Contents
Chapter 45
Overview
Bound to a chair with duct tape, Casey attempts to free herself using a technique her father taught her but fails. As Eleanor lingers in the bedroom, Casey reassesses Eleanor’s victim persona and recognizes her cunning and cruelty. The scene heightens immediate danger and reinforces Casey’s resolve to escape.
Summary
Casey sits duct-taped to a chair, listening as Eleanor takes her time in the bedroom. Convinced Eleanor may return to harm her, Casey’s fear mounts and she considers ways to cut the tape despite being unable to move the chair safely.
She recalls her father teaching her a duct-tape escape: accelerate arms overhead and slam down to break the tape. Adapting the memory to her current predicament with hands bound behind her, Casey strains to replicate the motion.
The attempt sends sharp pain through her wrists, and the tape holds. Frustrated and frightened, Casey recognizes Eleanor anticipated such efforts and bound her too well. Reconsidering the cigarette burns and bruises she once read as victimhood, Casey now sees Eleanor as calculated and cruel. Despite failure, she commits to finding another way to escape.
Who Appears
- CaseyProtagonist; bound with duct tape, attempts an escape using her father’s advice but fails; reassesses Eleanor’s danger and resolves to get free.
- EleanorTeen intruder; has Casey restrained and lingers in the bedroom, appearing cunning and cruel rather than a victim.
- Casey’s fatherAppears in memory; taught Casey a duct-tape escape technique that she tries to adapt.