Enticed:A Dangerous Connection (Secrets) (12 page)

At the same time, it’s tempting to try to hide from everything. I could just lose myself in the books Ruby loaned me, and I’m sure they’ll be a comfort at night when I’m locked back in my room, if that happens. But in the meantime, the only way I’ll get out of here is to figure it out myself.

I remain in the kitchen after we’re finished with the pizza. My goal is to clean up in here and try to think of a way out. At the very least I could use something heavy, like a pan, and bash out the front window and scream for help. But only if I saw a neighbor outside. So far, although I’ve noticed a few cars, I haven’t seen a single person out there.

It’s weird, though, as badly as I want out of this creepy place, I’d like to help these girls, too. I know they’re trying to act like they’re okay with this disgusting lifestyle, but I can tell they’re not happy. And Ruby … she’s so young. It’s all so disturbing.

As I’m scrubbing the grubby granite countertop, I know I can’t just escape and forget all about them. So I feel like I’m a spy, like I need to gather their stories without letting them discover my reasons for wanting to know. They would clam up if they knew my real motives.

“You don’t have to do that,” Kandy tells me as I’m loading the dishwasher with dishes that seem to have been sitting out for days. “We have a cleaning lady who comes on Monday mornings. She’ll take care of everything.”

“That’s okay,” I say as I tear off a paper towel. “I want to.” I squirt some cleaner on the microwave, wiping off the grimy glass surface. “This is such a pretty kitchen. I’ve never been in a house this nice before. It’s kind of fun to clean it.”

“Seriously?” She frowns at me like I’m some sort of anomaly, then reaches for one of the liquor bottles. She finds a clean glass and fills it with something amber. Then, after taking a long swig, she lets out a deep sigh. “Ahh … just what the doctor ordered.” She takes another long gulp. “At least until Jimmy gets me what I
really
need.”

She empties the glass, then clanks it down on the counter with a bang, swearing. “Sometimes that lazy dude makes me really want to scream and pull my hair out.” She looks around. “Where is he anyway?”

“I don’t know.” I continue scrubbing something sticky from the stove top.

She leans over, peering curiously at me. “What are you doing here anyway? What’s your game,
Pollyanna
?”

“Pollyanna?”

She nods. “Yeah, that’s what you remind me of. The girl who’s trying to pretend this is a good place to be. Like you’re playing the glad game.”

I look back evenly at her. “I’m just trying to get by. No different than you. Surviving the best way I can.”

She laughs and I’m reminded of Michelle’s sometimes-sarcastic laugh. “Yeah, right. You’re just like me. Well, excuse me for sayin’ so, but you don’t look like no junkie to me.”

“Is that how you do this?”

She slaps her palm on the counter so loudly it makes me jump. “It is
why
I do this,” she seethes at me. “Don’t you get that?”

I slowly nod, stunned at how Kandy can be sweeter than sugar one minute and meaner than the devil the next. Probably the drugs. “Yeah, I get it. You do what you do to get what you need.”

“You got that right, Pollyanna.” She yells for Jimmy now, and without saying another word to me, she goes off in search of him, eventually pounding on his bedroom door and yelling for him to answer.

After several minutes, he opens it and she goes inside and the whole time I’m cleaning the kitchen, she doesn’t come back out. A chill runs through me as I realize that they’re probably both getting high in there together. Who else in this house depends on drugs to get by?

I’m just finishing in the kitchen, which looks impressive if I do say so myself, when Ruby comes back. She’s digging through the fridge, which I discovered was mostly empty except for sodas and a few random condiments, a jar of olives, and some nasty-smelling lunch meat, which I threw out.

“The housekeeper will be here tomorrow.” Ruby pops open a Mountain Dew, pouring it into a glass with ice.

“So I’ve heard.” I return the broom to the closet where I found it. “I just felt like doing this.
Okay?
”

She nods with a slightly apologetic expression. “Sure … yeah … okay.”

I give a partial smile. “Sorry to be so grouchy. I guess I’m just trying to figure stuff out.”

“What kind of stuff?”

“Oh, you know, what keeps you guys all going. I know that Kandy and Jimmy rely on drugs.” I tip my head toward the hallway.

