Shhh...Mack's Side (23 page)

“Gia doesn’t want you to answer. Gia is so fucking wet right now, you don’t even know,” he said, massaging her
wetness up her slit.

“Tell me how you touched her.”

“The guy told me to.”

“Of course. Mack always does what’s she’s told. Yeah, go on?”

“I just did. That’s all.” I tried taking the easy way out. He laughed.

Whack. Whack. Whack. Whack. Gia was squirming with every smack
the tips of his fingers delivered. I never, in all my years, thought fun Mr. Nichols could be this man. Then again, I had no idea what seven years of imprisonment could do to a person. I could hear her wetness when he would dip down, spreading her slipperiness through her folds.

“Get back to the story. The real story. I want to know everything that was said, everything you did, and everything he did to you.”

“He didn’t really do much.”

“No?
Hmmm. What did he do?” Mr. Nichols smartly responded.

I took a deep breath, letting my mind go back to the night I never let it venture
to.

“You two girlfriends?”
the hot, tattooed guy asked.

“Yeah,”
Gia answered, taking his cock out of his hands.

I moved to the other side of him. Jumping bac
k a bit when he touched me there, he smiled. He liked the timidity. He treated us like his personal sex slaves, sort of. He didn’t ask us to do anything. He just told us. Gia and I kissed once at her sixteenth birthday party on a dare, but nothing like this. The guy got up on his knees, pushed our heads together and stroked our naked bodies while we made out.

Gia moaned in my mouth and I opened my eyes in shock. This was so fucked
up. What the fuck was I doing here? Mr. Tattoo guy moved her hand first. I stiffened when I felt her fingers touch me.

He played with us both, moving our hands to each other’s breasts. Every time I tried to pull away from the kiss, he pushed us back together, making us continue. His hands were everywhere, all over both our bodies while his wang stood straight, smashing into both our bodies in multiple places.

“Yeah, rub that pussy,”
he moaned, moving my hand faster into Gia’s clit. Tattoo guy let us go on for as long as it took him to get bored and then flipped Gia over the seat. I sat wide eyed, waiting for instructions like a timid little first grader. He spread my legs and played with me while he gave it to Gia from behind. I almost puked when he removed his fingers from my pussy and made her lick and suck them. She did. She was way better at this than I was, at least with strangers. I’d learned to relax and tell Kyle what I wanted, but I didn’t know how to be involved in this sort of thing.

The guy didn’t talk much. He said what he wanted by moving us where he wanted
us to go. He pulled out of Gia and moved my face to her ass. Shit. I hesitated when he spread her ass cheeks, and pressed my face closer. Gia didn’t taste like I thought she would. It wasn’t as gross as I was afraid it was going to be. She tasted like me, the way Kyle’s lips tasted sometimes.

I stiffened again when I felt his dick slide into
me. He held Gia open with his hands and watched me lick. I knew he kept opening her ass cheeks more and aiming my face there for a reason, but I wasn’t doing it. Uh-uh. Not there. He finally realized I wasn’t going there and rolled her to her back. Gia looked happy, full of herself. I didn’t understand the expression at the time, but now I know she was feeling like she one-upped me. I was licking her pussy and she used it as a way to stick it in.

“Hmmmm, yeah, right there, Mack,”
she said, spreading her lips for me to reach her clit. What the fuck? Gia let Tattoo guy finger fuck her ass while I licked her twat. Once she was close he pulled out of me and moved our positions, laying her to her back and me between her legs. He held her lips open and rubbed her nub some, too. My tongue kept hitting his fingers. That, I found gross and disgusting, more so than Gia’s sex.

“Suck it, Mack. Suck on it,”
Gia moaned, thrashing her hips below my mouth. Tattoo guy hissed and slid his condom wrapped cock in Gia’s mouth. That was it. He never got either of us off. He fucked us both, but blew his load to the end of a condom in Gia’s mouth at the same time she screamed out in pleasure from my tongue doing what I had learned from Kyle. It was over. Finally.

He wasn’t interested once he got o
ff. He dressed, and thanked us with two hundred dollar bills. We both quickly dressed and got the hell out of there. Gia laughed, walking to our car.

