Chapter 12
Raine was completely out of it. She had no clue what day it was, what time it was, nor could she guess how long she had been in that room. Day in and out, she stared at the white walls, only daring to move when she knew Voncile wasn’t in the house. She had gotten all the way to ten thousand when it came to counting sheep. Her thoughts of Kasen had stopped. There was no reason to think about the love of her life, especially since she didn’t think she would ever see him again.
After what Voncile had shown her the other day, Raine knew that she was in the hands of one sick bitch. Voncile had come into the room with one of Omar’s fingers. She laughed about cutting it off and said that it looked like a barbecued hot dog when she put it over a fire. Raine didn’t see a damn thing funny, but at that moment, she laughed right along with Voncile. In fact, she started to talk to Voncile as if they were really friends, hoping that her new attitude toward Voncile would somehow get her to come to her senses.
With her hands still tied behind her back, Raine stood up and paced the floor. The other day, she had rammed herself into the door and wound up hurting her shoulder. It was bruised, but she didn’t think it was broken. Voncile was not there during the day, so Raine used that time to try anything to get out of there. She kicked the door and slammed her body against it, but nothing worked. Raine felt like giving up.
Raine leaned over and vomited in the pot Voncile had left for her. She had been feeling so queasy lately, probably from the nasty food Voncile brought in when she bothered to feed her at all. She had also been feeling dizzy, probably because she was starving.
When she heard movement downstairs, she knew that Voncile was home, and she raced back to her spot and sat down. Shortly after, Voncile unlocked the door and came into the room, rolling a TV on a cart. She appeared excited about something.
“You look awfully happy, Voncile,” Raine said, trying to keep up the friendly attitude she had been displaying lately.
“Girl, all I can say is things have been going very well for me. Eventually you’ll see why, but for now, I brought this TV in here so you can watch it. I know you get bored sometimes, and there really isn’t much in here for you to do.”
“No, there’s not,” Raine said. “And thank you again. You’ve been too kind to me. I do appreciate your kindness.”
When Voncile turned her back to plug in the TV, Raine rolled her eyes.
Voncile looked at the clear picture on the TV then turned to Raine. “Looks like you’re in business. What channel would you like me to put on?”
“It doesn’t matter. I’ll watch
Sesame Street
if I have to.”
Voncile laughed. She put the TV on BET and then headed to the door without another word.
“I don’t mean to bother you,” Raine called after her, “but is there any chance that you can untie my hands? I have come to the realization that I’m not going anywhere until you say so. I’m good with that, but my wrists are real sore and they sting.”
Voncile hesitated, but then she walked over to Raine, examining her wrists. They were in bad shape. Raine’s flesh was skinned and bleeding.
“I thought that bringing you a TV would be enough,” Voncile said. “This is the last thing I’m going to do for you, so don’t ask me to do shit else.”
“I won’t. I promise you this will be it.”
Voncile tried to remove the rope, but it was so tight that she had to leave the room and go get a knife to cut it. She wasn’t careful when she cut it either; she wound up taking a chunk out of Raine’s wrist. It started to bleed, and feeling relief and pain at the same time, Raine used her pajama shirt, along with her other hand, to cease the bleeding.
“Is that better?” Voncile said when the bleeding had slowed down. “I hope so, because I need to hurry and get ready for my date this evening. He’s coming over, and you’d better be on your best behavior. If not, your life ends tonight.”
Raine tried to ignore the evil expression on Voncile’s face. She was just happy to have her hands free. She wiggled her arms around, trying to eliminate some of the stiffness. Even if she wanted to take a swing at Voncile, she couldn’t. She was too weak. A punch from her would do no good. Voncile wouldn’t think twice about tying her up again, so for now, Raine left things as is.
She watched as Voncile walked over to the aluminum pot that Raine used as a toilet. Voncile turned her head to look at Raine.
“Are you sick or something?” Voncile asked.
“I . . . my system has to get used to the food you keep giving me. I’m not used to eating moldy bread and a bunch of leftovers. That’s what’s making me sick.” She didn’t dare admit to Voncile that she also had missed her period, and a part of her wondered if she might be pregnant.
