Pure Punishment

by T. L Smith

  “You think you’re so fucking beautiful, don’t you? I see you prancing around in your little outfits. I see the men you fuck. I’m sick of it and I’m sick of you.” She grabs a fistful of hair, pulls my face down so I’m looking at her pink shoes, and uppercuts me straight in the nose. I hear it crack and scream out in pain. She lets go of my hair and I drop to the floor, curling into a fetal position to try my best to protect myself from her. Her feet connect with my abdominal area while I continue to scream. She doesn’t stop there though; she kicks me all over my body while swearing at me in the process. When I think she’s finished, I uncurl myself just enough to look up and her fist connects with my eye socket.

  “Fuck off, country, and don’t come back.” I watch with my good eye as she walks away and touch my face with my free hand that isn’t holding my abdomen.

  “Kristy, what on earth happened to you?” I turn my bruised face slightly to see Leanne, my roommate, looking down at me. She leans down to help me stand and I collapse against the wall. She places her arm around my stomach and I cry out in pain from her touch.

  “Fuck,” she swears under her breath and moves her hand lower to my waist. She takes that as a good position, mainly because I don’t scream out in pain. She manages to get me to my bed and I collapse on it, trying to avoid hurting myself even more. “I need to call a doctor,” she says, placing an ice pack on my eye.

  “No, it’s fine, nothing’s broken,” I tell her and try to give her a weak smile, but the movement makes me groan out in agony.

  “Can I call someone for you?” she asks, looking lost. I can tell I’ve put her in an awkward position. I don’t blame her as we haven’t had a full conversation since I have been here.

  I tell her no, and that I’ll be fine. She gets me a washcloth before she leaves and tells me to call if I need her. I lay there in pain, wondering how one person can be so evil.

  “You know that no one is allowed to touch you, right?” my mother says while we have breakfast.

  “Yes Momma, only you and Daddy. Daddy has already told me,” I whisper. Sometimes their questions don’t make any sense.

  “No sweetie, not even Daddy. If Daddy touches you, you need to tell me,” she says, grabbing my arms and placing her face at eye level with mine.

  “Daddy told me not to say anything, my lips are sealed. Scout’s honor,” I say with a salute. She shakes her head at me, grabs the home phone and takes off.

  I wake with a start, breathing heavily I hear my cell beeping. I glance over at it and notice I’ve been asleep for six hours. I touch my face, feel that my eye has swollen shut and my face is severely bruised. My ribs ache with a pain like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I can barely reach my cell without screaming out in pain, and when I do, I notice I have three missed calls from Kai, as well as two messages. One message is from him and one is from Julia.

  Hawaiian God – What’s wrong? How come you haven’t been answering?

  Julia – Girl, we need another girl’s night out soon.

  I place my cell next to me, not having the energy to move to put it back. I don’t need any more pain from moving. I lay my head back down and dream of a woman whose love was odd, yet beautiful at the same time. I can’t remember much about her, but what I do remember is that she was full of life.

  Just because you don’t remember your dreams doesn’t mean you don’t dream. Everyone dreams!

  I wake again this time to a banging on my door. I roll to my side, hoping Leanne is there. When I see she’s not, I groan out loud in frustration. I pull myself up from the bed and make my way slowly to the mirror above our closet. I see myself and I want to cry again. My eye is fully closed and the side of my face is black and blue from the bruising. I take slow and deliberate steps to the door, leaning on anything I can find and trying to be careful not to hurt myself any more than necessary. I pull the door open to see Kai standing there. When he looks at me, his gaze goes straight to my face and I see pure rage wash over him. His eyes travel lower, trying to assess further damage. When he can’t see anything else his gaze locks back onto mine. I’m actually scared of him at this moment.

  “Who did this?” he asks fiercely. He steps into the room, picks me up like I weigh nothing and carries me to the bed. I don’t answer him when he puts me down and he lifts the front of the dress that I’m still wearing. I try to reach down in humiliation, when one of his hands captures mine to stop me.

