In Chains Read online

  “Only for a second, it saved you going outside.”

  His pencil makes quick movements across the paper and now and again he glances up at me. Still not sure what I’m supposed to be doing I sit as still as I can. I hope he doesn’t make me look too awful. After a few minutes he hands the drawing to me. Wow. It looks like me and yet it doesn’t. He’s drawn someone much more attractive than me and yet it’s definitely me. “It’s lovely thank you. You’ve made me look pretty.”

  His reply is immediate, “You are pretty.”

  Blushing, I hand it back to him. “Will you sign it for me?” He holds the pencil to the paper and sits there, frowning. It’s strange that this man who drew with such ease would be struggling to decide what to write on it. “You don’t have to write anything special, just your name.”

  He continues frowning and staring at the page, finally he speaks, “I don’t know how to do my name.” He’s now staring down at the drawing, gnawing on the end of his pencil. Oh my God. He doesn’t know how to write. I feel so guilty for asking him to sign it but how could I have known?

  “Didn’t they teach you to write at school?” I ask.

  He’s still frowning. “What’s school?”

  “Where you go when you’re a child. It’s where they teach you things.”

  His eyes meet mine. “Oh, like the pound you mean? They didn’t teach me to do my name there.”

  I shuffle across the bed so we’re sitting side by side. “Would you like me to show you how to write your name?” Gazing at me, he smiles and nods his head. I wait for him to hand me his pencil but he continues to hold it, I can feel his eyes boring into the side of my face. Reaching over I wrap my hand around his and move the pencil to the paper, intending to move his hand to form the letters. He lets out a yelp as his body jolts, sending the pencil flying across his bed.

  “Shit,” he mutters.

  “Shall we try that again?” I ask as I pick up his pencil. “You put your hand around mine this time.” His long fingers curl around mine; his hand feels warm and no longer looks sore, though it feels rough and calloused. I like the feel of his skin against mine. Together we form the letter ‘k’. He’s concentrating hard and his tongue is poking out, he’s adorable.

  “What is this pound place you were talking about?” I ask.

  “I was born there and they taught me things till I was eighteen and got sold.” Our hands form the letter ‘a’.

  “What kind of things did they teach you? Did they teach you how to draw?”

  “Nah,” he shakes his head. “I learned that myself. I had obedience classes and cleaning, laundry, farm work and stuff like that.”

  “What about your mum and dad? Did they live there too?”

  “I had a mum. She lived there. They let me live with her till I was three, until I started classes.” Our hands form the last letter of his name.

  “Who did you live with after that? Did you still see your mum?”

  He takes his hand off mine. “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

  He scoots off the bed and crawls underneath it. I look down at his legs poking out from under the bed. What on earth is he doing? “I got something for you,” he says as he crawls back out.

  He’s holding something to his chest and he kisses it on the head before carefully placing it in my hands. It’s a small teddy bear, about five inches tall, a black and white panda with a circle of black fur over one eye. It’s bald in places and what fur it has is matted and grubby. One of its legs is shorter than the other. Its head is permanently bent to the left and its right ear is loose and hanging on by a thread. “His name’s Panda,” he says, rubbing his finger along the bear’s nose. “My mum gave him to me. She said he’d keep me safe,” he laughs to himself. “He didn’t but he was good to cuddle afterwards.” He brushes his hand across the fur. “He’s a bit dirty coz I have to hide him. I’m not allowed to have things. If your brother finds him he’ll take him off me.”

  “Why would he do that?” I ask.

  Kayden frowns at me. “I’m not lying.” He seems hurt. Damn it, I didn’t mean to offend him.

  “I don’t think you’re lying, Kayden. I just can’t understand why my brother would care if you had a bear or not.” I hold it back out to him. “He’s cute, thanks for showing him to me.”

  He shakes his head. “You can have him. You said you like bears and you had to leave yours.”

  My mouth drops open as I gaze at his little bedraggled bear. I blink back tears. “Kayden, are you sure? I can’t take him from you.”

