Tarnished

by Erica Chilson

  “I’ll go, but I’ll be back,” Sean threatens. “And you better get your ass in gear, darlin’. If Don’s not up to it, you best make him get it up.”

  In a silent tableau, Donny, Willa, and I stare after Sean as he crosses the yard, gets in his car, and speeds down the dirt road, rocks spitting and a plume of dust in his wake.

  “Donny?” My eyes flick everywhere but see nothing. I’m so utterly confused that I don’t know how to fix this. “Donny? Look at me,” I command my older brother. “What happened?”

  Donny doesn’t look at me or answer me, but Willa does. “That was round three.” Enraged, she wipes a fingertip across her bottom lip, smearing a drop of blood clinging to the corner of her mouth. “Round one, I just took it. Round two, I called my daddy and he did what you just did, Royce. Round three… well–” she points her bloody fingertip at her husband. “There ya go. I don’t think I’m ready for round four.”

  “Is this the first time Donny has ever hit you like that?” Willa shakes her head in assent. “What about Sean?”

  “That would be round one and two… when Donny refused to ‘teach’ me how to be a proper wife. I promised I’d never call my daddy for nothing, but Sean changed my mind. It took both Warren and Daddy to take him down. Then, after seeing them get beat up, I promised myself I’d never call again, ‘cuz I worried they’d have to bring Wynn next time.”

  “Christ.” I rub my palm over the top of my hair, trying to think. “How old are your brothers anyway?”

  “Sixteen and ten,” Willa blurts, flabbergasted.

  “DONNY!” I reach down to drag my brother upright, but instantly drop him. “What the fuck happened to your face?” Half of Donny’s face is black and blue, with open sores from the force of the impact with a fist. His cheek looks like squashed, over-ripened fruit.

  “That’s a little gift from Sean. Donny needed a lesson on how to be a proper husband, so he was smart enough to teach me how to be a proper wife.”

  “And what business is this of Sean’s?” Is directed at my brother, but Willa answers.

  “Fuck if I know.” Willa yanks the collar of her dress, wiping the fabric across her bleeding lip. “All I know is– is that Sean’s the one in charge ‘round here, and when he comes ‘round I hide. Don’t ask where, ‘cuz I ain’t giving up my location for nothing.”

  Kneeling on the ground, I cup my brother’s face. I’m furious at him for hitting his wife, but Willa seems more frustrated with Donny than anything. “What happened?”

  “I lied to Sean.” Donny refuses to look at me, eyes darting away every time I try to connect with him. “I deserved what he did to me, but Willa didn’t. It’s all my fault.”

  “Lied about what?” I demand, shaking my brother. He yanks away from me, looking like a trapped wild animal.

  “I’ve gotta go.” Trying to run to his truck, Donny limps and hops. “I’ve gotta apologize.”

  Mystified, I watch as my brother climbs into his truck, face contorted in agony and fear. He takes off at a clip, nearly wiping out my front bumper on his way down the driveway.

  “What the fuck?” I mutter to myself…

  But as usual, Willa answers me. “Yer brotha’s a coward.” Furious, she stomps to the house, making more noise than a person twice her size. I follow behind, hoping for answers but fearing what I’ll find.

  Willa’s easy enough to locate, seeing as how she sounds like a wildebeest as she ruts around in the freezer. I make myself at home at the table we’ve had in my family since my granddaddy was still alive. I place my bat in the center of the table, noticing that Willa’s been getting the care-packages I sent with Donny.

  I flip through the textbooks, checking to see if they’ve been opened recently. I’m shocked to note how she’s been highlighting passages she wanted to remember. I’d bought all the subjects she’d need to hone in order to get her GED, if she ever decided to get it.

  Willa pulls out a bag of ice, wrapping it in a dishtowel, with one eye trained on me at all times. “You and I are gonna have words.”

  I’m taken aback. “Does that mean something else where you come from, girl? Because from where I come from, that means we meet in the bar parking lot and settle our differences with our fists.”

  She grabs the back of a chair, spins it around, and sits on it backward. She rests her forearms on the backrest, holding the bag of ice to her cheek. Her dress rides up, showing off her pink panties, and I gaze to ceiling.

  Lord, help me. Why did I have to notice that?

