The Conclusion of Chapter 5Michelle sighed contentedly at the wonderful feelings the masseuse created as he worked his way across her lower back. "I'm going to marry a massage artist."
The young man chuckled and continued his work.
A cell phone buzzed nearby and Sharon used her free hand to snag it from her purse. The other hand was being carefully painted a pale shade of pink by a skilled manicurist. "Hello."
"Oh hello Teresa. How are things going?"
Michelle turned her head in curiosity towards her Aunt.
"Uh huh." There was another long silence while she listened. "Oh dear, I'm not sure you should have let him do that."
This statement made Tamara look over while a young girl worked on her feet.
"Oh my. Really, he did that." Sharon's mouth fell open, then her face contorted in an attempt to stifle her laughter. "Oh my goodness. What did he say?"
Another brief silence while Sharon listened.
"Well he was so worried about what you would do today that he did not sleep well last night, so that is probably true. Where is he now?"
Sharon held the phone away from her ear and squinted as yelling sounds came from the phone. "Ok, calm down Teresa, he had no way of knowing you were scared of bugs."
Sharon held the phone away again. "Yes, but he is my son, I'm supposed to defend him. Where is he?"
After a brief pause Sharon nodded. "Not surprised, he's probably deciding if he should skip town and become a hobo."
Sharon hung up the phone and Nancy entered the room. "I love the sauna." She looked around at her companions who were totally focused on Sharon's worried face. "What? What happened?"
Sharon shook her head. "Good thing we are almost finished here, there has been an incident at home."
Nancy's eyes fell. "Oh no, what did Mom do?"
"Come on, gather your things, I'll tell you in the car."
* * *
Mark stormed around his house in a blind panic. He stuffed a few shirts and pants into a backpack and grabbed some lunch meat and bread from the fridge. He then ran out the back door to the woods not knowing exactly where he would go. He quickly dismissed any notion of hiding in his fort and instead made for the drainage tunnels that emptied into the canal. He looked back over his shoulder expecting to see her right behind him.
* * *
Four ladies were sitting on the couch in Teresa's home. Three of them were trying hard to keep a straight face.
"This is not funny!" Teresa yelled. "It was like torture." Teresa had changed into a pair of cotton pants and loose white shirt. She hugged herself at the memory of her experience and involuntarily scratched at her scalp.
Sharon hugged her friend. "We know it must have been horrible, but from our perspective it is a little comical especially since you are not hurt."
Teresa opened her mouth to deliver a poignant retort but released it in a long sigh. "Perhaps."
"Do you have any bug bites?" Tamara dared to ask.
"I don't think so, they were more interested in the honey than me."
"So can we discuss what we can do about Mark?" Sharon asked.
"I can think of a few things." Teresa said.
"I mean about how we can find him."
Nancy stood up and slipped on a pair of old shoes lying next to the door. "I'll find him."
Teresa looked at her daughter. "You have no idea where to even start looking."
"Trust me, the bigger question is how am I going to get him to come back. He'll trust me enough to talk but I doubt that will be enough to get him to come back." Nancy looked hard at her mother.
Teresa stood up and threw her hands in the air. "What do you want? Complete forgiveness, after what he did?"
Sharon shrugged.
Tamara and Michelle sank further into the couch hoping to avoid notice.
"What are you going to do, Mom?" Nancy asked. "If I tell him what to expect as punishment he will at least be able to decide with out using the worst his imagination can conjure."
Teresa looked at her daughter a small smile forming on her lips. "When did you get so bright?"
Nancy crossed her arms. "I'm waiting."
"Ok, here's what I was thinking..."
* * *
Mark traveled farther up the tunnel than he usually did. His flashlight would last for several hours but he turned it off every chance he could to conserve the battery. Water dripped in the distance and the smell of mold and mud filled his nostrils. He knew he could not stay here, if it rained the tunnels would fill with water on its way to the drainage canal. He just needed to be far away right now.
It had been an hour or two since he fled Teresa's house. Horrible punishments flitted through his mind every time he thought about going back. The calm tone and fiery green eyes were the only things he saw in the damp darkness. Every shadow seemed to coalesce into shapes of honey filled red hair with ants trapped amongst the fibers. He had not started to cry yet, sixteen year olds simply do not cry. He had come close though.