  He looks down at me again, replaces my hand back to the side of the bed, and then continues to lift my dress. All embarrassment flies out the window. He stops pulling the dress when it reaches just above my breast and swears under his breath.

  “Your ribs need to be wrapped.” He goes over to our mini fridge and grabs another ice pack, placing it softly on my ribs before he walks out the door, slamming it in the process.

  I sit there wondering where he went. Not long after, the door swings open wide again and in walks Kai with a plastic bag from the pharmacy. He grabs a bottle of water and offers me some pain medication. I start to sit up slowly and wince when the movement hurts. He hands the pills to me and lifts up my dress again tucking it into my bra. He pulls gauze out and starts slowly wrapping it around my ribs. It hurts, but when he’s done the restriction feels better.

  “Tell me, Kristy, now,” he demands calmly, grabbing the chair opposite my bed and sitting down next to me.

  “It was an accident,” I say, not looking at him.

  “I call bullshit. Now, tell me the fucking truth. If you don’t, you’re coming home with me. No arguments,” he says, threatening me.

  Shit, I don’t want to go to his place. I want the comfort of my own.

  “It was Bianca, but it was an accident. I spilled coffee all down her dress and she hit me back,” I say, telling him the truth. Just not the extent of what she inflicted on me.

  “A woman did this to you?” he asks, surprised.

  I nod my head and his look turns furious. “Tell me where she lives, Kristy. Tell me now!”

  “I don’t know, I’ve only seen her a few times,” I lie.

  “I know you’re lying, it’s written all over your face. But don’t worry, I have my ways,” he says, winking at me. Shit, I completely forgot about what he does. He will have no problem finding her. Then she’ll fill his head with awful things about me.

  “Please don’t, just leave it alone,” I plead with him. He looks at me, then picks me up carefully and positions me so I’m close to the edge. He climbs into bed and very carefully pulls me close to him.

  “Someone hurt you, Nani, that’s not something I will forgive. But for you, for now, I will let her live. That’s all I can give you right now.”

  I nod my head into his chest and breathe him in. “What does Nani mean?” I ask out of curiosity.

  “It means what you are… beautiful,” he replies and then leans down to kiss the top of my head. He reaches over and picks up the television remote and puts on a movie that I left in there. I grab the remote from him and turn the television off.

  “Let’s play a game. I want to ask you questions and I want honest answers,” I tell him, not looking up.

  “Only if I can do the same,” he responds. I nod my head again and think of my first question.

  “Did you always want to be a detective?”

  “Yes. You know I lost my parents young. I wanted to do as much as possible to help people that couldn’t help themselves,” he tells me in a serious tone.

  “If you could dine at one place for the rest of your life, where would it be?” he asks me, not giving me time to process his answer.

  “Your kitchen and IHOP. Sorry, but I can’t choose just one,” I say laughing, then wincing from the pain that it causes. I get my breath back and think of a question for him.

  “How was your first kiss?”

  “It was probably the worst kiss in the history of kisses. She had no idea what she was doing and honestly neither did I. Once our lips touched, she decided to take it a step
further and the next thing I knew, her tongue went in my nose.”

  “Oh my God! Yuck,” I say, referring to the nose tongue picking.

  “Yes, needless to say, we never attempted that again,” he says with a slight laugh.

  “Okay, my turn.” He taps his finger to his chin like he’s deep in thought. “Okay, what was your favorite childhood toy?”

  “That’s easy, it was my mother. She wasn’t a toy, but she was the best person to play with and be around,” I say truthfully. All my memories of my mother are full of life and fun.

  “My turn, have you ever been in love?” I turn my head slightly so I can face him. I want to see his reaction and how he answers.

  “Yes, and she drives me completely bonkers,” he says, smiling down at me. I have a feeling he’s talking about me, especially with the way he’s looking at me, but that can’t be possible since we hardly know each other.

