pretty is going to get you out of your punishment?," he asked. From his tone, Eliana could tell he was pleased by her appearance. And she let herself breathe a small sigh of relief.

"You think I'm pretty?," she asked, tugging on the hem of her dangerously short nightie and offering him up the most sincere fake smile she could muster up. The door behind him was still cracked open. He was so surprised to find her dressed up and waiting for him that he forgot to latch it. Don't look at the door, she told herself. Look anywhere but there.

"You broke the rules," he said.

"I'm really sorry," Eliana lied. The only thing she was sorry about was that Kate just got her ass kicked for talking to her. She wasn't sorry for breaking his freakshow house rules. "She kept yelling and yelling. I just wanted her to be quiet…" Eliana kept her eyes down, playing the part of a regretful child. "It won't happen again, I swear."

There was a long pause. Eliana guessed her captor was weighing the situation in his mind, deciding if he'd rather beat her or fuck her. She was afraid he might do both. But then he set his leather belt down on top of the dresser next to the small box of cosmetics he'd provided her with. He set his stun gun down next. And then he reached up and removed the bottom half of his mask. His teeth were even and white. And when he smiled, he had a dimple in his left cheek.
"Come here," he ordered.

Eliana forced herself forward. If she balked now, then she'd debased herself for no reason. Her stomach was churning. Just the thought of Casanova's hands on her made her want to vomit. Some of Kate's blood was smeared across his knuckles. But still, Eliana moved directly in front of him, standing as close as she could without actually touching him.

"I knew you were the one," he said. "The moment I saw your face on his screen, I knew I had to have you." As he spoke, Casanova pulled off the bottom half of his mask before he reached for her. His hand rested in the hollow of her waist, lingering there. Then he circled his arm around her and pulled her body against his. When his lips pressed down on hers, Eliana forced herself to pretend he was someone else. That was the only way she could kiss him back without vomiting. He touched her gently, like they were lovers. And that somehow made it worse. She felt dirty and ashamed of the way her nipple went hard when he skimmed his fingers over it. She was almost grateful when he broke the kiss and ordered her down onto her knees.

Casanova unzipped his pants, letting his impressive member spring free. She had to admit, it was probably the biggest dick she'd ever seen. She knew she was going to have to relax her jaw to take it into her mouth. Eliana reached forward, gripping the base of his dick with her hand. She pressed a kiss to the tip of it first, leaving a tiny smear of what little lipstick was left on her lips. Then she parted her lips and let him push inside. He didn't force or gag her, which like the way he touched her, made her feel worse. Almost like she wasn't being forced, when she clearly had no choice in what was happening. Eliana waited until he started rocking his hips in rhythm with her mouth. She waited until she knew he was relaxed and concentrating on how good her mouth felt wrapped around his dick. And then she bit down on him as hard as she could.

A shocked strangled scream bubbled from his lips. The metallic tang of blood filled her mouth. He jerked back, tearing the skin in his attempt to get his dick as far away from her teeth as possible. Eliana balled her hand up into a fist. And as he stumbled another step back, she punched him as hard as she possibly could in his neatly shaved ballsack. His hands moved to his crotch and he fell to his knees. Then her captor tumbled forward onto the floor.

He was down. Casanova. He was on the floor clutching his bleeding crotch. She hurt him. She did. The little fat girl with no hometown that spent most of her teen years watching star trek reruns on tv while everyone else was attending parties and pep rallies.

Eliana struggled to her feet. Her mind was spinning from the drugs as she stared down at his hulking form. The man she knew only as Casanova was lying on the ground, moaning with his hands over his bare genitals. Eliana was standing over him in a tiny negligee with his blood dripping down her chin.

Years later, when Eliana was lying in bed next to her husband and her kids were asleep down the hall, it was this moment that would keep her awake at night. Not the rape. Not the memory of waking up in Spencer's apartment and knowing someone was watching her while she slept. And not the way this monster almost cost her the love of her life. It was all the things she should have done in this moment that would haunt her forever. She should have kicked her captor while he was down. She should have stomped his face in. She should have picked up the stun gun he was threatening her with and zapped him in the neck with it. She should have darted from the room and shut the door behind her, locking Casanova inside his own prison. She should have helped the other women he had captive down in that rape dungeon. She should have helped her brave friend, Dr. Kate.