“
That was fucking hot as hell,” Gia said, stumbling from his limo. Laughing, she held up the two bills. “He thought we were whores. We just turned a trick, Mack.”

“Yeah,” I said
, still in disbelief. I pulled one of the crisp bills from her hand. “Let’s not ever do that again.”

Gia laughed. I dove in front of her and held both her shoulders.
“Gianna Skyler, I’m dead serious. Don’t you ever do that again. You promise me right here, right now, that you’ll never, ever, get into a guy’s car like that again. Promise me, Gia.” I barked, almost in tears. So many things could have happened and she was clueless.

“
Damn, Mack. All right. I promise.”

I couldn’t believe what was happening. It was all so
surreal. I shook my head and let Gia get behind the wheel. That would have sobered anyone up.

“Want me to take care of you? I’ll finger you if you want me to.”

“No, Gia. I’m good. Jesus Christ. What’s gotten into you?”

“I’m happy.”

It was official. Gianna Edwards had lost her mind, too. She was crazier than I was. What the hell was I supposed to do now? I wanted to go home. I had a very wet, unsatisfied throbbing going on between my legs. I wanted to tease Kyle with it.

Mr. Nichols did exactly what I thought he was going to do, only worse. Gia screamed in pleasure and squirted clear across my room. She was going to clean that up. That was the first time in how
ever many weeks we’d been there, I’m thinking it was four… No… Maybe it was six… No… Five, that I didn’t feel right. Something was off. Not like normally off. Different. Like rage. I don’t know why. Normally my hyper sexuality would have been through the roof, watching something like that.

“That was a lovely story. Gia expresses her appreciation well, doesn’t she, Mack?”

“Fuck you. I fucking hate you,” Gia said coming to her feet. She spit, landing it right in his eye. Mr. Nichols laughed, wiped it off, and backhanded her.

“Stop!” I finally screamed. I couldn’t take it
. They needed to leave. “Get out. Just get out, both of you. You’re scaring Cara. She’s not used to all this ruckus.”

They both stopped and turned to me. Wearing frowns of confusion,
I watched the conversation with my eyes, feeling the beat of my heart stop. No. No. No. Don’t do it. Please don’t do it. It’s a doll, McKenzie. It’s not real. Gia looked to Cara, sleeping on my bed, and back to Mr. Nichols. He nodded to her, sharing something they had already discussed, I was sure. It was so out of body, like nothing I’d ever experienced. Even this color. What the hell was this color?

“Gia, please don’t. Please don’t touch her,” I begged, wishing I was closer to her. I needed to be closer to her.

“What the fuck, Mack?”

“Please.”

My breathing, my heart, my blood pumping through my veins, everything viable stopped working. I was in a frozen state of shock when she jerked her up by her arm. She screamed. She cried so loud. I could hear her tiny infant cries. They were so loud, drowning out the wind chimes. How could Gia be so cruel? I never knew her to be this vicious. Feeling faint, I tried to reason a plan. I had to get my baby.

“Gia, please. Put her down,” I begged with my hands
in a praying form, walking slowly toward her. The sounds were crucial. Cara, crying, the wind chimes, and Gia. What was she saying?

“Mack. This is a fucking creepy ass doll. This is not your baby. What the fuck is wrong with you.”

“Just hand me the baby, Gianna. It’s okay. We can work through this. Give me Cara,” I pleaded, negotiating the only way I knew how. Beg.

That’s when things went a little fuzzy. Blood was everywhere. Gia ripped her arm right off her shoulder and threw it. Cara gargled and shook, and I lost it. Only a mother would know what that felt like, to witness something horrific happening to your child. It was too much. I snapped.

I don’t remember that part. At all. None of it. Just like the day I was hit in the back of the head. I don’t remember.

Mr. Nichols gr
abbed my hair and flung me halfway across the room.

I scooted backward, crab crawling
my way to the wall. Everything looked gray. Nothing had color. Everything was just gray.

“Gianna, Gia!” Mr. Nichols called over and over.

“I killed her,” I said in some god awful demon voice. “Gia’s dead.”

Mr. Nichols turned, worried about the crazed look in my eyes. He was gray. Why was everything gray? I blinked several times
, seeing color in quick, flashy intervals.