  He leans forward, his soft, warm eyes fixed on mine. “I want you to have him and anyway,” he shakes his head and laughs, “you can give him a better life than I can.” He’s grinning and his eyes are sparkling at me.

  “I’ll spoil him. He’ll have the best that money can buy,” I say, hugging his little bear to my chest. He bursts out laughing.

  I put Panda in my car, sitting him on my big bears lap. “Take care of him for me big guy, he belongs to someone precious.” I’ll take him into the house and put him in my bedroom when Simon’s not around. I honestly can’t see my brother taking Kayden’s bear from him but I’m not going to take the risk.

  By the time I get back to the house Simon is already up and has brewed a pot of coffee.

  “Where have you been?” he asks.

  “I went outside to have a cigarette.” I pour myself a drink. “I want to talk to you about Kayden and the spasms?”

  “Hang on a minute.”

  He goes into his study and when he comes out he’s flicking through a book. “Is that a medical book?” I ask.

  “No, an owner’s manual.”

  I’m confused; I thought we were supposed to be talking about Kayden. “A owner’s manual for what?”

  “For the slave.” My mouth drops open. He’s a human being not a bloody kitchen appliance.

  Ben comes in and heads straight for the coffee maker. Christina sits down at the table, she’s wearing a red silk dressing gown that reaches to just above her knees, and she doesn’t even look dishevelled when she’s just got out of bed. So much for me getting to talk to Simon alone.

  “It could be a problem with its chip,” Simon says, sipping his coffee.

  “What chip?” I ask.

  “The chip in its neck. It’s guaranteed for ten years, it should be good for another two but maybe it’s playing up.”

  “Why does he have a chip in his neck?” I frown.

  “Ahh,” Simon looks up from the manual, “maybe it’s not playing up.”

  Ben glances over Simon’s shoulder at the manual, slaps his thigh and bursts into laughter. “Slave boy has got the hots for you Savannah.” He’s laughing so hard he’s holding his stomach.

  Simon scowls at him. “It’s not funny Ben, it’s my bloody sister it’s lusting over.”

  Christina jumps out of the chair and snatches the manual from Simon. “Let me see.”

  I fold my arms across my chest. “Would someone care to tell me what the hell is going on?”

  Ben’s still laughing; Simon punches him on the arm. “Savannah, its chip gives it an electric shock when it gets an erection.”

  My mouth falls open for the second time. “What? Why?”

  Christina chimes in, “Think about it Savannah. What if a woman owned it, it could rape her. The electric shocks stop it getting an erection, so it’s harmless.”

  Ben has finally stopped laughing and he turns to Christina. “What I’d like to know is, how the chip knows it’s getting an erection.”

  She points to a passage in the manual. “It says here it can sense the changes in its body, pulse, temperature, things like that.”

  Ben bursts into laughter again. “I’m going to have to buy myself a male and female slave. That could be entertaining.”

  I pinch the bridge of my nose. I’m getting a headache. I’m trying to recall the occasions when Kayden had a spasm. It happened when I held his hand and when our hands touched when I gave him t
he eggs. I heard him yelp when I first met him at the chicken coop but he also spasmed after I’d given him lunch, when he was sitting at the kitchen table. Unless he got turned on by eating lunch, which I doubt, that spasm can’t have had anything to do with an erection. “If there’s a fault with his chip, will it harm him?” I ask.

  Simon snatches the manual back from Christina. “I’ve just sent a text to C.S.S and asked them to run a diagnostic on the chip.”

  “We should still test it ourselves,” says Christina. “You can’t rely on C.S.S. I know what we can do,” she says. “I’ll go and speak to it and see if it happens with me. Then Savannah should speak to it.” She’s jumping up and down with excitement. “If it spasms with us women we’ll know it’s because it’s horny.” She’s looking so proud of herself for coming up with that idea. I sigh and clench my fists. I hate this; I hope Simon gets a reply to his text soon.

  Apparently Kayden is washing Simon’s car now and in the absence of a text everyone else has agreed to put Christina’s plan into action.

