That’s when I remember the Marine. I remember him picking me up and not letting me go home alone. The way he kissed me, the way his tongue was so eager that I almost felt like he was trying to choke me on it. I’d been afraid of telling him that I was still in high school and that I was underage. I knew that he wasn’t going to do anything with me if he knew how old I was. Marines have honor and stuff like that which would hinder him from having me. After all, I’d just finished things with Glenn for good and I needed someone to take him out of my mind. He’d been great in the truck and thankfully, Mom and Dad are out of town, so I invited him in.
That’s when he gave me the fuck of a lifetime. I lie there on my bed, looking down at my cold, perky nipples and remember how he’d picked me up like I was nothing. My legs wrapped around him while he held me up, my hands clamped behind his neck as he pounded me again and again. It had been so fantastic. Lying there, I feel the cramping, the aching downstairs where he’d been so freely rough and dangerously eager to have me. I think we had sex twice. Looking over at my shirt crumpled on the floor, I remember him shooting his load across my chest the first time. And that’s when I remember him shooting his second load inside of me.
“Jesus,” I groan, rubbing my face and running my hands through my hair. Why the fuck would he do that? What if I wasn’t on the pill? He’d be coming home from wherever Marines go, to me living in a shitty apartment with his child. I shake my head. I need to go take my pill and pray there isn’t some little bastard inside of me. Life isn’t as sacred as most make it out to be. I think it’s all a little overrated. So far as I’ve seen, life isn’t that great.
Getting up, I feel the warm fluids run down my leg and it makes me shiver. Men really are quite disgusting, the more I think about them. Grabbing a tissue off of my nightstand, I wipe my inner thigh, wondering how long it’s just been sitting inside of me. Walking to my door, I pull it open as I claw at the crusted sperm that’s on my chest. I don’t remember him going a third time, but maybe he did after I passed out. That’s just great, a creepy Marine. Part of me wonders where I can get ahold of him again. Creepy or not, last night was fantastic and Mom and Dad are going to be out of town for a few more days.
Walking out of my room and down the hall, I’m not worried about Tim. He’s never awake this early and honestly, it’s so damn hot that I want to walk naked through the house. It’s not something I’m able to do very often and it’s quite refreshing. I close my eyes and sway while I walk, not yet completely sober. I open my eyes as I grope for the handle to the bathroom. I look down the hallway and see Tim standing in his doorway staring at me.
“Stop staring, you little pervert,” I snap at him. He’s the most annoying brother ever. God, he isn’t even my brother. Even after all of these years, he’s still just a step-brother to me. I never quite made the connection that Mom and Dad were hoping for. I think of Mark as my dad now, but I don’t think I’ll ever think of Tim as my brother.
“Stop walking around naked,” Tim snaps back at me.
“Fuck off,” I growl, not wanting to deal with him this early.
“I saw you fucking that dude last night,” Tim shouts back at me. “I saw him riding you like a slut. I saw him fucking you like you were his bitch. Does Glenn know you’re fucking other dudes?”
“You breathe a word of this, Tim, and I’ll chop your balls off and make you eat them.” I glare at him, standing bare-ass naked in front of him. He’s looking at my breasts and I want to slap him across the face. After he keeps staring at them, I do slap him. “Not a fucking word,” I hiss at him.
“You’re such a bitch.” He’s holding a hand to his cheek. He slinks into his bedroom and slams the door shut. I think about Tim about as much as I think about sea sponges and yetis, which is only when weird shit happens. I feel the cold spot on my stomach where I found the sperm. Part of me thinks it was him. The little pervert was probably feeling me up while I was passed out.
“Fucker,” I growl at his door before I go into the bathroom to shower.
I take a quick shower and blow-dry my hair the moment I get out. I have a rigorous system that I don’t ever stray from. After moisturizing, I go back to my room and put on my makeup. I make it quick, knowing that I’m already going to be late. To be the most beautiful girl in school, it takes discipline and a willingness to put in the time and effort that’s required to claim that title. It takes an attitude that will take no prisoners and show no mercy either. I mean, ripping out a girl’s earring is necessary to show that I’m in charge. I don’t take no for an answer and when bitches try to climb over me on the social ladder, I kick their asses. Glenn couldn’t handle that and honestly, no one at that school can. I close my eyes as I curl my hair, thinking about my Marine. I wonder how I can find him again. He’d been at the club last night. Maybe I’ll go back there tonight, see if he’s around.
