Indecent Games Duet - Boxed Set

by Clarissa Wild

  I don’t want to. No one does. But when you live in an environment like this twenty-four-seven, you’re bound to succumb to it. I’m no exception, and it makes me feel weak.

  Sulking, I stare at my wine glass and ponder whether I should just kill myself to be free of this. To be free of him.

  But then I see her staring at me.

  The woman Reed brought with him.

  Annushka, his wife.

  We engage in a stare that neither of us seems to be able to look away from.

  There’s a reason, and we both know why.

  The entire evening, I’ve seen her avoiding her husband, not talking to him, not even looking at him or acknowledging him. The way she looks and acts, stiffly, out of this world, like she’s somewhere else with her mind … I recognize it.

  I act the same way when I’m around Greg.

  “She’s a really good housewife, don’t you think?” Greg boasts about me to Mr. Reed. “Nice and quiet. I’m so glad I invested my money in her.”

  They laugh a little as if it’s the most normal thing on earth.

  “Well, Annushka isn’t so bad either. She’s fucking amazing in bed.”

  Annushka’s cheeks redden, and she drowns herself in her wine.

  Greg eats his steak like a slob, spilling the juices all over his shirt. “Oh yeah, how much did you pay for her? Can’t be much, I mean, she doesn’t look like she’d do the dishes and clean your house.”

  “A lot, and trust me when I say she’ll do anything I say.” Reed folds his arms as if it’s something to be proud of.

  I almost gag on my veggies, and I swallow them down with some water and then some wine to ease my mental images.

  I look at Annushka and give her a faint smile, one that says “I’m here with you; I know what you’re going through.” I don’t know if she gets it. I don’t know why I do it. But a brief smile back is all I need to know that I’m not alone. She’s not alone. And as long as we realize this isn’t normal, and that someday, we’re going to escape … we’ll make it.

  And at this moment, I decide I’m not going to give up my life that easily.

  Greg can take my home. My money. My body. My dignity.

  But he’ll never take my heart and soul.

  Only I can give that away.

  14.

  Accompanying Song: “Logos” by Ludovico Einaudi

  Hyun

  Now

  I park my car far away from the building and grab my cell phone, calling Annushka’s number. “Hey, it’s me. Are you alone?”

  “Yeah. Why?”

  “I’m standing in front of your building. Mind if I come up?”

  Mr. Reed is a lot less strict than Greg is when it comes to giving Annushka privileges. She can go where she wants, as long as she tells him beforehand, and she can even invite people to the house.

  “Uh, sure … Are you okay?” she asks.

  “No, not really,” I mutter as I walk in and go to the elevator, pressing the button to her floor. “But I’ll be right there.”

  I turn off the phone and tuck it into my pocket while waiting for the elevator to finally reach the floor she lives on. I know exactly where to go because she told me where she lives. We’ve been in contact with each other ever since that dinner with the four of us. In secret, of course. We send each other emails and talk on the phone for short amounts of time when our husbands were away. We talk about them and how difficult our lives are. She helped me get through those painful months.

  And even now, when I don’t know where else to go to feel safe, I go to her.

  Even when she’s married to another monster.

  As I approach her door, I’m about to knock, but she opens it before I do.

  She grabs my arms and checks around the corner. “No one followed you?”

  “No.”

  “Good.” She bats her fake eyelashes as she stares me down. “Then get in.”

  She pulls me inside and slams the door shut behind me. “Sorry, I have to be careful,” she says as she takes my coat.

  “I understand,” I reply. Mr. Reed doesn’t like unwanted visitors. Only friends he can trust. And I’m not sure which category I belong to now.

  She walks to her kitchen and puts on coffee. “Want some coffee?”

  “Yes, please,” I say.

  She chuckles. “You don’t have to be so cordial to me, you know. You can say ‘yeah.’ Or something. I don’t know.” She shrugs.