  “All right, well, I have to get back to work. Keep your cell on you and call me if you need me. If you don’t, I will be royally pissed, Kristy,” he stresses the last part. He removes my head from his chest, stands, then leans down so his soft lips touch my forehead. My eyes automatically close to his touch and his lips linger longer than necessary.

  “I will,” I tell him, as he stands and walks out the door without looking back.

  It only takes six minutes for brain cells to react to alcohol.

  “You look like shit, Kayla,” Tyke tells me when he sees me. I laugh at him because he has no idea. I feel like I’ve been hit by a freight train and not in a good way either.

  “Shut up,” I grumble, coming to stand near him. He laughs, turns and touches my cheek. His touch is gentle and soft, so unlike him. He shakes his head and drops his hand away from my face. His face goes from soft to serious within a second.

  “No work tonight,” he says, then turns his back to me. I laugh at him thinking he’s joking, and when he doesn’t turn around I know he’s serious.

  “Fuck you, Tyke, I’ll find my own then,” I say, and storm off with my boots clicking with each step I take. I walk out of there and make my way to the dorms. On my way, some girl shoves me backward and starts to laugh.

  “Guess you’re more stupid than I thought,” she spits at me. She obviously has a death wish. I stand tall and start circling her and she watches as I do, thinking it’s all a game. She starts laughing at me and starts to walk off, but I stand directly in front of her stopping her from moving. She tries to push me away, but I’m ready for her this time. I separate my feet to stand firm and when she notices her antics aren’t going to work on me, she tries turning the other way. That isn’t going to work either because I’m pissed and in the mood for a fight. I walk briskly and catch up with her, tapping her on the shoulder. She swings around and when she sees it’s me, she sneers and starts to walk off again. I stop her by grabbing hold of her matted blonde ponytail. I pull hard and she falls to the ground. She tries to scream when I sit on her and I cover her mouth with my hand.

  “Do you like to pick on people, possibly humiliate them?” I ask. She tries to bite my hand and I remove it and slap her hard across her face. She cries out and I smile down at her.

  Her head starts to swing from side to side, looking for someone to help her. She won’t find anyone; it’s a Monday night and the campus is very quiet. Apart from her, I can’t hear a thing. I bring a star out and turn it in my hand. Her eyes go wide and it makes me smile.

  “Why… why do you have that?” she whimpers.

  “For bad people. Are you a bad person?” I ask, leaning down and getting right in her face. She shakes her head profusely and I laugh.

  “For some reason, I have a feeling you’re not a very nice person at all.” I bring the star down and cut the front of her shirt open. Her breasts are covered by the bra she’s wearing and she starts to freak even more.

  “I wonder if you can live without one nipple,” I say, circling the sharp edge of the star around her nipple that’s covered in lace. She bucks and tries to remove me, so apply more pressure. The first hint of blood starts to form and it’s hypnotizing.

  She manages to get a hand free and she slaps me hard on my already sore face, making me wince. It doesn’t give her the leverage she was hoping for though. I grab her wrists with one hand and pin them above her head. My free hand, still holding my blade, starts a line in the center of her chest. She starts screaming as I cut her, not enough to do damage, but just enough to bring blood to the surface.

  “Stop it, stop it,” she cries.

  I stop and smile at her. “Was that so hard? Now, I want to hear you apologize for being so fucking rude and then kiss my feet,” I say to her. She looks at me oddly and for a second, I think she’s not going to do as I ask, but she surprises me.

  “I’m sorry, I’m sorry for everything.”

  I stand above her with my feet planted on either side of her head, and nudge her cheek with my boot. She looks at me pleadingly and I tap my foot out of frustration. The tears come strong and fast from her eyes as she places her first kiss on my left boot. She tries to stand and I pin her back down with a hand to her chest.

