Dollhouse

  Dollhouse

  Tim Miller

  Copyright © 2015 Tim Miller

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Cover photo shot and modeled by Bonny Capps

  Chapter 1

  Ernie Lester sat at the table looking at his beautiful family. He ran the brush through Emily's soft, blonde hair. She was the youngest in the family. At sixteen years old, she had a beauty and spark that rivaled the most mature and beautiful women in the world. The instant she walked into a room, everyone lit up.

  Was it her eyes, or her smile? Ernie wasn't sure. He just knew he was truly blessed to have this young person in his life. He brushed, holding her soft hair in one hand while running the brush over it with the other. Daily brushing was what kept her hair so soft. That, and the organic avocado oil shampoo and coconut seed conditioner. He washed and conditioned her hair exactly three times a week. He'd used different formulas before, but others either left her hair too dry and frizzy or too oily and matted; this combo created perfection.

  Emily loved it too. When she first came to him, her skin was an oily blemished mess and her hair dry and frizzy. Once Ernie and his family had taken her in, he’d begun with daily baths and skin treatments, as well as working on her hair. Within a few weeks, she’d looked like a new girl. Of course, his sudden attentiveness with Emily made some of the other girls jealous, which saddened Ernie greatly. He told them daily they were all sisters, each a special part of this family. There was no need for jealousy, but it happened.

  What really disheartened Ernie was when one of them went too far, such as Jessica was prone to do. Jessica hadn’t liked Emily from the start; then again, Jessica had always given Ernie the most attitude. She seemed not to appreciate the great love and care with which he treated them. The final straw came when he was bathing Emily. Jessica called her a disgusting cow. That wasn't the first time she'd picked on Emily's weight. Emily wasn't skinny, but she was far from obese. Jessica's insults only hurt the poor girl, and this behavior was simply not acceptable in a loving family.

  Thus, tonight was a special night for the rest of the family. Tonight was Jessica's expulsion from the family. It was a ritual Ernie had come up with after dealing with a few other problem ladies in the past. All he asked of his family was peace and harmony. When that was too much to ask, then one must be expelled; consequently, that would be Jessica.

  He finished brushing Emily's hair and set the brush on the table behind him. In front of him, all of his family were seated at the dinner table. There were eight of them, all sweet, smart, and beautiful women. Their ages ranged from sixteen to thirty-eight. Age didn’t matter to Ernie; he loved them all the same.

  Jessica lay in the center of the large table. She was naked and staring up at the ceiling. He walked to the open side and stood over her, looking down at her face. A tear ran down the side of her face as her body quivered. Ernie placed a hand on the side of her face and leaned in.

  "I'm so sorry, my love. If only you had listened to me. I tried to make it work, I really did. I'm afraid this is the only way, now," Ernie whispered.

  He picked up the scalpel and held it over her stomach. He thrust it into her stomach as her body twitched. A tiny yelp escaped her throat, but there was no scream. He sliced open her stomach all the way down to her waist and made incisions along each side of the main incision, creating a pair of skin flaps. He flopped them open, exposing her insides. He'd done this enough times to have executed the process with expert precision.

  Reaching inside her, he grabbed a handful of her small intestines and began cutting. Jessica's body twitched and quivered as she occasionally squeaked or yelped. He looked around as the other girls sat around the table peacefully. Once he cut loose the handful of intestines, he placed the glob of bloody tissue into a blender on the table. He removed his bloody gloves as he pressed down the lid and pushed the button.

  The motor whizzed as it ground up this bloody gore that used to be a part of dear Jessica. After a few seconds, it was purified into a reddish-brown liquid that resembled a red velvet milkshake. He picked up several small cups and poured the liquid into the cups. Picking up the first cup, he walked over to Emily and knelt down next to her chair and slowly undid a few of the buttons on the front of her dress.

  After opening the third button, Ernie reached in and pulled out her feeding tube. The tube ran straight into her stomach. The tube was how he fed all his family members. However, the meal wasn't always so raw. He placed a funnel over the tube and poured the thick, red juice into the tube. Once that was done, he removed the funnel, placed the cap back on the tube, and buttoned her dress back up.

  Looking into Emily's eyes, he noticed she too was quivering as a tear ran down her face. From the table, Jessica continued to moan and whimper. He ignored it as he tried to comfort Emily.

  "What's wrong my dear? This is for you! Don't cry. This is a happy occasion. She'll never hurt you again." He said. "What's that?" he asked as he leaned in. "It's gross and scary? Yes, I know this ritual seems very brutal. It's meant to be. Look at Jessica. She can feel every single thing I'm doing to her. She is fully awake and aware. But you see, Jessica's sacrifice will help spare one of your other sisters the same fate. I mean, would you act like her after this? No? I didn't think so." He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

  It was a strange conversation as no normal person would have heard Emily speak. Or any of the other girls for that matter. All of them were completely alive, and totally aware. Each had the capability of making only slight noises much like Jessica was currently making. None of them could scream, due to the paralysis drugs Ernie gave them. Ernie's family wasn't dead, but they were no longer alive. They were his dolls.