  Now that I have, my eyes keep straying down, checking out her smooth thighs– a strawberry birthmark rides high, nestled right up to her panty line. I lick my lips, suddenly starving for a bite of strawberry.

  “I’m going to Hell,” I croak out.

  Willa looks at me, and in a very serious tone, she says, “Royce, we were all born sinners.” I blink, and notice my bat is now in her hand, dangling at her side. “Have words,” she reminds me. “Means I’ma talk. Yer gonna listen. And if you don’t, I’ma hit a homerun with this here bat of yours against that stiff willy you got swelling in your jeans.”

  “I… I–I–” I swallow thickly, scrubbing at my face with my palms to clear away my impure thoughts. My eyes can’t help themselves. Willa’s a child, but right now she’s wearing a thin cotton dress hiked up her thighs. Her hair is a wild mess around her head, like she just got done getting fucked good and rough. It’s sick, but my dick is getting harder the longer I stare at the blood on her lip. Seeing it makes me feel violent, but the rage fuels my lust. “I’m sorry. I seem to have forgotten what I was gonna say.”

  “That’s what I thought.” Willa swings the bat around in her hand, flexing her wrist like it’s a baton. “I’ma keep this here bat as a gift from you. I’ma place it in my hidey-hole and call it Sean-Away.”

  “I’ll buy you more.” I gulp a dozen times. “I’ll make sure they’re made of Birch. Light and strong. It will flex but not break. I’ll toss in a wooden truncheon my daddy whittled years ago– it has a leather strap that goes around your wrist.”

  “Perfect,” she drawls while gently placing the bat on the table between us. “I’m still figuring out your brother. Donny ain’t much of a talker. He goes about his business, leaving me to mine. But his bubby’s got some notion that I ought to be knocked up by now.”

  “Why?” My face twists up in confusion, trying to work that out.

  “I ain’t got no idea.” Willa drops the cold compress on her forearm, and then rests her cheek on it. “Donny and me, every night for the first few weeks of our matrimony, he’d come to my room for our two minutes of coupling.” Words dry, she looks less than impressed. “When I started my monthly, he left me alone. ‘Bout a week later, Sean found out. He beat the piss out of Donny, furious that Donny and I weren’t doing our duty.”

  Mulling that over, I get up from the table and make my way to the refrigerator. I grab two bottles of beer in each hand, and retake my seat. In a practiced move, I use the lip of the table to pop the bottle cap off. I toss the cap into the sink, and then hand Willa a beer. “I think you’ve earned this.” I repeat the process, and drain my bottle dry in seconds.

  “Y’all might think us women are ignorant, but we’ve got our little secrets.” Willa takes a long sip of her beer, then licks the dang neck of the bottle. I shake my head, trying to get rid of the sight. “I gotta get knocked up, see? I’m sick of my husband getting beaten half to death every time I have my monthly because he won’t hit me because it’s my fault.” Willa rolls her eyes at the ridiculousness. “Ain’t my fault Donny don’t visit my bed much.”

  “What the fuck?” I grab another beer, pop the cap, and drain in in a few gulps. I slam the empty on the table. “I’ve got to be drunk before this makes a lick of sense.”

  “I can’t handle a fourth time. Sean might kill me next time. I went to my momma.” Willa looks me straight in the eye, and I’m the one to flinch. Twenty-nine-year-old man being taken down by a hillbil
ly child-bride. “Momma said it’s about certain times of the month, and making sure I’m getting off when he does. See, I remember the neighbor girls loving what Warren was giving ‘em, but I’ve never felt that. But Momma couldn’t explain how that works. You gotta kid, tell me how?”

  “Willa, this is not an appropriate conversation.” My voice dips, almost pleading because my cock likes this topic but my mind can’t take it.

  Pushing her bottle at me, “Have another beer.”

  “Willa.” I sigh, leaning farther away from her.

  “Drink it.” She pushes it closer to me. “I ain’t asking you to stick yer willy to me. I’m asking you how I can get it done with Donny. If you love your brother, you’ll help us survive.”

  “How about I figure out what the hell Sean has on Donny and eliminate it?” Logic wins over lust.

  “I wish you luck with that.” The beer gets closer to me, a tiny fingertip pushing it inch by inch across the table. “But in the meantime, ya wanna explain the birds and the bees to me in greater detail, ‘cuz if it takes you another two weeks to get Sean outta our hair, I’ma get my ass beat again.”

