“Barb, honey?” a man’s voice called from the front hall; Jerry’s hand seized around Indi’s. He felt as if he was squeezing so hard he was cutting off the circulation, but Indi didn’t flinch or try to take her hand back. If anything, she held on a little tighter.

  Desperation clawed at Jerry’s chest. He couldn’t see him so soon after finding out. He just couldn’t.

  “In here, darling,” Barb called happily, standing up.

  Dressed in a black Armani suit, Mark strode into the room with confidence, wrapping his arm around Barb’s waist and pulling her close to the front of his body. Their kiss was passionate, and Jerry had to close his eyes. It was only Indi’s warm hand in his that stopped him from running from the room.

  “Have you told them?” Mark asked, nervously glancing in Jerry’s direction.

  “Not yet.”

  “Why is he here?” Jerry asked through gritted teeth. Surely his mother knew how raw the wounds left by Mark were.

  “I asked him around to show you what you were missing out on.”

  “I knew it,” Indi spat.

  At the same time, Jerry asked, “You did this on purpose?” Barb nodded. “Why would you do that to me?”

  “Everything’s not about you, you know,” she snapped. “I did it to hurt her.” She lifted her chin in Indi’s direction, her cold eyes fixing on her target with an almost tangible weight.

  Indi’s free hand curled into a fist at her side. She’d been staying quiet, letting Jerry handle his mother since they’d arrived there, but Barb had just taken it one step too far. She couldn’t hold her tongue any longer—she wouldn’t.

  “How could you do this to Jerry, your son?” Indi demanded. “He did nothing to deserve this.”

  “No. He didn’t. But you did. You don’t understand anything, do you?” Barb asked in a tone as cold as the blood pumping through her veins.

  “Mother? What are you talking about?” Jerry asked.

  Pointing a French-tipped fingernail at Indi, she barked, “You turned my only son against his father and me. And then you convinced him to lie in a court of law for you.”

  “He didn’t lie,” Indi argued. “He told the truth. Your husband raped me. He raped me.”

  “Why should I believe you? You’re just a sexually dysfunctional girl who seduced my husband and made up lies about him. You probably just wanted to fall pregnant with his child to lay claim to even more of his money. Wasn’t the five hundred thousand he left to you in Jerry’s bank account enough?” She turned to her son. “Oh yes, Jerry. I know about that money. I know your father put hush money into your account for her.” Barb’s wild eyes swung back to Indi. “But you didn’t stop there, though, did you, Indi? Did you?” she screamed. “You wanted even more from me. You wanted to take my son away from me, too.”

  “I’m pretty sure you took care of that yourself, Barb,” Indi snarled. “Or weren’t the hundred stitches enough of an incentive for him to get the hell out of your house?”

  Barb’s face darkened. “You little bitch! I should have killed you when I had the chance!”

  “You can believe the truth, or the lie you’ve created in your head, Barb,” Indi’s words crawled with anger. “But know this: your husband is a sexually sadistic lech, and I’m glad he’s in prison getting a taste of what it was like for me.”

  Jerry wrapped his arms around Indi, saying in her ear, “Let’s go. I made a mistake in coming here. She just wanted to hurt you, not patch things up. Revenge is all she’s interested in.”

  Indi nodded stiffly and let him lead her out of that haunted room and into the foyer.

  “She did it all to hurt you, Indi,” Jerry breathed once they were both strapped into the Porsche. “She hurt me to get to you. What kind of woman would do that?”

  “I don’t know, Jer. All I do know is that she’s a cancer in our lives we never should have touched again.”

  Jerry was silent for a beat. “I’m sorry I made you come.”

  “You didn’t make me do anything. I came because I wanted to come.”

  Jerry said, “I shouldn’t have come.” He glanced in the rear-view mirror as he drove the Porsche across the gravel drive. “I dream about that room. I dream about it nearly every night. Did you know that?” She shook her head. “Every night I hear you scream and I see all the blood on the rug. Except in my dreams, you don’t survive. You die and that kills me.”

