Roseanne
He doesn't violate me again that night, and it's a small solace.
The basement grows dark, so dark, shadowing everything around me. It takes a long time for my eyes to adjust enough to see Lisa's silhouette perched beside me against her pipe. It must be well past midnight, making it Monday-which means, if people haven't already started questioning our disappearance by now, they will. I rarely call in sick to work, and I certainly never no-show. It would be a huge red flag to staff and co-workers.
And Lisa is a well-respected employee being one of the only few women in the union doing road construction. She works first shift. People will definitely start asking questions when she doesn't show up today.
Lisa's foot slides against the floor, pulling my gaze in her direction, despite the fact that I can't really see her. I hear her sigh as she adjusts herself and tries to get comfortable.
"You awake?"
Her voice is a comfort I didn't know I needed. "Yeah."
I roll the back of my head against the pole, back and forth, and tap my bare toes in opposite time. I slipped out of my heels when Ian brought me back downstairs after the bathroom break. The break was short-lived, unfortunately-he shoved me into a tiny restroom with an oversized t-shirt that reeked of him, then ordered me to change. I climbed out of my shredded dress and replaced it with the white shirt, doing my business, brushing my teeth with a pink toothbrush he left out for me, and joining him out in the hallway a few moments later. He handed me a turkey sandwich and a glass of water and told me I had three minutes to eat. He timed it. Then he dragged me back down to the basement, cuffed me to the pole, and did the same thing with Lisa.
He hasn't been back since.
I squint my eyes through the shroud of darkness, trying to make out Lisa's outline. It looks like her legs are stretched out in front of her, facing me. I wonder if she can see me better than I can see her. I clear my throat, running my tongue along my upper lip. "I lied to you earlier," I tell her, my voice ragged from crying, yelling, and lack of proper hydration.
Lisa makes a low humming sound, then replies, "Which part?"
"I wouldn't rather be alone."
There is a long pause. A resounding silence.
I nibble on the inside of my cheek, wondering if she's ever going to respond. There is nothing to fix my eyes to, so I just stare off into the dark abyss and wait.
Lisa eventually sighs. "The fact that he fed us and gave us water is a good sign. It means he's going to keep us around for a little while."
I glance in her general direction, taken off guard by the change of subject. I'm okay with it, though. I'd rather not dive into feelings and grudges and relationship history. I just wanted her to know that. For whatever reason... I wanted her to know.
I nod my head, even though she can't see me. "I guess. But he's still going to kill us-I'm sure of it."
"Maybe. But we have at least a few days to figure something out. We need a plan."
A plan. What sort of plan can we possibly put together down here, bound and restrained?
My mind wanders, and I can't help but think about the last "plan" we concocted. My mother put us both in charge of Rachel's twenty-eighth surprise birthday party two years ago. She wanted it to be special.
That was my mother's first mistake: thinking anything special could come out of me and Lisa Manoban working together.
"What is it?"
