Chapter Three: Conditioned to Surrender
Gabe's control infiltrated my life gradually. I was aware of his intentions, but I provided enough genuine and manufactured pushback to appear naΓ―ve and intentionally oblivious to his manipulations. Gabe was conditioning me to his preferences and rewarding me when I submitted to him within parameters he deemed acceptable. In my rationalizations, I knew that each concession I surrendered would be a necessary sacrifice towards eventual escape. Accepting the reality that I was a coerced yet willing conspirator in my own subjugation was a bane on my psyche and one that was increasingly difficult to reconcile.
I understood that to mentally survive my ordeal, I needed to rationalize the purpose of my captivity. If I could derive some pleasure from my submission, I would accept that. Gabe was after all, exceedingly attractive. I could compartmentalize.
"Are you ever going to release me?" I'd ask Gabe daily in those initial weeks.
"Hmmm?" Gabe always replied.
"I could cut off your hand so I can access the biometrics securing the lock," I countered.
"You could. But that would involve finding drugs, overpowering me, finding a cutting implement, procuring the key from the safe, and then locating money, your ID, and your bearings to escape. As you've discovered, there aren't many sharp things left in your apartment. The mirror is polycarbonate. While I told you we originated from the same city, I didn't tell you where we currently are," Gabe responded. "Do you think you could navigate all that?"
I nodded emphatically, but eventually stopped asking due to the seeming insurmountable nature of it all. My freedom wouldn't be achieved through force, but by guile. Manipulation was a necessary response to my conditions.
During dinner, Gabe would compliment me on an outfit's colour, and I would wear the same hue the following day. That was met with an exclamation of "good girl," praise, and gifts. On the odd occasion when I would disregard his comments, he would withhold any form of adulation rather than reprimand me. It became an inside joke. I would select his favourite colour multiple days in a row and silently chuckle when I wore something he loathed. I flirtatiously twirled in innocence on those days asking if he liked what I wore. He tried to suppress his disdain, especially when I selected a particularly ugly chartreuse tunic that was more comfortable than fashionable.
"It's nice." Gabe tried to maintain a straight face.
"I chose it especially for you Gabe. I thought you'd like it!" I plastered a smile on my face and ran my hands down the smooth material skimming the silhouette of my body to press the fabric against me, before it billowed back to its shapeless form. "I should wear this more often. I think it highlights my eyes. What do you think? Do I look sexy in it?"
"Yes, well whatever you think is best Amelia," he responded.
Gabe reserved "little one" when he was pleased with something I did. I was otherwise Amelia.
It took restraint for me to withhold displaying emotion lest the cameras capture it. I was inwardly amused knowing that my micro-rebellions irked him, more than my outright refusals. Gabe couldn't comment since he didn't want to reveal that he was conditioning me. I continued to perpetrate my modest acts of defiance; they gave credence to my naivety. Defying him brought me a measure of joy. Defiance was an act of agency in a seemingly hopeless situation.
"Hi Gabe." I lifted myself on my tip toes and encircled my arms around him before I tilted my head upwards seeking the softness of his lips. Gabe captured me against the hardness of his chest, pulling me close against the length of his body. Mittens playfully nipped at Gabe's ankles.
"Good evening little one." He gave my torso one final squeeze before setting me gently on my feet and reaching down to pet Mittens. "Don't you look fetching tonight."
I stood there coquettishly, my body on display in a black strapless mini dress. "It's good to see you too Gabe. Thanks." While I despised Gabe for abducting me, I was not immune to experiencing an inexplicable bashful shyness when he complimented me. Such were the conflicting emotions I grappled with daily in my confined isolation.
Gabe's preference to be welcomed with affection was one I willingly obliged. His manipulations started slowly. He initially commented that it would be nice if I greeted him at the door, so he started knocking instead of letting himself in. When I opened the door with a greeting, he rewarded me. Then, he suggested that he would not be averse to receiving a hug. I resisted until one evening my arms opened to him in an embrace. The kiss was suggested shortly thereafter.
"Little one?" Gabe approached me cautiously. "Would you mind if we greeted each other with a kiss? It would please me immensely." His finger drew a lingering trail up my inner arm until it rested in the hollow of my clavicle, before he teasingly traced upwards contouring my jawline.
"It would please you?" I looked up at him from lowered eyes.
Gabe nodded. "Don't you want to please me?"
I shyly nodded. Gabe smiled and he leaned down to kiss me. I had perfected my sheepishly flirtatious countenance. Gabe enjoyed when I adopted the personae. He equated it to my increasing feelings of submissiveness. I didn't dispel him of his erroneous assumption. I simply assumed the look for its perceived instrumentality.
When spite drove my actions, I would postpone brushing my teeth until after Gabe's arrival, so that the stench of my morning breath imbued my greeting kiss with an added aroma. He never said anything, though I did catch a smirk once.
When I greeted him at the door as he desired, he would ruffle my hair affectionately and bestow much-starved affection on me. I hated admitting it, but I enjoyed Gabe's touches and embraces. Social isolation has a way of distorting needs. I confessed to him one evening that I craved touch. Though loving as she was, Mittens was a poor substitute for human company. After my admission, Gabe intentionally initiated physical contact with me. His fingers lingered on my shoulders and arms, his hands cupped mine, and his touches on my body were gentle and strangely reassuring in my seclusion. They reminded me that I mattered and that I was human.