by Roxy Gray
“Yeah?” Jasper grins, continuing to slam into me. Moisture coats the sheets beneath our bodies, the smell of my own arousal sweet in my nostrils.
Then, I feel the budding sensation again. It builds slowly. The muscles inside of me beginning to pulse. My fingers and toes go numb and the tingling spreads. My eyes shut. Then, I’m overcome by a powerful orgasm, so strong that I actually do scream.
“Yes, Jasper. Yes, fuck.”
He toys with my nipples as I explode around him. My hand rubs my clitoris as I go over the edge of pleasure, moaning into Jasper’s mouth. He rides my wave, pulling back to watch my face as I come undone.
“Yeah, fucking scream for me, baby,” he says gruffly as he stuffs me with his cock. There are no signs of it softening in the slightest. Jasper is an insatiable animal. He follows the rhythm of my body and brings me to orgasm again in a matter of minutes, this time sucking on my neck as I quiver beneath him.
“I’m gonna come,” he warns, his eyes squeezing shut as his jaw goes lax.
“Yes.” I dare him, eager to see.
Jasper pushes into me deep, his hands going to my breasts. A low moan exits his mouth, the sound primal and tantalizing. I feel his cock pulse as he erupts into my wet pussy.
“Holy shit,” Jasper breathes, gathering me against him.
“Mmmhmm,” I agree.
He lowers himself onto my breasts, wrapping me in a warm, damp hug. The small room smells of sex. It would smell of satisfaction, too, if it were possible.
Jasper stretches out onto his back beside me. I turn, nestling into his chest. A cloud of silence falls over us. His skin is still warm, and I trace it with one finger as he holds me, our breathing finally returning to normal.
“Want to go do something? Movie, or dinner?”
Jasper murmurs after a few minutes. I’m about to answer when my phone vibrates on the nightstand.
Bridgette: Hey – you might want to stop by. Amanda thinks she may have noticed something weird.
“Sure. I just need to run down the hall for a second…something for the school newspaper.”
“Okay,” Jasper says.
I give him a quick kiss before getting dressed and heading down the hall.
“Hey,” Bridgette says when she opens the door. Her voice is serious. “Come on in.”
I step inside to find Amanda in the living room crying. She’s sitting on the floor, her legs crossed beneath her.
“Hey, Ivy,” she sniffs, wiping at her blue eyes with a tissue. She looks different; not like her usual chipper self. She’s jittery, and her cheeks are streaked with black eye makeup. Her eyelids are puffy too. Even her blonde hair, which is normally perfectly coiffed, is secured in a messy bun on her head.
“What happened?” I ask, taking a seat beside her on the floor.
“You can’t tell anyone,” she says, dabbing at her moist cheeks. “It’s just a hunch.”
“Okay,” I agree.
“I noticed something,” she says slowly. “About the victims.”
“What is it?”
“Think about it. Violet has blonde hair and blue eyes. Fair skin. So does Simone. They have a similar build too, I noticed. The only one who doesn’t fit the profile is ―”
“Bridgette,” I say, finishing her sentence. I look over at her roommate, and Amanda’s point becomes abundantly clear. Bridgette has a head of red hair and a short, curvaceous figure. She and Violet look nothing alike.
“Right,” Amanda continues, her voice less bubbly than usual. “Look, I know we don’t really get along,” she states, avoiding my eyes. “But I know you’re looking into things. I thought you should know, just in case something happens to me.”
“Why would something happen to you?” I ask. As the words leave my mouth, the answer begins to sink in, and I understand why Amanda seems so fearful.
She has long, blonde hair. Her eyes are as blue as the sky. Her body is tall and modelesque. She definitely has some similarities to Violet appearance-wise. Simone too.
“So you think he has a type,” I state. “And you think you were meant to be the victim, not Bridgette.”
“Exactly.”
“That makes sense. You should tell this to the police.”
“We have,” Bridgette pipes in.
