Renting Ginny

“Wake up, you stupid Verlierer!” the gruff voice demanded. My eyes snapped open. “W-what the hell’s going on? Where am I?” Anina sat on a chair by the couch where I lay. I tried to sit up, but the pain in my leg was excruciating. So, I hadn’t been killed after all; just kidnapped and put in a lot of pain. I looked around me. I was back in the same condo. The one that wasn’t supposed to exist. The stench of smoke suddenly made me cough. In the dimly lit room, I focused my eyes on the slim, attractive figure before me. Anina was smoking. “You’re such a Verlierer, you know that?” she said, taking an aggressive pull on her cigarette. “I don’t know what that means.” “Have you finally learned who’s boss now?” I was too angry to be scared anymore. “Why don’t you just take yourself and your ugly language and go back to your old, ugly country where you belong. Haven’t you damn foreigners invaded and overrun this country long enough anyway?” Anina simply stared at me with cold eyes. I thought she was going to strike me, but she just called me a Verlierer again, whatever the hell that meant. Maybe I should have learned German after all, for ugly or not, she really had me wondering what a Verlierer was, though I was sure it was safe to assume it was nothing nice. “Go ahead,” she said, “be a Verlierer in life. It’s your life.” “Yeah, and I’m the boss of it. Need I remind you who’s boss?” “Don’t use my words,” she hissed. “Why not? They weren’t created solely for you to use. Or is it that it just embarrasses you to hear what you sound like?” That time, she did strike me, and I was in no condition to fight back. I looked down at my leg to find it heavily bandaged. Anina grinned wickedly. “Guess you ain’t going anywhere now, slave.” “I’ll get out of here. I already did once, didn’t I?” “No, Ginny, you didn’t. Someone broke in and got you out; you didn’t get yourself out.” I reached down toward my bandaged ankle. “Who was it?” Anina asked before taking a long drag from her cigarette. “Who was it, Ginny?” “A guy who said his name was Jim. He had a Turkish accent.” “Oh, and you would know one if you heard it?” Anina asked with a raised brow. “Yes,” I lied, though in truth I wouldn’t have a clue. “So, the bastard had metal cutters with him and decided to steal you too, huh?” “Yeah, something like that.” “Which one of you two waste products took my fucking computer?” “He did, and if you think I’m such a waste product, then why did you kidnap me?” “Because you owe me, only you owe me more than before. You see, now my purchase is defective,” she said, kicking at my leg. “Ouch!” “But since I can’t get a discount by getting any of my money back on account of the defective product I’ve rented, that means I’m entitled to keep it for even longer.” “But why would you want anything you consider a waste or defective?” I asked. “You see how twisted and backward you really are, Anina? What’s your real name anyway? I know it’s not Anina Hahn.” Anina let an evil cackle rip. “My name might be Goldilocks or something like that.” “Personally, I don’t give a shit what your name is. I just want you to drive me home.” Her face formed one of mock sadness. “Whatever happened to how much you want to be with me? How much you’re into our game?” “I’m into it. Just not until my leg is better.” Anina laughed sarcastically. “Oh, is that it?” “Well, how much fun can I be with a busted ankle?” “A lot. Ladies with busted ankles can’t take off running.” She grinned maniacally and her eyes bulged from their sockets for a split second in a way that made her look all the more deranged, sending shivers down my spine. She suddenly crushed out her cigarette in a nearby ashtray and left the living room and me to wonder just what terror she might be plotting against me next. I heard her rummaging around in the kitchen. Based on the waning light through the mostly closed slats in the vertical blinds that hung in the living room, I assumed she was cooking up dinner. I hated to think about what ingredients she may use on my portion this time around. “Get in here,” I heard her call to me. “I’m not hungry.” “Get in here anyway.” “I can’t.” “Yes, you can. You weren’t hit hard enough to do any real damage. The car only knocked you down, and that was my intention, to begin with. If I wanted to run you over, I would have done so. The cuts you have are from scraping your leg along the