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I’m dancing around the living room waiting on my pizza to arrive. Sweet Emotion by Aerosmith, belts through the speaker. It feels weird being at Rochelle’s with everyone gone but there’s no way in hell I was staying home with my bitch of a mom in that prison. I can’t breathe in that house. My parents expect perfection. Not a hair out of place. Everything neat and perfect. My father is a psycho who thinks allowing me to use a tampon makes me a whore. If I stayed there another second, I’d suffocate.
I take another drink of my hotter than piss beer. I hate the stuff but right now I need an escape from my shitty life crushing me down. Rochelle has no idea how lucky she has it. Her parents are cool as hell. Her mom is a bit uptight but still she’s cooler than mine. Her father is a different story. I don’t know how I feel about him, but sometimes I think I catch him looking at me. Not in a creepy way. The man is way hot. He doesn’t even look old enough to be her dad, but he was like sixteen or something when she was born.
Headlights flash through the living room window. I go to the kitchen and grab the money James gave me. I’m freaking starving. I’ve not ate since dinner yesterday. I was five minutes late to breakfast this morning and my father refused me my plate. Said I should be on time if I want to eat and dared my mom to give me any lunch money. I was too embarrassed to ask my friends if they could loan me five bucks. I lied and said I was on a new diet. I know Ro would have gave it to me no questions asked, but we don’t have the same lunch period because I’m two grades above her. Flicking the porch light on I open the front door.
“You here alone?” Todd mumbles like he has rocks in his mouth, sweeping his hair back from his forehead, revealing his busted-up face.
“Jesus. What happened?”
“Fuckin’ told you I needed that weed. This is all your fault, cunt.” He shoves me and kicks the door shut as he enters the house.
“I’ll get you your money. I promise. I’ll make it up to you. I’m sorry. Okay?”
“You’ll do more than that.” His fingers dig into my arm.
“Stop. You’re hurting me.”
Todd laughs. “Hurting you? Look at my face,” he snarls, bloody spit flying at me.
“Do you want some ice?” I try to jerk out of his hold, but this only serves to piss him off. His hand flies back. Thwack. His palm connects with my cheek. I bite my tongue as my skin burns and stings from the slap. “Please, Todd. I swear. I’ll make it up to you.”
His fist connects with my eye and I scream. “You can start now.” His hand slides up my arm, squeezing my shoulder, and pressing me to my knees so that I’m kneeling at his feet.
I swallow the bile that creeps up the back of my throat. My stomach clenches and I grind my teeth. Jerking his belt, he undoes the button and zipper of his dark blue jeans. Tears gather in the creases of my eyes as he looms over me. Todd’s always been a bit of a dickhead, but I never expected this from him. Grabbing me by the back of my hair, he yanks hard, forcing me to glance up at him. Lips puffy, eyes swollen and bruises forming, Todd glares at me as though he wishes I were dead.
“Always a cock tease. Not anymore. Tonight you’re gonna pay up.”
“No. Please don’t. I’ll get you the money.”
“Shut up, bitch,” he growls in my face and knocks me on my ass. I roll to my stomach and try to crawl toward the kitchen. There’s a set of butcher knives on the counter if I could get to them, I’d stab his eyes out and cut off his dick. Todd grabs hold of my hips and drags me across the carpet, the friction rubbing the exposed skin of my belly. Jerking the bottoms of my uniform down he bears down on me, his weight pinning me in place.
I choke out a sob. “Oh, God. Please no.” I feel the heat of his skin poking against my back side. “Stop it, Todd. You don’t want to do this. Not like this.” Fear bubbles in my chest as he continues to ignore me, forcing me to spread my legs for him.
“Shut up. You’ve been teasing my cock for months, you fuckin’ slut. Tonight you’re gonna give me what I’ve been waiting for. You owe me.”
Trembling beneath him I stare at the end table next to the couch. Beside the lamp is a picture of Rochelle’s dad and her mom in a pretty white frame. It’s their wedding day. Both baby faced and not much older than I am now. James wearing this beautiful smile on his face and probably one of the only times the man has been in a suit. He’s holding Rochelle on his hip. I imagine him gazing at me like that. Full of love, adoration, and hope for a brighter tomorrow.
As Todd’s body slams against mine, I pretend I’m in that photo in place of Ruthie, and I get lost in the fantasy. Pretending I’m somewhere else. That I’m someone else with each brutal thrust as my stomach slides over the carpet. “That’s it. Take it, you whore.” The heat of his breath fans along my neck. Bile churns, in the pit of my belly, clawing its way up my throat.
Todd bites and nips at me like a savage animal. His teeth digging deep enough to draw blood.
I hear the front door open and pray its Murder.
“What do we have here?” A gritty voice growls.
I hear the bones in Todd’s nose crunch, and he cries out.
I try to see who my savior is, but one eye is swollen, and my vision is hazy. “This the little bitch who got off with the product?”
“You broke my nose,” Todd whines.
“Make yourself useful and tie her up.”
I try to crawl away from them but it’s no use. I’m no match for the two of them.