But tonight is about putting someone in their place. Gary’s been walking around with a bruised eye for a week with a cocky grin, thinking no one can touch him. He doesn’t get to have that freedom. I won’t let another girl fall into the palm of his hand just to get hurt.
I’m the one who’s finally going to be doing the hurting. Instead of receiving it, I’ll be delivering it.
Time to party.
* * *
I’ve never beento a high school party before but it’s exactly how I pictured it as we stand in the doorway. Cheap beer, barely clothed girls, and a makeshift dance floor with guys grinding on girls, attempting to lure them into sex with all the wrong hip moves. The thought makes me shudder in horror at the effort these girls go to just to flirt, half of them are younger than me. At that age, I was sliding down poles while taking my clothes off. Everyone’s mostly innocent here, never experienced true pain that makes you wish you were dead.
“If you're trying to kill me, you're succeeding,” Nicky says behind me in disgust, pushing away a drunk kid stumbling out the door just in time as he vomits on the porch.
“I wanted, uh, to party,” I grimace and can’t look at him, knowing he’s going to see right through me. “Let’s get a drink.”
I quickly step through the door, heading to the kitchen as my breathing picks up. I need at least one shot to get me through this night, before I bring out the other Tillie who knows how to seduce a man with just a smile. So many bodies stuffed together in one place, the air heavy with sweat and liquor. Squeezing between people, I finally make it to the kitchen where all the drinks are set up on the counter with spilled liquor and red solo cups. Feeling the guys behind me, watching my every move… I grab the nearest alcoholic drink and twist the cap off. My hands shake slightly as I start chugging the cheap beer, hating the taste that goes down, but it instantly mellows me out.
“Is someone going to tell me why we are here, mingling with the riffraff?” Nicky snarls at the partygoers, the music getting louder and causing them to form a circle around me as the kitchen fills up.
“You’ll find out soon enough but when you do, you can’t interfere. That goes for both of you.” I point my now empty beer bottle at Nicky and Tey, glaring to get my point across.
Don’t mess with my shit, it’s mine to take back.
Tey swaggers over to me, throwing his arm over my shoulder and grabbing the nearest bottle of whiskey within reach. He has his poker face on, not giving me a hint of what he’s thinking about, but I can’t stop watching as he tilts his head back and brings the whiskey up to his wide lips. His Adam's apple bobs with the first swallow, but he grabs the back of my neck with his other hand and forces my head back as he leans over me. With his face inches away, he puts pressure on my neck until I open my mouth to ask him what the hell he’s doing.
“What-” I start to say but I’m cut off as Tey rest his plump, soft lips against mine and opens his mouth as I gasp.
Warm, smooth whiskey flows into my mouth, the taste tickling down my throat as I swallow. I don’t know when I closed my eyes, but when I slowly blink them open, it’s to see Tey leaning slightly back with a small wicked smirk.
“I have a feeling tonight's going to be fun. If you need me to get rid of a body, I’m game.” He wipes a drop of whiskey off the corner of my mouth with his thumb and turns his head to glance at a scowling Nicky. “Nicholas, come here.”
Nicky glances between us, his scowl deepening but he pushes off the opposite counter to make his way over to stand behind me, placing my body right between theirs. Tey takes another drink and winks at me just as he pushes up against my shoulder, squeezing me up against Nicky’s chest. I watch as Tey does the same thing to Nicky, grabbing the back of his neck and pulling him closer until they are both leaning over me. My breathing picks up as my panties grow damp, seeing how Nicky’s eyes drop down to Tey’s mouth and stays there. I let out a breathless moan as Tey tilts Nicky’s head and places his mouth against his, the same way he did to me. A hand skims my hip while another slides across my ribs, grazing the curve of my breast, but I can’t pull my gaze away to even look. It could be Tey holding me in place or Nicky pulling me closer, but the thought of both of them touching me at the same time sends my heart into overdrive because I want that real fucking bad. All I can see is two hard, muscular as hell bodies moving closer together and making me a tight sandwich as I grip fists full of their shirts to stop myself from joining. Strong jawlines move as they fight for dominance, neck muscles tight and lips locked as Nicky swallows the whiskey down from Tey’s mouth as he lets it flow out.
