Whatever dream I have ends, and my eyes open. The unfamiliar surroundings remind me just where I am. I can tell the sun's up since the room is now well lit.
There's a movement behind me, and I feel a certain pressure on my butt through my jeans.
My eyes widen in realization and a sound that sounds like "Gahh" escapes from my mouth. I tear through Ryan's arms and fall on the floor next to his bed. Ryan immediately sits up and pounces on me.
"I wasn't trying to escape, I wasn't trying to escape, I wasn't trying to escape" I repeat quickly with my eyes screwed shut and my hands shielding my face.
Ryan grabs my hands and pins them at my sides. "Then what were you trying to do?" he hisses.
"You're, um... morning wood" I mumble while slowly opening my eyes.
He glances down at himself and back up to me. "Oh" he says.
There's an awkward silence before he looks to his window and processes that the sun is a decent amount high in the sky. He exclaims, "Shit! I'm late for school!"
He pulls my wrists together and clutches them both in one hand. Then he pulls both of us to our feet. His strength adds to his intimidation. He's almost a foot taller than me and is pretty muscular.
"Derrick! Will! Sean! Greg! Josh!" he yells which makes me flinch and tilt backwards.
Irritated, he pulls me closer to him. "Fuck! I can't believe they didn't wake me up" Ryan complains.
Am I alone with Ryan? I might not be able to outrun six but maybe one? I'm not a good runner but if I could find a weapon that could slow Ryan down...
"Move to the bed. I have to tie you up" he says.
If I get tied up, there's no way I can escape. The door's right behind Ryan, there's no way I can make it around him.
My hesitation to move towards Ryan's bed upsets him, and he kicks my feet right out from under me. Scared, I try to jump up but a forceful fist lands on my cheek, knocking me back to the ground.
Hands move down to my armpits and pull me up and throw me onto Ryan's bed. "I've had enough of this bullshit, Jen" Ryan says and straddles me.
"Get off of me!" I scream.
Ryan ignores my request and pinches my chin, making sure I don't turn away from him.
"Tell me Jen, were you thinking of escaping?" Ryan asks, his voice ice cold.
"No! I was just not looking forward to being tied up again!" I exclaim, only half of what I said true.
Ryan doesn't respond, instead he reaches for the ropes hanging loosely off the bedposts in front of him. As his body moves forward, his crotch makes contact with mine, and I glance at his white ceiling trying to focus on anything but Ryan's presence.
Instead of immediately tying the two ropes above my head to each of my wrists, he ties them together. They form a knot at the middle of the headboard of Ryan's bed, with extra strands protruding from the knot. Ryan uses these extra strands to tie my wrists together. My arms are now bent at ninety degree angles above my head, instead of being spread out in a 'V' shape.
Ryan finally gets off of me and moves to my right leg cautiously. He grabs the rope hanging off the bedpost there and he glances up my legs, his eyes taking a little to long to reach my own. I'm unsure of his thoughts until he says, "You know, the real reason I stopped last night was because I'm a good person. The things I do that you'd consider 'bad' all come with a reason. People deserve what we give them. And you know Jen? Maybe you're right, you didn't do anything wrong before you came here. You were nice to us. But do you remember what you did last night Jen? If you don't, I'll remind you: you kicked me. And I do think you deserve to be punished."
I'm shocked. "Where is this coming from? I've been good Ryan" I say, and somehow my choice of words taste sour on my tongue.
"How many times do I have to tell you I'm not dumb Jen? I knew what you were thinking just now. It's just me and you. Perfect opportunity to escape, right?" Ryan says.
"Your words, not mine" I respond, trying to get out of whatever punishment he has planned for me now.
"Right, but they were your thoughts" Ryan says.
I don't know how to respond, and Ryan takes that as confirmation.
"I'll see you after school Jen" Ryan says as he finishes tying my legs to each bedpost at the bottom of his bed. He then walks to his dresser and grabs a change of clothes. Finally, he gives me one last wink before he exits the room.
