Wash the Devil From My Hands

Kaylee had always had an online presence, even when she was younger. Her parents hadn't been the most approving but they kept a close eye on what she did, at least they had in the beginning. As the years wore on, they had become less diligent in reading her messages and strict on what she did on the internet. Almost a year ago, she had started talking to Tyler, a 16 year old boy who lived an hour away from her. She had pretty much instantly gone head over heels for him - hazel eyed, dimpled boys made her knees weak. After months of talking about meeting each other, the day had finally arrived. Tyler's uncle, Jeffrey, had offered to drive him down so they could meet. She hadn't told anyone because she just knew everyone would get on her case that it was a bad idea. All the strange people on the internet, you had to be careful. Which was why she had chosen to meet them at the local mall - tons of people were around, nothing would happen to her.

She sat in the food court, nervously sipping at the smoothie she had bought herself. Kaylee kept glancing at her phone, leg bouncing. They would be here any minute and she could finally meet Tyler! Kaylee couldn't remember the last time that she had been so excited - nervous but excited.

Jeffrey couldn’t remember how it started, nor could he remember when he allowed it to go on for so long. The man had needs and urges that most women couldn’t satisfy. Jeffrey had tried using casual encounters and the like, but it wasn’t enough to satisfy the burning desire for what he really wanted to do.

When he had accidentally encountered Kaylee, his whole entire world turned upside down. She was so innocent, so childlike… So young. She was everything he had desired and yearned for plus even more. The flutter that his heart made when he spoke back and forth with her was unbelievable. But he needed even more than that. The casual conversations and the strings of messages back and forth wasn’t enough—he needed her.

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As Jeffrey made his way into the food court, his heart began to pound. This had to go just right, there was no margin for error or he would be royally fucked in the whole process.

Just tell her that Tyler hurt his ankle and he is in the car. He repeated in his mind over and over and over. He needed to make sure this went accordingly to plan. Jeffrey shoved his hands into his pockets as his eyes began to scan for her. He saw her sitting alone at a table, his chest constricted. He walked casually over to her, “Kaylee?” He smiled. “Hey there, I’m Tyler’s Uncle Jeffery. He sprained his ankle and was wanting me to take you out to the car to meet him.”

Nervous couldn't even begin to describe how Kaylee was feeling. She kept glancing down to her phone, waiting to see if Tyler messaged her that they were there but she got nothing. She would look back up, look around before going back to her phone. She sighed, setting the phone on the table in front of her and beginning to sip at her smoothie. Jumping when she heard her name, Kaylee looked up, her cheeks flushing a heated red when she caught sight of the man who must have been the one to speak to her.

"Yeah?" She was quiet as she spoke, moving to stand the moment that Jeffrey explained. She smiled nervously as she slipped her phone into her back pocket before lifting her smoothie. In the back of her mind, she knew something was off but she figured that she had met Tyler and Jeffrey in a public enough space that nothing could go wrong. Following Jeffrey out of the food court, Kaylee cleared her throat.

"Is Tyler okay? He never did mention hurting himself," Kaylee spoke quietly, her eyes averting to the ground as they crossed the lines of cars.

Jeffrey cleared his throat as he continued to lead her to his pick up that was parked at the very back of the parking lot, obstructed from the camera views that may be watching. He licked his bottom lip as his eyes flicked down to meet hers once more, “It happened this morning, actually. He missed a step walking down the porch. Probably just twisted it, not too bad.”

As they approached the vehicle, Jeffrey wiped his hands on his pants before stuffing his hands back into his pockets. “We are parked right over there,” he mentioned as he motioned towards the vehicle. When the approached it, he gave her a small smile. He allowed her to walk in front of him, instructing her that he was in the back in order to elevate his leg. He eyed her as her hand reached out towards the door handle, planning his next moves in his head. As soon as she had the door open, his hands flew to the back over her thighs, shoving her into the back of the seat.

Jeffrey had premeditatively set the child locks on every door, that way she would have no way out.

