Chapter Eleven

It was unreal. She had been excused to go wash her face... and she couldn't pull her eyes away from the steel ring around her neck. It rested heavily on her collarbones.

The irony of the name struck her. A bitter taste.

They had fitted her with a steel collar. Like an animal.

Her thighs burned, it had been hard to walk into the bathroom.

She had to get out. They had gone crazy.

Everything had been fine the night before. Pizza and games and laughter, the last gasp of normalcy. Futilely, she wrapped her hands around the collar and pulled, this way and that... but it was no use. It wasn't coming off. Like the bracelet, it had a tiny bolt in it - and Kinsley had the key.

But it could be cut off... she hoped.

The first step was to get out of the house. She slipped down the hall, back to her room... only to find the door locked.

Kinsley's voice called out in response to the doorknob rattling. "You need to ask before you can go to your room."

"What?" Sabrina demanded without thinking. "It's my room!"

Her legs gave out as stomping footfalls came toward her. Her hands went to her mouth as Kinsley approached faster than Sabrina was comfortable with. She huddled outside her door, shivering.

"You will ask permission before you can go in your room, Bree."

Her words were a whimper, her voice a squeak. "I'm sorry... may I please go in my room?"

"Why." It wasn't a question, it was a challenge. Kinsley's arms rested at her sides, her posture seemingly relaxed, but Sabrina could tell that she was waiting to grab her.

"I just want to get dressed." It was a lie. She wanted to hide, she wanted to lay down.

"We're not leaving the house. You're not going anywhere, so you don't need to get dressed. Problem solved." Kinsley didn't move, didn't walk away. She just stood, staring down at Sabrina. Waiting.

"I want to lay down for a little bit."

Kinsley sprung into motion, Sabrina flinched but was soon on her feet. Kinsley grabbed her by the arms and pressed her against the wall with a thud - before taking her by the chin and glaring into her eyes, leaving Sabrina feeling about three feet tall.

"You need to stop telling me what you want, because I don't care. Your wants don't fucking matter." The curse word had so much more energy, emphasis. Sabrina's knees began shaking involuntarily. "You're at the bottom, Bree. You're going to do what you're told and you're going to be good. Unless you need another spanking so soon?"

It barely felt like the beating she had endured should be called a spanking. "No! Please!" Sabrina tried to shrink back, tried to look down but Kinsley held her fast. "I'm sorry!"

"Good."

Sabrina slid back to the ground as Kinsley released her. She watched the taller woman turn and walk away, taking a turn at the end of the hall and ascending the stairs in confident motions.

Her heart sank as she thought about running out the front door barefoot and in pajamas. She imagined running down the street, trying to find a cop... but she didn't trust cops. She had nowhere to go, she had a rap sheet for drug possession... Sabrina buried her face in her hands for a long moment as she despaired, as the wheels of her brain spun round and round trying to think of a way out, trying to think of at least a next step.

Her head snapped up as she realized she was sitting right outside of Lila's bedroom. Lila, who was roughly the same size as she was.

Quietly, she slipped into the room and headed for the closet.

Her blood froze as she heard Faith's voice behind her. "What are you doing, Bree?"

Sabrina's hand was closed around the doorknob of the closet. She trembled as she let go, turning slowly and hiding her hands behind her back.

"Nothing, Faith." She spoke quickly, as quickly as her breathing.

Faith crossed the room just as quickly and wrapped her fingers around the steel ring that dangled around Sabrina's neck.

"Oh really." Her skepticism weighed a thousand pounds. Without another word she began walking to the living room. Out of instinct, Sabrina pulled back, dug her heels in as she was pulled forward.. but it hurt. The metal ground into a spot between two bones in her neck and she gave in quickly, stumbling along behind Faith, who half-dragged her to the couch, shoving her onto it unceremoniously. Sabrina landed with a grunt, right next to Lila.

"Stop it! Stop!" Sabrina sprung to her feet on sheer instinct - instincts that had been getting her in a lot of trouble that day. She raised a hand to ward off Faith's incoming hand, but it wasn't a slap that was headed toward her. Faith's hand connected, open-palm with her shoulder and the red-haired pixie shoved her to the ground with a great deal of force.

"Stay down." The words were a warning as Faith sat on the couch.

Sabrina was reeling as she lay on the floor, staring up at the sideways world.

"I thought we were friends... " She sounded more pitiful than she intended, weaker.

"What were you doing in Lila's room, Bree?"

Lila sounded offended as she spoke. "She was in my room?"

"I... I was just going to borrow some clothes."

"You were in my room!? Kinsley!!" The last word was a scream, shrill and piercing, seeming to rattle the glass of soda on the end table.

Sabrina began begging immediately, any semblance of dignity gone. "No please! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I just wanted to borrow an outfit, I just wanted to- "

"What is going on down here!?" Kinsley, the person who had been so kind and understanding was terrifying when she was angry. Sabrina was beginning to miss the other Kinsley, the one she had been forming a crush on, whose lap she had sat on just yesterday.

