Men. They just expect me to do whatever they want and to take care of them all the time. I try to keep things simple, but even with my guy friends it feels like I’m expected to have sex with them. It’s been over a year since I’ve dated anyone. My last boyfriend made me rethink ever being in a relationship again. He was really nice at first, but after moving in with him he thought that it was okay to do anything he wanted with me. I’m tired of feeling like a piece of meat, something for them to play with.
Then we get to the bedroom stuff. It’s fine sometimes, but again it can be so damn tiring. All the touching and heavy breathing just grosses me out. Not saying that the end result isn’t worth it, but it’s much easier to deal with things yourself. That’s where our story begins. After half a year of not being with anyone I admit that sometimes I could get a bit lonely. I get on my phone and try out a little website, but as soon as I see a man do their thing I’m reminded of all the guys I’ve dealt with.
It gets frustrating as I mindlessly scroll the site and then I figure…why not try something new? I close the incognito tab and search up the nearest adult store. I presumed I could get a nice little accessory that would take care of business without all the unnecessary bullshit of interacting with another human. The search results popped up, there were a couple nearby with the nearest one being a thirty minute drive from my apartment. It didn’t have an online store, but I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to check them out in person.
The next day I ran some errands and by the late afternoon I found myself in front of the store. The Pleasure Chest, extremely cringe sounding I know. It was located in an old shopping plaza. I looked around and saw a couple of old cars scattered in the parking lot, for who knows how long they’ve been sitting there. The other stores seemed to have been empty for quite some time. Business must be going well for The Pleasure Chest since it was the last one standing after all.
The windows were tinted so dark you couldn’t see inside at all. Large white decals of skulls and a pirate’s chest adorned the outside of the store. I grabbed the handle to the door, it was heavier than I expected so I pushed with my legs to get it to open. The inside didn’t seem too out of place. The walls were aligned with shelves stocked with toys of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Large glass display cases filled with many sexual supplements and accoutrements. My attention shifted back towards the shelves, hoping to find the perfect “friend” to accompany me.
As I browsed through the different wares I suddenly felt the hair on the back of my neck stand. At that moment I realized just how quiet it was in the store. I could hear my heart quickening alongside a heavy labored breathing coming from behind me. I turned to see a man standing behind the display just staring at me with beads of sweat dripping down his brow. He looked average; portly, with a mop of brown hair to match his long scraggly beard. The man sported jeans with a red plaid button down shirt. Too many of the buttons were undone to reveal a tuft of chest hair.
“Um…Hi?” I squeaked out. He looked at me for a while longer before licking his lips and responding. “H-hello..” he spoke with a low raspy voice that sounded like a knife running across a stone. “I’m just looking around.” I told him awkwardly. He licked his lips again and tapped the glass case with his finger tips. “I need to see s-some ID..” I reached into my purse as I walked towards him, “Oh right. Of course.” As I got close I was hit with a wave of nausea. He exuded an odor of sweat and way too much body spray.
I handed him my ID and he inspected it. I laughed nervously, “I guess I was a bit too excited..” The man proceeded to look me up and down then reached out with my card in his hand. He grinned, revealing a set of yellowed teeth. “I’m Mark…it’s a pleasure to meet you, Beth.” I grabbed my ID, but when I did I felt him brush his fingers on mine. “Thanks…well I’ll be looking around.” I quickly turned back towards the shelves, all the while feeling his gaze on me. With each step I took I could feel his beady eyes burning into me.
I could hear his tongue lap across his lips again and I started to feel beyond uncomfortable. I quickly grabbed the most generic looking toy and handed it to him at the counter. I suppose anything would probably do fine. Mark began to examine the box and smiled again, “Looks like we’re in for a fun night..” I nodded and wished he would hurry the fuck up. He unboxed the toy and removed a part to allow him to insert batteries. “Gotta make sure everything’s perfect for you tonight..”