  Chapter 2

  Jodi finished helping her customer with his new phone when her manager walked up to her.

  "Hey Jodi," Bob said. Bob, the store manager, had started hitting on her the day she was hired and hadn’t stopped. The fact that she had a boyfriend didn't seem to bother him, nor did a report to Human Resources. Though she'd broken up with her boyfriend months ago, he didn't know that; not that he would have cared. Human Resources had given him a talking to, but other than that, nothing had been done. It frustrated her, since she liked the job and most of her coworkers. She just wished she could do it without invitations to dinner, his office, or quickies in the bathroom. Those were the most uncomfortable. The comments about her ass and tits were also awkward, but those were easier to ignore.

  "Hey, Bob. I'm almost done here. Just helping her with her email setup." Jodi said.

  "Great! I need you to stop by my office when you're done."

  "Sure thing," she said. Once she was finished, she headed to the back of the store and knocked on the door. She shuddered to think what bullshit reason he was pulling her into the office for this time. It seemed every week he had some new plan for getting her alone.

  "Hey! There you are! Come on in. Close the door and have a seat."

  She did as he instructed as he shuffled some papers.

  "Ok, Jodi. I know we've had our differences here and there. But this is pretty serious."

  She watched him as he shuffled papers around. At thirty-five years old, working in a cell phone store wasn't where she'd hoped to end up in life. She’d dropped out of college when she had gotten pregnant years before, only to lose the baby in a miscarriage. The whole experience had been rough on her, and she’d never returned to school. Though days like this one
she wished she had. Bob was at least ten years older than her. His hair was thick for his age, too thick. She figured he had some kind of wig or implants. He was in ok shape but was nearly orange from his spray tan. He'd gone through a divorce just over a year ago, and she'd been in his sights ever since.

  At first, she chalked it up to a mid-life crisis, yet, the advances had gotten more persistent. Part of her thought of gaining fifty pounds just in the hopes of scaring him off.

  "So what is so serious?" she asked.

  "Well, a few employees have noticed that you are less focused on your work lately. They said you've been texting a lot out on the sales floor. You know the rule, no phones out on the floor."

  "Yeah, I know the rule, and I follow it. I hardly ever have my phone out other than to check on my mom. She's been sick for the past few weeks, so I check to see if she's called or texted. That's it."

  Bob sat there with this smug grin on his face.

  "What?" she asked since he wasn't saying anything.

  "I'm afraid I don't believe you. I have statements here from four different employees stating they saw you texting."

  "Are you fucking kidding me? What are their sales numbers? I've led the store in sales and revenues for the past three months. Did you stop to think they might be jealous?"

  "I don't think so. You know what I think it is. I think you have a new boyfriend," he said.

  "What?"

  "See? You didn't think I knew you and Kenny had broken up. Everyone knew as soon as it happened. So, who is the new guy?"

  "There is no new guy and if there was, it's none of your business," she said, feeling the blood rush to her face.

  "I'm going to have to look at your phone." He put his hand out.

  "Are you fucking kidding?"

  "Don't raise your voice at me, or I'll add insubordination. You show me your phone, and I can look at the time stamps on your texts. If none are during work hours, then that'll be proof they were lying, and you won't be in trouble. If it is, then I'm writing you up. If you refuse, you'll be suspended for a week for not cooperating with an official investigation."

  She stood up and shook her head.

  "No fucking way. That's not even legal. I'm not giving you my phone. You want to write me up or suspend me, go right ahead. I could use the time off anyway. I doubt you will though, because I know you can't stand to go more than a day or two without staring at my ass. How many times do you come back here to jack off to me on the cameras? Your door is always locked when you're in here."

  "You had better shut your mouth…"

  "Or what? Better yet, let me see your phone. How many pics have you snuck of me when I wasn't looking? I've seen you on the sales floor holding your phone up like you're doing something. I'll bet you my next check you're snapping pics. Not just of me either. How many other female employees' pics you got on your phone?"

  "Shut up!" he said, raising his voice. "And sit down!"

  "No! Am I fired? Suspended? No? Good, we're done here." She stood and walked out of the office as Bob watched with his mouth hanging open. Jodi wasn't sure how that whole thing was supposed to go down, but she was sure this hadn’t been what he’d had in mind. She needed this job, but at this point she couldn’t care less if he fired her. She'd shove her phone up his ass before she let him look in it. Even though there were no other boyfriend or texts during work hours, it would be none of his business, and this was just some bizarre attempt at control. She’d just returned to her work station when a customer came walking in. A short man, going bald on top, with glasses and a thick mustache. He kind of reminded her of Ned Flanders from the Simpsons, but with the balding tire, versus a full head of hair.

  "Hi! Welcome to Cellular World. I'm Jodi, what is your name?" she said as the official greeting.

  "Hi. I'm Ernie. Ernie Lester."

