by Vi Carter
He shakes his head. “Nope. I’d remember someone like you, Willow.”
His compliment should have my knees going weak. I see how every girl in the room watches him, but I don’t feel it—because you’re not like the rest of the girls, Willow.
I want to be, at this moment, I want to be normal so badly that I force a smile for Chad, and his eyes light up in victory.
“You want to play a game with a few of us?”
His offer is nice. I take another sip of the 7up. His eyes trail across my lips. “Sure.”
Without warning, he takes my hand in his. His warm flesh tightens around my fingers protectively. I’m staring at our hands as he moves us through the crowd. I should feel something, but it’s just a lump of warm flesh. Rian flashes in my mind. When he looks at me, he makes me quiver. I frown. I’m not sure that’s exactly a good thing. I look up as we move down steps. I’m ready to stop when Chad looks back at me and grins.
“It will be fun.”
The noise in the basement isn’t as loud as upstairs.I can’t see around Chad until we clear the steps. His group of friends from upstairs are here. All playing pool. I’m very aware I’m the only girl. One of his friends slaps another on the back to get his attention.
“What did I say?” Chad tells them, releasing my hand.
They clap his back like he’s just won a game of ball or something. I’m tempted to fold my arms at my waist, but I don’t want to look out of place.
“So we are playing pool?” I ask, and Chad looks back at me like he had forgotten I was here.
“Yeah, pool.” His grin is different, and fear reaches out and tightens around the base of my spine.
He holds out the cue and I take it. I hate how his friends stand back and watch us.
“There have to be stakes,” Chad says to me as he picks up the blue chalk cube and runs it along the tip of his cue.
“Okay.” I hadn’t played pool before, or was this snooker? I had no clue.
“So, ladies first. Name your price.”
I shrug and glance around at his friends. One drinks leisurely from a brown bottle. Two of the others are hunched over a table. I see the white powder and refocus on Chad.
“Fifty,” I say.
He nods. “Fifty it is. But if I win.” He walks around to me, and every alarm bell is ringing wildly. I clamp down on it.
“I get a blowjob.”
I’d laugh at his arrogance. All his friends are watching, and I know I am a fool for coming down here with him right now. It is time to leave.
I hand him back the cue; his smile falls from his face. “I’m not playing.” I turn on my heel and my foot touches the first step when a hand tightens around my waist.
“I’m only messing with you.”
I swing around and he releases me. “I’m still not playing.” I try to leave again, and this time, Chad pulls me back down into the room.
“What do you want?”
“Well, since you’re offering, I’ll take that blowjob now.” His smile is gone. I’m waiting for my wild panic to return, but right now, standing in front of Chad and his friends, I can’t get a grip on any feeling. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.
“You can have your pick of any girl upstairs. I’m sure they would give you what you want. But I’m not.”
I try to leave for the third time, and when his hand tightens painfully around my wrist, I know I’m not walking away from this. I glare up the stairs and think about shouting for help. Would anyone hear me with the loud music?
“No one will hear you,” Chad whispers in my ear like he just read my mind. His large hand reaches around, and he squeezes my breast almost painfully. I push back, and he stumbles.
“Don’t touch me.” My chest tightens, and it’s painful, like someone is sitting on my chest.
“You came down here knowing what I wanted. Now you want to tease me.” I’m dragged against his chest, and it’s like my limbs grow heavy. I’m moving until the base of my spine hits the pool table. Chad’s sloppy kisses coat my face, and I try to turn away. His large leg parts mine, and I’m back there at that moment that changed my life. I couldn’t take it all in then; I can’t take it in now. Chad's hand tugs at my dress, and it’s his friends’ howls that draw me from my numbness. I push him away and try to fix myself.
“Don’t be like that.” He laughs and draws me back.
My hand connects with his face, the sound rings out through the room, and his friends hiss before bursting into laughter.
“Don’t touch me.” I push away from the table and try to walk away. His slap has the power that most men possess. It sends me into a spin. I catch myself on the pool table. The pain rings through my head, and fear starts to claw its way across my body as he spins me around and his hands are heavier, rougher now.
“Stop!” My shouts only encourage him to grow rougher.
“Leave her alone, man.” I’m not sure which friend has spoken up, but Chad isn’t listening, and I’m not waiting for one of these boys to stop this.
“Chad, you won. You got her.” The same friend tries to reason with him. My hand reaches back as Chad’s fingers make their way into my panties. I grab two pool balls, and with all my force, I smash them into his head.
There’s a moment when he grows still before he stumbles back from me. Blood starts to drip from a wound on the side of his head. He reaches up, and his fingers come away slick with blood. His stunned face turns feral. I swing again and hit him. This time he falls to the ground. I fire the balls at his friends who duck, glass shatters, and I’m taking the stairs two at a time.
I hit a wall and collapsed onto the floor in a tangle of arms and legs.
“Calm down.” Brittany’s words penetrate my panic.
“Willow. What happened?” Brittany asks, but her gaze is drawn down the steps like she might know.
I’m up and running out of the house.
“Willow, please.” Brittany is quick on my heels. “Did Chad do something?”
“Why would you ask that?” I’m making my way back to her.