Kaylee's frown deepened as she glanced down to her feet, wondering why Tyler hadn't mentioned it. She decided that he must have just not wanted her to argue that they could meet another day. Which was exactly what she would have done. The had known each other for nearly six months before Tyler's uncle agreed to drive him down so it wasn't as if the couldn't wait another few weeks, right?

A chill travelled down her spine as she pulled the door open, a sudden realization dawning on her. Kaylee dropped her smoothie, her eyes widening as she was thrown forward. Wincing as she bent her wrist too far, Kaylee scrambled away from Jeffrey, toward the other side. Testing the other door, Kaylee's stomach dropped when it didn't budge.

Kaylee scrambled into a sitting position, her eyes flicking to Jeffrey. In the same moment, she felt the phone in her back pocket. She cursed, fumbling to pull it out and dial before Jeffrey could stop her.

Jeffrey spotted her reaching for her phone. As soon as the phone was in front of her face, he sprung across the center console and snatched it out of her hand. With the drivers door still open, he tossed the phone on the ground, stomping on it and watching it crumble beneath his foot. He hopped back up into the seat, slamming the door when he was in position.

Jeffrey cranked the engine, peeling out of the parking lot a little faster than what was necessary. He couldn't stop looking in his rear view mirror, the paranoia of what had just happened finally seeping in. He hit the freeway, speeding up to only five miles over, still trying to be incognito. He couldn't afford to get pulled over.

Jeffrey's eyes locked onto hers in the rear view mirror, he gave her a small smile. "Didn't you want this too? We've been talking about it for months. You said there were times you just wanted to get away and now I'm helping, baby, I'm helping you."

Kaylee's finger had been aiming for the call button, her mind racing with exactly what she would say when the operator picked up. She was sure that Jeffrey wouldn't give her too much time to talk so what information would be most important? Before she could press the button, the phone was ripped from her hands. Her eyes widened as the color drained from her features, watching as Jeffrey destroyed the phone.

Her breath hitched as she pushed herself into the far corner away from Jeffrey, her hands shaking and barely able to grip the seat beneath her while she moved. Closing her eyes tightly, Kaylee tried to focused her breathing but realized all too quickly that she was panicking. Her breaths were coming in sharp, rapid spurts and her chest was beginning to ache. Opening her eyes, Kaylee looked toward the front of the truck, freezing when she made eye contact with him.

"What?!" Kaylee gasped, her nails digging into her palms to try and focus herself even just a little. "Please. Where is Tyler?"

Jeffrey frowned as she seemed to not really understand what was going on. How could she not? "Kaylee...." he murmured, "Don't you see? I know you are smarter than that. We've known each other so well the past six months. It's me, honey. It has been all along."

Jeffrey turned his attention back towards the road. His mind was racing with everything that he was going to teach her. Everything that he would be exploring with her... everything he wanted to do with her. He kicked hungrily at his bottom lip, trying to push those thoughts to the back of his mind for the moment. There were other things that needed to be on the forefront of his mind.

"Isn't this what you wanted, sweetie? There's so many more things we can do now that we are finally together. I'll take care of you, I promise."

Kaylee had been stupidly optimistic that this wasn't what Jeffrey had been planning all along, that he wasn't intending on kidnapping her from the first time that they had ever talked. His admission was all it took to smash what little hope that she had still had left. This couldn't be real - she had talked to Tyler on the phone! She had been so careful. But not careful enough.

Shaking her head, Kaylee wrapped her arms tightly around her torso as she looked out the window. Maybe she could catch someone's attention and they could help... but she realized the windows were tinted and that wasn't an option.

Letting out a sob, Kaylee hung her head as she began to shake her head. "Please," she whispered, forcing herself to breath through her nose. "Please. I won't... I won't tell anyone. Let me go, please."

Jeffrey's eyes hardened at the rejection she was showing towards him. He ignored her pleas, focusing on the road ahead. How was he going to be able to convince her that this was all she needed? Surely after he showed her his world she would be looking at him in a different light.

