ELAINE
It was pitch black when I finally ended my shift at Betty's Burger.The night shift was the hardest and longest shift available. It was the time when all the drunks who ran out of places trooped in, with some of them— if not all, trying to get handsy with me.By the time I would wrangle them all out and close up shop, it'd be well past midnight.But the tips were nothing to complain about, and walking home at this hour had never bothered me. Not only had I traversed this path so much that it was permanently etched in my brain, I had nothing of value in my possession to make anyone remotely interested in mugging me.Still, I tried my best to be cautious since there were people out there who did worse things than stealing purses.But tonight, the exhaustion in my bones made holding my eyelids up an arduous task, and I was fighting yawns every five seconds.I hugged my handbag to my chest and tried to look as non-threatening as possible just in case someone got an idea and tried something.A sharp cracking sound somewhere behind me made me jump and filled me with adrenaline.I looked back, and with the aid of the streetlight I passed a few feet away, I could make out the silhouette of a man. It was hazy and could've been something else, but I was sure it was a man. There was no one there a few minutes ago.With my heart going a million miles an hour, I tried to keep my steps on the worn concrete even and not betray the panic I was starting to feel.It could be a homeless guy, Elaine. You need to calm down.Taking a surreptitious glance behind me, I confirmed that it really was a man walking behind me, his steps perfectly matching mine.I tried to think of a way out, but my tiredness was like a thick blanket over my consciousness, and I couldn't produce any ideas.Letting my feet guide me, I crossed to the other side of the road and increased my pace.Trying to stamp down on my growing paranoia, I took the brightly lit alley next to the bakery to put as much space between me and whoever was following me.At this point, it was a miracle that I was still upright. Every muscle in my feet complained bitterly, and I was now operating on autopilot.As the alley spit me out at the end, I felt a drop of cold liquid drop on my nose. Another one followed on my forehead, and before I could adequately decode what it was, the rain started in earnest.I hated when it rained. Something about the rain put this sense of foreboding in me. The feeling that something terrible was going to happen. The fact that it was also cold and wet solidified its place on my blacklist.Like magic, the sleep in my eyes vanished, and my measured steps transformed into full-blown running.I didn't know why, but I sensed something was chasing me.The rain pounded hard on my head, and before long, my yellow waitress uniform and sensible Mary Janes were soaked through.Oh God, please don't let this be the end. Please spare my life. If not for me, then for the sake of my little baby. I'm all he has. Please.As I offered my supplication, I didn't know when I started to cry. Big, fat teardrops mixed with the raindrops until it was impossible to tell where one started and the other stopped.Thunder clapped overhead, and my fear deepened.My feet could take no more of the running, so I stopped under a street lamp to catch my breath. I was now a good number of blocks away from the restaurant.Glancing back, I found no one was there. The man was gone, and the only thing I could see through the thick curtain of rain was the everyday things expected of an urban city. Dumpsters brimming with trash, abandoned cars lining the side of the road, and a flickering light bulb from the barbershop I just ran by.Nothing was remotely threatening.Relief so thick it almost suffocated me descended upon me. I had to bend over and clutch my knees to stop from keeling over.See, there's nothing there, Elaine. You really need to learn how to calm down. You're too jumpy.I would've laughed at myself if this was the first time this sort of thing had happened.For weeks now, I had felt that I was being watched at random times of the day. As I walked to my job, as I sat reading in the library, even while I was at home. It would just not go away, and I wasn't sure if it was in my mind.Tonight was the first time the faceless evil I tried to convince myself was made up had assumed a physical form.But there's nothing there. Let it go.Deciding to listen to myself, I controlled my breathing and straightened up."Thank you, G . . ."The word had barely left my mouth when something large and heavy wrapped around my head, limiting my airflow and impeding my ability to see.My heart, which I'd managed