JAKE'S PUNISHMENT

Chapter 12 - BOOKS

A few weeks passed and Jake tried his best to settle down and get on with it. The whole thing was pretty unbearable and hard for him to get his head around, but somehow he seemed to be coping. He was spending a lot more time out of the basement which was a good thing. The bad thing was he was being treated as a slave, doing endless chores around the house and garden. All the cleaning, hoovering, dusting, laundry, ironing, washing dishes, gardening, everything. He had to clean the entire house from top to bottom, every room. There was even talk of him cooking, but he explained he was not a good cook and Lorraine displayed a paranoid side when she expressed concern that he may even try and poison them all if he was allowed near food.

Jake spent some time in the front garden of the house, doing some gardening. He had hoped that maybe the front would present an opportunity for escape, but not a bit of it. The front garden had the same 30-foot walls, plus huge gates at the front that could only be opened using a device. The road outside seemed quiet and there was nothing but woods on the opposite side of the road. Jake later found out that the family had sold their old home after Jake was sentenced and bought this place with the sole purpose of turning it into Jake's prison because its remoteness made it ideal

Sir would take Jake to his study where he worked from home a lot of the time and he would need someone to keep the study clean and tidy, maybe do a bit of filing and typing for him when required. Jake would get on with the work while Sir was busy talking on the phone or doing work on his computer. Sir would carry on as if Jake wasn't there and only talk to him when he needed something or wanted to reprimand him. Jake learned quickly that he must not make a noise or bother Sir while he was working, and especially not while he is on the phone. Jake became fascinated by Sir's large collection of books and started having a cheeky look at them when he thought Sir wasn't looking. He wanted to ask if he could e allowed to read books while he was in the basement, he needed something to pass time. Eventually, he plucked up the courage to ask

''Sir, can I ask you something please?'' he said sheepishly

''What is it, boy? Can't you see I'm busy?'' he replied

''Can I borrow some of your books to read please?''

''Why do you want to do that?''

''Because they look interesting and I would like to read more''

''You didn't strike me as the type who'd be interested in reading''

Jake couldn't resist a little chuckle ''Yeah it's true, I never used to be Sir, but I guess now I realize it would be good to read more books''

''If I lend you some, and I do say if, then you must look after them very well you understand me?''

Jake nodded his head ''Yes Sir''

''You may take one book at a time, the first sign of damage to any book and that's it I will stop lending them to you immediately and you will be punished severely for being bad''

''Yes Sir''

''You may pick which book you want to borrow first''

''Thank you, Sir''

Back in the basement, Jake would get totally engrossed in the books and couldn't believe he had missed out on reading these great books for so many years. He never thought this was something he would enjoy, but he was wrong. He would read one book so quickly that he soon needed a new book. He would talk to Chloe about them as he found that she loved books too. Reading, much like sleeping, was a way of escaping into fantasy for him. It was the one thing he could look forward to.

However, Danny and Alex had started to tease him about it

'You geek' they would say ''Reading is boring!''

''There ain't much else I can do to pass time is there'' Jake would reply

Chloe urged them both to stop giving Jake a hard time but they would just laugh at her

''He's stuck here for life'' she'd say ''he's having a hard enough time of it without you two teasing him all the time. Even lifers in real prisons are allowed books so why not let him have them too?''

''Cos that vile killer doesn't deserve nothing'' they would reply aggressively

''Why are you so worried about him when he killed our brother anyway?'' they would ask, angrily

''I just can't hate him the way you do'' she'd say ''I don't hate him, I feel bad for him''

Jake was even a little smug when he realized how much it wound the two of them up, Chloe getting on so well with him and refusing to hate him as they did

Alex decided that he would wipe the smile off Jake's face once and for all and went to the basement while Jake was upstairs doing his chores. He ripped up the book Jake was currently borrowing from Sir's study

''Now let's see who gets the last laugh'' he said to himself, spitefully

Upon returning to his basement that night, Jake was looking forward to reading his next chapter. This book had proved a real page-turner and after a hideous day doing horrible chores, he needed to escape into his book again. So when he discovered the book torn to bits he was horrified

''Shit'' he said to himself. He was talking to himself far too much these days as well. Of course, he knew right away that it was either Danny or Alex who had done this, but what the fuck was he going to say to Sir about this?

He sat cross-legged on his mattress, preparing himself mentally for the punishment he was about to receive. He knew there would be no point trying to deny that he did it, Sir wasn't going to believe him and neither of those pricks was going to own up.

The next day he presented the ruined book to Sir

Sir was furious as expected. ''How did that happen?'' He asked

Jake shrugged ''I got bored of reading these fucking stupid books Sir, so I decided to tear it up!''

Classical music was blasting out of the study, drowning out Jake's screams. Sir liked to listen to classical music when he was disciplining the scum. Jake was hanging upside down, from the ceiling, his legs chained to the ceiling. Sir was brutally beating his bare torso with a metal pole while screaming at him that he would never be reading another book again

Back in the basement, the bruised and battered Jake could barely move for the pain. He was laying on the floor in a ball, his mattress confiscated yet again. He wasn't sure how many days he had been lying there, he could hardly move to even check his watch. But he was sure it must have been at least two days

Chloe arrived with some food

''Are you ok?'' she asked

''What do you think?'' he mumbled

''I'm so sorry, I know it was Alex who did it, it's so unfair. I asked them both to lay off you and they just don't listen''

She laid the food out on the floor

''You should eat something''

''Not hungry''

Chloe sat beside him and stroked his hair

''You must be, you haven't eaten for days. Anyway I have something that will cheer you up, but you'd better hide it well and not let anyone see it''

Chloe got a book she'd hidden up her jumper and gave it to Jake

''Where did you get that from?'' he asked

''The library. I have a library card, I can take out books for you every week so you can still read. That's if you want me to?''

Jake nodded his head ''Yeah I want you too, but I don't want you to get into trouble for helping me out''

''I won't, we'll both have to be careful won't we''

Jake managed a weak smile ''Thank you'' he said softly.