Finally, when she continued to plead, he spoke out in a stern voice. "That ain't happening, sweetheart. You're the one who asked for this. You're the one who put yourself in this situation. Now sit there and be quiet."

Soon enough, Jeffery was coming up to the exit he needed to take. He pulled the vehicle to the side of the road, flipping on the hazards. He reached into the glove box and pulled out a blind fold. He turned around in his seat and tossed it to her. "Put this on," he ordered.

There was something about the edge in Jeffrey's voice when he ordered her to be quiet that sparked just that reaction. Kaylee had known Tyler, sure, but she didn't know the man in the front seat and she couldn't trust that he wouldn't hurt her if she continued to upset him.

Confusion etched into her features as Jeffrey pulled over, her eyes trained on him. "I-" she opened her mouth to argue but shrank away under his glare. "I don't even know where we are..." she trailed off, trying to reason with him. Closing her eyes, Kaylee lifted the blindfold up and slipped it over her eyes.

Someone would realize she was missing and then someone would find her phone and they would have to make the connection, right? They would hack into her email and know that she planned to meet up with someone at the mall and they would sort out what had happened. They would have to. Maybe it would be a few days but it wouldn't be any longer, right?

Jeffrey couldn’t take the risk of her knowing the route to his safe house. In the event that she might get her hands on a telephone, or access to the internet, he couldn’t have her knowing how to tell people to get to where they were. Having her blindfolded for the latter part of the drive was his best bet at keeping anything bad from happening.

Once he had pulled into his driveway, he cut the engine and sat there for a few moments, staring at the house in front of him. Jeffrey wiped his hands on his jeans one more time before finally sliding out of the driver’s seat. He made his way around to the back-passenger side door, pulling it open. He grasped her arm loosely, guiding her out of the vehicle. He walked with her up to the front door, keeping one hand grasped around her arm, and used the other to fumble with his keys. He got the door open and guided her inside.

“You can take that off now,” He said as he pushed the door closed behind him.

This had to be some sort of sick joke, it just had to be. There was no way that Tyler, the guy that she'd been talking to for the past six months, was the man sitting in the front seat of the truck. Kaylee exhaled slowly, bending down to bury her face into her hands. Maybe if she played up her emotions, Jeffrey would begin to feel bad and let her go. It was a stretch, Kaylee knew, but she was hopeful because she thought it was the only real chance she had left.

Kaylee froze when the vehicle pulled to a stop, wondering what was to come. She didn't feel brave enough to speak so she stayed silent, listening to the sounds of Jeffrey climbing out of the vehicle. For the briefest of moments, she wondered if she should try to make a run for it but she didn't think she would get very far. Having to climb into the front seat and all.

Her stomach dropped to her feet as she was pulled inside the home, her steps calculated as she inched forward. Without being to see and certainly not trusting Jeffrey, Kaylee was afraid to fall. Did she really want to take it off? Tugging the blindfold from her face, Kaylee turned her head to the side, refusing to look up to Jeffrey. She could feel his eyes trained on her and it made her want to do nothing more than to disappear.

“Kaylee,” Jefferey murmured when the young girl refused to look at him. “Everything is going to be just fine, I promise you that. When I was Tyler I told you I would protect you and take care of you someday… That someday just so happens to be starting now.”

Jeffrey didn’t want to have to get stern with her just yet, he knew it was going to be an uphill battle trying to get the girl adjusted… But he knew that it could be done with the proper training. He looked her over, seeing that she was still refusing to meet his gaze. “Well, why don’t I show you to your room?” he offered. “Will that help?”

With out waiting to hear her answer, Jeffrey reached down and grabbed her hand, tugging her to follow him up the stairs. He led her to a lavish bedroom, with everything in it that the teenage girl could possible want. “This will be the bedroom that you sleep in, you can call this one yours. There’s other rooms to show you, but I don’t think you are quite ready for all of that yet.” He said, matter-of-factly. “Now, it was a long drive and I know you have to be hungry. What would you like to eat?”

