"Go ahead Molli, I don't give a shit."
But she felt more than a little guilty about the things she had said. Jude's little sisters were adorable sweet little girls. And his brother was brilliant. He could do things with a computer at thirteen that half the adults who worked jobs in the computer industry couldn't. His parents weren't so bad really she thought, even if his dad was an alcoholic. His mom did nothing more than smoke pot on occasion. And they both worked hard at their jobs, trying to make a better life for their four kids.
"Jude would have broken up with you anyway. It was just a matter of time before someone better came along. Someone prettier and not so uptight who was willing to do the things for him that a woman does for a man."
God Tory thought, having to fight down the bile that suddenly rose to her throat, is she talking about giving him head? Taking a gulp of her soda, Tory turned away from Molli. "Have a nice day Molli. Tell Jude I said 'hi'."
"Why don't you tell your little not boyfriend that likes to suck on your neck that Molli said hi? Why don't you just tell me who he is Tory so I can turn his head? I don't want him for myself but it would feel so good to know that I effortlessly took another guy from you."
Fighting the sudden adolescent urge to flip the bitch off, Tory walked to the door, and left the school.
She made good time, walking quickly to burn off the pent up anger. A cigarette sounded so good by the time that she reached Tony's house that she could practically taste it. She opened the door, and noticed Carl was asleep on the couch. Having made it to the bedroom without tripping over anything, she knocked lightly on the bedroom door.
"Who is it?" Tony still sounded half asleep. Tory wondered if she'd woken him, though it was already well after noon.
"It's Tory."
"C'mon in babe."
She thought that he looked a little guilty when she opened the door and closed it behind her. She wondered if he'd been with someone else as recently as that morning. Did she detect a hint of cheap perfume in the air or was she imagining things?
He patted the bed, and when she sat down, she noticed he was naked. He was sprawled out on the bed on his belly, the fitted sheet having worked itself halfway off of the bed, the top sheet pulled across his body.
"Did I wake you?"
"Nah, I been up for a while, just been too lazy to get out of bed."
He turned over onto his back; yawning. Again she caught that little flash of guilt in his eyes. Glancing towards the closed bathroom door, she strained to hear, but heard nothing besides the drip of water in the bathroom sink.
"Hand me a smoke will ya baby?" He motioned to the pack on the dresser.
Crossing the room, she fought the urge to throw open the bathroom door and prove to herself there was no one in there. She was probably just being paranoid, she thought as she shook two cigarettes out of the pack, lighting hers and then going back to the bed to give Tony his.
Molli's threat hadn't really bothered her, because it was unlikely that she would be able to find out who Tory was screwing. But it had pissed her off, because Tory believed with everything she had, that did Molli get the chance to steal yet another guy away from her, she would do so without a second thought.
Though it would be a little hard to steal Tony she thought, since he wasn't exactly hers. She did feel a little protective of him though, she thought as she reached over and ran a hand across his toned chest.
"You've got magic hands Tory. How ‘bout you move that hand a little lower?"
"Perv."
"Damn right I am. And you love it. Got a new movie last night. Wanna watch it with me?"
"Ugh, no more porn Tony."
"It's not porn. Now who's the pervert? It's that new horror movie you wanted to see."
"Oh," Tory said, slightly chagrined. "Carl's still sleeping in the living room."
"We can watch it in the other bedroom. There's a TV in there."
"Okay.” She started to rise from the bed, wondering why Carl wasn't sleeping in the other bedroom instead of the living room.
"If you think I'm gonna let you out of this room without sex you are wrong." He pulled her back down with him. "But I really am out of condoms this time. Used the last one this morning. Sorry baby."
"Damn it Tony." She didn’t know if he was apologizing for being with someone else, or for being out of rubbers.
"I didn't say I used it Tory. Carl did, screwing some tweaker. I gave her some shit for free, because he ain't been laid in a while."
"Oh."