“Shit” he cursed to himself, “I’ll be right back…gotta grab some batteries..” Mark then walked through a door behind the display case. I waited for a while…thinking of sanitizing the toy and myself a hundred times when I got home. I waited, glancing at a few things when my sights set to the door. It was cracked open by just an inch and I saw that it was pitch black inside. If he were searching for something it would make sense to turn on some lights.
“Help..” My head snapped back towards the door. I thought I must’ve been hearing things until I heard the voice again. “Help..” it was a woman’s voice, so faint that it was barely a whisper. I focused all my attention to the crack of the door when Mark came bursting through, quickly slamming the door shut behind him. He showed me a set of AAA batteries. “Finally found them.” he said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. I thought that maybe I was letting my nerves get to me and that I was simply hearing things that weren’t there.
Mark inserted the batteries, pressed a button, and the toy hummed to life. He stared at me for a long time with the vibrating noise buzzed in the background. “Need help with…anything at all?” he asked with a sneer. “No thanks!” I quickly chimed. He sucked his teeth and placed the toy back into the box. “Don’t worry about the batteries. They’re on me..” He handed me my purchase and as I was walking out the door he called out, “I hope you think of me..” I shuddered a bit after hearing him say that.
I hurried out to get into my car. As I got inside and turned the key I saw Mark just standing at the store’s entrance, slowly waving. It may sound silly but that interaction haunted me for the rest of the day. That night I was settling into bed, trying to get myself relaxed. I pulled out the toy I had gotten and turned it on. Instantly I thought of Mark and I felt a sudden wave of repulsion. “Great…what a fucking waste..” I cursed under my breath.
Taptaptaptap
I awoke in the middle of the night to a faint noise. I checked the time on my phone, the bright light burned my eyes, it was 2 a.m. I groaned, feeling completely exhausted and I tried to fall back asleep. Taptaptaptap. It sounded like someone was tapping their fingernail on wood. Taptaptaptap. The sound was persistent and I couldn’t take it anymore. I got up from my bed and tried to find the source of the noise.
…Taptaptaptap……taptaptaptap…..taptaptaptap…
I followed that damned tapping to my front door. I peered through the peephole to see pitch blackness. “Hello?” I called out, then the sound became more insistent taptaptaptaptaptap. Then I asked, “Who are you?” and the noise abruptly stopped. I sat there for a moment, straining my ears to hear beyond the door and I heard a deep, heavy breathing. I took a few steps backwards in shock. How the hell did this creep find out where I live? Then the sudden realization hit me, he must’ve memorized my address on my fucking ID.
I rushed back to my bedroom and grabbed my phone to call 911. “911 What’s yo-” before the operator could finish I screamed, “PLEASE HELP! A MAN IS OUTSIDE MY DOOR!” I slammed the door to my room and locked it. The operator stayed on the line with me until the police came. I ran to the front door, looking into the peephole to see two police officers. I opened the door and told them everything that happened.
They both looked at me with concern. One of the officers told me that The Pleasure Chest went out of business recently. I tried to tell them that it was a man named Mark from that store, but they couldn’t know for sure. Unfortunately there wasn’t much that they could do. They did assure me that they’ll take a look around the apartment building and to call if it happens again. I closed the door and placed my face into my hands, “FUCK!” I screamed. I felt helpless. Am I supposed to wait until something truly horrible happens?
In the next few days I lived in constant fear. Every night I swore I could hear something tapping at my front door. When I layed in bed I heard someone breathing from the darkest corner of my room. I drove around and it felt as though every car I saw in my rear view mirror was following me home. One afternoon I even drove back to the store and sure enough the doors were locked. The only proof I had that this place even existed was that stupid toy I bought with cash and no receipt.
I felt trapped. So I thought that the best I could do now was grab a bottle of wine from the store and go home. Hopefully I could trick myself into thinking that maybe I was just overthinking things. That night I returned to my apartment building with a bottle of pinot noir in hand. I was ready to drink my troubles away. I got into the elevator, peering at my phone to catch up on all the social media buzz when I heard…heavy breathing.