  “You’re not going out wearing that,” Simon says, raising his eyebrows at Christina. She’s still dressed in nothing but the short silk dressing gown.

  “We need to guarantee it gets an erection,” she says, her hands gesturing towards her body, “how else are we going to know?”

  Simon closes his eyes and shakes his head and I storm off into the lounge. This disgusts me. We’re treating him like some kind of experiment. Simon calls out to me, “Savannah.”

  I narrow my eyes at him. “What?”

  He gestures towards the stairs and we all troop up to the bedroom window. As I watch Christina saunter over towards Kayden I feel a ridiculous pang of jealousy. I don’t want to witness him getting aroused by her. I sigh, shaking my head, he’s not mine, I’ve got no right to be jealous and it’s likely a faulty chip anyway. She’s standing close to him and I’m relieved that so far he hasn’t even twitched. He’s not looking at her; he’s concentrating on washing the car. She moves closer, of course he’s going to be turned on, how can he not, she’s stunning and she’s barely dressed. She puts her hand on his back, leans over and says something to him. I’m grateful for double glazing; I couldn’t bear hearing what she’s saying. I turn away from the window, I can’t look anymore. “No, nothing,” says Simon.

  I hear the door close and Christina runs up the stairs. “It must be a faulty chip,” she says. “It didn’t spasm once and I gave it a good flash of my legs, which never fails.” Simon doesn’t look too happy at that comment.

  “Your turn Savannah,” he says.

  Stomping down the stairs I decide I’m not going to do this. I do need to know if his chip is faulty, I don’t want him hurt by it but I’m just going to ask him why he spasms, I’m sure he knows. As I step out of the door he calls out to me, “Hi Savannah?”

  He’s smiling at me while he’s wiping the top of the car with a cloth. I can’t look at him, I’m wringing my hands and I know my face has gone red. Taking a deep breath I ask in a small voice, “Kayden, do you know why your body jerks the way it does sometimes?”

  His face turns a deep shade of red and he looks away from me. He continues to wipe the cloth over the car, he’s not answering and he’s still not looking at me. Why ever did I think this was a good idea? It’s obvious his chip is faulty; we can just wait until Simon gets a text and deal with it then. I wish I hadn’t even mentioned it to my brother. As I turn to go back inside he finally speaks. “It happens when…,” he still can’t look at me. “It happens when…” he drops the cloth and puts his head in his hands.

  Great, now I’ve embarrassed him. I started this whole thing, I need to finish it. I take a deep breath. “Kayden, does it only happen when you get turned on?”

  “Yeah, I’m sorry,” he mumbles, his head still in his hands. “It only happens with you. I like you.” I put my hands to my mouth. He likes me. My stomach feels funny and a grin begins to form on my lips. He likes me. Me. He likes me. I feel like jumping up and down.

  My voice comes out as little more than a squeak, “I like you too.” His head snaps towards me. He’s staring at me wide eyed, his mouth open. Then he yelps as his body jolts. I can’t help it, I start to giggle. He shakes his head and then starts laughing along with me.

  A loud banging comes from the upstairs window and we both turn to look. Damn, I’d been so thrilled to find out Kayden liked me that I’d forgotten all about them watching. I’ve no intention of giving them free entertainment. “I have to go,” I say, as I run towards the house.

  Simon runs down the stairs as I get through the door. “Stay away from it Savannah. Stay away from it.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Savannah

  “It obviously realises I’m out of its league,” says Christina. She’s sitting at the kitchen table, sipping on a glass of orange juice. “It seems it doesn’t think the same about you Savannah.”

  “I’ve got to get ready to go to my squash club,” Simon says.

  “I’ll stay here with Savannah, if that’s okay with you?” Ben says. “It gives us a chance to get to know each other better.”

  Simon bends down and kisses Christina. “I’ll drop you home on my way to the club sweetheart.” I’m grateful she’s not staying as well. I guess I’ll have to get used to her but I’ve had enough of her for one day.

