Chapter 13

Edward and Edwina’s relationship grew stronger after her wonderful birthday party. Becky, on the other hand, needed a lot of attention. The Pembrokes feared she might die, and eventually, they had to dress her almost like an Egyptian mummy to try and cover the wounds as they tried to heal all over her body.

Edwina and Edward gave serious thought to how to dispose of her body. “What about a nice rose bush? We could bury her there, and plant roses on her, every year, we would have lovely roses with her scent!” Edward grew fond of the idea.

“Ha, yeah, well, much as the thought of smelling roses that grew out of her decomposing cunt is appealing to me...” Edwina drawled sarcastically. “There is no way that bitch is staying around here. She will need fucking burning, that’s what.”

Edward was a little taken aback at the harsh language, despite essentially agreeing that Becky might have to be murdered.

Edwina had more meetings with Genevieve. She smiled at the earnest young girl, so bright and full of hope for the future. Unblemished by piercings or bruising. She could faintly make out her nipples through her blouse and imagined piercing going through it. She wondered if this girl’s big sister would be dead by the time she got home. Maybe she could even bring Becky’s ashes to the Parker household, and put it in their tea? she smiled at the evil thought.

“Sorry, is there something funny?” Genevieve asked her suddenly.

“Oh sorry, my head is away in the clouds...”

“I was talking about that incident at my school, where I was kicked by that bully Simone, at school and now she is suspended.”

“Oh yes, I am so sorry, Genevieve, forgive me, I have a full day with some traumatic cases today. But it’s very poor form to drift off, please, tell me more...”

Genevieve was starting to lose faith in Edwina Pembroke as a good listener. She had also noticed her dirty knickers kept going missing, and that the old woman’s eyes were often straying between her legs if she ever wore a skirt. After the initial novelty of having such a humble working-class woman to talk with, she noticed that she did not seem to know much about psychology.

Eleanor felt the same way. She had recovered somewhat from the shock of losing Becky and felt it was time to “move on.” Mrs Pembroke had served her purpose but was now an unwelcome reminder of the tragedy.

As Edwina watched Eleanor, her eyes couldn’t help but linger on the curves accentuated by the tight gym outfit. But any admiration was swiftly replaced by shock as Eleanor’s dismissive tone cut through the air.

“Ah, Mrs. Pembroke,” Eleanor began, her voice as cool as her demeanor, “Sorry to be abrupt, but your services won’t be needed anymore. Genevieve doesn’t require further therapy at the moment. You’ve been helpful, but it’s best to leave this in the past for now.”

Edwina’s disbelief was palpable as Eleanor continued, her dismissal delivered with a finality that left no room for argument. “We’ll pay you for today and one more session, but we don’t expect to see you again. Goodbye and good luck.”

As Eleanor walked away, her figure-hugging attire seemed to mock Edwina’s shock, her perfect ass wiggling at her, mocking her.

“It’s all right, darling, there there.”

Edward wrapped his arms around Edwina, offering comfort as she cried in the living room. The realization that she might never see Genevieve again hit her hard, she had not realised how much of a crush she had developed on the young girl. And on Eleanour.

“It’s not fair, Ed,” Edwina sobbed, her voice choked with emotion as tears streamed down her red face. “I really wanted them. I wanted to be them. Why is it that we never get what we want? They get everything. Eleanor ... she just looked at me like ... like I was chewing gum on her shoe...” Her words were punctuated by heaving sobs, the weight of rejection and inadequacy bearing down on her.

Edward’s words offered a sliver of solace to Edwina amid her turmoil. “Always remember, Edwina, we both got dealt bad hands, but we made the most of it. We have each other,” he reassured her, his voice steady despite her tears. “And well, when we wanted something, we just took it. Remember, life is not fair; it is what it is, and we acted on it.”

Edwina wiped her eyes. “Yes, you’re right Ed!” She squeezed his hand. “We took their Becky. Fuck Eleanour, but I want her to know, I want her to see what I’ve done to her daughter, whipped red raw and beaten.” Edwina’s face was now clenched and ugly with anger. “I don’t want it to be just Becky, Ed. Promise me there will be other girls. And we will do something to those Parker girls, we have to!”

Edward was taken aback. “Look, steady on, Edwina. Why don’t we just forget about the Parker family. We have taken their daughter away from them, OK we can’t taunt them about it, but they’re ruined. We won, we have a beautiful young girl under our floorboards, why risk everything for those bitches?”