“Yeah,” Amanda says. “I don’t think they took me seriously though.” She frowns. “And another thing,” she says, lowering her voice.
“What?”
“Jasper has been acting weird since Violet went missing,” she whispers. “He hasn’t wanted to hook up at all, and he acts like he’s hiding something. I know I’m probably being paranoid, but it’s possible that this guy is living on our floor. I’ve been keeping an eye on the men at our end of the hall…I suggest you do the same,” she says.
“Already on it,” I say, though my mind goes back to the thought of Jasper and me in bed.
Maybe he’s not hooking up with Amanda because he wants you instead. Or maybe he’s hiding something from me too.
“I’ll let you know if I find anything,” I offer.
“Thanks, Ivy,” Amanda says. “We need to stick together on this.”
“Agreed,” I say, getting up to go. “Text me if you guys find out anything else.”
* * *
“This place has the best food,” Jasper says as the waiter sets our burgers down on the table.
We ended up at a pub called The Black Cat, right off the main strip in town.
“It looks good,” I say, taking a sip of the restaurant’s signature dark beer.
Jasper digs into his burger first, taking a big, sloppy bite. I cut mine in half, realizing it’s way too large for my mouth, and eat it using a fork.
“Wow,” Jasper laughs. “Did you just cut into your burger?”
I finish chewing before replying. “Yeah. So what?”
He grins at me from across the table.
“So nothing. Just never pegged you as fancy, that’s all.”
“Please,” I say sarcastically. “I’m a classy woman.”
“Mhmm,” Jasper chuckles.
I take another sip of my drink. As I put it down, he leans across the table and kisses me, right in the middle of the crowded restaurant.
“What was that for?” I ask after he pulls away.
“Had some foam on your lip.” He shrugs. “And I wanted to kiss you.”
Our feet find each others’ under the table, and I hold back a smile. I want to avoid giving Jasper the satisfaction of knowing he’s getting to me in a big way, but it seems impossible to hide.
“If someone had told me last year that I’d be grabbing a beer with Ivy Woods right now, I’d tell them to fuck off,” Jasper muses, taking a swig from his glass.
“Why’s that?”
“I was just so…far gone. So sad. And I hated you for it. I think I blamed you.”
“Blamed me? Why?” I ask, my forehead scrunching. I don’t want to be the reason for anyone’s misfortune, especially Jasper.
“I thought that if you hadn’t left, things would have been different.”
“Oh,” I say, my voice going quiet. “I didn’t know it affected you that much… I mean, so many years later.”
“I guess you just stuck with me, yeah?” Jasper says. His tone is halfway between a question and a statement.
“Guess so,” I pause. “I thought about you a lot, you know.”
“Same,” Jasper says.
We finish our beers and food, chatting about the past and where we’re headed now. As we make our way back home, Jasper holds my hand every step of the way. That evening, he sleeps in my bed, with me wrapped in his arms.
“Ivy, where are you?!”
I hear Violet’s distant voice, calling to me from the depth of the woods. It’s just before nightfall, and the air is cool and chilly. Bugs swarm around me, visible in the dome of my flashlight.
“Violet? I’m here!”
&n
bsp; Her voice lowers to a barely audible whisper.
“Ivy! Help, he’s coming!”
I run through the woods frantically, my arms catching on twigs as I make my own path. I move as quickly as I can, my arms turning bloody from the brambles alongside me.
“I’m almost there, Violet! Hold on!”
I can feel her up ahead. I know she’s there. I know she’s close by.
“I’m here, Ivy!”
As I come to a clearing, I notice a large hole, dug right in the center of the open grass. Ivy’s voice sounds from inside of it, growing softer by the minute.
I run to the hole, ready to jump in and save her.
“I’m coming, Ivy!”
I approach the depression in the earth, my heart racing. I have rope and first aid supplies. The ground crunches under my boots, and a chill runs down my spine. I peer over the edge, expecting to see Violet’s face.
