The Trophy Exchange (20 page)

“
What are you doing, Terry?
”

“
None of your business, baby.
”

“
What are you doing with my clothes?
”

“
You won
’
t be needing them for a
while, girl.
”

Tears rolled down her cheeks.

“
You want me to give you some to cry about?
”

Before she could respond, he smashed the side of her face with the butt of his gun.
“
Look at you. You
’
re a mess. I don
’
t want to look at your ugly face anymore. Pull the covers over your head.
”

She obeyed and listened to his movements
,
the shutting of the bedroom door, the turning of the lock, his descent down the stairs. She was afraid to leave the bed but she pulled back the covers to get a breath of fresh air. She looked longingly at the window but reminded herself that he would have to leave the house eventually. Another attempt could wait until then.

She heard loud noises coming up the stairs
,
something banged into the wall accompanied by muttered curses from Terry. She pulled the blankets back over her head just as the door opened. She puzzled over the significance of the sounds she heard. Terry grunted. What sounded like a hammer banged over and over again. Sinking nails into what?
s
he wondered. She flinched with every blow.

When the noise stopped, he said
,
“
Time to go to sleep now, baby. You need your rest. Don
’
t do anything stupid.
”

For a long time she remained still. Then she eased the blankets off her face. The room was dark
–
too dark. She waited for her eyes to adjust to the absence of light. She rose and walked to the closest window where a piece of plywood was nailed over
the
top of it. Another sheet blocked the other pair of windows in the room. She went into the bathroom where the darkness was even more complete. She flipped the light switch. Nothing. She had to climb into the bathtub to confirm by touch that another piece of plywood covered that window as well.

She peered into the mirror to check the damage that the revolver butt
had done
to her face but there was not enough light to see. She felt around for a washcloth, dampened it under the faucet and dabbed cold water on her injury.

She returned to her bedside and clicked the switch on the light on the nightstand. Nothing there, either. Her hands roamed up to the
lampshade
and over it. The light bulb was gone.

Deprived of light, Julie lost all concept of time over the next few days. She tried to create her own definition of
the
pass
ing
of time by counting off the occasions when Terry entered the room and forced himself on her. Then, she lost count.

The only time she saw light was when Terry opened the door and entered the room. One evening he arrived with a box in his hand. He set it atop the dresser and sat down beside her on the bed.
“
Do you have any idea what
’
s going on, baby?
”

“
No, Terry, I don
’
t.
”

“
Let me see if I can explain it to you. You see, we
’
ve got some problems. Problem number one,
”
he said sticking out his index finger,
“ is
I
’
m sick of you and don
’
t want you around any more. You cramp my style. You can understand that, can
’
t you?
”

“
I can leave, Terry.
”

“
I understand that
,
but that doesn
’
t solve problem number two,
”
he said stretching out another finger by the first
.
“
You
’
ve wanted to be pregnant for a long time. Isn
’
t that right?
”

Julie nodded her head.

“
Speak up girl. Answer me when I talk to you.
”

“
Yes, Terry.
”

“
Good. Now, where were we? Oh yes, problem number three,
”
he said sticking out another finger.
“
I never have and never will want any kids. You remember that part, don
’
t you, baby?
”

“
Yes, Terry.
”

“
Now, you see, that
’
s our dilemma. I don
’
t want you around, you want to be pregnant, and I don
’
t want kids. How do we resolve all of that? How can all three of these facts live peacefully in the same universe? I thought about that for a long, long time. And I found the solution. First, I
’
ll get you pregnant. Then you
’
ll have what you want, won
’
t you?
”

“
Yes, Terry, but why does it have to be like this?
”

“
Oh baby, I was thinking of you. I read somewhere that a woman is more likely to get pregnant, if she l
ie
s flat after doing it
–
if she doesn
’
t get up and move around. So
,
I
’
m just helping you get pregnant, baby.
”

“
I don
’
t need to get pregnant, Terry.
”

“
Oh, yes you do. See
,
that
’
s part of my plan. I want to give you what you want. Then when I
’
ve taken care of that, I
’
ll kill you. You get to be pregnant and I get to have no kids and get rid of you, too. Isn
’
t that brilliant?
”

“
Terry. You can
’
t be serious. Just let me out of here and we
’
ll forget about this whole thing. I don
’
t need to get pregnant. I don
’
t need to have a baby. Please, Terry.
”

“
As much as I love to hear you beg, baby, it
’
s just too late for that. I
’
ve already made up my mind, and that
’
s what
’
s going to happen. Now
,
there are a few things you can influence. One thing, I haven
’
t yet decided exactly when you should die. Do I kill you as soon as I find out you
’
re pregnant? Or do I wait a little while? Watch your belly grow? That might be the nice thing to do. Then you get the full experience of pregnancy before you die.
”

“
Terry, just let me go.
”

“
No, baby, as I told you, that is not an option. But, if you don
’
t make a nuisance of yourself, I
’
ll let you live for a little while. You know what my other concern is, baby?
”

“
No, Terry.
”

“
I don
’
t know how I should kill you. If you behave, I could take this gun and shoot you straight in the head. You die. The baby dies. It would all be quick and pretty painless.
”

Julie closed her eyes shook her head back and forth.
“
No. No. No. No.
”

Terry squeezed her chin between his thumb and his index finger.
“
Stop! Hold your face still. If you don
’
t behave then I
’
ll try an experiment. I
’
ll time how long it takes me to beat you to death with a baseball bat.
”

Julie froze in place
,
struggling to conceal the trembling she felt inside.

“
Now, baby, it
’
s time to head in
to
the bathroom and use that home pregnancy test I picked up today.
”

“
But I can
’
t see at all in the bathroom, Terry.
”

He rose from the bed.
“
Just a minute.
”
He left the bedroom and returned in seconds with the light bulb in his hand. He went to the bathroom felt around for the socket and screwed it in. He flipped the switch.
“
Light
’
s on now. Let
’
s get on with it.
”

Julie went to the room. She didn
’
t know what to pray for
–
she wanted a baby but she didn
’
t want to die. She sat on the toilet and wetted the stick with her urine. The results were positive.

“
Hot damn, baby. You
’
re pregnant. Your dream
’
s come true. You crawl back into bed now. I
’
m too tired to kill anybody tonight. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe next week. I
’
ve got nine months to play with. We
’
ll see.
”