Touch

48

"You're starting to come around," a voice whispers.

I open my eyes. Things are blurry for a second. And for one relief -filled moment I think that maybe what happened was a dream. But then I feel my jaw ache, a gnawing, singeing pain, where he hit me.

And I realize that this isn't a dream at all. It's just that Round One is over.

And I've lost.

Now that the blur of colors is lifting, I'm able to see Harry. He sits cross-legged right in front of me. "How are you feeling?" he asks.

I try to swipe a strand of hair from in front of my eyes, only to find that my hands are still cuffed together, only they're behind my back now.

"Where are we?" I ask, looking around. It's dark except for a small lantern positioned between us.

We're sitting on the floor of a tiny room. Aside from a TV tray in the corner, there's no furniture, no appliances, nothing mechanical, just a thin layer of carpet beneath us.

"Don't worry," he says. "We're in a safe place." There's a stash of food and a bunch of bottled waters sitting on the TV tray, as if maybe he plans on my being here for a while.

"I think this will make you more at ease." He reaches into a paper bag, pulling out my stuffed polar bear, the one I couldn't find last night. "I want you to feel comfortable here," he says, dropping it onto my lap.

I tug my hands away from the wall, surprised when they move, that the cuffs aren't attached to the wall itself.

"I've given you a little slack," he says, reaching behind my back. He pulls forth a piece of jump rope, I can tell from the plastic handles. "I meant to bring real rope, but even with all my planning and lists I somehow forgot to buy it. Isn't that always the way?" he smirks.

I peer over my shoulder, able to see a metal loop sticking out of the wall, by the floor.

He's attached the cuff chain to the loop with the jump rope. "I've given you a little wiggle room, but you won't be able to stand. I thought it was only fair, seeing as you'll be sleeping here."

"What?" I ask, feeling my insides tighten up. Harry smiles in response, thoroughly enjoying this.

Meanwhile, my skin ices over, and my forehead starts to sweat. "And before you even think about attempting to untie the knot ," he continues, "save yourself some aggravation, because I'm somewhat of an expert."

I look back at the webbing of knots. There have to be at least forty of them, each tangled over, through, and under the next. "Impressive, wouldn't you say?" he asks.

I ignore him and continue to look around the room, noticing a narrow door behind him and a window to the right. The window has its shade down and there are curtains hanging at the sides. "What do you want?" I ask, meeting his eyes.

"You," he whispers. "I just want to be with you." Keeping my shoulders steady, I try to wriggle free of the cuffs, but they're way too tight. "We're friends," I remind him.

"You can be with me whenever you want."

"You know that's not true."

"It is," I say, trying to sound convincing, running my fingers over the knots. I try to pull at one of them, but it doesn't budge one bit.

Harry sweeps back the strand of hair that hangs in front of my eyes and then moves in closer. "If you let me go, we can start over," I say.

"We can even start dating again."

"Do you think I'm stupid?" he snaps. "Don't lie to me!" My heart beats hard. My head starts to ache. "You'll be happy here," he assures me. "I'll give you everything you want."