A stream of apologies poured from Sabrina's lips.

Lila screeched, pointing at the cowering woman. "She was in my room! She was going to steal my clothes!"

Sabrina felt the collar, pulled from behind her head, pressing into her throat, drawing her upward. She had no choice but to stand. "Ow, ow!"

"Why did you need clothes, Bree?" Ice. That chill tone that she had heard before in the tall woman's voice. "Didn't we talk about this? We're not going anywhere, right?" Sabrina's hands went instinctively to the collar, wrapping her fingers tightly around the steel but it had no give, and it did nothing to prevent Kinsley from yanking her even closer. She trembled against the taller woman's body, her eyes looking downward, at Kinsley's chest. All the while, she could feel those cold blue eyes burning into her. "Were you going somewhere?"

The lie came instantly. "No!"

Fingers on her chin, forcing her gaze upward. What had once been a sweet gesture was now so frightening. Everything felt like it was moving a mile a minute, like the very air was electrified.

"Then why did you need to take Lila's clothes?"

"I... " Sabrina's mind spun, trying to invent a reason, trying to come up with something that made sense. Something other than the truth. "I just didn't want to wear pajamas, that's all."

"Didn't I say specifically that you didn't need to get dressed? Didn't I just say that to you?"

"I just wanted... "

"And I told you that your wants. Don't. Matter."

The world moved all at once. Lila and Faith moved from the couch just as Kinsley sat down, dragging Sabrina down with her... who found herself staring at the floor, and Kinsley's feet. Her stomach was over Kinsley's lap. She tried to climb off, to stand up, but she was held fast by the steel collar. She hated that thing more than anything in that moment. But all feeling save fear left her as the first strike landed. On her bare bottom. In that fluid motion, her pajama bottoms had been slid down.

Kinsley's open palm slammed into her over and over, and all Sabrina could think of is how much she wanted it to stop. She squirmed, she slid off the other woman's lap only for Kinsley to grab her around the legs and haul her back into position. And she didn't stop until long after Sabrina's voice had grown hoarse from begging and crying.

When the end finally came, Kinsley let her slide to the floor, panting and sobbing, and pulling her bottoms up.

"I didn't enjoy that." Kinsley reached down and stroked her hair, causing Sabrina to flinch immediately. "Do your wants matter, Bree?"

Her answer was a moan between choking sobs. "No... " Her hands went to her backside as she curled into a ball on the floor. "No, I'm sorry."

"Tell me, do your wants matter? Say it."

Fire burned as fiercely in her cheeks as it did on her bottom. "My wants don't matter... " She wanted to hide. She wanted to crawl under something and disappear, it hurt so badly and she had been powerless to stop it.

Faith's voice came from above. "Why don't your wants matter, Bree?"

"Because... " She didn't want to say it. She knew what they wanted her to say but she just couldn't.

Faith knelt down next to her, lowering her face close and asking again, with a cruel edge to her voice. "Why don't your wants matter?"

"I... I... "

Faith's hand slammed down into the very same spot Kinsley had abused and drew a scream from Sabrina's lips. "Why don't your wants matter, Bree?"

"Because I'm not a person!" Sabrina yelped, holding her damaged flesh. "I'm not a person... I'm not. Please don't hit me anymore, please... please I'm sorry."

Faith's resumed her gentle tone, the compassionate friend Sabrina was used to. "Just be good. It's that easy. You knew that trying to take Lila's clothes was wrong, didn't you?"

"Yes... " Sabrina managed the word between sniffles. Her ass felt like it was on fire, the pain was constant and unyielding. It hurt more than all of the other spankings that Kinsley had given combined, and it didn't seem like the pain was ever going to stop.

"And you're going to be good now, aren't you?"

Sabrina only nodded, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.

"Good girl." Kinsley knelt down and stroked her hair. "Good girl."

You're not a person.

The words echoed around in her head, mingling with the good girl, confusing her. The touch of pleasure she felt from the praise was confusing, mixed with the humiliation of her position on the floor, helpless before the people who cared for her so much... but hurt her so much.

"Are you a good girl?"

The question from Kinsley as she stroked her hair sent shivers down Sabrina's spine. A tingle formed in the pit of her stomach, a thrill, but all jumbled with fear and pain.

"I'm a good girl." It was barely more than a whisper, a squeak.

"I know you are. Everyone makes mistakes, but you'll learn from them. You're a good girl. I'm going to go back to work now, okay?"

Kinsley headed upstairs, Faith to the kitchen. Lila leaned in close to Sabrina's collapsed form. Everything still hurt, she didn't have the willpower or the energy to move.

"Please be good, Bree. I like you so much. I'm really glad that you're here with us. You're probably my favorite doll that we've ever taken in... well, except for Faith. We'll have so much fun together, like we did last night! Just be good."

With that she plopped on the couch, stroking Sabrina's hair much the way that Kinsley had, before continuing her game.

Just be good.