The Girl Who Sold Herself on Ebay

[31] Tunnels and Tape

Sorry it's short. Guess why Ethan is called 'tunnel boy' and I'll post the next chapter (; The fact that the apartment isn't his and Jeddah and co burnt down the park is a mega clue....

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C H A P T E R  T H I R T Y - O N E

I woke up to the feeling of someone binding my arms together with rope. The spindly, rough substitute for handcuffs scratched my skin and burnt my wrists. I tried to push it off but I was too weak and groggy, my head was pounding even more than before and I could barely even make out where I was.

          “What are you doing?” I questioned angrily, but my voice was bleary and slurred. The person pulled the ropes tighter the moment I spoke, I swear the fibre cut through flesh. I let out a small cry of pain and started to thrash about with my legs, trying to do everything I possibly could to get away. They too were bound with rope.

         “Don’t waste your energy.”

         I rolled over to my side to see Ethan sitting cross legged on the floor next to me. All I wanted to do was slap him. I hated his guts for what he’d done but I hated myself more for not getting out while I had the chance.

         “Where’s Katie?” Ethan rolled his eyes and picked up a roll of duct tape.

         “Talk again and you’re getting gagged.” I shut my mouth and turned away from him, my face grinding against the carpet. I looked around the room for a while to see where I was. The blank white walls and minimalistic feel let me know it was Ethan’s. It was like being trapped in a jail cell.

         While lying on the floor not even able to move enough to scratch an itch on my leg, I began going over in my mind as to what I was going to say. Ethan had clearly said not to talk, but with my arms and legs bound talking was the only option I had. I was stupid not to say something. I tried recalling what had just happened in my mind but anything that did happen, didn’t exist in my memory. The last snip it of memory I had was calling Blaine an asshole, after that it was just numbness. I had no idea what the time was, where Katie was or where Blaine was. The only indicator I had was that there was still light shining through the windows so it was obviously still daytime.

         “Ethan,” I said quietly, but my speech was quickly followed by the rip of duct tape.

         “I know you’re not going to do it.” I had confidence in what I was saying. With Blaine, I was scared, I felt intimidated. With Eli, the same. But with Ethan it was like I  could say whatever I wanted. For once I felt like I was the dominant one. 

         He never did, and I grinned to myself. Ethan was weak. Sure, he liked to think he was high and mighty putting his two cents in with this ‘pink post-it conspiracy’ but if it wasn’t for Blaine he never would have caught me when I left this morning. I left with a concussion and he still failed to catch me. Geez, he failed and he had Jaime, his “accomplice” to catch me. Just out of interest, I wiggled my feet to test the stability of his rope tying skills. Clearly he’d never been a boy scout because I could feel the knot jiggling looser without much strength at all. It was like the heavens opened and the whole room was engulfed with a feeling of hope. Maybe, just maybe, I could talk him into letting me go. But with my mind still not functioning quite properly, the moment I spoke all I did was blurt out a stupid question.

         “Why did you change your name to Jasper?” I cringed, turning once again to face Ethan who was now staring out the window. The venetian blinds created lines across his face, a classic Scarface effect making him look like a criminal. A wannabe criminal, more like it.

          “Why did you change yours to Candace?”

         I rolled my eyes, “Because Glacier hills Grace is a trademark name. I have a reputation for being a wealthy snob. And you?”

         Ethan just shrugged.

         “Let me guess then,” I said, as Ethan began to twiddle with the duct tape, “you didn’t want me knowing you’re related to Eli?”  

         Silence.

         “Eli’s cousin?”

         Silence.

         “Eli’s brother.”  

         Silence.

         A laugh sounded from the other room.

         “Grace!” called a voice I assumed was Blaine’s, “he didn’t want you knowing that he’s tunnel boy!” He broke out in a fit of laughter before adding, “And bro, if she’s awake give her more water.”

         Ethan slammed the door and shuffled to lean against it, leaving the duct tape on the floor next to me. I tried to grab it with my tongue but it was pointless. What was I going to do with duct tape anyway?  

         Realising Ethan obviously wasn’t going to drug me, I continued the conversation. “Tunnel boy?” I questioned, forcing a fake chuckle, even though I didn’t have a single clue what Blaine was on about. Ethan shook his head before tucking up his knees, resting his arms over them and burying his head. It looked to me as if he was doing it out of shame. I couldn’t help but feel slightly sorry for him as I kicked the rope off my ankles. I mean, not only was he failing at being a criminal but his friend was trying to embarrass him in front of the victims. This was beyond an unprofessional kidnapping.

         “Why is he calling you tunnel boy?” I asked again, while attempting to hide the fact that I was almost dying in pain while trying to wiggle my hands free. I still felt like total crap from whatever I’d been drugged with, a couple of times even getting that excess saliva feeling you get when you’re about to throw up. But I knew I had to look as lively and confident as possible, looking sick and week would just deem me vulnerable. Ethan proceeded to ignore me. Not only ignore what I was saying, but ignore that I was once again, attempting to escape.

         “If you don’t shut up I’ll drug you again.” Jasper said trying to sound threatening.

         “And then what? Nothing, you’re too weak to do anything.” I rolled over once more, this time staring into the darkness of the underneath of Ethan’s bed. I knew exactly what was going on. This was like a holding pen, where we were supposed to wait for being dropped off at Eli’s party.

         And then everything hit me, like a huge wall of bricks had crashed down on my head. I couldn’t understand why I’d just been acting so calm about this whole thing. The more I thought about what could possibly happen to me, the more scared I felt. Ethan wasn’t the one I was supposed to be worried about, he was just my escort. It was Eli’s party, and Eli’s pink post-it notes. Maybe Jasper was a fail criminal, but Eli was another story.

         Eli was the one that made me weak to my knees when I was sober, what about when I’d just been drugged? Slowly, my breathing started to quicken and I felt myself almost hyperventilating. I struggled violently to pull my hands from the rope no matter how much it burnt. Tears began rolling down my cheeks and bile rose in my throat.

         I’d never been so scared in my entire life.