to get under control, started up again as I frantically tried to free myself.But the cloth around my head was attached to something very strong and hard.Screaming wasn't an option as I couldn't free my mouth, so I did the next best thing. I reached behind my head and started scratching at the person behind me.I struggled with all my might to get free, even using my feet to kick the guy off me, but it was no use. He was as immovable as a brick wall and just as silent as one too.A few seconds later, a harsh, sharp smell invaded my nose. It was intense and chemical, and I became frightened at my inability to breathe properly. I tried to free my head, but its grip was vice-like, pining me in place and making sure I inhaled as much of the substance as possible.The action of my limbs intensified, and I even managed a few muffled cries for help.I continued scratching and clawing, but gradually I could feel the strength in my limbs diminish.Bit by bit, my scratches were getting less forceful, and my kicks were only harmless flails in the air.The rain fell harder as I discovered my limbs were too heavy to lift. I let them fall innocuously at my sides.I let out a few tears as my eyelids followed the downward slope of my body, finding it a burden to keep them open.Is this the end for me in this wicked world?That was my last thought before I finally gave in to the waiting arms of unconsciousness.GIOVANNI"Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in."The woman strapped to the chair with duct tape over her mouth didn't find my words amusing, but nevertheless, I laughed at my own joke.I'd settled into an unremarkable iron chair in this brightly lit warehouse earlier, taking care of some business on my phone, when a small woman with a bag on her head was dragged into the room, dripping wet in the ugliest yellow dress known to mankind.When my men restrained her and yanked the bag off, I was met with the delicately beautiful but unconscious face of Elaine Martinez. I knew I would enjoy interrogating her, so I waited for her to wake up.But now that she'd finally woken up, her eyes were cloudy and unfocused from whatever chemical had been used to subdue her, and she was struggling with the rope binding her like a crazed animal."Billy, it seems Ms. Martinez needs some help clearing her eyes from her little nap. Would you be a dear?"Billy stepped forward and dumped the watery
ELAINEFOUR YEARS AGOI was at another one of Dad's charity things.Every once in a while, when the fancy took him, he'd throw an elaborate shindig in the name of some obscure charity to remind everyone in the entire state that he was an actual human being with a heart.And he would drag me with him to show me off as his beautiful heir.I hated every second of it.Seated at the bar in a tight red dress that accentuated my curves, I downed my third glass of whiskey. I was always a lightweight, and already I could feel the effects of the alcohol. My vision was starting to blur at the edges, and I was humming along to the classical music flowing through the elegant ballroom.As was my habit in the three hours we'd been here, I looked around for my father, just in case he needed to show me off to another creepy old man who'd stare at my breasts for the entirety of the conversation. I blamed the built-in push-up bra in this stupidly tight dress.But as usual, Father was oblivious to my exi
GIOVANNI“You heard me. Pay my money plus interest in 14 days, or pay me back with your body. It's simple enough for your tiny brain to comprehend, no?”I watched as the slight woman strapped to the chair in front of me ground her jaw in pure annoyance.Before I knew what was happening, she spat, and I felt the warm saliva hit my cheek.“You are nothing but a horny, perverted prick. You haven't changed a bit in four years, and it's sad.”I couldn't help but chuckle as I got a handkerchief from my pocket and wiped my cheek. I grabbed her by the chin and stuffed the handkerchief into her pretty little dissenting mouth.“Change?” I scoffed. “Now, why would I do that? Why would I want to trade being the predator for the scared little coniglietto (bunny) you are? I could have you chopped up and served to your fat, conniving father if I wanted to. That's power, and only a fool gives up power.”She pushed the handkerchief out of her mouth with her tongue. “I don't give a fuck how much I owe