A sound startled him out of his dark thoughts. It was a voice. He listened harder, even quietly moving back along the low tunnel.
"Mark! Are you here? It's me Nancy. I'm alone."
It was distant still, probably back at the junction where he had hid from her after their last unfortunate bet. "Could be a trap?" He whispered into the blackness.
Several minutes passed. The pleading voice continued. "Mark, please trust me. I'm alone, no one else knows of this place. I told no one where I was going."
Mark started to crawl back along the concrete tube he was hiding in. He soon saw a flashlight point his way. "There you are, come here so we can talk. I'm alone."
"I trust you Nancy, always have." Mark said quietly to himself.
He reached the junction and sat on the edge of the tunnel. "She told you everything."
Nancy held her hand to her mouth and giggled. "Yeah, pretty much. What possessed you to do that?"
"I asked if I could tie her up and she agreed, the honey was just a prank. I never meant to leave her there for that long. I fell asleep."
Nancy raised her hand. "Look, I know, I know. What are you going to do? Hide out here forever."
"What choice do I have, she'll probably castrate me or something?"
"Look my Mom has a short fuse but she is not crazy. She is just afraid of creepy-crawlies. Really afraid."
Mark hung his head. "Oh crap. Maybe I could just live here and you could bring me food and stuff."
Nancy laughed. "I'm sorry but you would start to stink worse than these tunnels."
"What do I do?"
"My mom won't castrate you. She told me what she has in mind. I guarantee it is not as bad as whatever your terrified brain came up with. Your Mom was able to talk her back down to something pretty reasonable."
Mark sat silently, waiting.
Nancy took a breath. "She said she will give you a week to get all your work caught up, lawn mowing jobs and that kind of stuff."
"And then."
"Hold your horses. And then you have to live with her for a week as her personal slav...I mean assistant."
"An entire week."
"Yep. And you have to do everything she says, if she says jump, you ask how high."
"She'll just parade me around town in some girl's costume or something. No deal."
"I'm not finished. No one will know you are at her house, in fact she said that part of the punishment is the only person you'll get to talk to or see for the entire week is her. No outside contact."
Mark thought for a second. "But where are you going to be, you live there?"
"I'll be staying with your Mom."
"We're swapping Mom's?"
Nancy nodded.
"That should make Mom happy, I think she always wanted a daughter."
Nancy shrugged. "I don't know about that, she thinks pretty highly of you."
"No one will ever see me but your Mom for the whole time?" Mark asked again.
Nancy nodded. "Seven days, a full 168 hours."
"But that means I can't see you either."
Nancy nodded again looking deeply into his face.
"I don't think I've gone an entire day without at least saying hi or catching a glimpse of you from a distance." Mark fell silent thinking it over.
"Mom insisted that no one but her ever knows what happens. She said that as far as your Mom and I will know, you will be playing Scrabble for every waking hour."
"Not likely that." Mark laughed.
"A whole week without seeing you though, that sucks."
Nancy suddenly wrapped her arms around Mark's neck squeezing him and cutting off his air. Mark coughed and gasped.
"Oh sorry." Nancy released strangle hold.
"You are really strong." Mark massaged his throat.
"And I am falling for you. Hard."
Mark smiled for the first time since he woke up on Teresa's couch. "Your Mom said you fell for me that day I got hurt trying to save you."
Nancy placed a finger on his lips. "Perhaps. So are you coming back with me or are you going sleep with the rats tonight?"
Hand in hand, Mark and Nancy left the tunnel together.
* * *
Mark wiped the sweat from his brow as he pushed the lawn mower down the street back to his house. "Four more to go." He was trying to get all the lawns mowed now so that a week from now when he went to live with Teresa for a week he could mow them all the two days before and have nothing to do the entire week. Doing them all at once was a tough job though, he usually spread them out over a week.
When he got home there were several bags piled up on the porch. His Mom walked out and handed him a glass of lemonade. "Can you help me with Tamara and Michelle's luggage?"
Mark drained the glass and nodded. "Sure Mom are they leaving soon?"
"Within the hour."
Mark loaded the suitcases in the trunk of the car. Michelle and Tamara were on the porch waiting for him to finish. "Thanks for the really awesome time."
Mark smiled. "Sure, your welcome, I hope you can keep a few secrets from my aunt and uncle."
