Chapter 3

A phone rang somewhere. Marla's arms hurt when she tried to get up and answer it. Her head hurt too. She opened her eyes, saw the kitchen, and remembered the night before. The ringing stopped.

In the silence, she heard a scream in the distance, then faint moans. Not long after, a car started and drove away. The phone rang again.

This time she heard some noises from upstairs. Footsteps thumped down to the living room. When he picked up the phone she couldn't quite make what he was saying. He came into the kitchen, still on the phone. He opened another bottle of vodka and took a long pull. "You been out there esse?" He paused and listened while he took another swallow. "Then you know what I'm talking about. I got the stuff you wanted, I picked up something for me to. Here, take a look." He pointed his phone at her, it beeped once, then again. His eyes gleamed with malice and resentment as he pressed buttons, then spoke into the phone again and "What do you think? No, I ain't sharing. No, I found her, she's mine and I want to break her in before I lend her to anyone else." He peered out the kitchen windows and frowned. "Yeah I can make it, but it'll take a couple of hours to get everything." Marla saw fear in his eyes, and his voice changed to a whine. "Right, right I'll be there as soon as I can."