Yes. Showing me to the room you designed for me is going to help. Kaylee kept the thought to herself, not wanting to risk pissing Jeffrey off. She had no idea what he was capable of and that alone was enough to scare her right down to her being. It wasn't as if she could call for help, she highly doubted there would be a house phone and Jeffrey wouldn't be stupid enough to leave his phone in her reach. And she doubted there were neighbors close enough that she could reach.

The moment that Jeffrey dropped her hand, Kaylee snatched it back and wrapped her arms around her torso. She wanted nothing from him, she didn't want him to try and hold her hand or anything. She wanted to be as far away from him as possible. Just the idea of being in the same room as him made her skin crawl.

"I don't want anything from you," Kaylee spoke through gritted teeth as she turned away from him. "Can't you just leave me alone?"

Jeffrey’s eyes narrowed in on her, the needy side of him growing stronger, threatening to take over. He was trying his hardest to hold back, he needed her to be cooperative to his needs. That wasn’t going to happen if he let loose too soon.

“You need to eat.” He dryly stated, trying his hardest not to treat her like the child she was. “I will make you some dinner, okay? I know this is going to take some getting used to, but I promise if you just let go everything will be okay. You just need to trust me.”

Jeffrey left her alone for a few minutes as he made his way down to the kitchen. In the back of his mind he was starting to rethink his decisions, but he couldn’t allow that to cloud his judgment for what would be coming later on down the road. He felt the yearning begin to pit itself into his stomach. His eyes widened and he took a deep breath as he let the thought leave his mind and started working on getting her dinner made.

Kaylee was more than relieved when Jeffrey decided to leave her alone in the room that had been deemed her bedroom. She began to tip toe toward the door, wondering if she could just make a run for the front door but she decided against it because she doubted she would make it that far. Maybe once she started to gain Jeffrey's trust, she would have a better opportunity.

Her shoulders sagged as she moved back over to the bed, sinking down onto the mattress. She buried her face into her hands, the gravity of her situation finally sinking in. She let out a small sob, biting down on her lip to try and keep herself quiet. She didn't want the man in the kitchen hearing her to come back and try to comfort her. She didn't know him, she didn't trust him, and she certainly wanted him to stay as far away from her as possible.

The sound of footsteps approaching the room made Kaylee straighten, frantically wiping at her eyes in the hopes that he wouldn't realize she had been crying.

When Jeffrey reemerged into Kaylee’s room, he wasn’t very surprised to see her sitting there with red, puffy eyes. Part of his heart ached that she was upset, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. He was damn sure not going to take her back after all of the effort he had gone through to finally get the girl. He shuffled over to her, the plate in his extended hand.

“I made you a turkey and cheese sandwich and brought you some chips.” He mentioned as he watched her tentatively remove the plate from his hand. He raised his eyebrows at her, a small smile on his lips. “Would you like something to drink? I don’t have a lot but I do have water, milk, and juice. I can bring you some if you’d like? You could probably use it.”

Jeffrey watched as she still refused to look at her, a small frown tugging at the edges of his mouth. “Hey,” he spoke softly. “Everything will be just fine.”

Kaylee's appetite was completely gone - she wanted nothing more than to sink into the bed and fall asleep. At least then she wouldn't be living in this nightmare. Her entire body tensed as Jeffrey entered the room and she still refused to look up as she reached for the offered plate of food. She stared down at the food, eyeing it apprehensively. She wasn't so sure that she could even trust the offered food because what if he had drug it? It seemed crazy but so did the situation that she was in.

Shuddering, Kaylee set the plate down beside her. She shook her head at the offer of a drink, her eyes slipping shut. "I'm not hungry. I just want to sleep," she muttered, shoving the plate away from her as she tried to kick her shoes off.

"So if you could leave me alone, that would be great. Thanks."