The Prison

by Stefano Pastor

  “Bitch! Bitch! Bitch!”

  No slap came to him. He only felt her moving away.

  Rocco put a hand on his thigh and squeezed it. Nico managed to remain impassive. Rocco grinned.

  “Tonight I’d stay with you, while your mother makes the stupid man take her around.”

  Nico remained seated, silent. Rocco was having fun.

  “She asked me to keep an eye on you; she doesn’t trust you. She says you have a tender heart and you’d be able to warn him.”

  He knelt in front of him and looked into his eyes.

  “You’d never do that, right? You wouldn’t do such a thing to your mother; you wouldn’t send her to jail.”

  Nico tried to hide the terror but did not know how much he would do it. Rocco put his hands on his shoulders.

  “It’s time to forget old grudges; soon we will be a family, the three of us.” He burst out laughing and rose. “Clever, the old Katia, who would have told! I had even forgotten about her. Certainly, I would never have looked for her, but she found me!”

  He felt Rocco's hand his shoulder.

  “It’s all true? Your friend has so much money as your mother says?”

  He squeezed harder, to get an answer.

  “I don’t know!” Nico shouted.

  “She says he doesn’t trust banks and keeps everything in the house. That house is a treasure chest. He confided to her.”

  He bent down to look at his face, but Nico remained still.

  “Never mind, tomorrow we’ll find out. Ah, didn’t you know? The robbery will take place tomorrow night. The jerk will take her to the theater.” He laughed like a crazy. “Can you imagine Katia in a theater, in the midst of all those mummies?”

  There was a knock at the door, and Nico stiffened. Rocco did not seem worried. He threatened him with a finger. “Do not move!” And he went to open.

  Two men that he had never seen entered, but Rocco had to know them well. He introduced them.

  “These are Tano and Mario. We spent a lot of time together. Guys, here is the fourth member of our band.”

  The mask of Nico cracks, while his eyes dilated. Rocco burst out laughing.

  “Mommy has not told you yet, that you come with us? She should have, I recommended that to her. You’re not expecting to get out clean; you’ll be guilty as we are. Consider it a guarantee.”

  Hatred overcame fear, and everyone knew that.

  “I should have told you, I know, but it’s so hard to talk to you.”

  “Bitch!”

  “There you see? It is impossible; you are not listening to me.”

  Rocco and his friends were still there, but they were playing cards and were not interested in their speeches. They did nothing else all night. At first, they had tried to play too, but after a while, they gave up. Katia had found them like that when she returned from the theater, but they were passionate about their game and did not intend to stop. Nico locked himself up in the storage room as soon as they forget about him.

  Katia spoke in a low tone because she did not want to be heard by them.

  “It wasn’t my idea. Rocco insisted that you had to be with us. He wanted to make sure you couldn’t get us into trouble.”

  Nico finally looked at her. “You said it’s just theft. Why do you need the other two?”

  “We will proceed faster…, » Katia began, and then changed her mind “I did not know. I had no idea he would not come alone.”

  “You destroyed our lives! My life! We could be happy!”

  A smile escaped her. “To do what; go to the Opera or theatre? To hear lame symphony concerts? Reading books? Can you imagine me with a book in hand? No, I do have another concept of happiness. And then I need a man, a real man, one to fuck me in bed not someone who holds my hand.”

  “Bitch!”

  “I do not know what you expected to happen. You had your projects I had mine. I’m sorry you cannot understand, but this is my life, the last chance I have left. The only one I ever had. I can’t let it slip away.”

  “And do you think that they will give you anything? They’re going to beat and throw you into a ditch! And do the same to me, when they don’t need us anymore.”

  “Rocco would never…”

  “Rocco has done worse.”

  She remained silent for a moment.

  “Well, there’s no turning back. Your fears are absurd, Rocco cares about me, and no one ever made me feel as good as when he’s with me. He will do anything I ask of him.”

  Nico shook his head, without being able to stop, but his mind was blank, he found only one word to say, always the same.

  “Bitch! Bitch!”

  He tried to recall the Chamber in his mind, but he did not succeed. It had crumbled, it no longer existed. A safe place to be protected, where nobody could ever reach him. It was not true. Within a few hours, those men would violate it; they would destroy everything in search of hidden money. Tore the mattresses, ripped through the library, and dismounted his desk. It was an annihilated dream.

  But the more unattainable the Chamber became, the more the face of that man obsessed him. The observer. What did he want from him, what did he expect, that he wasn’t able to give him? Would they hurt him? He didn’t trust Rocco; he would hurt them all.

  What was he supposed to do? What could he do?

  The groans began, and the bed crawled. They were fucking, they damned. Only this matter to his mother; a pig that would mount her.

  Hatred devoured him. He tried to shut his ears and gritted his teeth.

  Rocco shook him.

  “Come on, come on, and get up!”

  Then he drew back and waited outside as he dressed up. Nico leaned his head in the room.

  “Where is my mother?”

  “Today I will stay with you. I don’t intend to let you out of my sight for a moment. We wouldn’t want you to ruin the party.”

