He Gripped Her Tightly

• Hana Chapman-Speering, Grade 11
• Short Story
• 2014

Billy gripped her tightly and her body shook as he held her against her will.
He took her inside and headed for the kitchen, feeling her body squirm in protest against him.
He lay her on the counter, pinning her down tightly across her abdomen so she couldn’t go anywhere.
“Well,” Billy said triumphantly looking down at her, taking joy in her struggle. “I guess you don’t like that huh?”
She couldn’t scream, but Billy was sure that she would definitely be screaming the house down if she could.
Instead, she was silent. But Billy wouldn’t let her silence ruin the moment, so he imagined her screaming in his head.
“Shhhh,” he whispered, “you’re being too loud!” He smiled to himself, satisfied with his imagination.
She didn’t reply, but Billy wasn’t expecting one anyway.
Her whole body thrashed against his grip, desperate to be free. Billy knew she was terrified, and he imagined that he could smell it, wrinkling his nose.
And he stood there, pinning her down. He was quite proud knowing that her efforts to free herself were pointless, as he was too strong and powerful for her.
Billy could tell that she was starting to get tired. Her thrashing became slower and less forceful, and he didn’t have to grip her so hard to keep her in place.
Then, he heard someone unlocking the door from the other room.
He panicked, and decided that the game was over.
Billy picked her up and raced out the back door and into the garden; he didn’t want to be caught doing something so terrible.
He stumbled in a panic, and ran around to the back of the garden shed, still holding her tightly.
“Billy!” He heard his mother call out, “where are you honey?”
Billy was disappointed that it had to be over so quickly; he wished he had more time.
He bent down and reached underneath the bushes. He opened his hand and let her go, and watched as the exhausted caterpillar crawled away to safety.