Chapter 37: Second Chances (nosex)

Sonja didn't wake up until late afternoon. She slipped from Meris' tangled limbs and padded down the stairs after pulling on a fresh robe across her body. Outside, the summer light was bright and yellow, the brilliance of the season streaming in through the windows.

She made it half-way down the stairs when the phone rang out. Sonja considered ignoring it, but it rang again and she padded back up the stairs to her mother's office. Flipping up the phone, she answered it. "Sonja here."

"Hello, this is Meris' father." Rick's voice was gruff and dark, a tense sound of someone more than unhappy.

"Hello, Rick."

"How are you doing? Things haven't been the same since you had to quit."

Sonja pushed back a bitterness that rose in her throat. She thought about her situation and then smiled. "I think I've convinced my mother to let me come back to work soon."

"Uh, about that." His gruff voice changed slightly. "Well, I need Meris to come home, now."

The last word was hard and Sonja felt her breath hard in her chest.

"Would later-"

"Now."

There was no question, there was no negotiations. She heard that tone in his voice before and it left her cold. She switched hands on the phone and took a deep breath. "Yes, sir. I'll send her home right away."

"Good. And Sonja?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Take care of yourself." His words were strange but the other end of the phone went dead before she could ask questions.

Sonja set the handle back into its cradle and walked back into their bedroom. Meris yawned as she woke up, stretching as she did so.

A soft, sleepy smile cross her lips as she saw her lover. "Who was that?"

"Your father, he wants you home."

Meris' smile disappeared in a second. "Can it wait?"

She shook her head, "I don't think so. He seems pissed."

"I like it here."

Sonja crawled over to Meris and kissed her lips, enjoying the taste of her lover. "And I like you here, but he seems very upset. And if I want to work for him, I probably should let his daughter come home for a break from all this fucking."

Meris pouted for a moment, but still crawled out of bed to get dressed. As she tugged on her shirt, she gave Sonja a sloppy grin. "Promise me that you'll give me a good working over... when I get back?"

Sonja purred and smiled, "I promise."

"Good, I'll be back as soon as I can."

Watching her lover leave left Sonja feeling saddened and depressed. She followed after a few moments, setting her feet on the stairs until she wandered into the kitchen. It was empty, even of the corpse from earlier in the morning. Only a tiny little icicle clung to the spit. She smiled as her bare feet covered the distance. She stroked along the metal of the spit still in its bracket.

She stood there in silence, remembering everything that happened before hunger broke her attention. Peeking in the fridge, she saw the remains of Theodora, thick slices piled high on a platter. To the average person, it just looked like steaks. She reached in and grabbed a plate's worth.

Sonja considered cooking it in the microwave, but decided to pop it in the oven and cook it properly.

She sighed and sat down at the table. Without Meris, she felt alone and drifting.

As she waited, she tapped on the table, unsure of what to do. She considered going into the basement to toy with Betty but, without Meris, she couldn't find the energy. Instead, she just remained in the kitchen, depressed and lethargic.

Then, James' voice cut through her thoughts.

"I know that smell."

"James!"

He came in, wearing civilian clothes. Grinning, he peered into the oven and then sat down heavily in one of the chairs. "Which one was it?"

"Oh, uh, Theadora."

"The black girl? Cool, I haven't had African in a long time."

Sonja shook her head, amused by his casual reference to eating humans. "Do you want some? Grab it from the fridge."

James looked at the fridge, "Na, I'll grab some of yours, I'm feeling kind of lazy today."

He peered around the kitchen, then at the basement. "So, where is your girl? The pretty one?"

"Meris had to head to home. Her father needed her."

"Ah, she probably has been spending a lot of time here."

Nodding, Sonja agreed. James continued to look around until Sonja felt his presence grating.

"What do you want?"

"Oh... nothing."

Her eyes narrowed. "Bullshit."

James started to deny it, then grinned. "Okay, I was hoping to see if Meris was in the mood."

"In the mood?" She fought not to snap at him as the jealousy rose up.

"For sex. It's been a while," he had the decency to pretend to be bashful, "and well, I rather enjoyed it."

"So, you were hoping to have a little bit of pussy because you were horny?"

James shrugged then grinned. "Yeah, pretty much."

Underneath the table, Sonja clenched her fist. She knew better than to do anything she would regret with the officer with ties to Dolcett County. If she said the wrong thing, she could end up someone's meal. "Betty is downstairs, feel free."

He shook his head and eyed her. "Not really interested in that slut."

"Oh, why?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. She seems fake and I see enough girls tied down or chained up. After a while, it kind of loses the charm of those pleading eyes. Plus," he rapped the table with his finger, "there is a viciousnesses in her eyes still that doesn't really excite me."

"And Meris doesn't have that?"

James grinned, "Not really. She has that sadistic submissive trait that is really rare, even in Dolcett."

Not wanting to talk about her lover with James, Sonja changed the topic. "What is Dolcett like?"

"Bright, sunny, cheerful. Girls get lots of money and showered with gifts. They enjoy a couple years of being queens before they are slaughtered."

"Slaughtered?"

"Yeah, lotteries and crimes. Hell, they are nothing more than money for some people."

Both disgust, fear, and curiosity flooded through Sonja, "Why would any woman in her right mind ever go there?"

"Well, lots of reasons."

"Name one."

"Well, there is a chance that they will survive. About one in twenty make it through everything."

"Oh, that's a risk."

"Well, more submissive women seem to show up, ones who have that secret desire to be on the grill or spit."

Sonja shook her head. James shrugged.

"For some, its the money. Dolcett throws a lot of cash at new meat, giving them TV's and just about every gadget there is. They get a lot of fun time, knowing that they may end up dead the next day. Almost no girl there works, they just hang around, got to the beach, and have fun. All on the county."

"Wow... that sounds..."

James raised an eyebrow, "For some, that is the perfect job. A chance of survival, lots of sex and money and all the toys you want. After a while, I think they almost look forward to being cut and just hope for those chefs who really sweeten them up with a couple rounds of really good fucking before slicing their throats."

Sonja shuddered, "Not for me."

"Yeah, Perro mentioned that. You turned him down."

She glared at him and James just shrugged, "What do you expect? He asked me to make you another offer, twenty years of living with no chance of lottery. Best deal I've heard ever come out of him, and even more impressive for someone who didn't fuck him silly."

"I... just wasn't interested."

"I heard."

"Perro talks too much."

"He just appreciates a nice piece of tail. And, I think he actually likes you."

A silence stretched between them. James began to tap on the table. His fingers against the table, the rocking of the chair, even his breathing just left her feeling like he was scraping claws against her spine.

Finally, it got too intense and she stood up. "Listen, Meris isn't here, so unless you have something else..."

James, a falsely lighthearted expression on his face, stood up. He smiled at her, "I get the hint. And if you ever change your mind, I promised him I would give you this."

He set down a business card on the table and walked down the hall.

Sonja followed, glaring at his back.

At the door, he turned around. "Unless you might be interested in a little..."

He gestured upstairs with his chin. Sonja shook her head, "No. I'm just not interested in anyone other than Meris."

"What about before? After you cut up all those girls in the freezer?"

Sonja favored him with a hard look. "That was for Meris, not you."

He pulled on a cheerful face, but she could see the disappointment in his eyes. He opened the door and stepped outside. At the first step, he grinned at her over his shoulder. "Last chance?"

"Meris is mine." Her voice came out in a growl which didn't phase James at all. He shrugged.

"Well, then. I better not piss you off."

Sonja felt a frown furrowing her face. "No... don't ever piss me off."

She knew it was the wrong thing to say, but Meris was hers and no one else would ever have her again.