Voncile rolled her eyes. “Well, I’m not gonna spend a bunch of my money trying to feed you. You do understand that, don’t you?”
Raine nodded, even though she didn’t understand. She didn’t understand any of this. Voncile had yet to give her any real reason for any of this.
Voncile turned to leave again but then stopped dead in her tracks. She swung around, looking at Raine with a raised brow.
“Do you think you’re pregnant?” Voncile asked.
Raine was absolutely shocked by the question. How could Voncile know this? “No,” Raine rushed to say, knowing that she was lying, but also instinctively knowing that Voncile would not be happy if she was in fact pregnant. “I take my birth control pills faithfully.”
“When is the last time you had your period?” Voncile questioned.
“I just came off, so I don’t expect it soon,” Raine said then quickly changed the subject, knowing that it was her best chance to avoid setting Voncile off. “Enjoy your evening. Whoever you have plans with, he sure is a lucky guy.”
Her words put a slight smile on Voncile’s face.
“Yes, he is lucky,” she mumbled as she left the room.
After Voncile closed the door and locked it, Raine sighed with relief. She massaged her wrists, able to stop the deep cut from bleeding by continuously pressing on it. Feeling as free as she could possibly feel under the circumstances, she moved around the room, swinging her arms and lifting them over her head. Her bones creaked, and she cracked her knuckles and raked her fingers through her hair, trying to knock out some of the kinks.
Suddenly, she felt the urge to vomit again, so she rushed over to the pot. Her eyes watered, and then tears started to drip from her eyes. As much as she didn’t want to admit it to herself, a small part of her knew that she was carrying Kasen’s baby. That made her even more upset. She knew Kasen would be happy about this if he knew. She could almost see the smile on his face and the joy in his eyes. If her assumption was indeed true, not only would Raine have to fight to save her own life, but she had to save her child’s life too.
* * *
About an hour later, Raine was lying on the floor with her head resting on a pillow. She stared at the TV, but she was so focused on the idea that she might be pregnant that it was more like the TV was watching her.
She lifted her head when she heard the door unlock. In walked Voncile, prancing around in one of Raine’s scanty negligée.
“The only reason I’m wearing this one is because it still had tags on it. I can’t stress enough how many nice pieces of clothing you have. I haven’t had a chance to go through everything, but this here I couldn’t resist,” Voncile told her.
Raine sat up and forced herself to smile. “It looks nice on you,” she said softly. “And red is definitely your color.”
“I agree. Blue is too, but this red got me looking smoking hot.”
Raine couldn’t deny that the negligée looked good on Voncile, who had a flawless body with curves in all the right places. What man wouldn’t appreciate the way she looked? But no matter how good she looked, Raine couldn’t help but wonder what man was crazy enough to deal with her.
Voncile walked over to the TV. “Have you been watching this thing? The remote is in the same place I left it.”
“I just left it on the same channel you put it on.”
Voncile changed the channel, and then said, “Well, there’s a good romance movie coming on around eight. Keep it there and check it out.”
Raine didn’t think much of it, until Voncile stepped away from the TV and left. Looking at the TV, Raine saw what looked to be the inside of a bedroom. It was clearly set for a romantic scene, with candles flickering, soft music playing, and a bottle of champagne chilling in an ice bucket. Raine felt disgusted as she realized that this was not a TV channel, but rather a video feed from another room in the house. This sick bitch wanted her to watch as she got it on with her date. That idea was sickening enough, but a while later, when she looked at the TV and saw Kasen enter the room with Voncile, Raine wanted to die.
Chapter 13
Kasen was looking forward to having sex with Voncile again. Even if it wasn’t a love connection, at least it was something to help fill the void he felt ever since Raine left. Voncile was becoming everything Kasen needed her to be and then some during this difficult time. As each day passed by, his thoughts of Raine faded. Voncile had him underneath her spell.
As soon as he exited his car, there she was, sitting on the porch in a red negligee. Her legs were crossed, and the look in her eyes told him that she was ready for a repeat of what had happened in the office earlier.
