The next morning, the head conspirator, who's name I learned was Gerry, brought my food up. "Enjoy the show last night?" he taunted.
I took a deep breath. I'd cried quite a lot after returning to my bed, but I wasn't going to let him know how heartbroken I was. "Not really," I said honestly.
Gerry chuckled as he laid the tray on the table. It was not a pleasant sound. "We don't mess around," he said conversationally. "Boss wanted to teach you a lesson. Guess she thinks you need breakin'. It doesn't bother me one way or another what happens to you; I've got my orders to do as she tells me when it comes to your royal hide. I don't have no real feelin's either way. You just do as you're told, and you'll get along here just fine."
I gritted my teeth after he left, resisting the urge to beat him over the head with the nearest heavy object I could find. Instead, I had my breakfast, before hopping in the shower and dressing. The wardrobe had enough clothes to keep me going, and a neat white laundry hamper near the door answered the question of what to do with the dirty clothes.
After breakfast, I waited until Gerry had taken the tray before going for my walk along the hall. I took my time, and when I reached the far end, I stopped to catch my breath. Here, a blank wall greeted me, but when I leaned on it, I found it to be thin. Not flimsy, but thin in a way that suggested it was hiding something. Another oddity was the pair of doors located here at the far end of the hall. They were located right up against the far wall, again suggesting there was more here than appeared to the untrained eye. I longed to investigate further, but Gerry's instructions prevented me from doing so. I could have tested one of the doors, but the thought of hidden cameras stifled even that urge. Reluctantly, I turned and made my way back to my room, feeling as if I was a caged bird or small animal.
Sitting by the window and watching the traffic go by three storeys below me helped pass the time a little, but I was still relieved when my lunch was brought up. I was less relieved to see it was Gerry again, and when he saw my face, he wisely put the tray on the table and made his exit without attempting to engage me in conversation.
With lunch done, I returned to my people watching, having decided the lure of the false wall at the end of the hall was far too tempting. As much as I wanted to believe there were no hidden cameras, Gerry would not be stupid enough to leave that much temptation lying in wait. His words when he brought up my tray for dinner confirmed my suspicions. "Got curious?" he said, lingering by the door after setting my tray down. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7iGUGjtbDo
"I did," I admitted. "But I know better than to poke my fingers where they're not wanted."
"Smart girl," Gerry said, before taking his exit.
I ate my dinner in silence, determined not to give him a reason to start questioning me further. When I took my after-dinner walk, I didn't linger too long at the false wall, nor did I peek at the two far doors. I wasn't giving Gerry any more leverage over me; he had too much as it was.
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After breakfast the next morning, Gerry came back to collect the tray in a surprisingly short amount of time. "You're to stay in your room at all times," he warned. "I've got visitors, and they don't need to know about you. Got me?"
I said that I did, and I shivered when Gerry locked the door from the outside, thus ensuring I'd stay put. I didn't like the idea of being mewed up, but I could and did do laps around the room in lieu of my twice-daily walk up and down the long hall. It was a grey and rainy day outside, which didn't help my mood, but I did get some small entertainment of watching people and cars hurry about, trying to get out of the weather in the quickest time possible while getting all their errands done.
At lunchtime, the door was opened long enough for a tray to be shoved inside, before the door was shut and locked again. I ate in silence, my ears pricking up despite themselves when I heard voices outside my door. Remembering Gerry's instructions, I tried not to pay too much attention to the chatter, but the door was too thick for anything more than a murmur to come through, and the conversation soon moved away in any case. I didn't know what was going on, and I didn't care to know. The less I knew of the shady goings-on in this house, the better off I was.
Dinner time came and went in much the same manner, but this time, as I was setting the tray by the door for collection, I heard a thump, a scream, and then some very family unfriendly language coming from the far end of the hall. In spite of myself, I pressed my ear to the door, eyes wide at the rude words spouting from the lips of the personage occupying one of the far rooms, but as the commotion drew closer, I hurriedly returned to my seat by the window and peeked outside, hoping there were no hidden cameras in my room. Mercifully, though the shouting and swearing disappeared downstairs, no one came to question me, and after two nerve-jangling hours, Gerry opened the door. "Fuckin' lunatic," he muttered, snatching up the tray. His face was like thunder, and I kept my face blank, not wanting him to think I'd been curious about the evening's happenings. He pointed a finger at me. 171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwVqP0aV7vJ
"You don't know what's goin' on," he said, his tone a clear warning. "You heard shit goin' down, but you don't know what's goin' on." He made me repeat the words until I was sure I could say them in my sleep, and when he was satisfied, he took the try and slammed the door shut, this time without locking it. I didn't want to go near the far end of the hall in any case, and since it was starting to get close to bedtime, I did the smart thing and retired, hoping tomorrow wouldn't bring a repeat of today's events. I didn't want to subject my already overtaxed nerves to further torment.
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