  “Thanks, I’ll remember that,” I say, smiling. She smiles back and puts some coffee in the pot.

  “Go on. Sit down. There’s plenty of space.” She points at the couch and the chairs near the fireplace.

  I was still admiring her home because it’s so damn huge. I’ve never visited here, but now that I have, I understand why Greg always seemed to want to boast to Mr. Reed about something. It wasn’t because he was so proud. It was because he was trying to one-up him.

  Greg is jealous of Mr. Reed’s wealth.

  I smirk as I sit down on a velvety red chair, sinking all the way down, which looks ridiculous. Before Annusha returns with the coffee, I quickly push myself up and try to sit as natural as possible.

  “So how are you doing?” she asks as she puts down the cups.

  “Thanks,” I say, picking up the cup. “Not so good.”

  She sits down next to me and casually folds her legs on the chair, almost sitting in a cross-legged position. “What happened?”

  “Greg … he was banging on my door, screaming at me.” Annushka knows I moved into a new home away from him. I hold the cup close to my chest to let the warmth flow into me. “He found out … I was …”

  “What?” She lowers her head.

  “Nothing.” I shake my head and sigh, trying to wave it off as a silly thought, but she’s not falling for it. Damn. I shouldn’t have opened my mouth. It sounds insane when I think about it.

  “Tell me what he found out, Hyun,” she says.

  “I can’t.”

  She grabs my hand and squeezes. “You’re shaking.”

  I pull my hand away and look down at the swirling coffee in my cup.

  “You know you can talk to me, right?” she says, leaning over to grab a pack of cigarettes off the table. She takes one out and holds it out to me. “Here.”

  “Oh no, I don’t smoke,” I say, putting my coffee down.

  “Try it.” She keeps waving it at me, so I take it. “It’ll make you feel better.”

  She fishes a lighter out of her pocket and raises a brow at me. “C’mon …”

  I sigh and put it in my mouth, after which she lights it.

  She throws the lighter on the table and says, “Take a drag. It’ll feel shitty at first, but then you’ll feel a lot better. Trust me.”

  When I do, the smoke burns my throat, and I cough.

  She laughs. “Told you it’ll feel shitty. Just take a few more. You’ll be relaxed in no time.”

  “Is that what you do to cope with Reed?” I ask, putting the cigarette in the ashtray.

  Her face turns sour immediately.

  “Reed and I don’t talk a lot,” she replies, toying with a loose strand of her silky white hair. “I like it better that way.”

  She and I both know much more goes on behind closed doors. Things we don’t tell anyone because it’s hard to talk about. And if she does want to share … I’m always there for her like she is here for me.

  “So tell me why you came here,” she says, clearing her throat. “You wanna talk, so let’s talk.” She places a hand on my leg. “Don’t be afraid. I won’t bite.” She grins.

  I smile awkwardly. “Well, I feel like someone’s trying to kill me.”

  She frowns and then bursts out into laughter. “Sorry. It’s just that it’s nothing new to me.”

  “Oh.” I look away for a second, trying to imagine what it must be like for her living with Mr. Reed. Probably just as bad as it was when I was still with Greg.

  “What makes you think someone
wants to murder you?” She supports her head with the palm of her hand as she leans against the chair.

  “Well, a few days ago, someone shot at me.”

  “Oh my god. Really?”

  “Yeah, and then today, Greg showed up at my door screaming that I’m a whore.”

  “Oh, boy.” She makes a face.

  I smash my lips together. “He was pounding my door so hard I bolted. I couldn’t stay there, knowing he could burst in at any moment, so I left through the back door. I only barely made it to my car before Greg came after me. He even jerked the door handle and slammed the windows with his fist. I was terrified.” I look at my own shaking hands, wishing for it to stop. “My mind was blank when I hit the gas. I didn’t know where else to go. I’m sorry.”

  “No, don’t be sorry.” She pulls me in for a hug and pets my back. “Oh, honey … I’m so sorry for you. You did the right thing by coming here.”