Blink. Gia laying on the floor
, dead in color.

Blink. Gia laying on the floor
, dead in gray.

Blink. Gia laying on the floor
, dead in color.

Blink. Gia, laying on the floor
, dead in gray.

“Gianna!” Mr. Nichols called
, scooping her up.

I didn’t move. I watched without looking, seeing Gia’s lifeless body curl backward, losing to gravity as Mr. Nichols carried her out.

Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip.

That’s how many times blood fell from her head. Five times. Four plus one is five. Six minus one is five. Three plus two is five. Five is the third prime number. Half of five is two point five. Five is a congruent number. Five is the number of Platonic solids. I had five fingers on each hand,
five toes on each foot. Mama called the doctor because five little monkeys were jumping on a bed. We have five senses. Subway had a five dollar foot long. There are five Great Lakes.

Moving my face to the cold, dirty floor. I closed my eyes and curled into a ball, wrapping my knees in my arms. I didn’t see gray anymore. Everything was black. I was seeing what Gia was seeing. Total darkness.

“I’m sorry, Gia. I’m so sorry,” I cried, feeling the bead slide across the bridge of my nose and mix with the tears falling from my other eye. I hurt. I hurt everywhere. It was physical. I wanted out. I couldn’t live with the fact that I killed two people that I loved more than my own life.

Lifting my head from the floor,
I banged it once, seeing flashes of what I’d done. Two. Her pupils dilated. Three. Her mouth fell open. Four. Ouch. That one hurt. Her eyes rolled back. Five. She went limp. There were five drips of blood. Five is the number of members from Jackson Five. There are five stages of grief. I don’t believe that. I didn’t feel them when Cara died. I didn’t feel anything. Five minutes. That’s how long I got to hold her, touch her, see her tiny little fingers and toes.

That’s when
my world began to fade, thinking about that night in the hospital. My parents were there when I opened my eyes. Two police officers stood above my head. Why didn’t I make her tell me more? Why hadn’t I gotten that truth out of her before I killed her? I would never know now. I knew the why. It was all because of jealousy and resentment. I didn’t know the how.

The last thing I remembered was being run off the road, getting out of the car and nothing. That’s when I was hit in the back of the head. I had the scar to remind me even if I don’t really remember.
I didn’t speak with either of the officers that time when I woke. I didn’t speak to them until the next morning after Gia had gotten to me. I shouldn’t have listened. Why the hell did I let her talk me into something I didn’t know what I was getting into?

“Mack? Wake up. Can you hear me?”

“Gia, what the hell happened?” I questioned, sitting up. Whoa, not ready for that yet. My head spun faster than a tornado, my stomach did flip flops, and my mouth suddenly salivated. I dropped my head back to my pillow.

“Shhh…Not so loud. Mack, you have to go along with what I say. We had rape kits done. They know we were raped.”

“We weren’t raped. We got in the back of that car on our own free will.”

“Shhh…Just shut up and listen for a minute,” she said, shushing me. “Did you speak to the cops?”

“Not yet. They want me to. What the hell’s going on, Gia?”

“Mr. Nichols. He was the one that hit you in the back of the head. He raped us Mack.”

I sat up again. Maybe she hit her head too. “No, that’s not what happened. Mr. Nichols may have been a dick for ruining her scholarship, and our last chance at the state competition, but even I knew he wasn’t capable of that. 

“Gianna, have you lost your mind?”

“Mack, do this for me. Please. You don’t even have to lie. Just say the last thing you remember was being hit in the head. You know it was Mr. Nichols and that’s it. You don’t remember anything after that.”

“I don’t, but I’m not going to say he raped me. Jesus, god, Gia. You’re crazy.”

“You don’t have to say any of that. They did the rape kit. They know you had sex. We’re pinning it on James. Just go along with what I say. That’s all you have to do.”

“Gianna—.” I tried protesting.

“I’ve got to get out of here. Do this for me, Mack. You at least owe me this.”

That was the last thing she said. I didn’t understand at the time what she meant by I owe her. I must be the stupidest best friend in the world. Why didn’t I see what a manipulative, plastic bitch she was? If it looks like a duck, if it acts like a duck, it’s a duck. Gia was a fake friend, always in it for herself, never me. It was never about me. It was always what Gia wanted. And once again, I got tangled into
web Gianna—again.