“No!” I scream, sinking to my knees. “It’s impossible… I just heard you!”
The pit is full of bones and bodies, the stench putrid. Flies swarm them, crawling across brown remnants of flesh.
And on top of the bones, the worst sight of all ― an outfit that belonged to Violet. It’s torn and dirty. Resting beside it is a brick of cocaine.
Across the clearing, I notice a shadow moving out of the light. It’s him, I can feel it.
“I know what you did!” I scream, chasing after the hooded figure.
He doesn’t reply, but he quickens his pace, easily outrunning me.
“Jasper, is that you?”
I run as fast as I can, but he disappears into the dark woods. There I am, alone again, and Violet is lost for good.
7
___
BETRAYAL
IVY
“Ivy?” Jasper murmurs from the bed, his arm searching the sheets for me.
“I’m over here. I couldn’t sleep.” I call from my desk. I’m bent over my laptop, furiously typing all of the new case details into my latest newspaper article.
“Come here,” he says, holding one arm out to me.
I bring my computer with me, sitting down beside Jasper, who’s still only half-conscious.
“Why aren’t you asleep?”
“I dreamt about Violet,” I confess. “I’m not tired now.”
“Well, I am,” Jasper grumbles, pulling the blankets over his face. He’s not a morning person.
Not wanting to disturb Jasper again, I set up at the dining table, continuing to work on my article for the next while. My phone reads 3:30 AM, but my body has no desire for sleep. The twisted dream shook me to my core. I’m wide awake and ready to find answers. I hadn’t yet received any tips as a result of my first article series, but I’m hopeful that if I keep at it, someone will eventually spot Violet. They have to.
Unless she’s already dead.
The corners of my eyes begin to tear, and I squint them shut. I push the images of my putrid dream out of my mind, taking a few deep breaths to calm my nerves. I flick on a light before resuming my seat at the table.
When my fingers eventually slow on the keyboard and my article is near completion, I close it, pulling up Violet’s cloud account instead. I had been obsessively checking her messages every few days on the off chance that she received something new, though more likely than not, her phone is probably dead or destroyed by now.
Today, for the first time, the location of Violet’s phone is shown on the live map, a blue blinking dot in the middle of the forest. She’s alive, and she’s not too far away.
“Jasper?!” I call, hoping he’s awake enough to hear me. A minute later, a half-asleep Jasper emerges from my room. He’s shirtless and groggy-eyed, wearing just a pair of boxers. Behind him, he drags one of my blankets, wrapping it loosely around his shoulders.
“Yeah?” He yawns, running a palm through his messy hair.
“Violet’s phone is showing a location online,” I say, practically squealing in delight. “I’m going to go see if I can find her.”
Jasper comes up behind me, squinting at the screen.
“Shit,” he says. “What would she be doing in the woods?” He asks.
I gulp, feeling dread creep into my body once more. The image of the pit from my dream grows in the back of my mind.
“I don’t know. I just want to go get her back,” I say, going to put on my shoes.
“Ivy, it’s four in the morning,” Jasper yawns. “Why don’t we wait until it’s light out? Besides, you should contact the police first.”
I shake my head. “The police don’t believe anything I have to say. I want to see it for myself, then I’ll call them.”
Jasper frowns, and I can tell he doesn’t approve.
“Okay, fine. But let’s wait until morning, yeah? You won’t find her in the dark.”
I stare at the blue dot on the screen. It hasn’t moved since I discovered it.
“Okay,” I agree hesitantly. “I guess we can do that.” We’ll get there quickly in Jasper’s car, anyhow. I follow him to bed, this time going into his room.
“We’re going to get her back,” Jasper whispers as we lay down together. I focus on taking deep breaths, inhaling the intoxicating scent of his neck. Somehow, I eventually manage to sleep, even with thoughts of Violet spinning in my mind like flakes in a snow globe.
I will find her. I have to.
* * *
“How are you, Clay?” I ask him later in the kitchen. It’s finally morning, and I’m desperate to distract myself from Violet until Jasper wakes up.