  “I’m putting you in danger. What if Greg finds me here?”

  “How’s he gonna get inside?” she muses, pushing herself away from me so she can look me in the eye. “Over my dead body.” She smiles. “Chin up, girl. You got away from him once; you can do it again.”

  “Will it ever stop?”

  She narrows her eyes. “Only you can make that happen.”

  I swallow away the lump in my throat and nod.

  She grabs the cigarette again and stuffs it in my mouth. “Take a drag. You’ll feel better.”

  I do what she says, and this time, she’s right. It does take the edge off things.

  “See?” She smiles.

  “I feel much better now that I’m here. I always feel so alone in my home.”

  “Hmmm … even with your lover there?”

  My eyes widen. “What did you say?”

  “Oh, honey.” She grabs her cup of coffee and takes a sip. “You didn’t think I didn’t know about your secret lover, did you?”

  “How—”

  “Our husbands talk with each other, you know,” she says. “He’s all over our floor on a weekly basis, now that you’re gone from his life.” She rolls her eyes. “I wish he’d crawl back into that stinking hole he came out of. I’d kill him myself if it wasn’t for—”

  “Your husband. They’re friends … and friends tell each other everything,” I mumble, still in shock.

  “Exactly,” she muses.

  I suck in a breath and get up from the velvety chair. “I have to go.”

  Her brows furrow. “Already?”

  “I can’t.” I stumble my way to the door. “I’m sorry. We’ll talk later, okay?”

  “Hyun,” she says, but I don’t really listen anymore. “Be careful.”

  All I hear are the voices in my head, telling me how stupid I’ve been.

  Talking to Annushka. Telling her all my dirty secrets.

  Not even realizing that she’s married to Greg’s best friend, and he probably demands that she tell him everything I tell her. Just like he tells Greg whatever I told her.

  Like where I was going to live … what I’m doing and where I’m going every day … that I wanted to kill him.

  Greg knows everything.

  15.

  Accompanying Song: “Hungry like The Wolf” by Snow Hill

  Hyun

  I almost drive through a red light.

  That’s how agitated I am.

  I’m stuck in my head, wondering if I shouldn’t have made such a rash decision, leaving her house without even telling her why. Without even saying a proper thank you and goodbye.

  I don’t like to be that person. But I don’t trust anyone anymore, and when I feel threatened, my first instinct is to run.

  I hate it, but I have no other choice. Fear makes you do that.

  I sigh and wonder if I should call or email her to apologize.

  Or maybe I shouldn’t talk to her again. It’s the safest thing to do for both of us, even if it isn’t what either of us wants. At this point, I don’t know what the best decision is. Losing a friend or being at risk?

  There’s no going around it; I’m screwed.

  A horn blares in my ears, and a man in a passing car sticks up his middle finger at me.

  I almost drove into his lane.

  When Greg said I was a bad driver, he was right … even though I hate that part. Some things aren’t fixable. You just have to deal with them the best way you can. In this case, it’s ignoring whoever gives me the finger.

  As I drive my car up to my house, I spot a man sporting a hoodie going into the forest right behind it. Gawking out the window while driving, I almost drive over the curb but manage to hit the brakes on time. I quickly park my car in the driveway and jump out, following him into the woods.

  It’s Drake—I’m sure of it. I can tell from the clothes he’s wearing and the way he walks, with his shoulders slumped, even though he has enough muscles to hold him up. Like he doesn’t want to be noticed.

  But I noticed him.

  From a distance, I stalk behind him, hoping he doesn’t spot me. I don’t want to be seen. This time, I’m the one who watches.

  I follow him all the way into the dark part of the wood, deep and far away from any street. What is he doing here?

  A twig breaks under my feet.

  I inhale and hide behind a tree before he turns around.

  Did he see me?

  God, I hope not.