"Don't worry, your Mom said if we want to come back, the cute kitty in all those pictures will have to remain a mystery." Tamara laughed.
Michelle gave Mark a hug. "Whew, you stink."
"Yeah, been mowing."
"Trying to get everything ready for your little adventure next week?" Michelle smiled.
"Something like that."
Tamara also gave him a hug. "We hope to see you soon. We'll be begging Mom and Dad to go on another vacation."
"Did you already say goodbye to Nancy, I know she liked having you around."
Tamara nodded, "Yep we just saw her."
"Alright you girls, hop in the car we better get you to the airport." Mom said.
The girls got in the car and Michelle stuck her head out the window as the car was pulling out of the driveway. "We almost forgot to mention that we left a present for you in your bedroom."
Mark nodded and waved as the car drove off. With building curiosity Mark ran upstairs taking the steps two at a time. When he opened the door a large smile spread across his face. There was Nancy sitting in a chair. Ropes encircled her legs at the knees and ankles which were then connected to her bound wrists. More rope wound itself around her upper body, waist, and thighs fixing her tightly to the chair. Her eyes twinkled in mirth but with her mouth stuffed full of a cotton cloth gag it was hard to ascertain if she truly was happy. She was wearing a cotton skirt bunched up around her thighs thanks to the ropes and a matching sports halter top.
"Well, well, we've come full circle. I think they have you in the exact same position you had me two weeks ago. Look there is even a note taped to your chest." Marked yanked the note off her right breast.
Hey Mark,
Just wanted to leave you a present to show how much we enjoyed staying at your house. I'm sure you are thinking it was Nancy's idea but I'm happy to say it wasn't. We tricked her into this with a little help from your Mom.
Have fun with your present and don't say we never gave you anything.
Michelle and Tamara.
Mark laughed and pinned the note to a bulletin board in his room. "I'm all hot and sweaty, I would hate to touch all that nice rope work with out taking a shower first. You won't go anywhere will you?"
Nancy grunted through her gag.
"See you in a minute."
Mark took a quick shower, truth be told he was looking forward to seeing Nancy again. She looked delicious fixed to his chair. He walked back into his bedroom wearing a towel. "Can't have you watching me dress, so..." Mark yanked a pillowcase over Nancy's head.
After a quick dressing Mark took off the pillowcase and untied the gag. "I'm curious. How did they manage to get you?"
"Your Mom helped them. Basically she sat on me while they tied me to the chair. I trained the buggers too well it seems."
"Too bad, I was hoping for something more subtle, something I can take advantage of in the future."
"Sorry to disappoint, now how about you let me go?"
Mark placed a finger against his chin. "Hmm, what would you do if the roles were reversed?"
Nancy rolled her eyes.
"I know, take pictures. That's almost a guarantee whenever I get tied up."
Nancy just smiled.
"What no cheeky comments or smart retorts?" Mark asked after picking up his camera.
"Not really."
"Not worried I might show your friends at gymnastics these photos?"
Nancy laughed out loud. "Not in the least, I have an entire album of photos of you."
"Touche', but I'll still snap a few to memorialize the moment. Perhaps send a couple to Michelle and Tamara."
Nancy smiled while the flash illuminated her bound form. A dozen photos later Mark sat down the camera. "For some reason I still don't want to let you go. After all, a week from now I'm going to be without you. I better soak up as much as I can."
"Yeah that's going to suck." Nancy agreed.
"Surely there is a way we can sneak around." Mark said.
"Well we have all week to think about it."
"Perhaps, but if your Mom finds out, it will get real hard on me."
"Aren't I worth it?" Nancy smiled. "I mean how hard would it be to clean the house in a French maids uniform if it meant you got to see me."
"Just for that, I'm going to go watch television." Mark walked out of the bedroom and closed the bedroom door behind him.
"Hey, I was just kidding." Nancy hollered after him. "Mark."
She stopped to listen for footsteps. "Mark, come back."
Mark settled back into the couch with his feet propped up on the coffee table.
That ends "Chapter 5: The Cousins". Chapter 6 is entitled Mom Swap, no surprise there if you've kept up so far. I hope you have enjoyed it. I honestly don't know what is going to happen next. To be honest I really did not expect Mark to get himself in this much trouble. I know that sounds weird but I don't plan this stuff out beforehand, which might be obvious to the readers I don't know. Stay tuned.