I didn’t even feel it come on. One minute I was banging my head off the floor like I’d done to Gia
, and the next, well, it was just nothing. No thoughts. No memories. Just nothing. Peace.

When I woke
, it was dark. For a split second, I was scared. I was going to crawl in bed with my parents where I felt safe. Seeing the broken arm and Cara lying face down on the dirty floor, I knew I wasn’t going to my parents. Cara was an eerie sight. The moon was the only bit of light I had and it shined, only on Cara. I knew I wasn’t going anywhere. I crawled around, feeling my way to the window.

“Whoa,” I audibly said, feeling the wooziness in my head. I couldn’t tell if I was still seeing gray or not. It was too dark. Finding my way to the window, I avoided the broken doll. My head felt clearer than it had since I’d been there. That wasn’t Cara. Cara died a long time ago
and I needed to put that to rest. Gianna, on the other hand, I had to deal with. Maybe she was okay. Maybe Mr. Nichols got her to the hospital and she was fine.

That’s when I noticed the other light. My door was wide open. He didn’t lock me in when he rushed out with Gia. My heart started to beat faster, filling with adrenaline at the thought of walking out the door. I could go. I could walk out and never look back. Feeling my way to the door, my bare feet scooted across the floor. I’d learned to do that pretty quickly. If you scooted your feet rather than stepping, you had a better
chance of not being stabbed by decaying debris.

I held both hands on the wall and inched my way down the hall. There is not a scarier place on earth than that abandoned asylum. It’s the
most disturbing place I’ve ever seen in my life, especially that time of night. I didn’t want to go down there. It was the deepest, darkest place there. I had to. That was where the padded room was. Hoping that’s where Gia was, I carefully made my way to the room.

I screamed when I felt someth
ing run across the top of my foot. Breathing hard, I relaxed. That wasn’t the first time that happened since I’d been there. It was just a rat.

“Just a rat. Jesus Christ, McKenzie Perry,” I
audibly scolded myself for thinking any of this was normal.

I knew as soon as I felt the open door, she wasn’t there. Shit.
I should have known he wouldn’t take her back to the solitary confinement room. There had to be at least fifty rooms. Where was she? I thought about the screams I heard from my window. That narrowed it down. They came from the same side. Her window overlooked the field, too. It didn’t sound lower. She was on the same floor. The west wing. Yeah. She had to be on the other side.

Carefully making my way back up the dangerous steps, I almost made it to the top before my foot went through the rotten boards. I felt the splintering wood slice the inside of my
leg, clear to my groin, and then the warm blood. I didn’t have to count the drips. It was pouring. I crawled out of the hole and grabbed my bleeding leg. Damnit. My hand was soaked in the gash that definitely needed stitches. I tugged at the bottom of my shirt, ripping an inch or so, hoping to bandage it enough to stop the bleeding.

My makeshift bandage was soaked in no time, but it did seem to slow down the flow. I had to find Gia. Did he leave her? Did Mr. Nichols run when she died? I hoped she didn’t go alone. I hoped he was with her. No. She wasn’t dead. She was alive. She had to be alive. I had to make it right. I had to tell her I was
sorry. I would tell her dead body if I had to. I just needed to get to her. I needed Gia.

Every door I passed was opened. She wouldn’t be in an opened room. Not if she was alive. Mr. Nichols would have just dumped her
and left. He wouldn’t have bothered to lock the door. Would he? That’s when my heart got another rush of adrenaline.

What the fuck? I heard moans. Not the damsel in distress, I’m hurt
, kind of moans. They were orgasm moans. Feeling my way to a T in the hall, I saw the light. It wasn’t the dim lit moonlight like I’d had. It was bright, maybe a lantern. I walked as easy as I could, staying close to the wall, making my way to the moaning and grunting.

Un-fucking-believable. Gia was on a mattress with sheets. Pink
, clean sheets. I’d never gotten sheets. I’d never even gotten a tampon. Shit. Thinking of that. I was sure it had been about a month now. It had to be getting close. That helped with my time deception. We hadn’t been there a month yet. Or maybe we had.