Mostro

I give her my bedroom upstairs because she isn't trash like the others. She is Helen, with the face that launched a thousand ships, and she deserves better than a damp cellar.

I'm still afraid she'll run, so I keep the zip ties on her wrists. Next comes the cable tie that will keep her feet to the bed. Her face contorts and tears escape her eyes. I cup her face in one hand. "Don't cry. Please don't. You'll be happier here, I promise." She looks into my eyes and I feel weightless. I knew it. She really does love me.

But then her forehead smashes into my nose. I'm dumbfounded only for a second before I realize she's sitting up. "No! Bad Inez," I chastise before tying everything tighter. She whimpers. Blood from my nose drips onto her pretty yellow shirt. "Look what you did," I tell her. "If you pull anymore stunts like that, I'll have to punish you, you know." She just whimpers again. I pat her on the head. What a silly girl.