  Chapter 3

  Jodi listened to Ernie as he held up his phone, explaining in meticulous detail his multiple email accounts and how he wanted all of them to sync and then forward them to a fifth account. He said he was a sales rep for one of those diet companies. He met clients in their homes, showed them the various meal plans, and then his company delivered the groceries straight to the house, twice a month. He seemed to enjoy it, as it was mostly what he talked about. Jodi had to cut him off to find out what he needed help with.

  Despite his somewhat creepy appearance, Ernie was very well-spoken and personable. He cracked a few one-liners, and his smile actually helped calm her down after her earlier altercation with Bob. As she listened to him explain his question, he stopped midsentence and looked at her.

  "Are you ok?" he asked. She paused and looked around.

  "Um, yeah. I'm fine. Why?"

  "You just seem distracted and a bit flustered. I know I just met you, but you appear as if something is bothering you. Since I've been talking, you haven't stopped digging at your fingernails and your eyes keep looking at the man in the corner there." He nodded toward Bob, who she knew was standing in the corner watching the interaction.

  "Oh. That obvious huh? Sorry. That guy is my boss. We had just had it out pretty good, right before you got here."

  "I'm sorry to hear that. You seem like a great employee. I can't imagine what his problem would be."

  She looked around and lowered her voice slightly.

  "I am. He wants to go out with me. I refused, so now he's always on my ass about something. I've reported him before, but they won't do anything about it. Is he still looking this way?" she said.

  "Yes," Ernie said as he looked up toward Bob and waved. She watched as Bob looked around awkwardly, nodded at Ernie and turned and walked through the door to the employee lounge. "That got him out of your hair for a bit."

  Jodi looked and laughed harder than she intended to. This guy was impressive. Granted he also looked a bit like a younger Mister Magoo, but he was smart and witty. Something even the most handsome guys often lacked.

  "That was amazing! Thank you."

  "No problem. I've found, when people are in your space both literally and figuratively, doing something like that, a slight pushback, tends to make them uncomfortable. They get off on knowing they are getting to you."

  "I'll have to keep that in mind," she said.

  "Good! Don't ever let anyone walk over you. Especially at work. Bosses will push to see how far you let them push you. If you show them from the start you won't take their shit, they'll back right down. Every single time."

  "You're right. I let him have it good earlier. But yeah, I've let it go on for too long. Now, he thinks I owe him a date or something; it's so frustrating."

  "You thought about just quitting? I know you shouldn't have to, but sometimes it's just not worth it," Ernie said.

  "Yeah I have. I just don't know. I was laid off for almost a year when I found this job. The money is good, and I’d hate to quit, then risk not finding another job."

  "I might be able to help you with that. Here is my card." He reached into his wallet and handed her a business card. It had on it his name and said "Regional Director of Sales. Fit 4 Life Foods."

  "We always have openings for good sales reps," he said. "You seem like a good sales person. Granted, I haven't had to buy anything, but you're pretty, bright, and personable. Our jobs are commission only, but they are very generous. If you want to discuss it over coffee sometime, I could go into more detail for you."

  She looked at the card and up at him as he smiled at her. This guy seemed way more balanced than Bob, the wannabe playboy. Straight commission could be tough, and her current job was hourly plus commission. With commission, you didn't get paid unless you were always selling. She wasn't sure how hard it would be to sell these weight loss meal plans, but people were always looking for ways to lose weight, and they had to eat.

  "You know, I might take you up on that. I don't go into work until four tomorrow. Would you want to meet up sometime before then? There is a Starbucks just down the street," she said.

  "Yes! That wo
uld be perfect. Around three then?"

  "Sure."

  "Ok, three it is."

  "Great!" she said, finally feeling some hope that maybe something would work in her favor, ridding her of Bob for good.

  "Now, back to my phone. What was it I needed again? Oh yes, my email. One quick thing back to your boss. When we're done here, I'll call your corporate office and rave about how great you are. That should head off any crap he may try and give you later."

  "Seriously? You'd do that?"

  "Of course. As a business man myself, it drives me nuts to see bosses mistreat their valuable employees. It'll only take me a few minutes, and I'd be happy to do it."

  "Wow, thank you so much! Seriously. This day was going to shit extremely fast. You've just turned it totally around."

  "Don't even mention it," he said. "I’ve always believed if you take care of your employees and your family, they will take care of you." He glanced at the time on his phone. "Oh wow. Speaking of which, I have to be at a meeting in a few minutes. I'm going to be a bit late. I guess we can figure the phone thing out tomorrow. It was great speaking with you, Jodi. I look forward to our meeting tomorrow."

  "Thank you! You too, Mr. Lester."

  "Please. Call me Ernie."

  "Ok, Ernie."

  They shook hands as he turned and left. She sat there smiling as she watched him walk out the door. Such a nice man and an amazing opportunity. How lucky was she, such a thing would come walking right through her door?

  Chapter 4

  Ernie walked outside and sat in his car. He looked at his phone, and then at the store.

  "My...God!" he said under his breath. That woman was incredible. She was beautiful but looked a bit beaten up by life, there was certainly a beautiful glowing woman beneath all that. She was smart and kind. She was exactly what his family needed.