She shrugs, and guilt shines in her eyes. “I saw how he looked at you.”
I’m shaking my head. “Has he tried to force himself on someone before?”
More guilt. “You are as bad as he is.”
I turn, and her fingers tighten around my arm. I shove her off and fix my dress. I couldn’t ring my mother. I couldn’t tell her what just happened. I shouldn’t have gone down the steps. I take a few controlled breaths and glance back. Brittany hasn't left, but she also doesn’t come any closer.
I take the phone out of my bag. My heart slams against my chest as I dial Rian’s number, and it rings.
“Willow.” The moment I hear Rian’s voice, the storm in me settles.
“If you aren’t busy, could you pick me up from a party I’m at?”
There is a pause and I feel stupid.
“Give me the address.”
I glance at Brittany. “Address.”
She rattles it off, and I pass it onto Rian. “I’ll be standing outside.”
I hang up and run my fingers through my hair.
“Willow, I’m very sorry.” Brittany takes a step towards me.
“Go inside. I won’t tell anyone.”
I know that’s all she’s worried about.
“I want to make sure you get home okay.”
I can still feel Chad's hands on my skin. I feel dirty. My hand tightens around the purse, and I hold my head high. Glancing down at myself, I don’t see anything out of place. I appear fine. The black Bentley that comes around the corner has me ready to bolt towards it, but I walk slowly as Rian pulls up. He’s ready to get out, and I stop him, catching the door.
“There’s no need. We are leaving.” I close his door, and he stares at me through the glass as I walk around to the passenger side.
“Thank you for picking me up,” I say the moment I’m in. Nerves skitter through me when Rian doesn’t spe
ak. I’m afraid to look at him in case he can see something in my eyes.
“I’m tired. I'd like to go home.” Brittany is still standing on the lawn like a beacon. What is she waiting for?
“This is going to work two ways. One is that you tell me what happened. Two is I get out of this car and find out myself.”
I glance at Rian for the first time. His moss-green eyes are on fire, but otherwise, he appears his usual calm self. His gaze roams across my face, and something savage twists his lips. “Did someone put their hands on you?”
My face still burns from Chad’s slap, so I’m not surprised I’m marked. I force a smile. “You should see their face.” It wasn’t a lie, but I wanted to leave.
He reaches for the door handle and I quickly grab his arm, stopping him. “Please, Rian, just take me home.”
He pauses and stares up at the house like he might be able to see through the walls and into the house.
“You said you would do anything for me. Well, now all I’m asking is that you take me home. Please.” He releases the door handle and starts the engine. He doesn’t speak or look at me as we drive past the house. Brittany watches me, her eyes heavy with guilt. I need to distract myself.
“What’s the difference between pool and snooker?” I glance at Rian, his jaw is set, but he loosens it and tells me the difference. For a moment I think he might forget. That way I can forget, and things can go back to the way they were before.
CHAPTER TEN
RIAN
I pull up to the house and Willow tenses in her seat.
“Where were you playing pool?”
She’s distracted as she stares out the window. “In the basement.” Her head snaps around to me like she’s made a fatal mistake.
She has.
“Did you win?” I ask.
She swallows before nodding, her gaze bounces between me and the house.
“No,” Her whispered word has her clearing her throat. “I’ll go in the back door. I can’t let my mother see me like this.”
I drive slowly around the back of the house. The mark on her face is growing darker with each passing second.
“Please don’t say anything.” Willow unbuckles her seatbelt and sits up straight before running her shaky hands through her hair.
“To Catherine?”
Willow’s brown eyes grow wide briefly, but tonight I’ve seen more emotion out of her than at any other time. That tells me someone hurt her badly.
“Yeah, my mother would freak.”
I cross my heart. “I won’t breathe a word.”
A ghost of a smile coasts across her face, but it’s swallowed with her upheaval. “Thank you.” I don’t stop her as she climbs out of my car. I sit and watch her slip through the backdoor.
Taking out my phone, I glance up at all the windows. I don’t want Willow to get caught sneaking in.
“What’s up?”
“I need to hurt some people.”
“Will I meet you at your house?” Blitz asks, and this is why we are friends.
“Yeah. Wear dark clothes.”
“Why? are we breaking in?”
I glare at the back door like I might see Willow standing there with the hollowness in her eyes and a mark on her face.
“No. We are going in the front door, but it won’t be pretty.”
“See you in ten.” The humor in Blitz's voice travels through the phone before he hangs up.
My thoughts turn to how I’m going to hurt the person who hurt Willow. Climbing out of the car, I walk around and open the trunk. A shovel, baseball bat, and an iron bar, that was all that sat in the trunk. It was enough to do some serious damage.
***
“So, are you going to tell me who we are messing up?” Blitz climbs into the car. He’s dressed in a black hoodie and slacks.
“Why are you wearing a white shirt?”
I grin as I pull away from the house. “I want to see their blood on my clothes.”
Blitz laughs before taking out a pack of smokes and lighting one up. He offers me one, and I take it.
“So, what happened?”
After taking a few pulls, I flick half the cigarette out the window and try not to think about the mark on Willow. I’m too close to snapping. I’ve never hidden how I felt about Willow, but I didn’t speak of it either.