I looked up from my phone to see Mark standing a few feet away from the elevator. He lifted a hand and slowly waved at me. Mark smiled and licked his lips, then proceeded to make his way towards me. I began to frantically press the button to close the door. I looked back at Mark and he was already at the entrance of the elevator. I gripped the neck of the wine bottle and swung it towards him. He smacked my arm aside causing the bottle to clatter onto the floor.
Mark forced his way inside of the elevator and grabbed my throat. He pushed me towards the wall and I hopelessly saw the elevator doors close behind him. I screamed, but it was cut short when he clasped his other hand over my mouth. I started to cry and as the tears streamed down my cheeks. He smiled a disgusting toothy smile and he inched his face close to mine. Mark proceeded to open his mouth, a putrid stench came from it and he licked the tears off my face.
He brought his mouth next to my ear and he moaned with pleasure. “Don’t worry…I’ll take care of you..” he whispered, his words made my blood run cold. He started to laugh, a deep cackle that filled me with so much terror. Mark then pulled my body away from the wall he pinned me to and slammed me back, causing my head to crash into it. He did this over and over again until…I blacked out.
I eventually woke up to find myself in a pitch black room. I could barely move, then I realized that my hands in front of me were tied up with some hard plastic. My legs seemed to be unrestrained so I shuffled myself into a sitting position, I felt my back touch a cold wall. Suddenly the lights came on causing me to wince. After my eyes adjusted to the brightness I saw that I was in an unfamiliar room and straight ahead of me was another woman.
The woman was lying on the floor in front of me. She had long curly red hair and her body was completely bruised up. I called out to her. I lifted myself up and walked over to her and realized that her eyes were completely gone, all that was left were bloody holes. I screamed, not only did I realize that she was dead, I was faced with the possibility that this was my near future. A door on the side opened and there was Mark standing there…smiling.
He walked inside, closing the door behind him. “Looks like you’ve met my last doll..” he muttered under his breath. “I had so much fun with her…until she broke..” I started to cry again and backed myself towards a corner. I came to the conclusion that I was in fact going to die a horrible death. Mark took slow steps towards me, almost like a tip toe. “I came in here looking for the perfect toy and it looks like I found the perfect thing..”
Mark began to remove his shirt, throwing it hard onto the floor and slowly unbuckled the belt to his jeans. I tried to shrink myself into the corner as he got closer…and closer. He stretched both arms out to bar any exit I had and he moved his head closer. He pressed his nose into my hair and took a long deep breath. He moved his mouth to my ear and I felt his hot breath as he whispered, “You’re mine now…”
I pushed out every single thought away from my mind but one little thing. I kept the spark of survival and fanned it until I did the unspeakable. As Mark moaned into my ear I pushed forward and sunk my teeth into his neck. My mouth filled with meat and the taste of warm blood. My ears were now filled with cries of pain as he stumbled backwards. “YOU FUCKING BI-” before he could finish I used all of my strength to shoulder charge him. He stumbled over the dead woman’s corpse and his head made a cracking noise as he fell to the floor.
I ran through the door to find myself behind the glass display case of the adult store. I saw my phone resting next to the register and grabbed it to call the police. They came by quickly and when I saw the flashing of blue and red lights I cried so damn much. Turns out the dead woman was the actual owner of the store, Mark had trapped and killed her and I was going to be his next victim. I just figured I was lucky…the police told me that Mark was alive, but he was going to go away for a very long time.
I wish that there was going to be a happy ending after all of this…but there isn’t. Even though Mark is gone and probably rotting in jail that thought doesn’t put me at ease. I live in fear almost waiting for my next attack. Sure there are days when the thought slips away, but I can’t help but remember. I worry not just for myself, I worry about others who find themselves in the sights of a monster that wants to take them as a play thing.