“Pretty good,” he says, reaching for a cup of coffee. “I’m actually spending the night at my parent’s place ― I don’t have any classes on Fridays,” he says.
“Lucky you,” I smile. “Are they still in our old neighbourhood?”
“Yeah,” he says. “It’s only about an hour away, so I try to visit pretty often.”
“That’s good.”
“How are things with you and Jasper?” Clay asks, his voice low.
Great, I guess Jasper has been talking about me.
“They’re good, actually. Much better than before,” I grin.
“I figured.”
Clay casts a shy smile in my direction. “He’s been happier since you guys have been…hanging out.”
“He told you that?” I ask, surprised.
“Told who what?”
Jasper emerges from the bathroom in just a towel. A cloud of steam follows him.
“Oh nothing,” Clay teases him. “I was just telling Ivy to watch out for you. I’m heading into town, then to my folk’s place.”
He winks at Jasper before he leaves. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
He wheels a small piece of luggage with him to the door, cleaning his glasses before he swings it open.
“See ya, Clay,” I call from the kitchen.
“What were you guys talking about?” Jasper comes up behind me, pressing his bare chest to my back.
I shrug, “nothing, really. Clay was just teasing about us.”
“Oh,” Jasper grins, squeezing my hips. “He’s probably jealous that I get to sleep with the hottest girl in the building.”
“Hardly,” I chide. “I can’t believe you told him.”
He turns me away from the stove, bringing one hand under my chin.
“I’m pretty sure he heard us anyway, babe.”
“I hope not.”
I turn back to my cup of tea, which is finally done steeping. Jasper has more on his mind, though. He kisses my temple, bringing his hands up to weigh my breasts.
“You smell nice,” he murmurs, lifting the hem of my shirt.
I won’t let myself be distracted by him today.
“Uh-uh, mister. We’re going to find Violet, remember?” I remove his hands, going to sit at the table with my cup of tea.
“Alright, boss,” Jasper chuckles. “I’ll go get dressed and then we can leave.”
“Thank you.”
I take a sip from my mug, trying to silence all of the emotions whirling through me. Anxiety at what we might find, combined with excitement at the prospect of seeing Violet after all this time. Above all, anger at whoever took my best friend.
I’m skipping class again, but it doesn’t matter. All that matters is finding her.
In the car, I enter the GPS coordinates of Violet’s phone location.
“It’s thirty minutes away,” I say. “Past Lake Peach, off the highway.”
Jasper drives quickly, trying to lighten the mood by talking too much.
“Clay told me that he has a new girlfriend,” he mentions casually. “I think she lives near his parent’s place.”
“Oh, so that’s why he’s going home for the weekend,” I say, raising my eyebrows.
“Exactly,” he laughs. “Guess I’m not the only promiscuous one in the group anymore.”
“Please,” I laugh. “You’re all talk, no action. Well, maybe a little bit of action.”
Jasper reaches over, squeezing my thigh.
“Only a little?”
“Quiet,” I shush him with a smile.
“So, are you still planning to have Jamie help you with your homework?” Jasper asks, rolling his eyes as he turns off the highway.
“Yeah, probably. I mean, he offered, so why not?”
“Yeah, why not?” Jasper says sarcastically. He obviously isn’t pleased about me spending time with another guy.
“It’ll be fine. If it makes you feel any better, he wasn’t very good in bed.”
Jasper laughs. “You know what? That does make me feel better.”
Our conversation fades to silence, and I watch the map, directing Jasper to turn down a narrow dirt road.
“Okay, it should be just up here on the right,” I say my voice turning serious.
“Right here. Stop now.”
Jasper pulls the car to the side of the road. Seemingly, we’re in the middle of nowhere. There are no cars, no houses in sight. Just the stretch of narrow road in front of us, the calm wind and the chirping of morning birds.
I get out of the car, wandering to the side of the road so that I can gaze into the woods.