“Someone hurt Willow,” I say quickly as I turn off and onto the street that I had just picked Willow up from a few minutes ago.
Blitz doesn’t say anymore, and when I pull up to the house, he tucks his large frame down, and peers at the uptown residential property.
“Just follow my lead.” We climb out of the car and the adrenaline starts to bubble with the thoughts of hurting someone.
The girl who had stood on the lawn earlier opens the door—her gaze darts between me and Blitz. I smile, grabbing her attention and one arm along the frame of the door. I lean in close enough to her, that I see her pupils dilate.
“Show me where the basement is,” I say it nicely.
Her brows drag down, and she wavers. Her hand grips the door, and I warn her with a look not to even think of closing it. I stand up straight and lose the smile. She’s wise and steps aside, letting Blitz and me in.
Nearly everyone at the party is wasted, which will make this work to our advantage. I keep my head down, and Blitz drags his hood over his face, as the girl leads us to the basement door. She’s ready to dart when I grip her arm. Her chest grows red, and the panic in her eyes has them widening. I lean in close.
“You tell anyone I was here, and I’ll come visit you in the night.” I don’t look to her to make sure she understands my words. I don’t have to. The tremble in her arm that I still hold, tells me my message was received loud and clear.
I release her and jog down into the basement. A handful of guys are playing pool. The smell of weed is heavy in the air. I smile at the first guy who glares at me and takes a step in my direction. His fingers tighten around the cue stick and his chest puffs out.
“Who the fuck are you?” He chews gum as one of his friends stands to his left. Blitz pushes down his hood beside me. He’s big, significantly bigger than them, and I see the uncertainty in their eyes, that is, until the drink and drugs make these clowns brave.
Scanning the area, I see what I’m looking for. I walk around the two guys, and walk over to a brown leather couch.
“What do you want?” This guy holds an ice pack to his face.
“What happened to your face?” I ask, glancing back over my shoulder. All four guys are standing close to each other. Two of them holding the pool cues like weapons. The way they watch the guy on the couch tells me he’s in charge.
I turn back to him as he opens his eyes and sits closer to the edge with a smirk on his face. “Who’s asking?”
Snickers erupt behind me.
“Are you as dumb as you look? I fucking asked.” I kneel close to his face, letting him know he’s no threat to me.
Indecision flickers across his eyes. “Do you remember Willow?”
His gaze darts to his friends. I snap my fingers, regaining his attention, and his irritation.
“That mad bitch couldn’t take a joke. She fucking attacked me.”
I nod and rise to my feet. Chad stands too, and I think that’s wise.
“So, this is what’s going to happen. You are going to tell me everything you did to Willow.”
He pushes the ice pack back up to his face and smirks. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”
I nod and look back at Blitz. “I tried to do this the nice way.”
“Chad.” A guy with a mop of red curls steps forward. He sways slightly and squints at me. His behavior isn’t from drinking. “I know who he is.”
I fold my arms across my chest and face the redhead. “Who am I?” I ask him.
“Who the fuck cares!” Chad barks from behind me, and I’m looking forward to hurting him.
The redhead starts to back away from the room, and Bl
itz blocks his path. “No one is leaving without my say so.”
“Listen here, dipshit…” I’ve had enough of Chad's back talk. Without turning, I drive my elbow into his face and walk towards his four friends as he roars behind me.
“Who wants to sing like a canary first?”
I’m speaking directly to the redhead. He’s the weak link. There’s always a link weak; you just have to know where to look.
“Chad hurt her. Not me.” He sings like I knew he would.
Blitz grabs his shoulders, keeping him in place.
“Shut the fuck up, Derek.” Chad is on his feet.
I hold up a finger to Derek. “One second, Derek.” I turn and walk back to Chad, who’s pushing back his shoulders like he might have a chance against me. His face is a bloody mess. I don’t pause as I drive my fist into his nose. The crunch of his nose under my ringed fingers is satisfying along with the spray of blood. He grips his face and spins away. I return to Derek.
“Sorry about that, Derek. So, I’m wondering…” I eye each one of Chad’s friends. “...what each one of you was doing while Chad hurt Willow?”
“What… what do you mean?” Derek is sweating, as he should be.
“If you help someone get rid of a body, it makes you as responsible as the person who committed the murder.” I smile at Blitz. “Isn’t that right?”
Derek glances over his shoulder at Blitz, who squeezes his shoulder painfully. “That’s right.”
“So, to me, each one of you is as guilty as Chad.” I glance at Chad, who’s bent at the waist, still nursing his face.
“He wanted a blowjob, and she wouldn’t give it. I tried to stop it.” I’m staring into a set of terrified blue eyes, and I can’t slow down the blood that fuels through my system. I can’t stop the darkness that moves along the edge of my vision. Chad subjected my Willow to this.
Blitz’s mouth moves. I’m pretty sure he says, “Oh, Shit”. Before I lose it.
***
My rings fall into the sink. I pull off my shirt that’s soaking in their blood and let it fall to the floor. My left fist is ripped to the bone and my blood mingled with theirs. Turning on the shower, I step under the spray.