  “Two weeks?” twists out, confused.

  “Donny held Sean off for a bit, that’s why he was hooting and hollering about Donny being a fucking liar.”

  “What’s actually going on with my brother?” I demand.

  “Sean’s got some weird hold over Donny.” She’s truthful but skirting around it. “I have my theories, but I don’t know for sure. If you want to know why, ask yer brother. But know that he comes home beaten a couple times a week, and he’s always groveling about how it was his fault. Since I’m that coward’s wife and he does what Sean tells him to do, I gotta put up with Sean.”

  “Christ.” I reach for the beer, draining it. I haven’t had three beers in the last six months. An hour with Willa will drive a man to drink. “Get me some more beer. I’ll need it to lubricate my tongue.”

  “Sure thing, boss.” Willa backbends while sitting astride her chair. Her thighs spread wider, the seat of her pink panties pulling to the side to show off a bit of blonde fuzz. I will my eyes to shut but they won’t obey. Willa’s long hair dangles to brush the floor as she leans backward. She flicks the refrigerator door open and grabs a handful of beers by their necks. Leaning back up, she plops them on the table, then reaches back to slam the refrigerator door shut without looking.

  “Goddamn flexible,” I mutter underneath my breath as I pop the caps off three beers. “You better keep that–” using the bottle, I point at her panties. “–away from Sean.”

  “No fear, Royce-baby,” Willa purrs, flexing her thighs. Then she winks. “Sean ain’t hungry for what I’m selling.”

  “What’s he buying then?” I grumble, and Willa laughs like I’m the ignorant one. “What do you want to know?”

  “How to make a kid.” She reaches over, snags the beer out of my hand, takes a dainty sip, and then licks the opening. My hand is still frozen open, as if I am holding a beer. With a giggle, Willa puts the bottle back in my palm.

  My fingers wrap tightly around my beer, realizing this is a dangerous road I’m heading down. “I’m not gonna fuck my brother’s wife,” I warn, and all Willa does is flash a sinful smirk my way. “Sex. I’m positive you know what that is. Dick in pussy. Thrusting until the man spills his seed. It’s gotta reach its intended target, so no pulling out and no washing it out when you go to the bathroom.”

  “Yeah, I got that part down pat.” Willa’s all proud of herself, and I feel like I’ve entered the Twilight Zone.

  After suffering through being ‘tickled’ by my funny uncle, I was sex-charged early. I lost my virginity to Annie a week after I turned fourteen. She was sixteen. Knowing she had me trapped, she made me wait and wait and wait. Years. I waited until our wedding night for a second taste. Annie led me around by my dick, making sure I met all of her daddy’s demands. After that, sex with Annie was always a sensual affair about making love in our bed. Annie was my best friend, and our sex life was loving but not filled with any heat.

  I’d bet my considerable wealth that Willa would be dangerous like riding a bronc in a rodeo. Wild and unbridled. Straight fucking. Rough, raw, and dirty. Something tells me Willa would ride me hard, get what she wanted, and then she’d tear my dick off for safekeeping just so no one else but her could ever use it.

  “Yer wantin’ me again,” Willa whispers like it’s a secret, wiggling a bit in her seat. “Yer willy is leaving a itty bitty wet spot on yer jeans.”

  “Stop it,” I snap, cock jerking in my pants. “I’m not a pervert. Not only are you a child, you’re my brother’s wife.”

  “If it makes you feel any better, I’m certain ol’ Donny’s been fucking someone else– I’m the other woman.” Fingertips run up and down her neck, drawing my eye. When Willa’s positive she holds my undivided attention, those sneaky fingertips slip beneath the bodice of her dress.

  My eyes snap shut, but I can still see her tiny nipples beading beneath her dress. My tongue curls in my mouth in anticipation.

  Voice rough, I bark out, “What Donny does is on Donny. What you do is on you, and you’re not drawing me into your insanity. As soon as I’m done telling you how to get pregnant, I’m outta here.”

  Voice husky, a throaty purr, Willa turns into my worst nightmare. “Have some more…” An open beer gets closer to my hand. “Drink up.”

