The Girl in the Attic

by Jon Athan

‘What have I done?’ He kept asking himself that question in his head. He put his hand over his mouth as his stomach knotted up and his throat was sore.

“I’ll… I’ll be back with… with bandages. I… I hope you learned your lesson.” As he exited the room, a tear rolled down his cheek. He secured the locks, then headed down. In the second-floor hallway, he leaned against a wall, covered his mouth, and wept.

Fucking bitch tf r u crying for u fucking chose to do that shit urself. Bastard.

Seth responded, “I’m just trying to do the right thing. She’s my neighbor and she’s… I don’t know, I just feel a connection to her. It’s hard to explain.”

I fucked up, I fucked up, I fucked up, he kept saying to himself.

Yup

Seth was amazed by Evan’s kindness.

One question echoed through his mind: What have I gotten myself into?

He blamed her for the home invasion, believing she was the mastermind behind it.

Evan returned to his seat with a burnt spoon full of sticky black tar heroin. He held the spoon up to Frederick’s face and said, “This is that good shit. That tasty, imported ‘Mexican mud.’ It’s going to help you with the pain.”

OMMMGGGGGGG

Believe me when I say this isn’t the first dirty needle they’ve ever used. Nah, man, when it comes to tools, fiends live by one motto: Sharing is caring.”

“You might catch some STDs. Maybe even HIV. Shit, man, you might even lose your arm. I wouldn’t do this if I were you, but it sounds like you really want it. Who am I to stop you? I’m just a drug dealer.”

Ngl that's what he gets

Frederick’s eyes darkened and his lips curled in an instant. He said, “Sydney is my daughter, my family, my property. I won’t ever let her go. Not with people like you around her. But don’t you worry, boy. You... You won’t be around for long. And that other bastard, the boy next door, he’ll be dealt with, too.”

She couldn’t help but giggle. She felt like a bride being carried across a threshold—and Evan was her groom.

“Sydney!” Frederick cried. “I’m your father for Christ’s sake! Stop this!” Evan said, “He killed your sister.” “Just do it already,” Cooper said.

“That’s my girl,” Evan said as he wrapped his arm around her and helped her up. Your girl? Sydney thought, a smile cracking on her face.

Evan helped her limp over to Frederick. He leaned in close to her ear and said, “Make it personal. Use your hands.” “My… hands?”

“He–He bit me,” Sydney whined. “You’re good,” Evan responded as he led her back to the sofa. “Bu–Bu–But he bit me.” Evan said, “Look. Your wrist is a little red, but it’s not like you’re bleeding or anything. You’re good, Sydney, trust me.”

One of the jars was filled with spiders—mostly common house spiders and two black widows. The other jar was loaded with cockroaches. There were some clumps of dirt and dry grass in the jars, too. The bugs and arachnids skittered around, as if desperately searching for an exit.

Oh my

“She told me that you fed her trash. Worse than leftovers. Worse than microwaved food. Sometimes you didn’t feed her at all. So, here’s what you’re going to do: You’re going to eat these bugs. If you don’t, I’m going to break your jaw with that baseball bat and I’m going to feed you your broken teeth.”

“You’re sick,” he said. “Sick, demented little fucks.” Evan asked, “How’s that saying go? I’m borrowing a page from your book?”

He almost said: ‘I’m begging you.’ He realized the police weren’t on their way to rescue him. Life didn’t work like a movie. He wasn’t going to be saved in the nick of time. He didn’t want to appear weak, though.

“The bugs or the bat.” “You sick fuck, I said I’d pay you! Isn’t that what you wanted? Money? Well, I’m handing it to you! Take it and let me go!” In an eerily calm tone, Evan repeated, “The bugs… or the bat.” “No, no, you can’t do this to me. You can’t. You can’t…”

That's what he gets

“Open wide,” Cooper said. “Wa–Wait,” Frederick stuttered. “Please, wait a goddamn second.” “Just shut up and chew.” “Wait! Sydney, stop this! Syd, please! Make them stop! Sydney, I’m–”

You showed her no mercy... Now it's your turn

Frederick instantly gagged as a large cockroach hit his uvula.

I might throw up

He was starting to like her. He didn’t want to have to torture her, too.

Sydney gave him a slight smile and said, “Yeah, I’m fine. Can I ask you for a favor?” Here it comes, Evan thought. She’s going to ask me to go easy on him or to let him go. He sighed and nodded at her. Sydney asked, “Can you charge my iPod?” “Your iPod?” “Yeah. The battery’s almost dead again.” “Oh, um… Yeah. Yeah, I can do that.” They shared a smile, then Evan began to laugh. Dominic could see that his boss was blushing. He stayed quiet, though. He didn’t dare insult him out of fear of ending up like Frederick.