  I feel like a fool for doing this, but I want to know where he’s going and what he’s doing. I already have enough on my plate as it is with Greg, and I need to know if I can trust Drake.

  After a few seconds, I take a leap of faith and look over my shoulder. He’s started walking again, but he’s far in the distance, and if I don’t follow soon, I’ll lose him. So I pick up the pace and use the trees to stay hidden when needed.

  It takes a while before I finally see where he is heading.

  A cabin sits in the middle of the woods with a small path that looks like a dirt road leading up to it, presumably for a car … if he even has one.

  I wait a while before I follow him again. I don’t want him to notice me.

  Then I look around the premises to see if he’s there, but I don’t see anyone. And for some reason, it makes me want to go inside.

  That’s insane.

  But I can’t stop myself from approaching the house anyway. Can’t stop from slowly turning the doorknob, which slides open with ease. It wasn’t locked.

  What are you doing? Get out of here, Hyun.

  The little voice inside my head is screaming, but I continue anyway.

  I want to know what he’s doing here.

  But as the door pans open, I realize … he lives here.

  With the poor lighting, I can barely make out the inside, and I squint to get a closer look. A shoddy couch sits in front of an old TV that still has antennas, and in the corner is a makeshift kitchen with a small fridge and one stove, which is covered in dirty dishes. There’s a table somewhere too, but clothes and more dirty dishes covers it. In the corner, right next to the door is a desk filled with stacks and stacks of papers and pens, and buried underneath is a small laptop along with a printer. Above that are countless Post-its hanging from the wall, scribbled with notes. And next to that is a doorway leading to a room with an unmade bed.

  The whole place is a mess.

  Understatement of the year.

  In the left corner, I spot a bookcase filled with books, and the beautiful collection instinctively draws me to it. I don’t know why, but I love the scent of ink on paper, and when I see books, I want to touch them and smell them all. Is that weird? It must be.

  I grab one of them titled Kept in the Dark and flip through the pages. I bring it up to my nose and take a quick whiff. Nothing wrong with smelling books. At least, that’s what I tell myself. I quickly put it back and grab another one called You Never Saw this Coming … with the subtitle “How To Write Plot Twists Like No Other.” Inside is a bunch of methodical explanations on how to write
the perfect novel.

  It explains why Drake loves to write so much. I mean with the printer, the laptop, and all the notes he sent me. It makes perfect sense.

  Suddenly, the front door slams shut, and I squeal, dropping the book on the floor.

  When I turn around, I can barely make out the figure standing in front of me, but I know it’s him. I can smell his intoxicating musky cologne and feel his penetrating stare.

  I hold my breath as he bends over and picks up the book, holding it out to me as if I’m supposed to take it back. I slam my lips shut and wait. He frowns and then leans past me, hovering so close to me I can practically touch his skin. My heart skips a beat as I close my eyes, feeling the hot air waft past me as his hand reaches for the bookcase and places the book back where it belongs.

  For a second there, I almost forgot what he was doing and thought he was going to kiss me on my neck.

  Silly me.

  But then, as he inches back, I feel his lips brush my skin.

  ***

  Accompanying Song: “Obsession” by Golden State (Animotion Cover)

  Drake

  She’s here. Out of all places to be, she came to my home.

  My territory.

  Like a butterfly flying straight into the spider’s trap.

  I can smell her, taste her fear, see it in her eyes, and it makes me want to claim her. Right. Now.

  She came into my house, thinking she could snoop on me, but I already knew she was following me from the start. I waited for her to come after me. I’d planned it.

  I wanted her to see my life … my home … me, for who I really am.

  An obsessed recluse who lives eerily close to her.

  It’s not a coincidence.

  I hover near her, and I feel the magnetism between us. I only picked up the book she dropped to use it as an excuse to get close. She’s standing perfectly still, like a model waiting to see if she’s passed her inspection. I lick my lips, my senses electrifying from almost touching her. Her body is within my reach, and all I need to do is grasp it.