  “Good God, you’re evil incarnate.” My hand snatches up the bottle and I drain it. My fourth? No, fifth. “Mid-cycle from one monthly to the next. Ya gotta have a lot of sex in that time frame, at least a couple times a day.”

  “Well, that’s right now.” Willa feigns surprise, suddenly an innocent girl.

  “You already knew that,” I growl. I tip my head backward and take gulp after gulp of beer. “You’re using your feminine wiles on me.” I grab another. “I’m not gonna fuck you tonight.”

  “Oh, I know.” Willa gathers all the beer bottles and puts them in a tidy row. “But yer gonna show me how to get off, so when my husband is done fucking around on me, I’ll take a turn. Momma says if we come together, his seed’ll take.”

  “Willa, no,” the words sound more like ‘yes, I’ll do whatever you want.’

  “One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven.” Willa counts silently, fingertip touching the top of every empty beer. “I suspect yer feeling a bit tipsy by now. Did you know men get women loosened up with booze so they can have their wicked way with ‘em?”

  “I’ve never done that,” I mutter– slur. Testing Willa’s theory, I lean left then right and find myself woozy and dizzy.

  I’m well on my way past drunk.

  “Liar,” Willa purrs in a voice too deep for a girl her age. “I bet there were nights Bren slept up here with his Uncle Donny, and you’d get your Annie to drink a bit too much wine so she’d finally suck your dick.”

  “You’re waiting me out, aren’t you?” The words slur together slightly. “What are you up to, little girl?”

  “Mmm… Momma wasn’t sure about this plan, thinking yer willy wouldn’t stay stiff if yous was drunk. Donny’s dick got as limp as an overcooked noodle last night. I didn’t have to trick him, though. He was fortifying himself with beer. My husband is scared to death of me.”

  “Me too,” rumbles from my lips. “My eyes are floating in my head. Why is that?”

  “You’re not much of a drinker, that’s why.” Willa stands from her chair, and my eyes take in her movements as if she’s moving in slow-motion. She weaves around the table. I blink to find her slowly lifting her leg, dress bunching up, and then she sits directly on my lap. “Mmm… you feel good.” She wiggles a bit, grinding my dick against what’s hidden beneath her pink panties.

  “Willa,” I protest, but not very hard. “I can’t do this.”

  “I hope you don’t remember this when you wake up tomorrow morning, because I do like you a lot, Royce. I want you to be able to trust me. So I promise I’m not gonna stea
l yer seed. Tonight,” she stresses. “When yer finally with me, I’ll be the last woman you ever fuck.”

  “So sure of yourself, aren’t you?”

  “Yes,” she says without a lick arrogance. “Why is it important to get off together?”

  “It feels incredible,” slurs quickly from my lips. My head is foggy and words just stumble out without a filter. “Moving together.” My hips lift and lower, lift and lower as I speak. “If you know your partner’s body good enough, you can time it just right. Annie would only let me come if she was– yeah, I had to get her drunk to get blown. That’s a married man’s trick.”

  Face sincere, voice serious, “I’d blow you sober.” Then she bites her bottom lip as if she’s envisioning what it would be like with my cock buried to the hilt in the back of her throat… or maybe I’m envisioning it right now.

  “Fuck,” I hiss, hating myself for reacting like I am. I reach around Willa, digging my fingernails into the edge of the wooden table, trying with everything I have not to touch her hips and grind up into her. “Have you ever given a blowjob?”

  “No, you’ll be my first,” Willa says without question, and I whimper. “So it feels good? I don’t get it but I do, never having come myself. But why does it help with the baby-making?”

  “You’ve never come before?” Willa shakes her head, still gnawing on her lip. “No wonder you’re so fucking horny.” I grab her hand, wrapping my fingers around her thumb. “You’re the boy in this scenario. Your thumb is the cock. My fingers are the pussy.”

  “Okay.” Willa is an apt pupil, making her thumb as stiff as the dick in my pants. “Ride me. Ride me good, Royce-baby.”

  Chuckling underneath my breath, I rub her thumb a bit, getting into it. “Feel this?” I clench my fingers as I slide up and down. “Now imagine your thumb-cock is spurting inside my finger-pussy.” I squeeze her tighter and tighter, trying not to moan as if I’m actually coming. “The waves of spasms in the pussy suck the seed up into the womb. Like an express lane to the egg.”