Kasen walked up to her with his hands in his pockets. He flashed a grin then complimented Voncile on making his muscle rise and ready to turn tricks for her.
“How do you do it?” he asked. “All you do is sit there looking pretty and you got me standing at attention.”
Voncile stood and walked up to him. Her hand landed on the heat he was packing. It was hard as ever. “Mmmm, isn’t that interesting. I’m going to enjoy showing you something so new, so exciting, and very different tonight. Follow me.”
As Voncile sashayed away, Kasen fell in line and followed. His eyes were fixed on her healthy, dimple-free ass cheeks. All he could think about was separating her cheeks and diving right in.
When Voncile opened the doors to what looked to be a barn converted into a bedroom, he was stunned. The setup was real nice and cozy. It kind of had a bed-and-breakfast feel to it. The bed was covered in a thick, paisley-printed comforter with several plush pillows on top. Candles were lit everywhere, and soft jazz music was playing from a small speaker on the night stand. Kasen was so impressed by Voncile’s efforts that he pulled her to him, planting a soft kiss on her forehead.
“You are truly amazing,” he said. “And without even knowing it, you are so on time.”
Voncile laid her head against his muscular chest and wrapped her arms around his perfect waist, inhaling his masculine scent. “I’m no more amazing than you are.” She pulled back and looked up into his eyes. “I know that you’re still seeing Raine, and I don’t want to interfere with that. Unfortunately for me, I’m finding myself falling in love with you. I’m trying to control my feelings, but I can’t ignore that I feel a serious connection with you.”
Kasen placed two fingers over her lips. “Raine and I are over. Done. You don’t have to worry about her. But I have to be honest and tell you that I’m not ready to commit myself to another relationship. Let’s not rush this, okay? In the meantime, let’s focus on having some fun.”
“Oh, we’re gonna have some fun, all right,” Voncile said. “You’re going to have so much fun that you won’t even remember your former girlfriend’s name after tonight.”
She walked over and picked up the bottle of champagne that had been chilling in an ice bucket, then crawled on the bed, getting on her knees. Slowly untying the straps on her silk negligee, she lowered it underneath her breasts.
Kasen looked at the firm globes with anticipation in his eyes. He couldn’t wait to suck them, and when Voncile tilted the bottle, pouring a little champagne between her cleavage, Kasen stepped forward eagerly.
Climbing on the bed with her, he removed the negligee so he could admire her naked body in all its beauty. He massaged her breasts, licking up the droplets of champagne that were left behind.
Voncile moaned as she leaned back on the bed, spreading her legs wide. Kasen took the champagne from her and poured it all over her stomach. As the sweet liquid spread down between her legs, Kasen dove in and lapped up every last drop.
Once he’d brought Voncile to orgasm twice, Kasen stood up and removed his clothes, revealing his huge hard-on. Voncile smiled wickedly.
“You’re going to get tired of fucking me,” Voncile said. “How much do you want to bet?”
“I will never get tired of fucking you, and I’m gonna put it on you so good you damn sure won’t get tired of fucking me either,” he replied as he climbed back on the bed and pressed his body up against hers.
Voncile threw her arms around Kasen’s neck, and when he slid into her wetness, she gasped in pleasure. Kasen closed his eyes and got to work, so he didn’t notice when Voncile turned her face toward the tiny camera she had concealed in the bedroom and winked at Raine, who she hoped was watching every stroke.
* * *
Raine was staring at the TV in shock, watching as Voncile lowered her negligee and started pouring champagne on her breasts. The look in Kasen’s eyes told Raine everything she needed to know: he wanted to fuck Voncile.
“Nooooo,” she cried out. “Noooo, Kasen! Please, nooooo!” Raine pounded her fists on the door, hoping that he was somewhere in the house where he could hear her. She stomped her feet and yelled at the top of her lungs. “Come get meeee! Can you hear me? Please come get meeee!”
