The HUSH Series: (HUSH, HUSHED and JANE.)

by Sandra Raine

  "Do you want me to call Dominic?" Tanya threatened idly, picking up her cell from off the table and dangling it out in front of me. I didn't protest. I just sat there and shook my head and shrugged my shoulders. "Are you being funny?" She seethed. I ignored Tanya and changed the subject.

  "Are there other girls?"

  Tanya cocked her head, retorting confused, "Huh?"

  "Dominic. . .before they left the motel. . .he said they had another party to check out?"

  Tanya scrunched her forehead and settled the cell back onto the table. She then leaned back into her seat and crossed her arms again.

  "Well, Miss Nosey, if you have to know he was meeting up with Toni at a party. Anything else?"

  "You're lying." I alleged matter-of-factly leaving Tanya to eat her words. And why did I know she was lying. . .'Cause no self-respecting teenage girl parties at three in the morning unless she was someone's whore.

  Chapter 17

  My mother thought my "make-over" was f-a-b-u-l-o-u-s! Was my mother fucking blind? I mean, I could understand Bree's naïveness 'cause she was just a child and she didn't understand the concept of a "make-over". . .But my mother?

  So when Tanya suggested a trip to the Biltmore after my mother's incessant complimenting over her uncanny ability with cosmetics - and despite my mistrust in her 'cause of what happened not more than a few hours ago - I took her up on it but not before downing a handful of Ibuprofen all to alleviate the pain of having to be in her company.

  I wasn't surprised to see Dominic and the cousins loitering out in front of the mall's entrance. As a matter-of-fact I was expecting it. And to have expected otherwise would have been rather reckless of me considering that the three were now looming over me constantly.

  Dominic immediately grasped my face the second I approached him. He studied Tanya's handy work for a moment, moving my face to the right to the left then back again. He then glanced at Justin and Josh who were both just as wordlessly satisfied as he was.

  The five of us walked around the mall like we were the best of buddies, but little did anyone suspect we were actually a crew paved in stone beginning with my body, and marked in blood, ending with my soul. And while it looked like everything on the outside, meaning my façade and their façade, my behavior and their behavior were on the up and up, little did anyone know I was the center of underground prostitution backed by abuse and blackmail - a world only the few and far beyond knew even existed.

  Tanya spent the better part of the afternoon shopping, ogling over dresses she could obviously afford, shoes she didn't need, and accessories she used once then tossed aside. As for me and Dominic and the cousins we just lagged behind showing little or no interest in Tanya's shopping soiree which seemed endless. My attitude did eventually spin a 360 when Dominic shot me a cautioning stare when I failed to answer Tanya's question about a little black dress she pulled from a rack and how she thought would look good on me. And just by the weight of his glare made me understand that if I didn't want to risk another beating I'd have to start taking an interest, and quick!

  So when we walked into another store, I made it a point to bypass Dominic, the Junior department sporting their vast collection of jeans, tee's and blouses, and instead headed toward the dresses; something I would have not normally done if this were another lifetime. And 'cause looking sexy had never appealed to me (hence, pre-Dominic) I had now become interested.

  I scanned the five racks of dresses, one-by-one, dress-by-dress until my eyes swept over a pearl white one-strap over-the-shoulder and just above the knee rayon dress; I made it a point to try it on immediately.

  Dominic unexpectedly walked into the dressing room just as I was slipping into the pearl dress. I was instantly annoyed by his sudden "invasion of privacy" considering that there was no door in the dressing room just a curtain thus allowing him easy access. But I had become more annoyed when I couldn't zip up the back of the darn dress. Dominic, portraying the perfect sympathetic gentleman, stepped up behind me and zipped up the dress. My body tensed.

  "You can relax, Jane, it's only shopping." Dominic mused in his most devastating, yet damaging charm. He then wrapped both arms around my body and gave me a tight squeeze. I could feel the pre of his erection grazing my back side forcing me to shiver in disgust.