pavement. There are no broken bones or anything like that. Now get in here!” I slowly rose to my feet. The pain in my ankle felt like a lot more than just cuts and scrapes. I hobbled to the front door, which had no key in its lock, and tried to open it. It wouldn’t budge. “Do you think I’m stupid?” Anina said, startling me. I didn’t realize she’d come into the room. “You won’t be getting out of here again until I’ve had enough of you and I decide it’s time to kick you out, verstehen?” “What?” “Understand?” “Yeah, but I wasn’t planning on going anywhere. I thought I heard a cat meowing and scratching at the door, and just wanted to see for sure.” “Yeah, right. And I thought I heard Elvis Presley singing to me last night while I was on the toilet. Now get in that kitchen! You’re in no condition to be running off anyway.” I limped into the kitchen and sat at the table. I was too hungry and too tired to care what she may’ve put in my food. If anything, I could use a sedative or two to calm my nerves, and so I welcomed anything that would aid in sedating my fearful, anxious mind. But it seemed I could only be drugged when I didn’t want to be. The roasted chicken and mashed potatoes were delicious, as much as I hated to admit it. I ate hungrily, momentarily setting aside just what kind of person I was sharing the savory meal with. “Today’s Saturday,” Anina said. “So?” “So, you owe me services until Thursday, and then I’ll let you go.” “But that’s more than a week. You bought me for only a week.” “Yeah, and it seems someone was absent for the last few days of her service, and so she’s going to have to make it up to her client, plus give them a little bonus for their inconvenience and lost time.” The thought of spending five days with this madwoman, who probably wouldn’t even let me go, then killed what was left of my appetite. “What did you mean when you told the person you were talking to on the phone that I’d be returning with you to Germany?” Anina shrugged. It was the first time I actually saw a look of sadness come over her features. She looked human, but only for a moment. “I just thought you might like the idea. I hoped so anyway.” “I would miss my family.” “Some would see it as a fun learning experience. Something new, exciting, and adventurous.” I shook my head. “It’s too cold there and I don’t know German.” “You have a brain, don’t you? You could learn German, and as for the cold, that’s what coats are for.” “I’m not going anywhere with you,” I said firmly. “Five days and I’m gone. Gone forever.” That cold, challenging look returned to her steely gray eyes. “What did you do to my father and Emmy?” “What? What do you mean, what did I do to them?” “No one heard us at the escort service. Someone should have heard all that shouting.” Anina reached for the pack of cigarettes that was on the table and shrugged. “Well, maybe they’re all just hard of hearing.” “My Dad hears just fine, and Emmy always seemed to as well.” I coughed and waved the cigarette smoke away. She put the cigarette out. “So, what do you want to do this evening, Gin?” I want you to drop dead so I can go home. “Huh?” I shrugged. “What can we do?” “Have fun, watch a movie, have more fun, maybe do some reading before having even more fun.” “I want to just take a bath and go to bed.” “That’s it?” “You chased me around town for hours, and then you hit me with your car! What do you think I am, Wonder Woman?” I thought she would blow up at me at that point, but instead, she actually smiled. “You know,” she said, “I just might end up learning to like you.” Great. Just what I needed. “You’ve got grit, Ginny girl.” Coughing again, I said, “I really would like to take my bath now.” “Hmm…” she said almost seductively. “You gonna behave in there?” “No,” I said sarcastically, “I just might drown myself.” “Well, then why don’t I go with you so I can help keep you from drowning?” Wrong thing to say, I thought to myself, wanting to kick myself almost as much as her. She laughed. “Look, I’m not going to do anything stupid. I just want to soak my leg. I’m very sore and I’m very tired.” “Okay, okay,” she said, “I’ll take care of the dishes and you can go take your bath now. You know where the towels and bubble bath are, but if not, they’re easy to find.” I got up and started heading down the hallway and toward the bathroom. You mean she really was going to let me go alone? What a stupid idiot!