“Get the fuck out,” I hear Dalton growl from somewhere and hear a girl squeak in fear before the kitchen goes quiet.
That seems to make everything come back in full force. The music, the party happening around us, and the way Nicky shoves away while looking around frantically in panic.
“Do you have a death wish?!” Nicky yells, licking his lips as he glares at Tey. “If that gets back to Jin…” Nicky runs a hand through his hair, turning his back to us as he tries to gain control of himself.
“You need to relax. It won’t get back to him.”
I peek around the kitchen, surprised to find it empty. Dalton stands in the doorway, practically growling at anyone trying to come in. That explains that. Logan appears out of nowhere, I wonder when he left to begin with? Maybe he went to see if Nicola and Evan finally made an appearance. I hope as fuck they are already here, someone has to keep an eye on the rest of the party incase shit goes south. Logan curls his index finger at me and nods his head to the side to follow him. Looking between Nicky and Tey and seeing them talking to each other in a low voice, I quickly duck around Dalton to Logan’s side.
“I’ll distract them as long as I can, but don’t hold your breath,” Dalton grumbles and crosses his arms with a mean curl of his lips as another group of boys try to enter but they quickly retreat like dogs with tails between their legs.
I pat his bicep and quickly catch up to Logan who goes into the living room, leaning against a wall with his ankles crossed. I slide up to his side and follow his gaze to see what he’s looking at. Brown eyes connect with mine, a cruel smirk on his mocking lips.
Gary.
Surrounded by his jock buddies on the couch, he tips a beer back as he stares daggers at me, like I was the one to somehow wrong him, when in reality he’s the problem. It’s not my fault he’s a rapist. I hate men like him. Thinking women owe him something, that it’s all our fault for wearing clothes that show too much skin to tempt him.
“Go upstairs, last door on the left. It’s his room, he’ll follow because he can’t help himself. Stumble up the stairs on your way, act drunk. I’ll give you five minutes, Tillie, before we come in. I’ll have Dalton round up his two little friends,” Logan says with a stony facial expression and pushes off the wall to walk out the back patio.
Never taking my eyes off my prey, I roam my gaze along the bruise over his right eye, noticing it fading along with his busted lip. It’s really not fair that his bruises can fade and mine seem to always linger, even years later. I’m trying to decide how I want to play this. Do I hurt him like he did me by taking his dignity away, or worse? Out of the corner of my eye, I see Larry playing with some girls' hair, distracting her as Stan slips a white powder into her solo cup.
This is going to be the night I turn it all off, to play my part in this world. Eighteen years ago, a monster was born from the Devil himself. It’s time I spread my wings, accept this is who I am. No more running, I’m sprinting full force at those who have done me wrong.
I came here with a plan, to lure him away with seduction, get him into a quiet place away from all the prying eyes, so I can do what needs to be done. He just has to take the bait and I know just how to convince him. Grabbing a beer from a cooler at my feet, I chug half of that in one go and grin with my eyes closing. Justin Bieber’s song “Peaches” comes on over the speaker, making some of the girls surrounding me scream in excitement and start dancing. Deciding this is my chance, I make my way into the middle of the dance floor and can feel Gary’s eyes on my back. My hand travels up my body, sliding into my hair as the music takes over and I move my hips to the beat that just comes naturally.
When was the last time I danced this freely without having to take off my clothes? It’s been awhile. Tossing my hair to the side, I peek over my shoulder with a seductive smile as I glance directly at Gary. He roams his gaze up and down my body, his lips still curled in a sneer, but he can’t help following my body's movements. Giving him one last look, I drain the rest of the beer and pretend to wobble in my heels. I stumble into a couple and laugh loudly like I’m drunk. With my back turned away from him, my smile drops instantly and I make my way towards the stairs. Pausing at the base of the stairs, I take a deep breath and grip the railing. I know he’s following, I can practically feel him giving chase. The thought makes me shiver with disgust.