  Indi touched a hand to his on the steering wheel, tracing her fingertips down the inside of his forearm. The scars felt smooth to her. “I’m here because of you,” she murmured under her breath.

  They drove the rest of the way back to Hell with nothing but unspoken feelings of gratitude hanging between them. Indi stared out the window, watching the night slip too quickly past the Porsche. Just as they were leaving the tree-lined highway, she saw a pair of glowing eyes staring out, and they seemed to be following the car.

  Jerry’s mother’s words were floating around her head. Barb knew about that five hundred grand. It looked as if she’d always known. Surely that would have indicated guilt on her husband’s behalf.

  “Jer?” Indi asked.

  “Yeah?”

  “Is money really tight right now for you?”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “Just something Rhett told me earlier. So, is it?”

  He was silent for a long time, warring with his pride. “I’ve been struggling these last few months, yeah,” he replied in a tired voice.

  “Why didn’t you tell me? That money is still in your bank account. Why didn’t you use it?”

  “That money is yours, Indi. I couldn’t use it.”

  “I don’t want it. I thought I made that pretty clear. Take it, okay? It’s yours.”

  He took her hand and squeezed it. “You have a good heart, you know, Indi.”

  Half an hour later, Jerry pulled up in front of her apartment building and switched off the engine.

  “Thanks,” he said, turning to her.

  “What for?” she asked.

  “For coming with me, for…” Jerry hesitated.

  Indi knew what he wanted to say, but she didn’t need to hear it. “I know, Jer. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Leaning over the center console, she kissed him on the cheek then popped open her door. She waved him off from just inside her apartment doors before climbing up the stairs to her apartment. Exhaustion had been creeping up on her slowly ever since she’d arrived at the Beckitt’s, but it was only now that she felt like she wanted to crawl into her bed and sleep for a week.

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  Even though sleep was calling to Indi, something deep within her told her not to sleep, told her to get out of her apartment, to walk. It was almost as if she was tapped into some radio frequency that told her where to go. She tried to ignore it, but as soon as she closed her eyes violent images flashed behind her eyelids and only one word came to mind: Beth.

  Throwing her coat on quickly, Indi checked her knife was where it was supposed to be and left her apartment. Running north, Indi passed all the homeless people huddling over fires in garbage cans and the whores skulking in the entrances of doorways while their pimps sold them to anyone willing to drop a couple of bucks their way.

  Taking a sharp left, Indi ran up Fifth Avenue until she came to the T junction that took two directions out of town. If she went south, she’d be heading towards Jerry’s place at Waterside. If she went north, she’d be heading to Beth’s place in Ashgrove. The same images as before flashed behind her eyelids again and she went north.

  Indi rounded the next corner, looking up the entire length of the street. Parked hard up against the curb, about a hundred feet away, was Beth’s father’s Mercedes. The hazard lights were on, but there wasn’t any movement inside.

  Indi started walking towards the car, but froze when a blood-curdling scream rang out into the night. Goosebumps rose on her arms. Indi began sprinting in the direction of the noise, looking down every one of the dark alleyways she passed.

  Blasts of frigid air careened towards her as she ran, and with it came a scent so intoxicating Indi’s jaw began to ache. It lured her farther and farther up the street until she stopped abruptly at the mouth of an alleyway and peered into the darkness.

  Through the shadows, she saw Beth. She was pinned up against a wall; a man’s hand was on the back of her neck. Her clothes had been torn from the lower half of her body. Her skin was turning blue. Indi could see the man’s fingers digging into her hip as he forced her into submission. Beth was crying silently, only letting a noise escape when he jerked too hard against her. Seeing her best friend like that was too much for Indi. Beth’s virginity was being stolen from her and the memories of Indi’s own disgrace flooded back on an unstoppable wave of pain. The dark waters swirled around her, rising too quickly, until they covered her head, swamping her completely…

  When Indi’s foster brother was finished with her, he pushed her off the bed and to the floor. Her body was screaming at her; the pain was so intense that Indi was sure she would never completely heal. Those boys had taken a small piece of her with them. Tom took her pride, another took her strength, her independence, her empathy, her affection and warmth for people. But her foster brother got the biggest slice of the pie. He had scored the ultimate prize. He took away her innocence and her trust in all men. It was a double blow that left Indi reeling.