“Yeah. Desiree and Tatiana do too. Except they mostly smoke weed. Kandy and Jimmy are into the hard stuff. I tried it, but it made me so sick I decided never again. And Jimmy respects that.” She reaches for a bottle of vodka, pouring a generous portion into her greenish yellow soda.

“You really like
that
?” As usual, I try to conceal my shock. For some reason I had assumed that Ruby, maybe because of her juvenile room or her age, was the one who might not be abusing a substance.

She takes a sip and wrinkles her nose. “It helps to numb me.” She points to the clock on the microwave and I see that it’s already past five. “I usually start drinking around this time of day. That way I’m feeling good by the time we’re out there, you know, drumming up business.” She makes a sad little laugh and takes another big sip.

“What if you could get out of this life?” I ask quietly. “Would you want to?”

She rolls her eyes. “Yeah, and I’d want a million dollars, too. Are you the good fairy, handing out wishes?”

I shrug. “Just curious. Like I said, I’m trying to figure this stuff out.”

She studies me. “Some people don’t have a choice. We just take what we get, and like I said, we hope things’ll get better … someday.”

“What if you were out working, I mean, like you’ll be doing tonight,” I persist, “and what if someone came along and promised to take you away from all this? Would you go?”

She laughs. “Sure. That happens all the time. Every guy has a line.”

“Not like that. What if someone wanted to rescue you?”

She frowns. “You better watch what you say, Serena. I like you, but you could get in trouble talking like that. Tom has friends everywhere. No one can run away from him. Not and live to talk about it.”

“What about the police?” I whisper.

She scowls. “Okay, that just shows how totally ignorant you really are.”

“What do you mean?”

“The last girl who talked to the police was returned in a bloody heap. That happened just before I came here. Britney was my best friend in the other house. But her face was so messed up that she couldn’t work anymore. Jimmy had to let her go.”

“Free?”

“No.” She shakes her head and lowers her voice. “No one goes free. The sooner you get that, the better. I don’t know what happened to Britney, but I know it wasn’t good.” She finishes off her drink and starts to mix another. “I’m not the smartest thing around, but I do know better than to run to the police.”

Someone is coming down the stairs. As Tatiana enters the room, Ruby is rattling on about her favorite reality shows. “I told Jimmy we should do a reality show here,” she says lightly. I can tell the alcohol is already taking effect.

“Here in this house?” I ask in disbelief.

“Yeah, don’t you think it’d be a good show?” she asks me. “Desperate Runaways of the Great Northwest. We could have cameras in every room.”

Tatiana lets out a laugh. “That’s not a bad idea, Ruby.”

“Yeah, I know.” Ruby takes her drink over to where Tatiana is now cruising through the TV channels. “Don’t you think people would be interested in knowing how the other half lives?”

“For sure.” Tatiana nods. “We could all get rich and famous.”

“Except that Tom would never allow it.” Ruby flops down on a sofa.

Tatiana is clicking away on the remote and, to my surprise, she stops on the TV Land channel and
The Andy Griffith Show
is just starting.

I sit on the couch next to Ruby, and the three of us quietly watch as Aunt Bee tells Opie how important it is to honor his word and keep his promises. Incongruous, yes? But it feels even stranger when Tatiana lights up a joint and starts puffing. I can’t help but cough and, excusing myself, I slowly stand.

Tatiana just laughs at me. “Yeah, I figured that would get rid of you.”

“Sorry,” I say as I wave the air. “But I’m actually pretty tired.”

“Yeah, well, enjoy my room,” she says bitterly.

As I go into her barren room, I wonder what there is to enjoy. But I close the door, still hoping they’ll all forget about locking me up when they leave tonight. I open one of Ruby’s paperbacks and get lost in a happy story for a while. Eventually, I hear someone at my door and the familiar clank of the dead bolt as it is snapped into place.

“Wait!” I leap up to pound on the door. “I still need to use the bathroom and fill my water bottle first.”

“Should’ve thought of that earlier,” Tatiana says dully.

I call out to her, pleading with her to come back and give me a second chance, but as I press my ear to the door, I can only hear the sound of girls’ voices and eventually the bang of what must be the front door slamming. After that it’s just silence.

It’s obvious no one here really cares about me. How could I expect them to? Especially when their own lives are so messed up — everything is pretty much out of their control too. As I go back to the mattress, I suppress my tears. I have to toughen up. And smarten up. But as I pick up my book, I’m somewhat amazed that those people in their various inebriated states could still remember to lock me up in here. I wouldn’t have thought they’d be that functional.

