Chapter Nine

A strange and eventful morning for Giulia

 

Giulia was exhausted.  The robotic grinding emanating from beyond the doorway had kept her awake for most of the night.  Sporadically, the din would cease, and she somehow found a way to doze off briefly.  Sometimes the pauses would last only a few minutes, sometimes as much as an hour.  Then the grinding would begin again, shocking her back to consciousness.  This process continued throughout the night, causing the intermittent periods of rest she did manage to get to be horribly inconsistent.  It would have been easier if she had never slept at all. 

 

Gauging the time by the sunrise, Giulia knew it was very early when she heard the door open upstairs.  She heard Kevin lurch down the staircase, saw him turn the corner into her chamber, and realized by his empty hands that she wouldn’t be eating today.  Through the haze of dust flittering though the air, she thought she noticed bags had formed under both his eyes, slowly realizing that Kevin hadn’t slept either.  Through all the suffering her body had undergone, and the full night of deprived sleep, miraculously her mind had managed to remain sharp.  He had kept her awake intentionally.  This became ever more obvious when he spoke.  “Good morning Sunshine, how was your night?”  Kevin’s tone, usually a maniacal combination of taunting and laughter was strained and drawn, almost slurred.  “Did you sleep OK?”   

 

Not wanting him to revel in his success, Giulia bobbed her head from left to right, shoulder to weary shoulder, indicating that she had slept all right.  Seeing his weakened state, noticing he had forgotten to bring the belt for her daily lashing, she knew this was her best opportunity yet to turn the tables, to taunt him as he had done to her.  He had not broken her yet. 

 

“That’s good” he added, running his fingers through his hair.  “We’ll need all our energy today.  I just realized that we’re out of oatmeal so we won’t be having breakfast this morning.”  Giulia looked down and nodded, signaling that she was disappointed but understood. “I’ll be sure to pick some up later so we can eat tomorrow.”

 

Her snarled and tangled hair hung in thick strands, obscuring her face from him.  She rolled her eyes upward to measure his intentions.  He paced slowly, obviously contemplating his next move.  He scratched his head, rubbed his eyes and moved toward her, warning “Since we can’t have our regular routine today, we‘re gonna try something a little different.”  She closed her eyes as he reached out and spun her by her waist.  On her third time around, Kevin’s clenched fist hit her squarely.  The cartilage in her nose shattered and displaced.  She felt her blood rush to the spot, streaming from both nostrils and quickly saturating the gag in her mouth before flowing down her bare chest, dripping to the floor.  The blood tasted metallic, rust-like. 

 

She stifled her need to cry out, not fearing further abuse, but denying Kevin the satisfaction of her pain.  Giulia was determined to take as much abuse as he was willing to dole out, but refused to let him fully enjoy it.  This became her little way of letting him know he still hadn’t established complete control. 

 

Tired and perhaps a bit disappointed in Giulia’s lack of reaction to the punch, Kevin wiped the bloody back of his hand on her jeans, which lay crumpled on the floor beneath the window.  Tossing them aside, he headed back upstairs for some much needed rest.  As the upstairs door closed, Giulia tried to smile, satisfied by her defiance, but her wet and smothered mouth could only manage a slight, barely noticeable smirk.  Experiencing a false sense of adrenalin-fueled hyperactivity from the sleep deprivation; she began considering ways to escape.

 

She listened carefully for any sounds coming from above.  After hearing no movement for about 10 minutes, she grasped at the rope hanging just above the knots binding her wrists.  Both hands gripping firmly to the rope, Giulia willed her overly fatigued arms to pull.  Realizing quickly that the tensile strength of the rope was too much to overcome, her focus shifted from her arms to her abs.  She lifted her knees to her chest and started to swing herself back and forth in the air.  When the arc of her swinging had reached its peak, she kicked her legs upward, folding herself in half and wrapping them around the rope, crossed at the ankles.  With her legs supporting the greater part of her weight, she began to try to wriggle her hands free, ripping through scabs and reopening some of the fresher cuts.  The knot was tied far too tightly to slip off, so she brought her wrists up toward her face, examining the rope for any signs of fraying or weak spots.

 

Kevin was fast asleep on a leather sofa in his study, directly above the spot in the basement where Giulia was hanging.  To make certain that he wouldn’t miss any odd activity downstairs while sleeping, he situated the monitor on the arm of the sofa just above his head.  He was lost in a dream about two men in a parking lot arguing.  The exchange quickly escalated to violence.  The smaller of the two men, grabbed the bigger man by the collar and spun him around, slamming him into a van parked nearby.  The sliding side door dented in from the impact.  The sound of the collision snapped Kevin awake.  He sat up, and shook himself alert enough to stand.  Overcome with thirst, he was headed for the kitchen when he heard the same slamming sound from his dream. 

 

Downstairs, struggling to release herself from her bonds, Giulia had inadvertently kicked the ceiling.  Although afraid of arousing Kevin’s attention, she kept at it, unwavering in her desperate attempts to escape.  She fought harder against the ropes by futilely trying to pull some space between her hands.  All she needed was enough room to slide one thumb through.  Her body writhed as she continued to struggle against the rope, her wrists and hands full of blood which she hoped would act as a lubricant.  Shaking her hands as much as possible, using every ounce of strength she had left, her bare feet again met the ceiling.  She then heard the door swing open, followed by the ominous creak of the stairs, and began to panic.   

 

  

 

 

  

 

  

 

   

 

 

  

 

Author's Note

This has been the most difficult chapter to complete thus far. I anticipate some major descriptive revision in the very near future. Please be as constructive as possible, I'm open to just about any ideas here.

Reviews

[J.K. (Not Rowling)]

I agree with Alexander Quinn's review about the head bobbing. Side to side, shoulder to shoulder would indicate no... which would be appropriate if Giulia wanted Kevin to think he had broken her. But if she wants to remain defiant and respond, "why yes, I slept very well and the room service has been remarkable at your establishment" then it would be a firm up and down nodding. Other than that, even with your note of having misgivings, this is a strong chapter. I especially like how you let us glimpse Kevin's twisted dreams too. This guy really is a psychopath, or at least that's what you want us to think. I enjoy that Giulia still has her wits about her... it's good to read about a strong lady, even in the face of such adversity. I hope she can escape, but it doesn't look like that will be the case. What is Kevin going to do to her now? One cliffhanger after another... aaargh!!!

[Alexander W. Quinn]

A great turn in the tide! This was a fast paced chapter and I flew right through it. Good pacing and build up!
The only thing that left me a little stumped was this:
>>>"Did you sleep OK?"
Not wanting him to revel in his success, Giulia bobbed her head from left to right, shoulder to weary shoulder, indicating that she had slept all right.

[AlleyCat34]

You have left my heart racing! I think this was well written to begin with and dont think there will be too much revision to worry about. About the only thing I have noticed is you slip between characters points of view mid chapter and it might make it hard for some people to keep track of it! Other than that well done!