Edwina nodded her agreement and let her head fall sadly on Edward’s chest. But she could not stop thinking of Genevieve, she reminded Edwina of her first crush, a smart, kind good-looking girl, who had always been nice to her. Then one day, Edwina had tried to kiss her, and that girl had called her a lesbian in front of everyone and bullied her for the last years of school. Being horribly bullied by someone she adored had left a lasting impact on Edwina. Maybe it was why she was such a fucked up person today.

“How is Becky, anyway?” she asked, absent-mindedly.

“She is recovering, I think, not bleeding anymore. She just looks purple and black now like a Teletubby!” he chuckled.

“Sorry Ed, I was very self-indulgent on my birthday, but you know, always remember, she is not really a person. When we get them into our basement, they’re not people anymore. They are toys to do with what we want. I do not want you to be feeling guilty about her, OK?”

“No, don’t worry!” Edward did feel guilty, but as soon as he did, his mind wandered straight back to his libido which cured him of all empathy for the suffering girl.

As Becky recovered, she did have some time away from being a sex toy, though still had to provide her body for the Pembrokes to play with. Her lisp finally healed, much to the Pembrokes’ disappointment, as they had loved her comical stutter.

Edwina continued to work in the private sector. On one occasion, she had a meeting to cover a colleague and met a seventeen year old girl, Angela Candelema. As Edwina entered the room, she couldn’t help but notice Angela’s striking appearance – her fine figure and lovely face were undeniable. Yet, despite her beauty, Angela appeared sullen and depressed. Concerned, Edwina approached her. “What’s wrong, love?” she asked gently. “Why is a pretty girl like you so sad?” Her tone was empathetic, concern evident in her voice as she reached out to Angela.

Angela smiled weakly. “I’m sorry, I don’t know if you had time to read my file, I usually see Justine.”

“Oh Justine was ill, yes sorry”

“Yeah well, I cut myself again. I’m sorry...”

“There there” Edwina leaned in and fugged the poor vulnerable girl. “Tell me what is the matter.”

“It all started, back in the summer ... when...”

Angela put her head in her hands, she was stammering.

“Oh, Mrs Pembroke...”

“Call me Edwina, please”

Edwina held Angela gently, soothing the girl, while admiring the feel of her firm figure and the smell of her hair. “Shh, it’s okay, Angela,” she murmured softly, rubbing her back in comforting circles. “You’re safe now. Take your time, there’s no rush. You can tell me when you’re ready.”

Angela nodded, her tears slowly subsiding as she found some comfort in Edwina’s embrace. Gathering her thoughts, she began to recount the harrowing ordeal she had faced. Edwina listened intently.

“Last summer ... I was out celebrating with my friends, it was the end of GCSEs. And, we were drinking, sorry I know we shouldn’t but we didn’t have much! But, after a certain point, nobody remembers anything, none of our friends! And I woke up in ... in...”

Poor Angela went quiet and sobbed as she held on to Edwina. Edwina’s grip on her back tightened imperceptibly. Surely, it couldn’t be?

“I woke up in this house with these guys, I was naked, and there was ... drugs ... and they were naked. We had sex, I know, and I went home. I don’t remember it.”

She had moved back, composing herself, wiping away her tears, and Edwina had another look at her face.

It was the girl in the blue dress, who had been dancing so happily, who had inspired both Edward and Edwina to start their campaign of kidnap. Edwina had sprayed her table with the drugs. She had been spiked, but she had not been the girl Edward and Edwina had raped in the back of the van...

“Well, I tried to hide it from my parents, and I did nothing. But ... then I found out I was pregnant.”

Edwina raised an eyebrow.

“I had to ... get an abortion.” Angela’s voice trembled as she uttered the words, her whole body quaking with the weight of her confession. “I ... I had no choice,” she choked out, her eyes brimming with tears.

Edwina hugged her again, offering what little comfort she could at that moment. “I’m so sorry, Angela,” she whispered. “That must have been incredibly difficult for you.”

“But my parents, they blamed me, they are really religious, and they kicked me out. I had to go to foster for a while and well now, I’m in a flat, but my parents, won’t speak to me, and, I just can’t get over it, I keep trying to remember, what happened. I know I was raped, I just feel like that one night had ruined my life. I was all set to go university, I haven’t been to school since, I don’t know what I’m gonna do now...”

As if the weight of her admission was too much to bear, she collapsed into a torrent of sobs.