But Eliana did none of those things. Her adrenaline was surging. Her mind was swimming from whatever Casanova drugged her with. Her mouth was full of blood and the taste of his dick. And the one clear thought in her mind was escape. RUN! Run now, she told herself. Go! Run as fast as you can! Eliana stumble stepped, catching her toe on his leg and almost falling forward onto her face. She focused her attention on the door of her twelve by fifteen prison. And then she ran faster than she'd ever run before in her life. The door led her into a hallway with a dirt floor. Eliana could see other doors, like the one to the room she was in. They were all barred and locked from the outside. The dirt was cold and rough against her bare feet. She didn't know which way to go. Her mind was racing. If she ran the wrong way, she might end up heading further inside this prison. He'd catch her. And this time, he wouldn't just rape her. He'd kill her. Slowly and painfully. The floor had a slight upward incline. Eliana took a chance and ran that way, hoping that up meant out. It was a chance that paid off.

Casanova was screaming her name. Eliana could hear him behind her. But she kept running, taking turn after turn and following the incline until she reached a rickety set of ancient wooden steps. The first board gave way under her slight weight. Eliana's foot smashed through the moldy old slat of wood. But the second step held. She slammed her hands against the old barn style doors. In her mind, she was sure that the doors were going to be sealed shut from the outside. Surely Casanova thought of every possible avenue of escape.

The doors slapped open. A splinter of old wood that she didn't feel was sticking out of Eliana's hand. She practically exploded out of the opening. The sunlight outside was so bright, it momentarily blinded her. She turned towards the sound of Casanova's angry threatening screams. But there was nothing behind her. Not a house or a barn. Just the woods and the hole in the ground she emerged from. Eliana stepped forward, gasping when her foot came down hard on a jagged rock. She jerked it back, nearly falling down the ancient wooden steps and back into his underground prison. Eliana had no idea where she was, though from the unfamiliar look of the foliage and plant life, she knew she was far from her home in Washington DC. The woods were thick around her. And she didn't see so much as even a hiking trail. There was no path that might lead her back to civilization. Or even a roadway. She had no idea which way to run.

The ground Eliana was standing on had a slight incline. And since heading uphill got her this far, she took another chance and ran in that direction. Her skimpy outfit didn't offer her much protection from the elements. Thorny bushes scraped her skin. Branches slapped against her face and legs. And her bare feet crunched and scraped against the rough ground. She didn't see her captor climb out of the opening in the ground. But she heard him. Casanova's voice suddenly increased in volume, like he was all around her. The sound terrified her. If he was screaming that loud, that meant no one would hear her if she called for help.

Eliana's heart was beating so fast, she felt like it might explode. The only thing that was keeping her on her feet after all the drugs he gave her was pure unchecked adrenaline. She just kept telling herself to run. Run or die, those were her choices. And so she ran. She ran until the slight incline became a hill. And the hill became a slope. And her hands dug into the hard packed dirt as she scrambled up it on all fours. Up ahead, she saw an opening in the treeline. And she scrambled to her feet and kept going, hoping that she might have found a road. Eliana stopped just in time. Her feet slid against the dirt and her arms flailed in the air. The woods opened up, not because she found a roadway, but because she nearly ran off the edge of a cliff.

Eliana froze, looking down. There was a wide river running along the bottom of the cliff. But she was really high up. She had no idea what height a person could jump from and survive. Spencer would know, she thought to herself. But Spencer wasn't there. And all Eliana knew was that the water looked really far away. The jump alone might kill her. And that's if she didn't hit the water and drown. Eliana looked back the way she came. But it was already too late. He was there. Casanova. There was a dark blood stain on the crotch of his pants. And a rope in his hands. The end of it was tied into a noose. Eliana glanced down at the water. She took one more look at the man that raped her. And then she jumped.