Chapter 11

I was tired, wet and cold. I didn't know what the time was, or even the day. With what little strength I had in me, I ripped my dress, so the part below my knee was covering my bare shoulders as I laid on the stone ground. The only light in this cave, was when Ricardo was here; as soon as he’d left, I'd had all of five seconds to take in my surroundings to know everywhere was brick, including the floor. It was cold and damp, and there was a bucket at the side of the wall. One I assumed was for me to urinate or even shit in. I wanted to so badly, so the next time Ricardo came in here, I would throw it at him.

How dare he?

I crashed into his fucking car, and he treats me like this!

He might as well have killed me, it would have been better than this, anything would have been. I was dying to pee, so I crawled because I couldn't walk. Nearly every part of my body was hurting me. I had been drinking so much wine out of nerves before he arrived, that I had been slightly light-headed when he came through the door. I didn't realize at first that he was angry, I thought he was excited. Boy, was I wrong.

I tried moving on the brick floor, but it scratched my body and now my stomach was hurting from the hunger. I knew it was only a matter of time before he gave me food, or did he plan on leaving me here to rot and starve, all because I cooked a nice meal for him with Lourdes and dressed up.

What a fucking monster.

What would he have done with me if I'd gone all out and laid on the table in my breakfast suit? There was nothing attractive about him. I hated him, and to think I had simply misunderstood the situation, so his answer for it all was to punish me. If I did survive this, then I'd return the favor, there would be no doubt about it.

One good thing was at least the bucket was clean. I stopped in my tracks as I reached for it, and then slowly tried to stand-up, there wasn't a muscle or even a piece of fat on my body which wasn't hurting, as I tried to stand up. Then, I pulled down my panties, and I couldn't believe they were glued to me, so much so I had trouble pulling them down. I was stiff as I bent down, I couldn't even stoop as I tried, but then I flopped my ass on the bucket and peed. I didn't care that there was nothing to wash my hands with, or even paper to wipe myself down after. I let it all come flowing out. I sighed as I put my head back, happy simply that the steel bucket didn't crash or lose balance with my weight. As I came to an end, I quickly stood, then used the bottom of my knickers to soak up the remaining drops of my urine. I could have used the part of the dress I ripped off, but it was the one thing which was keeping me warm, and I couldn't have it soaked with urine. I had to improvise, but I could just about see, as there was a thin streak of light coming into the cave. It let me know where the bucket was, but the rest of the cave was a mystery to me. I felt like a blind woman, as I couldn't see past the bucket, and I couldn't even retrace my steps back to where I had been sleeping, but I couldn't stay here any longer. I had to move away. The smell of my urine filled not only my nose, but the cave too, so I moved away, back into the darkness, trying not to think about what I'd done as my stomach started to make noises I'd never heard before.

Then, all of a sudden, there was light again. It felt as if Christmas had come early. I didn't want to show the fear, the anger I was feeling deep down inside of me, in case by some miracle Ricardo had realized the error of his ways and decided to set me free. Maybe he did have a heart after all.

I couldn't make out who it was, the sound of the steps, and the bright light made me turn blind, it was too bright. I didn't remember it being bright earlier, but maybe after being in the dark so long, it'd hurt my eyes. No one spoke, I couldn't bring myself to do it, as I huddled into a corner, and waited for someone to speak as I closed my eyes.

"Hey, Adrianna, it's me, Diego."

I dipped my head my head, surprised to hear his voice, but I didn't feel like small talk right now. The humiliation of it all was too much to bear.

"Ricardo's pissed, but it's my fault. I should have briefed you and done things differently."

I cried, "What? You should have put me in here, first."

"No… it doesn't matter. The good news is I can get you out tomorrow. The bad news is you have one more night here. So, I brought blankets. I'll clean the bucket, and I brought wipes and…"

"Food, did you bring food?"

"Yeah, bread and water. But it's for one more night."

"Oh," I said as I jumped up, and then with the blinding light and using my hands as a navigator, I managed to find my way to him. I didn't hesitate in taking the bread and water from him. He'd let himself in the cage and was standing in front of me. I could have made a run for it, I could have tried, but I knew if I did then Ricardo was probably somewhere watching, and he would definitely kill me. There would be no hesitation, I had to play along, as Diego had said for one more night.

I felt sick at the idea of eating without washing my hands, but I was too voracious to care about hygiene. It all seemed relative. I was being held like an animal, and the last thing on my mind should have been about not acting like one.

"So, I'm leaving the paper, food on this side, and then the bucket on the other side. I've got a fresh one. I'll change then I'll be back in the morning to change it and by then get you out of here."

I should have said thanks, but I had a feeling he didn't want my gratitude. He wasn't facing me when he was talking, but the side of the wall. Strange.

"Right, let's get the bucket changed."

He paused as if he was waiting for something, I looked at the bottle of water, the two-liter bottle, and the loaf of fresh bread he'd laid in the corner, with new clothes and blankets. At least I wouldn't be as cold as I was last night.

"What time is it?"

"One," he said and nodded. "In the afternoon."

Shit, I'd been here for only one night and afternoon, yet it felt like an eternity.

"I'll let you out tomorrow morning."

"What time?"

It felt silly worrying about the time when I had nowhere to go. I couldn't be let out, even fucking criminals who were incarcerated were treated better than this.

"He'll let me know," he pointed to the top of the cell and this was when I realized what he was talking to seconds ago. The camera. This is why it was so bright in here, the camera was shining and checking every part of this hell. This is why earlier when I wanted to pee, he must have activated the light to guide me along.

Fuck!

I really hated him now.

I slumped back into the corner, the one where Diego had left the blankets and new clothes for me. Knowing I was being watched made me hesitate for a split second before getting changed. I'd lost all self-esteem from the moment I was put in this cell. Diego backed away, probably embarrassed by the fact I was stripping in front of him. Every part of my body stunk, from my urinated panties to my teeth. Ricardo had stripped me of all dignity and I hated him, and I wished I hadn't crashed into his car.

I wished I had crashed directly into him.