  “I have to go to the bathroom.”

  Rocco spread his arms, making the act innocent. “Are you telling me this is your house?” But after only one step he said, “Leave the door open. Wide open! We are among men, there’s nothing to hide.”

  Nico had made his decision. He had thought of it all night. Get out of that house, run away. Get away, run as far as possible and never go back.

  He had taken all of his money and had hidden on himself. He would take the opportunity, the first that would come up. No, that night he would not take part in any robbery. He did not care what would happen to his mother; he did not need to know. He only hoped to never see her again, for the rest of his life. And that was not for what she was about to do to that man; it was for Rocco. No, she did not have to bring him back to their lives, for that he could never forgive her.

  The occasion came at one o’clock.

  In the morning, Rocco’s associates arrived, and he found out that Katia was organizing the escape. She was going to buy a new car for them all. Nico wondered how she got the money, as Rocco seemed penniless. The two partners in crime were not there for a long time; they preferred to go around the city. Only Rocco had not moved, stuck in the task of overseer.

  When he was hungry, the only solution was to order a pizza, since taking him out from there could be dangerous.

  Nico did not expect anything else; he was ready. He kept himself quiet all morning; he got Rocco’s jokes, his derision, and his veiled treats silently. He knew that it would come the time to get rid of him.

  When they knocked on the door and heard a resounding voice announce “Pizza!” Rocco went quietly to the door. He glanced at Nico before opening, but the boy was sitting in a chair far away looking around with no interest.

  The perfect opportunity came when it was time to pay. Rocco was there, in the doorway, in front of the pizza guy. With one hand he held the two cartons of pizza, the other had it tucked in his pocket to find the money. But his pants were tight, tight-fitting. Nico took a running start, swooped down with full force upon him, planting his elbows on his bac
k. Rocco was not able to cling to him since both hands were busy. He was against the guy, and together they rolled on the ground. The cartons broke and their contents inundated.

  Nico had already jumped while Rocco struggled to extricate and scream terrifying threats, he ran down the stairs.

  He was free.

  5

  It was a mistake, but he couldn’t help it.

  They knew he’d go there; maybe they were already waiting for him. He had also lost minutes because he couldn’t decide what to do.

  When the man opened the door and looked at him perplexed, Nico pushed him aside and entered his house.

  Then he spurred him: “Close it! Hurry up!”

  The man obeyed, confused, and immediately asked, “What happened to you?”

  Nico felt breathless. He was there, he had done it, he had succeeded, but now he did not know what to do. Nico could not say his mother was a thief, who tricked him and planned to rob him? He did not even dare to think what could happen next.

  The man realized that he was upset. “Do you want to go in your room? Do you need it?”

  Nico shook his head.

  So he laid a hand on his shoulder and pushed him toward the living room. “Come on then, let’s sit down. Let’s talk.”

  Nico’s mind was erupting as he tried to put everything in place. To prevent the theft, to save himself, to prevent his mother from going to jail. He tried to convince himself it was Rocco’s fault, but he knew it wasn’t so.

  He found himself sitting in an armchair without even realizing it, and the man was already pouring a drink.

  “How do you feel about my mother?” he asked.

  The man sighed. “Ah, that’s why. What did she say to you?”

  “That you’re not interested. That you don’t feel anything for her.”

  He came back and handed him a glass. Nico took it but put it down on the coffee table.

  “Tell me the truth.”

  “Do you want to know if I have serious intentions? If I want to marry her?”

  “Stop it! I want to know why you invited her why you asked her to go out the first time.”

  The man sat in front of him. “Ah. What do you think?”

  “That you lied to me! You never told the truth!”

  He looked at him perplexed. “I lied? And on what? I’ve never tried…”

  “You observe, you said that! You read the people! Well, with my mother, there’s no need! She is what she is; you cannot notice that.”

  Silence descended.

  “It’s not as you think,” muttered the man.

  “How is it, then, tell me. Why her? Why fool her?”

  “I did not fool around anyone!” he blurted. “I was just curious, that’s all.”

  “Curious about what? To know what it feels like to go out with a whore?”

  This time the silence lasted longer.

  “Of you,” the man admitted. “I wanted to know who you were.”

  Nico frowned, and the man continued. “Your mother likes to talk. She told me many things.”

  “My mother would not have said anything to you!”

  “Not directly; but you have to know how to listen, read people.”

  “And you did it? Do you know who I am, now?”

  “I knew all along. She has only confirmed.”

  Nico felt tired. “What do you want from me? What do you need?”

  The man shook his head. “I don’t want anything; I just want to give you something. Here it is.”

  “What?”

  Right there, at that instant, the bell rang.

  Nico stiffened, and then jumped up before the man moved.

  “Do not open!”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Nico was terrified. “You don’t know who he is! Do not open; it could be dangerous!”

  The man looked at him carefully. “Do you know who’s at the door?”

  Nico was desperate. He had to talk, now, or silence and let the events take their course. He could hate his mother, but to stand up against her, betray her, ruin her, it was too much for him.

