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“I’ve made a decision,” he said. “You seem to have made up your mind about us being together, so I’ve decided that if I can’t have you, nobody can.” He dragged the blade over my shoulder. “What should cut off first?”
“Your dick,” I spat, savoring the surprise that appeared in his eyes. But he composed himself and ran the knife’s point over my chest.
“How about your breast?” he asked. “You were always irrationally scared of losing them — maybe I should help you out with that.”
He dug the knife into my shirt, piercing my skin, and I forced myself to stay composed, even though it stung.
“What about Cora?” I asked. “If you want to punish me, why do you need her?”
Nathan glanced dismissively over his shoulder like he’d forgotten she was there.
“Collateral damage,” he said with a shrug. “Besides, she’s the one who got into your head and convinced you to leave in the first place. She’s a cunt, too.”
He turned back to give her the same sleazy grin he’d given me. Cora stared at him, her eyes full of venom, but said nothing.
The break in Nathan’s attention gave my brain the opportunity to scramble through everything I could remember from my session with Adrian.
Ask him for a favor. Not a big one, like letting you go — something small, like a glass of water. Something that makes him feel obligated to help you without him noticing.
“Nathan,” I said calmly, and he turned back. “I’m thirsty. Could you please get me a glass of water?”
He glared at me.
“I don’t do favors for cunts,” he said, and I winced internally. What now? Adrian hadn’t prepared me for a situation where he said no.
“What if I promise that we’ll be together?” I asked, improvising. “We’ll get married, have babies, whatever you want.”
“Nice try,” he scowled. “All I ever wanted was for you to love me. And you never did.” He spat on the concrete.
“I loved you,” I said, feeling the weight of my own exhaustion, and wondered how much blood I’d lost. “I loved you too much, even when you were abusive.”
The word triggered a flash of delight on Nathan’s face.
“You thought I was abusive, did you?” he asked, and I knew he’d gone completely insane. “Let me tell you…” he leaned closer so I could smell his breath. It used to be normal, but now it smelled like decay, and I wondered how long it had been since he’d brushed his teeth or showered as he sneered. “You haven’t seen nothing yet.”
“I believe you,” I said, trying not to escalate his rage. “But you don’t have to prove it. Please, let us go.”
“You don’t get it, do you?” Nathan asked. He stood up and pulled something out of his pocket, holding it in his fist so I couldn’t see what it was. “Letting you go isn’t an option anymore.”
The thing in his hand made a clicking sound, and I realized it was a cigarette lighter.
“Don’t do it,” I said. “Think about your future. Think about your mother.”
“My mother’s dead,” Nathan said, his face expressionless. “And soon, we’ll all be dead, too.”
Cora whimpered as he flicked the lighter again, sparking a flame, and I fought to stay quiet. Had hekilled his own mother?Despite how horrible he’d been to me during our relationship, I never, ever believed he’d be capable of something like that. But after all the news articles I’d seen about domestic violence, I was no longer shocked.
Above us, there was a loud thump. Nathan looked up but didn’t move.
“You should check that out,” I said. He hesitated, like he was weighing up what to do.
“Maybe it’s your boyfriends,” he said. “If it is, how about I bring them down here and start a barbecue?”
I swallowed.
“Sure.” It was the hardest thing I’d ever said, but I needed an opportunity to escape from the cable ties that still bound my wrists and ankles. Nathan checked both bindings on me and Cora and, satisfied that we couldn’t escape, turned off the light and went back upstairs with the knife, closing the door behind him and leaving us in darkness.
“We need to get out of here,” Cora said, echoing my own thoughts.