  Tom asked, “What if she talks?” He was standing over her, looking at the ruin between her legs even though she tried to cover her body with her small hands.

  “She won’t talk,” Evan said wiping himself off with what remained of her skirt. He threw it into the corner before saying, “Besides, we’re going to put her in the shower to wash away the evidence, so even if she does say something, she won’t be able to prove it. Who’s going to believe some runaway foster kid who’s notorious for opening her legs?”

  Indi’s eyes widened. Her foster brother looked down at her with steely eyes. “Thought I didn’t know? My parents got your file. It was all in there. All the husbands you seduced. All those ruined lives.”

  “That’s not true. They touched me. I did nothing to deserve it.”

  He laughed at her. It was loud and terrifying to hear. Indi wanted to throw her hands over her ears and hum to keep the sound from imprinting on her memory. “My parents thought they could fix you. They thought you had some strange idea of misplaced affection. They have shrink visits set up for you. And I can tell you right now, those doctors are going to think you’re an attention-seeking little whore.”

  “No. That’s not true!” she screamed.

  “Whatever, Indi. Get up so we can throw you in the shower.”

  As she stared up into her foster brother’s eyes, something strange happened to her. Something…snapped. When Indi blinked, she saw only red. Fueled by a cold fire, she stood up with her small fists clenched, her slight frame shaking with anger.

  “Fuck. What’s happening to her?” one of the boys asked, taking a step back towards the door.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Her eyes are glowing,” another said.

  “It’s just the light,” Evan replied. “Someone get her legs.”

  “No way, Evan. I’m out,” one boy called.

  “Me, too,” another voice added.

  The boys shuffled out of the room, each of them walking away with their pieces of Indi, which only made her angrier.

  “Tom, you have to help me get her into the shower,” he said.

  Tom was standing, dumbstruck, his breath heaving in and out of his lungs.

  “Tom!”

  “Yeah?…Fuck…sorry man. I just got really cold. Are you cold?”

  “Yeah, the window’s open. Just grab her legs, will you?”

  As they closed in around her, Indi’s eyes darted around the room, looking for something to defend herself with. Tom swept his feet under hers, her body slamming into the carpet, her face pressing into the coarse pile. Indi was looking under the bed when she saw her salvation. It was three and a half inches of steel. Indi lunged for it, her fingertips dragging across the handle of a knife until it was in her palm.

  “Fuck, Tom. Take it easy,” Evan said. His hand hooked under Indi’s armpit, hauling her up off the ground. They hadn’t seen the knife yet. Indi’s arm swung out towards Evan’s free arm. The sharp blade sliced easily through his skin. The blood that came out from the wound rolled her stomach, but she clenched her teeth and faced the other threat.

  “What the fuck!” Tom yelled, watching his friend land heavily on the carpet behind her. Indi stalked towards her quarry, palming the knife like it was just an extension of her body.

  With his big hands up, Tom pleaded with her. “Please.” His wide eyes looked behind her, to the floor. Evan was bleeding profusely, holding the crook of his arm with his other hand.

  “Fuck, Indi! You cut me deep. I can’t move my fingers,” Evan moaned.

  Indi turned slowly to look at Evan, and as her lethal stare bore into his skull, he began shuffling backwards. Her deadly gaze then swung back to Tom. He tried rushing to the door, but Indi stopped him easily, holding the blade to his chest. She walked them backwards until Tom’s back hit the wall.

  “Tom, look at me.”

  He shut his eyes tightly, his lips trembling. Indi settled the blade against his cheek. Tom’s eyes finally opened. And they were overflowing with fear.

  “Tell me how much you enjoyed raping a thirteen-year-old girl, Tom. Tell me what a big man you are for doing that.” His lips clamped together and his eyes shut tight. Indi raised her hand a little higher, positioning the tip of the blade on his temple. Pressing the steel through his skin, she drew the blade down to the corner of his mouth. Blood seeped slowly from the neat cut, rolling down Tom’s skin like tears.