  With Simon and Christina gone I settle down in the living room to read my book. Hopefully Ben will get the hint that I don’t need his company. He snatches my e-reader out of my hands. “You don’t want to sit here all day with your head in a book. I’ll take you out for brunch. There’s a cafe just up the road.” I guess it beats sitting here with him and it’ll give me chance to see if they need any staff.

  “What do you think of my car? She’s a beauty isn’t she?” He pats his car affectionately. To me a car is just to get me from ‘A’ to ‘B’. I like my little car, it’s cheap to insure and easy to park.

  “Yes it’s nice,” I say.

  “Nice! She’s a classic. I’ve had a lot of work done on her, she’s a beauty.” The way he’s talking about it I wouldn’t be surprised if he takes it to bed with him. He opens the door and I sink into the luxury leather seat. “I just want a quick word with the slave before we go,” he says.

  Kayden is walking towards the house holding some eggs. I wonder what Ben is talking to him about. They’re too far away for me to hear, I hope it has nothing to do with what happened earlier. I notice Kayden is now hanging his head and his shoulders are slumped. What the hell has Ben said to him? I open the car door and am about to get out as Ben strides back over. He gets in and starts the engine. “What was that about?” I ask as I close the door again.

  “Nothing you need to worry your pretty head about,” he says as he puts the car in gear. I glance back out of the window but Kayden has now disappeared.

  Ben parks on the road outside the cafe and locks his car. “Aren’t you going to put the alarm on?” I ask.

  “This isn’t London,” he laughs. “We’re in a little village, she’ll be fine.”

  The cafe has twelve tables and eleven of them are full, it’s obviously a popular place. I guess there isn’t much competition and not much else to do around here. I can only see one guy taking orders, so maybe they could use some extra staff. I’ll wait until we’ve eaten and then I’ll ask to speak to the manager.

  For a little village cafe it has an extensive menu. We both order the full English fry-up and a mugs of tea. There are all age groups in here, families with young children, middle aged couples, pensioners. There’s a constant hum of conversation alongside the hissing of the urn. Our food arrives, it looks and smells delicious.

  “Simon told me you’ve left your boyfriend,” Ben says, taking a sip of his tea. I just nod my head; it’s not a subject I want to discuss. “So, have you got your eye on anyone else?” he asks, smiling at me. Yes, I fancy Kayden something rotten but I’m not about to tell Ben that.

  “I think I’ll
stay single for a while.”

  “Good idea,” he says, through a mouthful of sausage and tomato. “Why get tied down to one person. Play the field and have some fun.” He takes another sip of his tea. “We can have some fun together. What you doing next weekend?”

  “Err…I don’t know yet. It’s too early to make any plans.” I concentrate on eating my food, hoping he’ll take the hint.

  “We can go to the cinema, or to a club if you like dancing.”

  “I’m not ready to date again yet. If you’ll excuse me, I just want a quick word with the manager.”

  I get up and walk over to the counter before he has a chance to say anything else. The waiter is busy serving but there’s a woman cooking food on the grill so I call out to her, “Excuse me. Could I speak to the manager please?”

  She turns around and wipes her hands on her apron. “You’re speaking to her. What can I do for you?” She looks like she’s in her late forties. She’s tiny, not much taller than me but a lot slimmer. Her long, mousy brown hair is tied in a ponytail.

  “I recently moved to the area and I’m looking for work.”

  “You’re in luck. My waiter is leaving in two weeks. Ever worked in a cafe before?”

  I shake my head. “I’ve worked in a supermarket, so I know how to use a till. I can make tea and coffee. I’m happy to work for free for a few days, so you can decide if I’m suitable.”

  “I wouldn’t expect anyone to work for free love,” she says, frowning. “I’ll give you a day’s trial, paid of course. Tomorrow okay for you?”

  “That will be great, thank you.”

  She holds out her hand. “My name’s Jenny. I’ll see you at eight tomorrow morning.”

  I walk back to our table in a happy daze. I never expected to get a job so soon. I’ve no idea what the pay is but it’s better than nothing and Jenny seems friendly. I think I’m going to enjoy working here and I won’t have far to travel. “What was all that about?” asks Ben.