Tory wondered for a moment if he was telling the truth. She didn't doubt that he'd probably given some woman meth for screwing his cousin, but had it been only Carl that she'd been with? Tory could tell that she hadn't been imagining the smell of cheap perfume. She could really smell it now.
But did she have a right to expect Tony to be faithful to her she thought?
Sighing as Tony reached behind her to undo her bra, as much in pleasure as in confusion, she unbuttoned her jeans. Was she really going to be so stupid as to have sex with him without protection? She could easily refuse and he would have to go to the store.
He might not be too thrilled about it because she could feel his arousal pressing against her leg as he caressed her now bare breasts, but he would probably do it all the same she thought.
"Tony.”
"Yes?" He looked up at her with lust in his hazel eyes.
"Do you really think we should do this?"
He laughed. "Of course we should do this. We've been doing this for a while now and you never complained before."
"Asshole." She tried to glare at him but it wasn't working because his hands were still at work on her breasts. He dropped his head to take her nipple into his mouth. She could still feel his erection against her leg. "You know what I mean damn it. How smart is it to screw without a rubber? What if I get pregnant?"
"You're not gonna get pregnant. And if you do we'll deal with it. Trust me Tory. Tony will take care of you."
"Damn it." Her protest turned into a moan as he pressed her gently back onto the bed, and had slipped inside her before she could protest further.
Somehow Tory thought that it was the best sex they'd ever had, although it was quick. He had finished both her and himself off in ten minutes and was already reaching for a cigarette.
"Tony.” She had to know. If he lied to her again she thought she'd be able to tell. "Did you happen to let Carl use your bed when he uh. . ."
"Yeah. Why?"
She searched his eyes as he handed her a cigarette. It looked like he was telling the truth she thought, and that would explain the perfume hanging in the air. But there were other things that didn't make sense.
"Why didn't they use the other bedroom?”
"There's only an air mattress in there and it doesn't have sheets. My last roommate left it behind when I had to kick him out. He had the nerve to try to help himself to my personal stash when I wasn't around. I kinda think he had a thing for me, too. Guess nobody can resist me."
She rolled her eyes at him. "So he left his TV, too?"
"Yeah. It's a pretty nice one, too. I don't think he thought he had much of a leg to stand on when he got caught digging through my shit looking for my coke and didn't have the rent money. I think it finally cemented it when I threatened to kick the shit out of him if he didn't get his sorry ass out of here." He grinned.
"Didn't you worry that he'd tell the cops that you were dealing?"
"Honey, Carl's dad is a cop. Who happens to have an on again off again coke habit himself. And Aunt Lorelei is practically a hippie. Smokes pot at least every other day. It works wonders for her migraines. So as long as I don't do anything too bad, like selling heroin to a twelve year old or something ridiculous like that, and I keep an eye on Carl, I’m cool."
"Oh.” She guessed that it made sense, in a twisted kind of way.
"Tony's not such a bad guy is he? I refuse to sell to anyone who looks under sixteen. And I only sell the hard shit
to people who are at least my age."
"But didn't you ever want something more Tony?"
He sighed. "Of course I did. But my dad died right before I turned eighteen. He got mowed down by some drunk asshole when he was trying to cross the road to get to his car. My mom lost it. She blew most of the money from my dad's insurance policy in two weeks and half of my college fund, too. She didn't come to my graduation. And now she's in some mental health facility, so out of it on medication that she still has full blown conversations with my dad."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry baby. None of it was your fault. And I saw the look on your face when you came in here and smelled that tweaker's perfume. You don't have to worry darlin'. I've given up my girls on the side. Though I do miss the blow jobs. Can't let you anywhere near my dick with your mouth though, with how much you like to bite."
"Who says I'd want to?"
"Now, now Tory be nice. I just poured out my heart to you, told you that you have me all to yourself; and you kick me when I'm down? That's cruel."
She gave him a wicked grin. "You wanna take a shower with me? Scrub my back and other undisclosed places?"