  "Now," he then said suddenly, and just hearing him make verbal use of the term causes my insides to pinch hard 'cause if it was one thing I had learned from Dominic this far was nothing good ever followed his 'now'. "What you're going to do is apologize to Justin for shooting your mouth off at him. After you're done apologizing, you're going to take a couple of steps back, undress and offer yourself to him. And," Dominic then suddenly paused to grasp and pinch down on the earlobe Justin branded. Tears instantly grazed my eyes while I bit down hard on my lip to keep from crying out 'cause my lobe still continued to hurt. "You better make him except your apology!" I took Dominic's last statement as an absolute warning, and if I didn't obey, meaning, convincing Justin, then extreme consequences were going to follow.

  From the mirror I watched as Dominic unzipped my dress. It falls sensually off my body and onto the red carpet. I quickly shivered at the frightening sight of my bruised flesh which, and to my surprise, didn't seem to bother Dominic 'cause he took me by the hand, ignoring my obvious pain, my heartbreak and my humiliation, and lead me toward the vanity bench where he unbuttoned his jeans and sat down.

  "On your knees," he then said stroking his erected cock.

  Tanya and I stopped off at the Hard Rock Café across the street from the mall, bumping into some kids from school. So as Tanya chatted it gave me the opportunity to slip to the restroom.

  I hurried to the farthest stall in the restroom, slammed up the toilet seat and puked my guts out which included Dominic's semen and some cappuccino. I felt dizzy and faint the second I stood back up. I figured my fatigue was from the lack of food. And for the life of me I could not remember when I last had a decent meal that didn't include cappuccinos, lattes and semen? I chucked pondering 'cause time was passing, and I needed to get back to Tanya before she pitched a fit and called Dominic.

  I don't think Tanya had even noticed I was gone 'cause she was still locked in conversation with the kids from school. Eventually we did sit down with me ordering a hot meal complete with dessert.

  My mother's SUV was no longer parked out on the driveway as it was before I headed to the mall, and I was glad. I hurried inside and bolted up the stairs to stash the new dress Tanya had bought me in the farthest corner of my walk-in closet.

  A couple of hours later, my mother and Bree walked into the house carrying bags from Nordstrom and Pier1 Imports.

  "How was the mall, sweetie?" my mother casually asked me when she walked into the family room and settled a new vase on a nearby end table which replaced the one vase she felt was outdated even though it was only four months old. Even I had to admit that my mother had grown materially conscientious over the years particularly when it came to furniture and décor 'cause it seemed she solely lived for today's contemporary living especially if HGTV told their audience - now my mother - that it was time to go damask instead of chintz; cherry instead of oak; crystal instead of china. . .it was freaking ridiculous!. . .And it drove my father insane when he would involuntarily find himself shopping with my mother for new furniture despite our house already having been furnished with the latest season craze.

  "Fine." I barely mumbled while keeping my attention to the TV.

  I was in the midst of watching TV Land with an old episode of "Roseanne" where Darlene and David meet for the first time. And for a moment there I actually longed to be one of the Connors 'cause while low-class they may be, at least they were in tune with one another, and they weren't as detached as the upper-class. While Roseanne and Dan worried about keeping their family together despite the lack of money and luxuries, we, now meaning my family and Dominic's family, were much too busy being narcissistic, reckless and pretentious, and it was. . .I mean. .
.we were all genuinely pathetic.

  "Good," my mother retorted in a state of aimlessness 'cause for the last two minutes she had been busy shifting the new vase one way then the other and vice versa until she got the position just right and to her satisfaction. I wanted to scream from the top of my lungs 'It's just a fucking vase! Not the fucking Mona Lisa!' I mean, and seriously, was my mother so fucking blind that she couldn't see the trauma glowing from my flesh, my body, my soul? Did she not see Tanya's handy work slowly dissipating into the factual tragedy harboring my entire face? Did she not recognize the wound on my lower lip refusing to heal? Did she not find it odd that all I want to do is lounge around the house and do absolutely nothing? Did she not notice anything at all? Did she not notice. . .me?

  My mother walked out of the room humming a tune and I started to cry.

