Chapter 30

I never knewhow alone or small I was until I found myself in this situation. Being tied up and at the whim of my crazy ex-manager and her daughter, I have never felt so powerless and insignificant. From the sliver of the outside world I can see through the window, it's been two days, and no one has come to get me.

Nancy hasn't left me alone for long… and I mean at all. When I have to use the bathroom, she does one of two things and neither has helped my self-worth. She had her mother give me a pee bag and Susan attached it herself. Tears welled up in my eyes as she gently tugged at my pants, placing the oxygen mask-like device over my penis. It's connected to a tube and then there's a bag taped to my leg to collect my urine.

I did make a break for it, but Nancy shot me with a stun gun. Needless to say, I hit the ground hard, the sensation of fifty thousand volts coursing through my limbs. When I woke up, she was ranting and raving while smacking the hell out of me. I'd try again because I want the hell out of here, but now, when she lets me use the toilet once a day, Susan comes and assists. What's worse than one kidnapper watching you shit, her uptight fucking mom doing the same.

"Today, baby, I have a special surprise for you. We are having a guest and you're going to be over the moon," Nancy coos before turning the blender on and pureeing some magenta concoction.

A visitor? She has to be the most out of her mind kidnapper. Like, I've seen every episode of Criminal Minds and S.W.A.T and never once did any assailant in those shows let their victim have visitors. Who the fuck could she have come to visit that I'd be excited to see?

"Unless it's the cops, I doubt I'll be that excited," I tell her.

"Don't be silly. It's not the cops. They'd take you from me and I can't have that. But it is someone you know and love. I'm hoping after your visit you'll understand why we are meant to be. Why, deep down, I know you love and want me like I do you."

"Nancy, you cannot dictate who I'm attracted to and have feelings for. I'm gay." I cannot believe I'm telling this psychopath the same shit again.

"Don't downplay my love for you. You belong to me, and no one else." She slams a cup on the counter and pours her blender mix into it.

There was a moment when I was also claimed by someone else, if only temporarily. But my relentless self-doubt and refusal to listen to others destroyed that opportunity. Steel pleaded with me to let him explain, but I turned a deaf ear. Perhaps the only person who could locate me and free me from this garage is under the impression that I ghosted him.

"Now, I made you breakfast. Are you going to eat your meal obediently, or will I have to resort to tube feeding you?"

Tube feed me? Surely she can't mean that.

"Do you know how to do that?" I ask.

"No, but I'm confident someone has made a YouTube video about it."

"What's in that?" I ask, eyeing the glass as she directs the straw to my mouth.

"Yogurt, berries, pineapple, and dragon fruit. It's a breakfast smoothie, Ignatius, not rat poison." She shakes her head, rolling her eyes like I'm the crazy one here.

Parting my lips, I let her stick the straw between them and suck. I won't lie, the smoothie isn't bad, but considering it's the only thing I've had since I arrived here, I can't really be picky.

I finish the smoothie, hearing the satisfying slurping sound as I take the last sip. Nancy places the empty glass in the sink before returning to me, carrying a bowl and a sponge. "Alright, let's make sure you're presentable before your guest arrives."

No way is she about to give me a sponge bath like some retail Nurse Ratched. I lean back as far as I can in this damn chair and thrash from side to side.

She is not undressing me and touching me any more than she already has.

"Don't fight me, Ignatius. You have to be presentable when he gets here. You don't want more problems than you already have, right?"

What could possibly be a bigger problem than this?

Once again, she positions herself on my lap, and a small, desperate sound escapes my lips.

"Shh… it's okay, babe. I'm just gonna wipe you up a bit." She uses the rag to wipe my face and hair, scrubbing my scalp. Then she washes my neck before dipping and wringing out the rag. Next, she swiftly slides her hand under my shirt, giving each armpit a brisk swipe.

Dipping the rag once more, she drops to her knees at my feet and puts her hands on the button of my pants.

"Please," I whisper.

Nancy's sympathetic gaze meets mine before she lets out a heavy sigh. "Fine. But you can't stay filthy forever. Plus, if we're going to be together, I'll see your cock regularly. No need to be shy."

She stands, snatches her bowl, and makes her way back to the sink, discarding the dirty water. "You don't have to be embarrassed about your size, honey. I'll love you no matter what."

I close my eyes and drop my head back. Because that's what I was fucking worried about.

* * *

I'm suddenly wokenup by Nancy shaking my shoulder and whispering in my ear. "They're here. Wake up. They're here."

With a groggy haze, I blink my eyes open and glance at her from the corner of my eye, only to be startled by the rattling doorknob. My gaze snaps that way and I watch as the door slowly opens, revealing Susan, and behind her is… "What the fuck?"

My dad steps into the garage, his hand-woven with Susan's. The moment he sees me, he immediately drops her hand and his eyes widen. "Ignatius. Son. What's going on?"

"Dad. You need to get me out of here. These two kidnapped me and think I'm going to be with Nancy and that's not happening. Go call the cops. Call Mom!" I shout at him, my voice shaking with anger and fear. He remains frozen, his eyes locked onto me, resembling a deer caught in the glare of headlights.

"Nancy. Susan, why is my son tied to a chair? Let him go right now." My dad steps toward me, but Susan grabs his arm.

"Douggie, baby, that's enough. Now, Ignatius can get himself out of here. Nancy is waiting for him, all he has to do is agree to be with her. Stop this silly rebellion of liking men and come to his senses."