I finish doing my hair and go back to the bathroom to check my makeup in better lighting. Looking down the hallway, I see that little bastard getting ready, not showering, like some kind of savage. Honestly, he’d been three when Mom married Dad, so what the hell went wrong with him? Too much videogames, honestly. But then again, I wouldn’t know how to raise a boy either. They’re just little animals. He looks at me and I flip him the bird as I go into my room, leaving the door open.
I pull on a tight pencil skirt that makes my ass look perfect. Honestly, there are girls that go to the gym every day and try to get an ass like mine and I was blessed with it naturally. Sure, I go to the gym as much as everyone else, but it’s not like I need it. Putting on my black bra, I pull on a top that hangs low over one of my shoulders. Pushing down my bra strap, I keep it looking classy, throwing on some bangles and hoop earrings. I look at myself in the mirror after my makeup and getting dressed, and I can’t help but wonder why any other girls try. I mean, I’ve got it all. I’ve got good grades, killer looks, and I’m as athletic as any of them. It’s amazing to think that this is senior year and that I’m going to be graduating in just a few short months, early. All those tight-ass bitches can fuck off while I’m heading off to college early. I close my eyes. Florida State is going to be so amazing. Dad had pulled strings to make sure that I get in with the best classes early and that I’m not drowning when I get there.
Putting on some wedges, I grab my bag and walk out to the kitchen, slinging my bag onto the dining table before Tim can put his there. He looks at me with angry eyes. “Whore,” he growls at me. I flip him off as I go to the fridge and get a container of Greek yogurt. I put my organic granola in it and eat it as quickly as I can. I need to get to school so I can talk to Kim and Christy. They’re going to die when I tell them what I did last night. I’m sure that everyone has already heard about me chewing Glenn out at his own party and storming off. Instagram and Twitter had been alive all night, no doubt. Well, they’re going to enjoy it a whole lot more when I tell them that I went out and fucked a Marine right after. I have to admit, it’s a little whorish, but I don’t care. Anything to teach that piece of shit he can’t just treat me like his sex slave and expect me to respect him.
I toss my spoon in the sink and head for the garage, grabbing the keys to the Nissan as I go. Tim shouts after me, asking if he can catch a ride. All I do is flip him the bird. After all, isn’t that what a whore would do? I throw my bag into the passenger seat, smacking the armrest and watching it come to rest as I step into the car, hitting the garage door opener. As light fills the garage, I turn the car on and get the hell out of that house. As I’m pulling out, I make a mental checklist of the things I need to do tonight. I need to wash my clothes from last night, along with my bedding to get the stench of sex and Mike’s Hard Lemonade out of my room. Secondly, I need to do something to keep Tim’s mouth shut so he won’t blab to Mom and Dad. Usually he’s pretty good, but I was pissing him off a lot today.
Parking in the senior parking lot, I get out and make my way across the asphalt. It’s not even eight yet and it’s so damn hot that
I feel like I’m melting. Before I even get to the sidewalk, I notice several guys nodding to me, smiling at me, and a few of them even winked at me. I smile more and more when I start hearing the catcalls. I’m back on the market and they all want a piece of me. After all, who wouldn’t?
I make it to the side entrance and Kim and Christy are already waiting for me. They rush toward me, squealing with excitement. They beg me to tell them the story about what I did to Glenn. So I tell them with every oozing, delicious, gushing detail of how I humiliated him in front of all of his friends. I even tell them the part where I told them all that his dick was like a shriveled worm. They laugh and gasp, knowing that the aftershocks of this fight are going to ripple through the entire school for the rest of the year. I have toppled the entire fucking dynasty and they know it’s only a matter of time before someone is vying for Glenn’s spot as dating the hottest girl at the school. I’m up for contestants stepping forward. Maybe I’ll have them fight each other. After all, I’m Queen of Parker High now.