"I'm a damn good back scrubber, and women only places happen to be my specialty." He had a wicked grin of his own as he pulled her to her feet and to the shower.
After they had finished, Tory wrinkled her nose, noticing the same dirty towel that she'd gotten rid of the other day was back on the towel rack.
"Don't you ever do laundry Tony?"
"Of course I do. I just get distracted sometimes, like when a certain hot seventeen year old happens to show up on my door step, begging me for sex."
"Begging?"
"Oh, begging me, seducing me, it's all the same. I'll do the laundry tomorrow. We've got a movie to watch. I bought it just for my favorite girl, so it had better be good."
They went back to the bedroom, dressing quickly. When they moved down the hall to the other bedroom, they could hear Carl groaning from the couch.
"You got anything to eat Tone?"
"There's stuff in the fridge to make sandwiches with. Or if you want something else I'll give you some money to run to the store. Why don't you do that Carl? Pick up some chips and get yourself some fast food or whatever. But make sure you go to that store that doesn't care if you buy rubbers no matter how old you are. I don't think that this girl will let me get away with getting lucky without one twice."
Tory hid her face in Tony's shoulder. She could feel herself blushing. While she knew it was stupid because Carl obviously knew they were having sex, it still bugged her that Tony talked so casually about it.
It was like it was nothing to him. And it was something to her. She'd given her virginity to him, and that at least meant something she thought. Tony gave her a kiss that left her even more embarrassed because he could never seem to keep his tongue out of her mouth when he kissed her, then went back to the bedroom to retrieve his wallet.
"Carl, I. . ." Tory started.
"Don't let him bother you Tory. Tony doesn't take much seriously. And don't be embarrassed about all the sex talk. We're all adults, or sort of." He gave her a crooked grin.
"You talkin’ about me kid?" Tony came out of the bedroom and handed his cousin two twenties.
"I was just trying to calm your girl down. I think you embarrassed her."
"Nah, Tory's used to me by now, right baby?"
"Sure Tony.” She gave him a weak smile.
"You need some money for gas kid?"
"My dad gave me some last night. And stop calling me kid asshole, or I might have to steal Tory away from you. She's closer to my age."
"Hands off my babe, ki. . . Carl or I might have to tell your dad that you didn't study for your history test and only got a C."
"All right," Carl relented, grabbing the jeep keys from the coffee table and going out the door.
"He got a C without studying? That's not so bad. I know a lot of girls at my school who can only barely manage a C when they study."
"Yeah, but he's smarter than that. He's gonna do better than all of us. He wants to be a cop but I think he should take it further. If the kid put his mind to it, I think he could be FBI someday or some shit like that. He's just gonna have to get out of this nowhere town to do anything, or he'll end up on patrol for the rest of his life like his old man. Enough with the blabbing." He pulled her towards the bedroom. "We got a movie to watch."
Chapter 4
Thanksgiving
"Shit," Tory, muttered, rolling over and crawling out of bed. She had a hangover from spending last night at Tony's house partying. Her head was pounding. The outside halls were quiet, too quiet, she thought. She felt like she was the only one who hadn't went home for the holiday, as Lindsey and Langston were out of town, supposedly on some sort of 'business' trip. Tory figured they were on another cruise like last year.
Sometimes it really sucked to have a mother who didn't give a shit. Not that Thanksgiving had ever meant anything to her mother she thought. She didn't cook. Thanksgiving dinner was usually prepared by a cook who probably had to go home and cook Thanksgiving dinner for their own family afterward. Or at some restaurant where Tory always ended up being the only one who ordered turkey, trying to pretend she had a normal family.
Thanksgivings with her grandparents had been nice. She'd been able to see her dad. But since they were dead and her dad had chosen to cut himself off from civilization, she found herself alone for the "family" holiday. Her dad had sent her some corny card, enclosing a beautiful picture of a starry sky and $50.