  I took another shower to rid the old filth and to make room for the new filth for tonight's "work". And my body could not avoid flinching every few seconds or so from the water trickling down below, stabbing at the pain. Right then and there a very harsh reality had hit me in the form of men shoving their dicks inside me, stretching me, ripping me that the thought began to unnerve my senses, not only causing me more fear and agonizing grief, it suddenly forced me to burst into tears as I just stood there beneath the water sobbing like the little girl I still was.

  I held the work cell tightly in the palm of my hand as I anxiously awaited the norm of Dominic's call. I stared at my bedside clock watching the time forward to 9:02 then 9:03 until it was 9:30. I opened my hand and sighed out but warily 'cause I had been wrong about the time before.

  It was around 9:45 when I retreated the cell back to the bottom drawer of my nightstand. I slowly undressed and retired my new dress to the back of my closet. I kicked off my silver strappy heels and headed to bed, tossing the covers over my head and slinking far beneath. I then curled myself into that ever comforting fetal position and closed my eyes and thanked God for there being a God.

  Chapter 18

  My father unexpectedly walked through the front door and I literally froze in my tracks.

  First off, I was on my way out for my daily ride to school. And second, some of the bruises on my face were still visible, and unfortunately my fingers weren't as magical as Tanya's.

  "Hey there, sweetheart!" My father greeted excitedly as he quickly settled his suitcase on the floor, his briefcase on the buffet table and crossed to me in eager steps.

  "Hey, dad," I bided on the sly side. He hugged me, and my body immediately tensed up.

  "Everything okay, sweetheart?" my father asked suddenly pulling back from his embrace. He lifted my chin and my heart skipped a nerve wrecking beat 'cause I was almost sure he would notice the bruises around my face but I think he must've seen past me 'cause his gaze just lingered there in my eyes like the way Dominic's used to linger in mine which made me extremely uncomfortable.

  "How was your weekend?" my father then said changing the subject and letting go of my chin gently.

  "Good." I lied. My father again held my gaze. Then a disturbing chill suddenly swept past me, carrying with it a vision of those men's gazes back in the motel room right before they took turns raping me. And my father must've sensed my uneasiness and so he casually stepped back, I assumed, to give me room to breathe since I must've appeared like a stiff in his presence. I, too, casually stepped back tightening one of the backpack's reigns against my shoulder for comfort.

  "I hadn't realized how much you've matured these past couple of months, sweetheart," my father then said unexpectedly leaving me speechless for the moment. I mean, and just by the sentiment in his tone, I wasn't sure if he was pleased, or disappointed?

  I opened my mouth to say something in regards to his comment but the horn to Dominic's Hummer beeped. I let out a sudden chortle.

  "I have to go. . .it's getting late," I said with my father nodding in agreement.

  I wasted no time walking out the front door only to come to an abrupt halt when it dawned on me that I no longer belonged to my family but to Dominic and Tanya Ray instead. Within a matter of an instant a wave of anger filtered through me 'cause I couldn't understand how I could have given myself up so easily and so wholly to Dominic and Tanya and forgotten about my family in the process? I mean, from sun up to sun down my time was spent in school, and not to mention, in the company of Dominic and Tanya, and in the evenings "working". And nowhere had I been spending any quality time with my family as my "quality time" was being spent on my back, off my back, on my hands and knees and in my mouth with men stealing whatever innocence I had left in me to honor.

  "Jane?" Tanya called out to me. She sounded annoyed and inconvenienced as if holding the back door opened for me was straining her arm. And with Dominic seething in both our directions probably didn't help neither mine nor Tanya's perception of one another.

  Meanwhile, I couldn't help but to think on how my father was right, on how I had grown up. But how much had I really 'grown up' remained the question? Just 'cause I was getting taller and maturing physically did not actually rectify the concept of "grown up" 'cause in reality I was still a child, fourteen and a half, and barely in high school - my life hadn't even began yet. And I was sure that somewhere within the denial of my father's mind had he sensed something was going on with me but refused to recognize for reasons only he knew. The thought alone was pretty frightening.