Seth saw beyond the surface, though. He found fear, reluctance, and guilt deep in Tyler’s eyes. He was dying inside.

It’s all your fault! he screamed at himself. Why didn’t you just listen to Tyler?! Why did you have to try to be a hero?! Seth didn’t realize he was tugging on his hair until he heard it tear and he felt a jolt of pain in his scalp.

Paul leaned over him while moving the needle up to Frederick’s forehead. It took Frederick a moment to notice the prickling sensation on the knots across his brow. Then his forehead began to sting and itch. He wanted to scratch himself so badly, but he couldn’t break free from his restraints. The minutes felt like hours. He begged them to stop again, but the buzz from the machine was louder than his weak grumbling.

Across his forehead, there were three outlined capital letters. The sloppy tattoo read: FAG. Devastated, Frederick moaned and shook his head. He felt a stab of embarrassment deep in his heart. The discomfort made him squirm.

Damn

“What do you think? Should we give him some piercings?” Sydney smirked and said, “Yeah.” “N–No, no, please,” Frederick cried. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Sydney. All of you, I’m sorry. You–You’re not punks. It’s me. It’s my fault. I–I’ll do anything. Please, don’t do this.”

He received a pair of piercings on his lower lip—one at each end—and another pair at the tails of his eyebrows. Eyes sparkling with curiosity, Sydney was amazed by her father’s transformation. She could only recognize his beard now.

“I’m going to stick this up your dickhole. It’s gonna come out–” “God, no,” Frederick cried in a choked voice. “–the top of your dick head. Then I’m going to hook you up with a piercing. Don’t worry, I’m a professional.”

Oh my goodnesss

“Please stop. Please, son, please.” “Son?” Paul repeated, chuckling. “Guess we’re not punks anymore, huh?”

Do you remember the first time you beat her?” “I’m so sorry.” “It was because she used a paper towel to dry the dishes after she washed them, but you wanted them air-dried. Something about bacteria, remember? You made her eat the paper towel, then you beat her with your belt in the kitchen until she begged you to stop.

Sydney grabbed his nose ring and gave it a good tug. It tore off, ripping the skin between his nose and rupturing his nasal septum.

He could tell his mother was growing anxious because she always used double punctuation at the end of her messages when she was concerned.

A black sedan on the street caught his attention. It’s one of those unmarked police cars, he thought.

“After you said you heard a girl crying at night. Yeah, you said there was a girl in the attic next door.” Seth smiled nervously as they all stared at him. He opened his mouth to speak, but his throat had dried up. He shrugged at his mom and said, “It was just cats. That’s what you said.”

Just as he turned to leave, Melissa touched his wrist and said, “And, hun, if anything is bothering you, remember that we’re always here to talk.”

Dominic was pale and rigid. He didn’t mind hurting people for his gang, it was part of the life he chose, but the violence was getting worse. The carvings and piercings sickened him. The infected glans piercing was especially unnerving. Their captive was totally dehumanized. Frederick had become their personal guinea pig, and that didn’t sit right with him.

“We ain’t blind, Dom. You’re quiet. You’re shaking.”

For a second, they didn’t recognize Frederick. He looked like an entirely different person because of his new tattoos, scarification, lumps, bruises, and piercings. From the stairs, it looked like Evan and Sydney were beating on a dead body with their crowbars while some guy covered in tattoos recorded it all.

Seth noticed the sincere smile on Sydney’s face. He couldn’t believe she was the same fragile, gentle girl he had rescued from the attic.

Seth and Tyler stood speechless with their eyes on Frederick. The smile on Sydney’s face was starting to fade. She couldn’t understand their behavior. They looked at her the same way she used to look at her father—anxious, afraid, appalled.

While recording them, Paul said, “I told you they were going to be a problem.” “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Evan muttered.

Ooo wee

“You can’t be serious,” Seth responded. “You–You can’t… You can’t really want to make a–a snuff film. Look at your dad, Sydney. Look at what you’ve already done to him. He–He’s… Shit, just look at him.”

He had saved Sydney from her father’s abuse, but she was destroying her own life by relentlessly pursuing vengeance—and she didn’t even know it.

The hope in Seth’s eyes was extinguished. He could see that he had already lost Sydney to the gang and he couldn’t change their minds with words.

Evan said, “You can go, but you can’t come back. I don’t care if the cops ask you questions again. Just don’t tell ‘em anything and everything will be good. We’re going to take care of Chandler. No one is going to get busted because no one is ever going to find him. And don’t worry about Sydney, either. I’ll take good care of her.”

They found Dominic keeping guard in the living room, although he looked feeble.