“So what did you do afterwards?” Christy leans in as I open my locker and start emptying my notebooks and binders into it. I look at her with a mischievous grin that’s too tantalizing for her to keep quiet. She’s grinning like a joker now and leans in. “What did you do?” she practically screams with excitement.
I put my finger to my lips and lean in so only the two of them can hear me. “On my way back to the club, I met a guy,” I tell them. They look at me with wide, hungry eyes, begging for more. “He was a Marine.”
“A Marine?” Kim furrows her flawless brow. “Like a soldier?”
I nod to her.
“So what did you do?” Christy butts in. “Did you make out?”
“Oh no,” I tell her with an even more mischievous grin spreading across my lips. “We did more than just make out. We fucked all night long.” They cover their mouths, their eyes illuminate with such delight and satisfaction in the gossip that I’m certain they’re going to die. I look at them and laugh, watching them giggling and smiling like hyenas. “No, he was the perfect little soldier,” I tell them. “His cock would salute me.” They burst out laughing again. “It would stand at attention when I told it to, and it would divide and, oh my, it would conquer.”
“You didn’t,” Christy gasps with envious delight.
“Oh I did,” I tell her with excitement. I hope that word will spread. I hope they don’t keep it to themselves. I want Glenn to hear down the grapevine how I fucked my soldier so much, it was hard to walk in the morning. “We did it three times until there was nothing left,” I tell them. “And that doesn’t include oral.”
“You went down on him?” Kim gasps in something that’s almost disgust. “You don’t even know him.”
“Oh, Kim,” I smile. “I made him go down on me.”
They burst into laughter as I close my locker and smack Christy’s perfect little ass, watching it barely jiggle, staying rock solid. I have to admit, she’s got one perfect ass. It might even rival mine. She smiles at me and shakes her head, mouthing the word ‘slut’ to me as she heads down the hall with Kim to their first class. I grin and nod to her.
I look at the clock on the wall and see that I’ve got about five minutes to make it to Mr. Percy’s trig class. I hate that class and he’s always trying to look down my shirt. I mean, if he really thinks that I’m going to stay after class one day to get some special tutoring from him, he’s been watching too much porn. I want balding, beer-bellied men just about as much as I want the clap. I look toward the doors, hoping to see if Glenn is coming through, his head held low in shame, but there’s nothing there at the entrance. Except for an older man.
He’s got gray sprouting in his dark head of hair. It’s starting at the temples with a light dusting and honestly, he has the square jaw of some kind of superhero. It almost doesn’t look real how rugged and dangerous, yet mysterious and charming that he appears. I swear, he just stepped off the set of some noir movie. He’s tall and he has a strong build that makes me wonder how much he works out. Over all, there’s this sense that I know who he is. He looks familiar, enough so that I take a step toward him.
Then he sees me. I mean that he really sees me. He looks into my eyes and it’s almost as if he knows. He knows everything. He sees me for what I am and it is not pretty. He sees me for the vile dark thing that I’ve become. I lock eyes with him and for some reason I feel terror, no, I feel dread. All I want to do is run. He looks at me with such fire and hatred that I feel my throat seize up and my bones turn cold. I can almost feel something inside my chest clawing me up inside, riling up to dart out of me at the soonest chance it can get. I want to run. He opens his mouth and shouts my name.
“Alice!” he roars, pointing a finger at me and I know that he means to kill me. I know that he’s here with deadly intent.
I turn and run. I run as fast as I can in my wedges. Wrapping my arms around my chest, I feel cold all of the sudden, brittle and frigid, like driftwood in the Arctic Ocean. I ram into everyone around me, shoving them aside as I slam into them with my shoulders. Some of them go flailing as I feel the tundra growing inside my soul, like something paralytic has stung me in the heart and the rest of me is crippled and shutting down. I feel like I’m dying and I know if that man catches me, I’m going to die. I know that he’s going to kill me. Somewhere on his body, he has a gun and that gun has a bullet with my name on it. I can see images inside the depths of my mind of my head whipping back, a cone of crimson ripping out of the back of my head as gray brain matter spatters against the floor and walls. I know that this man is going to kill me.