ELAINEWhen I could finally pry my eyes open, the sun had started its upward journey through the sky.I was convinced a tiny, angry man with a hammer had been let loose inside my head because that could be the only explanation for why my head was ravaged with pain.Taking a few deep breaths, I sat up and surveyed my environment. I was on the tiny mattress I owned in my tiny apartment's tiny bedroom.I rubbed my eyelids to get rid of the sleep in my eyes.Like a faucet was turned on, the previous night's memories flooded through me in heart-stopping detail.Walking home from work. Getting ambushed and kidnapped. Being strapped to a chair. That monster and his insane proposal. Not giving him an answer.I groaned. The pain in my head was starting to have a mind of its own, leaping and roaring unwantedly.It didn't lessen my shock or confusion at being back in my bed, safe and sound. I thought I wouldn’t live past last night but was glad to be wrong.Was last night some kind of fucked up
GIOVANNII poured a drink from the crystal decanter I kept on the tray I had in my office. It was my personal opinion that there was nothing a good, clean glass of alcohol couldn't solve, so I always made sure to have some at my fingertips.And after the day I had, I needed it more now more than ever.Taking a sip of the whiskey, I returned to my desk and sat. On the table in front of me was the picture I'd been staring at for the better part of the day.It was taken four years ago, on the night my life changed completely.I'd been less than ten minutes inside that ballroom when my eyes zeroed in on the angel in red at the bar.Her black hair was held up by an assortment of beautiful flowers to reveal her delicate neck. Her soft curves under the sensual floor-length dress called out to me, every whisper promising to fulfill my deepest darkest fantasies. Every time she lifted the glass to her lips I imagined them wrapped around my cock. I had a hard-on like I never experienced before.
ELAINE Balancing three full bags of groceries and another filled with candy and sugary drinks, I was able to ring the doorbell without letting anything fall.I had just finished my shift at the diner, and even though I was tired as hell, I started on my way to Lia's modest three-bedroom house to see my baby. I'd missed him terribly and made a pit stop at the store to get all his favorite snacks after I picked up Blue."Coming!" sounded out from behind the door before Lia Mandel, ḿy childhood friend, and guardian angel, appeared. She was dressed in a faded blue hoodie and black sweatpants, her brown hair pulled back in a ponytail."Elaine! Hi! Let me help you with those.""Thanks," I said as I let her take two paper bags from me."Come on in, sweetie. The boys are upstairs toiling over a jigsaw. Dinner will be ready soon. I'm making meatloaf."I gave her a grateful smile and followed her inside.The interior of Lia's house was as bright and bubbly as her. This was an actual home with
Whoever coined the phrase 'desperate times call for desperate measures' was probably a time-traveling soothsayer bearing witness to the disaster that was my life.Today was day fourteen of the two weeks Giovanni had granted me to get his money.I didn't have his money. Not even close. So like the desperate person I was, I resorted to the last thing a sane person would do: I went to my father.It was ill-advised and stupid, and considering all the threats Giovanni had given me, you'd think I would understand the magnitude of the danger I was walking into.But the way I saw it, I was dead anyway if I didn't have his money by the end of today. So what was the point of not trying?I'd called my dad in the cab on the way here, and as usual, it went straight to voicemail. Since I was fully leaning into the crazy, I hadn't asked the cabbie to turn around. Now here I was, in front of my father's mansion, hat in hand and ready to do whatever it took to get the money.Gazing longingly through t
GIOVANNIElaine's house was even more pathetic than the description I'd received.The paint on the outside was peeling, one part of the roof was tilting at an unnatural angle, and a good layer of dust covered the entire thing. And that was just the outside. I could only imagine what the inside looked like.I wouldn't let my dog sleep here, let alone a grown woman with a young child.I kept my disgust to myself as I took a drag from the cigarette in my hand, surveying the house through the tinted lenses of my sunglasses.It'd been two weeks and a day since I'd given Elaine the ultimatum. She'd failed to produce my money, and now I was here to collect what was due to me, one way or another.There was no avoiding me now. I knew she was at home. I also learned from my informants that she was barely scraping by, even though she'd taken up the weirdest and oddest jobs she could find in the past two weeks.Different thoughts and questions swirled in my head as I continued smoking, watching a