She went back to the TV, watching in agony as the sex between Voncile and Kasen intensified. Kasen’s face was now buried between Voncile’s legs. He was giving her the royal treatment—a treatment that Raine had gotten quite often. Now that Voncile was on the receiving end, she was scratching his back and telling him how good his tongue felt inside of her. She was screaming and shouting out words that weren’t part of the English language.
Raine was purely disgusted and also felt totally betrayed. Even if Kasen believed that she had left him, how the hell could he have just moved on so quickly? Then a sick feeling came over her as she realized that maybe the reason he was over her so fast was that he had wanted to be with Voncile all along.
It became too painful for Raine to watch. Looking into Voncile’s fluttering eyes one last time, Raine shut that shit down and kicked the TV, knocking it to the floor. Thinking fast, she grabbed a sharp piece of plastic from among the shards of the broken TV. She used the plastic to slice a small whole in the carpet, and then she slid her new weapon into the hole she’d made to hide it. She then returned to her lonely corner, crying her heart out about what her eyes had witnessed. If she ever got out of there, she would make Kasen regret ever being with Voncile.
* * *
Early the next morning, Voncile came into the room, dressed for work. She looked at Raine, who sat silently, with her back against the wall. She had not slept at all, because the images of Kasen and Voncile had kept her awake all night. Voncile, however, appeared high as the sky. She was beaming.
“Girl, what is wrong with you?” Voncile said in a mocking tone. “I can’t believe you were that upset. What is Kasen supposed to do while you’re away playing house with another man? You didn’t think he would wait on you to come back, did you?”
Raine remained quiet, fearful of saying the wrong thing to Voncile this morning and really setting her off.
Not getting the reaction she’d hoped for, Voncile continued to tease Raine. She walked to the other side of the room and looked down at the pieces of the broken TV. “Awww, your feelings must have really been hurt. I guess mine would have been too.” She turned around and smirked at Raine. “You should have told me that Kasen could fuck like that. Did you see him last night? I loved every bit of it. No man has ever sucked on my pussy the way he did.”
She sighed happily, and the dreamy look on her face told Raine that she was reliving the good sex she’d had last night. “You know, we just can’t get enough of each other,” Vocile said. “Ever since you’ve been away, we’ve been indulging ourselves almost every day. All I can say is, what a man.”
Tears welled in Raine’s eyes, but she remained silent. She watched as Voncile trotted over to the stink pot, looking inside.
“I can’t believe you vomited again. You need to stop this shit and get yourself together. I’m going to fix you something different to eat today. If you throw that up, then I don’t know what I’ll do.”
Voncile snatched up the pot, carrying it out of the room and to the bathroom. She had left the door unlocked, and for a moment Raine contemplated making her move to escape, but as if she had read Raine’s mind, Voncile rushed back into the room and dropped the pot back in the corner.
“There,” Voncile said. “All clean. I’ll see you later.”
Raine stared at her, wondering if this crazy woman expected her to say “Thank you.” She was so frustrated she wanted to scream. Her body was exhausted from this whole ordeal, but she imagined herself having the energy to jump up and claw out Voncile’s eyes.
Voncile was obviously enjoying every cruel thing she said to Raine, like she was trying to kill her by breaking her heart. “I asked Kasen to go on vacation with me,” she said. “What do you think? Any suggestions of places you’ve been to with him before?”
A single tear escaped and ran down Raine’s cheek. That made Voncile smile.
“If I do go, though, I’ll have to decide what to do with you. I’m getting to the point where I don’t need you anymore. So, sit tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite.” Voncile laughed as she left the room.
As she heard the lock turning on the door, Raine shouted out, “There is no bed in here, bitch! You and Kasen both can go to hell!”
Voncile stormed back into the room. She punched Raine in her face then grabbed the back of her head, damn near breaking her neck as she forced Raine look up at her.
“Don’t you dare speak to me that way in my house! Kasen and I are going to be together for a very long time, and there isn’t a damn thing that you can do about it!” She banged Raine’s head against the wall then let her hair go.
Raine kept her head lowered, so Voncile wouldn’t see the pure hatred in her eyes.
“Good-bye, tramp. And get some sleep. You look terrible. It’s no surprise why Kasen would leave your ass to be with me.”