As I slam into someone, suddenly the cold is gone. I feel it rip off of me as if I were wrapped in a blanket and it had gotten caught in a tree or something, pulling violently free from me, lifting from my shoulders and floating away into oblivion. I almost want to look back and see what has happened. I don’t though, because now that the cold is gone, I can feel only stillness. I can feel only the vacancy of where it was. It’s like a tornado has ripped through me and where my heart, lungs, liver, and stomach used to be, there is only rubble and debris, ashes falling among my bones.
I look at the counselor’s office. I look at the doorknob, all shiny and round. I had always thought that that doorknob was the shiniest thing in the entire school and that it would be a shame if they replaced it. I lower my head, bending over in a ninety degree angle as I run. I can hear the man behind me. I can hear him coming for me. I can hear death storming through the hallway. He sees me. He sees me for what I am. I can’t let him get me.
I run with all the speed and force that I can muster. I run as fast as I can. Squeezing my eyes shut, I feel a sudden, rattling thud as I hit the doorknob with the top of my head. I hear the sickening punch as the handle caves in my skull. In my spine each vertebra collides, all of them jamming together like a terrible traffic pile up. I feel a sudden emptiness as my legs give out, my arms go limp. I fall flat on the floor. All I can feel is the stillness, the warmth of blood gushing out of the top of my head. My bones don’t feel right in my face. Everything feels askew. Everything feels like it’s shifted. Oh God, I’m dying.
There’s something inside of me. There’s something wrong with me. I want to cry out, but I can only taste blood in my mouth and I think I’m missing my tongue. I move my eyes to check. There it is, lying just a few inches from my lips on the white linoleum as blood pours out of my perfect, glossy lips. I’m dying. There’s something inside of me, crawling out of me. I can feel it. It’s leaving me here. It’s abandoning me. It’s left me here to die. Oh God, what’s happening to me?
VI
The school looks like it’s been here for maybe five years and already it has housed legions of children, sending them through the wood chipper of public education and churning them out upon the world like salmon swimming upstream toward the waiting bears.
Wrapping my fingers around the door handle. I pull open the door and I’m instantly greeted in the foyer b
y so many teenagers that it’s nauseating. I look at them with disdain and without a single drop of respect for any of them. Most of them are greasy-haired lowlifes with no direction in their future. They’ll end up wandering around, mindless and foolish. I look at them, taking in a deep breath and looking for every possible woman or female-esque individual who may or may not be the Alice that I’m looking for.
I rule out anyone who isn’t attractive. Alice clearly had that look about her. It’s the presence of a woman that knows she’s attractive and dresses to accentuate the powers that her genetics have graciously decided to bestow upon her. So if anyone here is not attractive, then they simply aren’t Alice. I rule out blondes and redheads also. She was clearly brunette on the video feed and that means I’m looking for an attractive, well-dressed, brunette teenage girl somewhere inside a school that could easily have seven thousand people inside of it.
Taking a step forward, I look up the main hall where kids are loitering and I see her immediately and I lock eyes with her. She has dark, chocolaty curls lazily hanging around her face, effortlessly formed. One of her shoulders is exposed by the chic sweater that she’s wearing. I look at her beautiful, perfectly and artfully cared for face. Her eyes are deep green, almost an ocean green. I look at them and see that they’re glassy. They’re glassy and suddenly full of tears, fury maybe. I look at those eyes and I know from the second I lock eyes with her that it knows. It knows that I’m here for it and it doesn’t like it one bit.
“Alice!” I shout at her, almost willing to pull out my gun. If I can get her to reason, get her to stop herself from doing something that will be regretful and terrible, then I might be able to find some way of stopping that thing inside of her from killing her. She looks at me with those eyes, full of conflict, full of terror. They have to know that something’s wrong. It’s written all across her face as she stares at me. I take a step forward, and like someone down the hallway fired off a shot at the starting blocks, she takes off running. “No! Wait!” I scream after her, grabbing a kid that smells like stale pot in front of me and hurling him aside.
The Darkness Inside Us (A Detective King Suspense Thriller) (A Detective King Novel Book 3) Page 5
