Peeling Black Paint

“…Taylor!” I had tuned Kevin out and only caught the end of his sentence as I turned back around to face the door. At that moment, just as my heart had slowed down the tiniest bit, the door was pushed with such force that it ripped free from its top set of hinges. My shrieks mixed with Kevin’s throaty grunts as he kicked down the rest of the door and my heart sped up again. He came towards me and I backed up against the wall, sliding towards the corner so as to get away from him and his livid eyes. He smacked me across the face and kicked me to the floor, making sure that I was properly down and hurt before he leapt into the closet. He came out with one of those tacky patterned bandanas and a hoodie. Looking around he grabbed a pair of pink fuzzy handcuffs from his bed.

I whimpered as Kevin came towards me again, and for good reason. He tangled his hands in my hair and pulled me into a standing position, but I slumped away from him as soon as he let go. Without a word, he held both my arms above my head, gripping my wrists so strongly that I could feel the bruises forming. He shoved my arms into the armholes of the sweatshirt, pulling it down properly. He folded and tied the bandana around my eyes, and pushed my hands to rest in the kangaroo pocket of the sweatshirt. I could no longer see what he was doing to me but felt something supple touching my fingers and guessed that he had cuffed me. I was crying softly then, wetting the scratchy material covering my eyes. I heard a soft thud and Kevin cussing then felt him push something roughly onto my face before he pulled the hood over my head.

“Don’t try to do anything Taylor!”

I didn’t respond but of course didn’t do as I was told. Edging backwards, I bumped into the wall with my butt. Moving side to side I felt the sharp frame of the window ledge. My heart raced as I tried to think straight. Should I try? It’d be falling backwards… and I’m blindfolded and handcuffed, stopping use of two parts of myself that would really help when falling from a building… Before I had a chance to decide whether or not I should risk trying to get out of the window, Kevin was next to me again, swearing under his breath and pulling me out of the room. Out of the apartment, into an elevator, out of the elevator to somewhere smelling of mold and gasoline, and finally into a musty smelling car.

Somewhere between coming out of the elevator and getting into the car I tried to shake myself free of the hood and whatever was put over the blindfold.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Kevin hissed in my ear as he yanked my hair and pushed my head down, pulling the hood back into place.

I screamed and squirmed away from his grasp, wondering if anyone was close enough to hear me.

“Oh shut up! No one’s going to help you. Ever.”

Kevin clamped a hand over my mouth, which I promptly bit. He angrily switched hands, but held his firm grip. I tried yelling, talking, making any possible distinguishable sound, but couldn’t. As soon as he ducked my head down into the car and let go I started yelling again, which is why I suppose he stuck a tennis ball in my mouth and threatened to cut my tongue off if I spit it out or made another sound.