  The man moved toward the entrance.

  “No!” Muttered Nico.

  “Don’t worry,” the man said smiling. “I have a method of knowing who he is without opening the door.”

  He slid a panel, right next to the door, and a small monitor appeared. The view from it was total; you could see the garden. Nico had never noticed that there was a camera. In front of the door, there was his mother, and she was alone.

  “It’s Katia,” said the man, and asked him with his eyes.

  She rang the doorbell again.

  “Is she here for you? We do not have to meet until eight o’clock.”

  Rocco was not there, Nico was sure of it. He observed the monitor, which even paved the way. Neither Rocco nor his friends were in sight. What should he do?

  “She knows I’m here,” insisted the man. “We spoke earlier on the phone.”

  Nico jumped. “What did she want?”

  “She was looking for you. She wanted to know if I saw you.”

  It was his last chance to warn him. Once again the outside world terrified him, and the idea to face it all alone was intolerable. So he let it slip through his hands.

  “She should not find me here,” he said, and this was saying his failure. “Do not tell her you have seen me.”

  The man nodded. “Go over there, in the studio, hide. You will see that I will get rid of her fast, and then we can talk.”

  Nico ran away, without stopping, crossed the living room, he saw the glass of orange juice that the man had prepared for him and took it with him. He slid past the door of the studio but left it ajar.

  Couldn’t hear much from that position, though he realized that he’d let her in and they were discussing. After less than a minute, Katia broke into the living room.

  “Where is he? Where is? I know he’s here somewhere!”

  Nico flinched right away and leaned against the door.

  He heard the man’s voice: “Katia, calm down, he is not here. Today I haven’t seen him! Why would I lie to you?”

  Her voice was lamentable. «Do not trust him, Max. My son is a liar.”

  Nico recoiled; feeling trapped, and looked around. There was only one other door in that room and had no idea where it would lead.

  “Max!” Katia shouted. “I know he’s here! I saw him come in!”

  He was unable to hear the man’s response; he was too calm. Only his mother’s voice was shrill.

  “We fought; he wants to get revenge on me! He said horrible things; he called me a bitch! Oh Max, just he can’t accept that two of us… he wants to separate us.”

  Nico stepped back toward the other door. The voice of the man came to him.

  “He is not here, how do I tell you? Look for yourself, look where you want. There is not!”

  He did not miss a single instant and reached the other door. He opened it wide open. There was only a long corridor in the dark. He slipped inside and closed the door. There were no keys.

  He continued, looking for a hiding place. Now he was in trouble if his mother caught him he would have paid the price. And if he had tried to warn that man he was afraid of his mother, of what she would be able to do in order not to end up in jail. It was his fault if she had come there; he had put the life of the man in danger.

  He tried to open all the corridor doors, one by one but found them locked. There were no keys in the locks. He could not understand the reason for door locks in a home where a man lived alone? Then, in the end, one opened, and he stopped having such thoughts.

  There was only a stone staircase, descending to the bottom. The wine cellar. He wasted no time and entered, closing the door behind him. Perhaps it would prove to be the perfect hiding place. He couldn’t imagine his mother searching for him in the cellar.

  The ladder was in the dark, and he had to be very careful. A slight flurry came from the bottom of the stairs. When
he emerged, he found himself in front of a vast room, dimly illuminated by a pair of light bulbs. Most of the room was in the shade.

  He did just a couple of steps, looking around. There were no shelves or old furniture, nowhere he could hide. There was not even a floor; the place was unpaved with only dust and cobwebs.

  “Help me!”

  He was in shock as the groan repeated.

  “Help me!”

  He tried to understand where the voice came from; the darkest area, probably, on the opposite side.

  “I am here! Help me! Now!”

  Nico had no choice; he could not go back and could not even ignore those yearnings. He stepped forward slowly. He had to cross more than half the room to see something.

  There was a cell, on the bottom, made entirely of bars. Curiosity grew on him; it overcame the fear.

  “Please don’t go! Help me!”

  He went closer, walked near to the door of the cell. He tried to look inside.

  “Where are you?” he asked with a small voice.

  “I am here! Here!”

  “Here where? I don’t see you. Come forward.”

  “I can’t! I can’t move! He chained me!”

  Nico moved along the bars, and slowly his eyes get used to the dark. He could see something. The cell measured about four meters per side, and there was a figure sitting on the ground just against the farthest wall. The more he was able to distinguish, the more his horror grew. He was young; he showed no more than eighteen, perhaps less. Some chains tied him to the wall. Very thick and robust chains, which locked his arms and legs, he saw chains also around his waist and neck. The young man looked pale, emaciated, and slim. He was naked.

  “Let me go!” he asked.

  Nico’s voice trembled. “What are you doing here? Who did this to you?”

  “He kidnapped me! He holds me captive! He hurt me!”

  His heart was beating wildly. “Who?”

  “I don’t know him! I’ve never seen him! A madman, with white hair.”

  The last fragments of the dream of Nico went to pieces.

  “Do not trust him! “cried the young man. “Stay away from him! He will do the same with you!”