I never expected that when Nancy said I had a visitor, it would be my dad. As soon as he walked into the garage and laid eyes on me, his surprise was evident. I don't know if I could have handled the situation if he had been aware of what was happening.

"How do you guys know each other?" I ask, my words barely audible. I don't know why I ask, it's like word vomit, but I can't help but wonder how on earth my old boss and my father crossed paths.

"I met Doug a year or so ago. We met at Howards, actually. He came to see if you wanted to go to lunch, but I told him you couldn't take a long lunch. When he asked where he could find you, I explained that you were occupied with an important meeting. Instead, I suggested going to lunch together, and he agreed. We've been together since." She bats her lashes at him and he raises a brow at her.

"We've been dating. According to Nancy, you've been socializing with bikers and developing a romantic relationship with one of them. She said this was an intervention." He turns to Susan. "You never said my son would be here against his will. Kidnapping, really? And trying to get him to be with Nancy? He's not straight, Susan, I told you this."

"He's confused. We read about it and he just needs to be shown. He can't dislike something he's never had," Nancy pipes up, her voice filled with conviction.

"You were sleeping with a psychopath, Dad. Are you happy? Fucking that bitch has led us here!" I scream.

A hard slap across my face knocks my head to the side, and I look over at Nancy.

"Don't talk about my mom like that. I love you, Ignatius," she whispers, her words tinged with a hint of sadness, "but I can't allow you to disrespect her like that."

Susan steps away from my dad, her head cocked to the side as she locks her gaze on me. "I brought your father here because I think it's important if we're going to be a family to air out all our secrets. So do you have anything you'd like to get out in the open, Ignatius?"

"Go to hell," I spit at her, venom dripping from my words.

Susan casually places her purse on the table and rummages through its contents until she finally withdraws her hand and reveals a gun. Instead of aiming it at me, she points it at my dad.

"Susie. Darling, what are you doing?" He stands there, his eyes wide as his body trembles, clearly shaken.

"Shut up, Doug. God, you're so annoying and self-righteous. Playing this game with you has felt like a never-ending chore."

I have no clue what is happening right now, but it seems like the mother-daughter psycho duo might have also caught my dad in their web.

"Put the gun down," he pleads, his voice trembling with fear and desperation. "We're happy. I'm leaving Patricia for you. Don't ruin that."

Real nice, Dad. His son is tied to a chair and now his mistress brandishes a gun, but he's still not the problem. Typical fucking Doug Harper; an asshole.

"There is no us. You were a tool, a desperate attempt to make your son see reason." Susan's lip curls with disdain as she steps closer to him, her voice dripping with disapproval. "You're not doing a good job." She flicks the safety off and steadies the barrel at my dad's head.

My heart is pounding so fast it feels like it's sprinting a million miles a minute. What the hell is happening? How did no one know these two were this fucking insane? Susan turns around, her eyes locking with mine.

"So what's it going to be, Ignatius? Will you finally surrender to destiny and become the man my daughter truly deserves?"

Is she asking me to choose between betraying myself or my dad? For years, our relationship has been marked by tension and distance. I never wished for this, though. I don't want to have to choose.

I look at my dad, his face drained of color. Tears are welled up in his eyes, mirroring my own. I plead desperately with Susan, "I can't choose." My voice is barely above a whisper as the tears break free, cascading down my cheeks.

"You can and you will!" The sound of Susan's scream fills the room, her hand trembling uncontrollably as she clutches the weapon.

"Please. I can't. Please!"

With a tight squeeze of his eyes, my dad opens them, causing a solitary tear to trickle down his face. "Yes, you can, son. Choose you. I may not understand nor agree with your life, but I love you. I haven't been a good dad. Let me do this. Choose you."

"No," I sob.

"Yes, Ignatius. Choose yourself and when you get out of here—‘cause I know you will—live your life to the fullest, embracing every opportunity that comes your way. Make better choices than I did. Look where they got me."

"Dad," I manage to choke out between sobs, my whole body shaking.

"Enough!" Susan bellows. "What's it gonna be?"

I look at my dad, and with a single nod of his head, he reassures me. I shift my gaze towards the ceiling, gathering my thoughts, and finally, I take a deep breath. "No."

My dad is staring at me with love in his eyes for the first time in a long time, and I cry harder. When she pulls the trigger, blood splatters everywhere. A hole in my dad"s face as his body slams to the ground is the last memory I"ll have of him.

"Noooooo! Pleeease," I scream, my voice echoing through the empty room.

"You'll see. This is what's best for you. All the online forums said so. We're doing this for you," Nancy says, setting a hand on my shoulder and squeezing.

"Don't fucking touch me," I hiss.

"Ignatius, baby," she coos, her tone soft and gentle. "I don't want to do this the hard way, but you've left me no choice."

My teeth grind together, and my eyes narrow. "You just murdered my dad in front of me. What could be worse?"

Ignoring the gruesome sight of my dad's body, Susan swiftly steps over it and reaches for the doorknob. "You have twenty-four hours. Get with the program, Ignatius, or she fucks you until you fall in line."

"I don't want to make love to you under these conditions, darling, but if you don't get on board, I will." Nancy kisses my cheek and follows her mother out of the garage, leaving me in this fucking chair with my dad's corpse only a few feet away.