  She would never forget those screams. They were screams for mercy, but she never got any mercy from them, so why should she be so forthcoming?

  She’d found out afterwards that Evan’s dreams of getting a football scholarship were over. She’d severed the tendons in his arm, and he never got full use of his hand back. Tom was another story. They stitched his face back up, but the scar would always be a reminder of what he had done.

  With the memory of her own ruin still a freshly weeping wound in her mind, Indi took a determined step towards Beth and her attacker. “Hey, asshole!” she called. The man turned very slowly to look at her, his blue eyes fixing on her. And Indi’s world started to tremble around her.

  “James?” she breathed, taking an unsteady step back.

  His lips curled back from his teeth in an imitation of a smile, but he didn’t release Beth.

  “Let her go, James,” Indi demanded, taking back her step. She glanced at Beth. Fear was written all over her face, and when Indi listened hard, she could hear the frantic beat of Beth’s heart.

  “My name’s not James,” James replied, pulling himself free from Beth. He shoved her in the direction of a row of dumpsters against the wall. Beth’s head hit the corner of one of them, her eyes fluttering shut as she lost consciousness. The guy pulled up his pants, refastened his Pierre Cardin belt and looked at her with a predatory gleam in his eye. He tilted his head to one side, still staring. “So, you’re the bitch James likes,” he drawled in a timbre much lower than she was accustomed to.

  “You’re James,” Indi replied.

  He kept his sharp eyes on her as he patted down his pockets. Eventually he pulled out a hand-rolled cigarette and lit up, breathing in deeply then pushing the smoke through his nostrils.

  “Nope. Not James,” he replied in that same low drawl.

  “What’s your name then?” she demanded.

  He flicked the ashes off the end of the cigarette before placing it back between his lips. Raising his hand, the guy crooked a finger at her, beckoning her to come a little closer. When she didn’t budge, he inhaled deeply on the cigarette, the end flaring to life like a heartbeat.

  “I go by Buddy,” he said, little puffs of smoke coming out with his words. Taking another deep pull, his eyes narrowed as the smoke drifted past his face—white flames licking at his skin.

  Indi inched a little closer to him. “Are you brothers?”

  “I don’t have any brothers.”

  Buddy suddenly dropped the cigarette he had balanced between his lips and coughed. He looked around the alleyway with scared, wide eyes. “W-w-where am I?” he said in a softer voice.

  “James?” Indi asked incredulously, taking two more quick steps forward.

  “I-I-Indi?”

  Before she could reply, he blinked rapidly and squatted down to pick up the smoldering butt.

  “Wasteful,” Buddy spat and crushed the cigarette in his palm while it was still lit. He grinned up at her eerily. “James can be a little pushy when he wants to be,” he drawled.

  Indi took a step back from him, alarm bells going off, but he was too quick. Taking her by the wrist, Buddy jerked her towards him and spun her around, pressing himself against her back. His arms were constricting across her stomach and chest.

  “Get the fuck off me!” she screamed.

  “All you whores are the same,” Buddy spat, tightening his grip. “You use your bodies to tempt me, but as soon as I give you what you want, you scream that you don’t want it.” She struggled as he placed his lips next to her ear. “Well, it’s too late,” he whispered, running his tongue along the edge of her earlobe. “I’m just going to take what I want from you and you’re going to enjoy it.”

  Indi’s entire body throbbed in time with her pulse. “You’re the Buxton rapist, aren’t you?”

  He laughed menacingly. “Women aren’t worth the dirt they walk on.” He spat. “I was protecting what’s mine,” he said in a voice as dark as midnight. He started pushing her towards the brick wall, using the back of her neck to steer her. Indi stumbled over a bag of garbage and Buddy’s grip loosened.

  Pulling free, Indi reached for her knife, holding it in front of her defensively. Buddy’s calculating eyes slid down to the blade before gravitating back to her face.

 

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