  "Jane!" It was Dominic's turn to call out to me only his tone was more bitchy and convincing 'cause I could feel another round of tears gathering in my eyes as I stared at Dominic through the passenger's back door thinking how I wanted to break away from him and Tanya and their idea of "work". Thinking how I wanted to turn back the hands of time to when Tanya first approached me, to when Dominic first stole me, to when they conjured up that scheme to blackmail me - I wanted it all to fall back on the hands of time.

  Dominic's teeth finally gave way and clenched, and his sighs grew heavier, harder, infuriating 'cause I was making him wait.

  "Get in the fucking car, Jane!" he then bitched out loud But I - in all honesty, in all defiance - didn't want to. I needed to take a stand. And that stand needed to be now while time was still early enough to take back my life.

  I stepped away from Dominic's Hummer, and stepped around the vehicle and decided against my own terms to walk to school instead but unfortunately I wouldn't get very far: Just off, maybe about half a block up the street, Dominic swerved his Hummer in front of me, cutting my path. I had to literally catch my breath 'cause he just about rammed his Hummer straight into me. A bolt of panic then shot through my body the second I glimpsed Dominic throwing the gear in park and jumping out of the driver's seat. I quickly took an unnerving step back as I anxiously glanced up and down my neighborhood in a frantic search for a passing car, a pedestrian, a vicious dog, even kids. . .I mean, just something that would give way to a possible rescue but to no avail.

  "What the hell is the matter with you!?" Dominic seethed with his face all up in mine. I couldn't answer him, I was too consumed with fear to even muster, let alone, too numbed to even move. "Get in the fucking car!" He snapped grabbing me rough by the arm and shoving me onto the back seat of his Hummer. "Drive, Tanya!" He then ordered Tanya while slamming the passenger door behind us. Dominic turned his attention back onto me and raised his hand to hit me but I quickly slid across the seat, covering my face to avoid him hitting me there but he never hits me. Instead he turned his attention back onto Tanya and told her to pull over.

  "Look at me, Jane," Dominic said after Tanya pulled the Hummer into another neighborhood and parked. But I didn't want to look at him. I didn't want to have anything to do with him! Inside I started to scream. Dominic grabbed my face. "You make it difficult for me when you behave like this," he complained.

  "Damn it, Dom!" Tanya bitched from the driver's seat. "It's seven - freaking - thirty in the morning! Do you have to bitch at her now?"

  "Was I fucking talking to you!?" Dominic snapped kick
ing the back of her seat. I flinched, and Dominic looked back at me. "She's hung-over." he then mused in his most charming demeanor. I could feel the corners of my mouth starting to curl but then I remind myself that this wasn't the time. I guess I could honestly admit that it gave me great satisfaction when Dominic bitched at Tanya for a change and not necessarily at me.

  "It's okay to smile, Jane." Dominic said suddenly which prompted me to glance his way. And I wasn't sure if he was being serious, or testing me? I shied down 'cause I honestly didn't care to know.

  As Dominic and Tanya traded seats, I stared out the window and tried to think of something pleasant but couldn't. The only thing that crossed my mind was relief that Dominic was able to restrain himself from beating me.

  I was tired. My body was tired. I went from having a period to just spotting. And I was dreading tonight. I hadn't forgotten what Dominic had said to me yesterday at the mall, about apologizing to Justin and making him accept my apology. And that hint of a threat he added did not help my already flustered nerves none.

  I ignored my classes, my teachers, lunch and PE and surrendered to sleep, either in class or in the nurse's office.

  "You don't look so well, Jane." Miss Walker said to me the minute I walked into her office and asked if I could nap for about fifteen minutes. "As a matter-of-fact you look famished, fatigued. Are you eating alright? Getting enough rest?"

  "Not as much as I would like." I confessed.

  "With eating or resting?"

  "Both, I guess." I stared past Miss Walker and desperately eyed the cot nestling cozy in the adjacent room just behind her.

  Miss Walker sighed and picked up her infamous kitchen timer and turned the knob. "I'll give you exactly twenty minutes, Jane," she then added, pointing to the room behind her.