  “Other one now,” I say firmly, but sweetly. She listens and kisses my other boot. I step back so she can stand up and she starts to take off in the other direction. I grab her purse first. She stops when I do and I open it so I can read her name, “Bianca.” I chuck it at her and smile.

  “Now I know who you are you better hope I never see you again,” I say and blow her a kiss. She looks awful with mascara running down her face, her ripped shirt and grass covering her.

  I turn around to find dark and mysterious standing behind me. I look him up and down and smile. “I knew you couldn’t stay away from me,” I say, walking closer to him. He stops me with his hand and looks me up and down. Then he leans in close to look at my eyes.

  “Who was that?” he nods in the direction of Bianca, who has just left.

  “Some bitch that thought she’d be able to take me,” I say, starting to circle him, enjoying the view of this fine man. I get to his ass and give it a little squeeze and it’s so tight I could bounce a ball off of it. He knocks my hand away and turns to face me.

  “What was her name?” he asks seriously.

  “Tell me yours first,” I challenge him.

  “Kai. Now, tell me her name?”

  “Bianca,” I answer and smile. His face turns serious and he glares at me hard.

  “Why did you let her walk away? She didn’t deserve to just walk away.”

  I raise my hands in self-defense because I have no clue what he’s talking about.

  “Okay, Kai, I’m leaving now. You have a great night,” I say and blow him a kiss. He huffs out and that’s when I feel a bang. The next thing I know, it’s completely dark.

  Diseases of the brain include Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis. Diseases such as these can limit the normal function of the human brain.

  I wake with the worst headache known to mankind. My head feels like a rock was smashed against it. I get up groggily, grab my bathroom bag and head to the showers. I look at my reflection in the mirror and I’m surprised to see the swelling is starting to subside. My ribs still ache when I cough, but other than that, I can feel that they are healing nicely. As I turn and heat the shower, ready to rid myself of the grime that has been plaguing me for days, I notice Bianca stepping out of the one next to me. I look at her and she recognizes me, but her expression confuses me. It’s like she’s scared of me, when it should be the other way around. After all, I’m the one bruised and battered. She ducks her head and practically runs from the shower and away from me.

  I wince as the water hits a cut on my lip. I quickly try to wash myself and attempt to do my hair, when I realize it hurts too much to lift my hands above my head. I give up, dry myself off and throw on a pair of my yoga pants and a shirt. I make it back to the front of my dorm to see Julia standing there. As soon as she sees me, her hand f
lies to her mouth and she runs at me, covering me in a hug. I try not to show that the way her arms are wrapping around me is painful, but I don’t succeed and she hears my small whimper. She lets go and I open the door for her to follow me through.

  “Oh my God, please tell me. Whose ass do I need to kick?” she asks me and sits on the end of my bed.

  “No one’s, don’t worry. I’m feeling so much better. Tell me, what’s happening with you?” I ask, trying to change the subject.

  “Well, I came here to tell you something that’s been on my mind for ages, but I just didn’t know if I should.” I give her a quizzical look and she continues, “Well, my father was recently murdered.” That shocks me and my own hand flies to my mouth.

  “I’m so sorry, is there anything I can do?” She shakes her head and smiles.

  “It’s no loss, trust me. My father was not a nice man. Actually, I came to tell you that I saw who did it. Well, not fully, but I saw her,” she says, still smiling.

  “What do you mean?” I ask because I have no idea what she’s talking about.

  “Well, I had to go home one night and when I got there, I found a woman hunched over him with a star in her hand. She was singing a song to him and I didn’t even realize at first what she was doing until she stepped away.”

  “Have you told the police?” she shakes her head at me and I frown at her. “You need to tell them. She needs to be caught and locked away.” She shakes her head again.

  “What do you mean she was singing?” I ask as I take in what she had just said. What a weird thing to do.

  “It’s an odd song and I can’t even fully remember it. It’s nothing I’ve heard before. I remember the start. It goes like... One, two. Who to kill? Three, four…” I block her out as my brain starts hurting and flashbacks haunt me.