As I look around the room, I wish I’d thought to sneak one of the pans from the kitchen, something I could use to break this window. Now that I know this house is in a somewhat normal neighborhood, I am ready to give that a try. But maybe I should pace myself since that’s not exactly a foolproof idea.

What I really want to do is find myself sort of alone in the house. Like I almost was while cleaning the kitchen this afternoon. And then, God willing and with his help, I will break out of this prison. And I’ll do what I can to help the others. If they’ll allow themselves to be helped.

… [CHAPTER 12]………………

I
t’s not until Tuesday that I’m let out of my cage again. It’s very hard to keep up my act, pretending like all this is okay. And yet it’s the only way to win their trust. And for some reason — a reason that’s nearly escaped me at the moment — this still seems important.

“There’s some food in the kitchen,” Tatiana blandly informs me as she walks away.

I mumble a quiet thank-you and go into the bathroom, which has actually been cleaned, and there I gulp down some water and then take a shower. I’m not sure if it’s my imagination or the nasty mattress I’ve been sleeping on, but I’m all itchy and rashy now, like something has been biting me.

After I shower, I put on my little black dress — only because it’s cleaner than the shorts and T-shirt I’ve been wearing 24/7. And I put my damp hair into a ponytail. Then I go out to search for food. The whole house seems tidier, then I remember that someone was supposed to come in to clean on Monday morning.

I open the fridge to see there is some food, and I wonder who provided it. Maybe the cleaning lady. Anyway, I eat some peach yogurt and some orange juice and a banana and begin to feel almost human again.

“There you are,” Jimmy says. “Just the girl I’m looking for.”

I give him a slightly blank look as I drop the banana peel and yogurt container into the trash. I know I should be handling myself and my emotions better, but I’m so exhausted.

“Marcia just gave me a message for you.” He waves a piece of paper in front of me like a flag.

“What’s that?” Suddenly I’m hoping for the impossible — that Marcia has come to her senses and decided to set me free.

“Marcia wants you to know that
so far
everyone is okay.” He examines the paper. “She says not to worry and that Ginnie Fremont is just fine.”

I try not to look surprised that they know my mom’s first name.

“And Michelle Diedericks and Trista and Leo and Lacy Burk are all fine too.” He gives me a questioning look.

But I just shrug. “Why wouldn’t they be?”

He slowly smiles. “Exactly. That’s just what I told Marcia. You’ve given no reason for anyone to retaliate against anyone. And I’m sure that’s how it will continue to go.”

I can’t show him how disturbing it is to hear everyone’s full names and this not-so-veiled threat just as I’m plotting to escape from here. I’m sure that’s why Marcia gave him that information. Just to keep me in my place. And although part of me questions whether or not Marcia and her goons would actually carry out their evil threats, I know I have to go about this very carefully now. These people are not to be taken lightly. And they want me to know it.

Instead of reacting, I hold out my bare arm, showing Jimmy the red spots I’ve gotten. “I don’t think Mr. T is going to like seeing me looking all rashy like this. Do you think there’s something wrong with the bed?”

He actually looks slightly concerned. “Maybe so. I’ll make a call to Tom, tell him we need a new mattress.”

“Thanks.”

“If we knew you were staying, I’d let you take over Tatiana’s room and fix it up.” He peers curiously at me.

“But where would Tatiana stay?”

“Maybe the basement.” He shrugs. “We’ll see.”

Imagining Tatiana imprisoned in the dank basement makes me cringe. Not only for her sake but mine, since I’m sure she’d take it out on me. “Or maybe she and I could share a room.”

“Seriously?” He frowns. “You’d
want
to share a room with Tatiana?”

“Sure. Why not?” It’s possible that Tatiana is the one who wants out of here the most. She seems to wear her anger on her sleeve, and I can’t help but think she’s got the brains and the guts to make a break. Especially if she had some encouragement. “It just seems fair … I mean, since it was her room first.”

“Well, I’ll give that some thought. In the meantime, you go talk to Desiree about something to clear up that skin. Tatiana is who you go to for hair, but Desiree is the real beauty expert around here. She’ll probably have some lotion or cream to get rid of that rash.”