“I know you’ll try again, I can see the defiance in your eyes.” Georgie informed me, glancing my way. But I didn’t reply or even look over at him. Clyde was out minutes later, than came to get settled beside me, stretching out.
“Come lay down,” he instructed.
“I’m not tired,” I protested softly.
“It was not a request,” he snapped. I flinched then I crawled closer and settled myself down beside him, head resting on his chest. His arm encircled me protectively but I had never felt so afraid of another human being in my entire life. The men watched the football game, barely making conversation. The smell of alcohol made me queasy and shut my eyes, the noise of the game fading into the background. It was dark when I felt someone stir beside me. Clyde rubbed one hand down my side and his face was buried in my hair.
“I’ve waited a long time for you Skye,” he whispered, planting a quick kiss on my neck. I froze, unsure how to respond without encouraging him or incurring his wrath. But after a few minutes he fell back asleep and I lay awake, rigid in bed and curled up with Clyde. He was warm and I felt taken aback by how at ease I felt at that moment. I gave myself a quick mental kick. He was not my friend, he was my enemy. He was the one who pulled me into the truck and spanked me like a damn child. How could I even for a second relax? Sighing I tried to move, I had to get out of here. With both brothers snoring I felt like it took hours for me to move fraction by fraction. When I stood beside the bed, free of restraints my heart leapt and I felt confident as I slid my feet across the hardwood floor trying to regulate my breathing. The rattling of the chain lock made Georgie stir and I froze, even holding my breath. When his chest began to rise and fall peacefully I focused on turning the locks. As the deadbolt slid with a thunk Georgie sat up and looked at me furiously. I felt almost paralyzed with fear but when he tossed the covers aside I threw the door open and ran. Georgie swore and I could hear his steps mere seconds behind me. I ran down the stairs, skipping some while hoping not to trip and fall.
I didn’t expect what happened next. Georgie jumped the railing and landed in front of me at the bottom of the stairs, rolling on the balls of his feet. I turned to run back up but I just wasn’t fast enough. He had his big arms wrapped around me and was dragging me towards the truck. I tried to scream and he put me in a head lock.
“I KNEW it, you just can’t fucking help yourself, can you?” he spat, his arm around my throat tightened. I kicked flailed, vision fading fast and muscles growing weaker the longer I was being deprived of blood flow. Georgie carried me towards the truck, keeping firm grip as he opened the double back doors and bent me over the truck bed. He immediately duct taped my wrists behind my back before wrapping it around my mouth and head a few times. Satisfied he’d done a thorough job, he backed up a little. I tried to stand back up only to have him run up and slam my head down against the metal bed. I felt a little dizzy but I remained still.
“While I would love to fuck you into submission, I swore to Clyde I wouldn’t; so we’ll just have to settle for a good ol’ beating.” He pulled his belt out, it was a daunting sound, the whooshing through the loops of his jeans; the sound had me shaking in fear as I watched him fold it in half over my shoulder. I shook my head; if I could have talked I’d be begging. The first slap hit my leg and the intensity had me in instant tears. It radiated in pain and I wished I could scream. Lifting the dress he exposed me to the cold night air, and then he slapped my ass; the skin already sensitive and bruised. I screamed but the noise was too muffled. Why couldn’t anyone hear or see what was going on? It was the middle of the night, but someone had to be awake! Georgie brought his belt down over and over, every inch of me felt on fire by the time he was done. I slid to the cement, legs no longer able to support me. The ground was cold and slightly wet but it felt good. Georgie put his belt back on and shut the doors to the back of the truck.
“Time to wake up your husband Skye and tell him what you’ve done.” He grabbed my elbow and forced me to stand; I was unsteady, legs not quite able to support me.
“Walk or I’ll beat you some more.” I lowered my head but followed his lead, grunting in pain at every step I took that moved the flesh of my backside. As we entered the room Georgie threw me against Clyde’s sleeping body. He awoke suddenly and I fell in between the beds, landing on my knees.
“While you sleep like a rock, your future bride was making her way outside…again! I took care of it this time, but if it happens again I will shoot her brother. We don’t need this big of a risk.” Clyde looked down at me, such disappointment in his eyes.
“What did you do to her?” Clyde demanded.
“Gave her a taste of my belt, she’s intact, don’t worry.”
“You promised me Skye.” Georgie laughed.
“They’re liars, until you put enough fear into them. Now pull out the dilaudid.” Clyde picked me up and laid me on the bed; I cried out through the duct tape and rolled onto my side. Without another word he grabbed the black bag and pulled out a syringe and small glass bottle.
“I hate doing this,” Clyde sighed, and it sounded as though he meant it.
“I know brother, but we have to protect the family.” Clyde nodded as he measured what i hoped was a correct dose. I watched as he injected it into my arm. A rush of warmth spread through me and a tingling feeling flowed through my veins. My mind danced along the edges of consciousness. My muscles weakened as I felt more and more sleepy.
“This is just until we get home sweetheart.” Next thing I knew I was out. Rare moments of consciousness were spent taking care of necessities or trying to fight off another injection. I was rarely alone and few times I was they kept me bound. I couldn’t budge an inch. I knew we had stopped at least once because I’d awoken to a shower and I was naked with Clyde holding me up. When I fought him he pinned me down and shot me with another dose. When I finally was able to sit up, unrestrained I was told we were almost home. I didn’t say a word, my body ached, and my mouth was dry, my brain felt heavy and my thoughts were spinning as I curled up and tried not to hurl.
“Are you going to tell momma about the close calls?”
“Yes, but those days are behind us now, right Skye?” I just stared at him blankly.
“Course they are, she runs away out here, she’ll die of exposure. We’re so far away from civilization she’d never find it. Not to mention we can track and hunt.” When Georgie finally parked he hopped out to greet his oldest child Becky, 11 years old; from his first wife Sarah, Clyde explained. It made the situation seemed all that more hopeless. But I saw something I hadn’t seen from Georgie at all. His eyes lit up the moment his arms were wrapped around his little girl. Her love for him made him smile, and there was nothing sinister about it. It caught me a little off guard.