Her mom hadn't forgotten her allowance so all in all she guessed she couldn't complain too much. She'd been invited to have dinner with Tony and Carl's family but she'd declined. Even if Tony was being 'faithful' to her, she hadn't wanted to deal with the whole girlfriend meeting the family thing as she was still a little confused about their relationship.
The sex was still good, though she’d had a pregnancy scare right before Halloween when her period was late. Tony's calmness had left her feeling warm and fuzzy about him for days afterward. But even after her period had made an appearance much to her relief, she didn't like to think of their relationship as anything more than sex.
She'd used the toilet and while she was digging around in her bag for the bottle of aspirin she knew had to be in there somewhere, an idea struck her. The school was virtually empty. While she knew there were security guards around somewhere, none of the room doors locked. She knew where the rooms of certain girls were, girls that she would like nothing more than to wipe the smug smiles off of their faces.
What had looked like a boring day could turn into a hell of a lot of fun, Tory thought as she washed the aspirin down with a room temperature soda.
Molli's room was on the third floor. She dressed in her tan running shoes, dark jeans and a hooded sweatshirt, and slipped out of the room, hands stuffed into her pockets to cover the gloves.
She stood still for a minute, and thought she could hear voices coming from the first floor. Probably the security guards that were supposed to be out patrolling the grounds, chatting over coffee she thought. Oh well, she didn't give a shit as long as they didn't catch her. And she could probably play it off if they did. The guards had little interaction with the girls, and would probably have no idea that she didn't live on the third floor.
And maybe they would feel sorry for her she thought, because circumstances sometimes being what they were, the girls were allowed to remain at the school at all times during the school year. There was always somebody's parents who were away even during the holidays being the mostly rich folk that they were, though Tory had a feeling that if she wasn't the only girl still at school she was pretty damn close.
She went to the stairwell and made her way to the third floor. Coming to the door that opened onto the dorm rooms, she paused for a moment, opening the door about halfway and peeking out into the hallway. There was no one in the hallway. She could hear none of the telltale mu
sic or chattering that usually signified that someone was around.
Taking a deep breath, she moved out into the hallway, closing the door quietly behind her. Standing still for a moment, she glanced down the long hallway to Molli's room; which was at the end on the right hand side. Moving silently, still on the alert for any sound indicating that the guards were coming, she made her way to the room that Molli shared with Mellenda; one of the few girls in the school who was beautiful and not stuck up about it.
Tory had tutored her in English the year before. She figured that she wouldn't touch anything of Mellenda's since the girl had been nice to her, though they weren't exactly friends, only saying hello if they ran into each other in the halls or sometimes chatting a bit in class.
She figured that it wouldn't be too hard to tell which side of the room belonged to which girl as Mellenda was always neat and Molli was a little messy at the least. She paused once more to check behind her, and opened the door quietly, stepping into the room. She switched the light on above the desk, and closed the door behind her, breathing a sigh of relief.
She was in she thought, now all she had to do was get out without getting caught. She noticed the picture of Jude and Molli sitting on the dresser, and picked it up figuring that probably meant this was Molli's side of the dresser.
She scowled at the picture, fighting the urge to drop the frame on the floor and step on it, break out the glass and rip the picture out and tear into a thousand tiny pieces. Then she happened to glance in the wastebasket beside the door. She set the picture back on the dresser, and bent to take a closer look into the small brightly colored plastic wastebasket.
Was that a pregnancy test she thought? With a little wince, grossed out by the idea that either Mellenda or Molli had pissed on the thing; she picked up the small plastic stick. Holy crap, it was positive, Tory thought, as she placed it back in the trash can. But Mellenda wouldn't be stupid enough to get knocked up-she had plans for her life. Then it had to be Molli, though why she would be stupid enough to leave the damn thing out in the trash can like that Tory had no idea.
Oh god she thought, slumping down to the floor beside the dresser. "How could you Jude?" She whispered. "You fucking idiot.” She reached up to take the picture from the dresser and stood up, smashing it beneath her foot.
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