Ogre

⊱✿ ✿⊰

Vidalia’s miserable expression burns itself in my mind. I keep expecting her to call me or respond to my texts. She’s mine, meaning I’m hers. She ought to accept some responsibility for keeping me from feeling this horrible. I’d done everything I could to keep her from figuring out how I’d lied. When she wanted to leave, I hadn’t locked her in one of the rooms. I’d been reasonable, but she refuses to meet me halfway.

Even knowing I’m full of shit, I remain righteous in my anger. Just up until I hear my parents arrive home and know I’ll now deal with their questions, accusations, and oh, crap, the teasing. I’ll never live down the needling I’m about to suffer.

“So, you kidnapped a girl and kept her hostage at our house, huh?” Dad says as soon as he opens the door and sees me. “Is her body already in a shallow grave or will I need to help you dig that?”

“You shouldn’t be digging anything with your bad back,” Mom mutters, following Dad inside. “Besides, you know the rule about burying what you kill. If he did the crime, he can do the cleanup.”

“I didn’t kill anyone.”

“We know,” Mom says, batting her dark eyelashes. “Wouldn’t be fun to tease you if there was a poor girl tied up or dead somewhere.”

Dad glances around the living room. “So, where is she?”

“I took her home.”

“That’s a good start. Is she pressing charges? Will I need to visit you in the pen?” Mom asks, fighting laughter. “Heidi said the girl was brainwashed by your lies and good looks. Does that mean she’ll let your kidnapping slide?”

“Vidalia isn’t brainwashed.”

“She figured it out, huh?” Dad asks, resting on the couch. “Or did you fess up?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Tough titty, kid,” Mom says from the fridge where she gets beers for her and Dad. “You kept a girl against her will in our house. You’ll share the details whether you’re feeling chatty or not.”

“She wasn’t here against her will,” I nearly yell, more frustrated about Vidalia ignoring my calls than my parents giving me deserved grief. “I got her here under false pretenses. It’s different.”

“I stand corrected,” Mom says, joining Dad on the couch where they snicker at my annoyance.

“I wish you could have met her. Vidalia is sweet and funny.”

“And beautiful,” Dad says while wrapping an arm around Mom’s shoulders. “Let’s not act as if you’d pull this bullshit with a fugly, funny girl.”

Dropping my pissed butt into a chair across from them, I shake my head. “Was Mom the only beautiful woman you ever met? No, but she was special, but beauty wasn’t why. Beauty is nice, but Vidalia is more than that.”

Mom’s amused expression warms. “That’s sweet, baby.”

“Now what?” Dad asks. “Does she find your bullshit romantic or will you soon receive a restraining order?”

“I don’t know.”

“Don’t pout, boy. If she’s interested, she’ll come crawling back.”

“Crawling?” Mom grumbles, nudging Dad with her elbow. “If she gives him a chance, it won’t be a sign of weakness. Gunnar is quite the catch for any woman.”

Dad reaches up and plays with the hair on the top of her head. “You’re thinking like his mom, not the mom of the girl he tricked here. What would you tell her if she were Heidi?”

“Any man that wants you so badly that he’d lie, cheat, and steal to win you, yet never force himself on you, is a pretty interesting man. Maybe see a movie with him and find out what he’s like when not insane.”

My parents snicker again, enjoying the shit out of my situation.

“She won’t answer my calls.”

“How long has it been since you freed her from captivity?” Dad asks, bursting into chuckles and sending Mom into hysterics.

Leaning back in the chair, I shake my head and let them laugh. I imagine Vidalia at her home where she shares a room with kids and possesses not a single, private spot to herself. She belongs with me. I’d buy her a house and give her pets and spend my life giving her whatever she wanted to be happy. No one will offer her what I can because not a single person has ever seen her value the way I do.

I stand up and walk to the couch where I shove my still laughing father’s arm out of my way and wedge myself next to Mom.

“How long do I need to wait before I start showing up at her house?” I ask her.

“Let her have a few days to miss you.”

“A few days?” I bitch. “I can’t go that long without seeing her. Can I at least drive by her place or show up at the deli when she’s working?”

“Crap, boy,” Dad says, giving a disgusted frown, “you’re addicted, and I don’t mean that as a compliment.”

“She’s mine, and I had her to myself for days. I need to see Vidalia and know she’s okay and have her close by and I really should make sure she gets to work safely. She doesn’t have a car, you know? I should buy her one.”

Dad gives Mom that look he always gives when one of their kids is freaking out. Punishments come from him, but she’s in charge of handling the crazy.

Mom takes my hand in her delicate one. “Do you love this girl?”

“Her name is Vidalia.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“Yes. Completely. That’s why I need to see her.”

“Could you be confusing obsession with love?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yep.”

“Super duper sure?”

Dad rolls his eyes and stands up. “You’re babying him, Tawny.”

“That’s because he’s my baby, Judd.”

Smirking, Dad heads to the bedroom to watch TV or nap. Who knows what he does in there?

“I know I sound insane,” I tell Mom. “You can’t know how Vidalia makes me feel. I worried at first that it was just lust, but spending time with her only made me need her more. If she’d take my calls, I could relax. Well, for a little bit, but I need to see her soon.”

“If you feel that way, I’m sure she does too. Give her a tiny bit of space, and she’ll come rushing back into your arms.”

“No crawling, huh?” I ask, and we smile at Dad’s earlier wording.

“No crawling. I believe in fate. Look at your dad and me. Now it’s your turn to find the right person.”

“She’s great too, Mom. She likes me for me. None of that ‘ride a biker to be wild’ crap.”

“You’ve never let any girls close to your heart. If you did with Vidalia, she’ll return to you.”

“Promise.”

“No.”

Smiling, I wish she’d stay with me on the couch. I’ve never been a particularly lonely person, but without Vidalia, I feel the emptiness around me. She warmed a life I didn’t even realize was cold.

Despite Mom’s assurances that Vidalia will return to me, I’m not sure how long I can wait before another stupid plan makes sense in my head.