Slashing Away: A Dark Psychological Thriller (Gushers Series Book 2)

by Chuck Buda

  Holden would love to see his wife and Rebecca get it on. What man in his right mind had no interest in two women going at it? Two women going at it and the needing him to complete the circle? Two women, sucking his cock at the same time?

  “I’ll try to find out what’s on her mind. You’re probably right. I’m sure I am reading too much into it because I feel guilty.”

  Rebecca puckered her lips and did her best Marilyn Monroe. She sauntered back to the bed. Her hand slipped under the sheet and stroked him. He was hard before she got to him. Rebecca giggled and stuck her head under the sheet. She accepted him into her mouth. She stopped for a moment to tell him how good it tasted with both their juices all over it.

  Holden could do nothing but lie back and enjoy the pleasure. Rebecca was not of this world and he couldn’t help himself. He was grateful the sheet covered her head so he could stare up at the ceiling with mixed emotions. His face would have betrayed his real feelings on the affair.

  Holden wanted to keep things going with Rebecca because it felt too good to stop it. And he craved the distraction. Desired the freakiness and freedom. But his conscience was beginning to grow louder with each passing day. He knew what he was doing was wrong. Yet there was no control. It was like an addiction to drugs or booze. Only better. And worse. With drugs he wouldn’t feel guilty for cheating. For betraying his best friend. The person he swore to be faithful to for the rest of his life. The only person who truly mattered to him.

  He was loathsome. Holden wished he were strong enough to kill himself for what he had done. What he was still doing.

  Holden’s guilt suddenly disappeared as he reached the point of no return. His head lifted off the pillow as he exploded in Rebecca’s mouth.

  All thoughts of Samantha and his evil behavior were gone.

  Chapter 17

  Jordyn finished working on her nails. She like to treat herself to manicures or pedicures when she got stressed out. After this afternoon’s confrontation in the school parking lot. Jordyn decided to do her own pampering. She had been in no mood to fake friendliness at the salon.

  Jordyn opened her bedroom door to go to the bathroom. She’d been holding all the water she drank at the diner. As she stepped into the hallway, something unbelievable stunned her. Jordyn gasped aloud.

  Leah’s father and her mother jumped with fright. They had been leaving her parents’ bedroom. But it didn’t make sense to Jordyn. Why would Mr. Fisher be in her parents’ bedroom? And at such a late hour? During the week? And why was he here if her father was away on business?

  Jordyn knew the answers to her questions. It didn’t need to be slapped across her face to understand her mother was fucking someone else. And not just anybody. Her friend’s father. And more than her friend’s father. Her neighbor from across the street.

  Jordyn’s jaw dropped.

  Her mother held up her hands. “It’s not what you think, baby. Mr. Fisher was helping me, uh...”

  “Uh, uh, we were...” Mr. Fisher looked nervously at her mother.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” Jordyn stomped her foot. Her mother was a fucking slut and Jordyn suddenly wanted to kill her mother for betraying the sanctity of their family.

  “Let’s talk about this, sweetie.”

  “Don’t fucking “sweetie” me, mother. How could you? Are you leaving daddy?”

  Mr. Fisher slid back against the wall in the hallway. He stared at the ceiling, knowing full well he had been caught. Jordyn glared at him. She should totally fuck him over and tell his daughter.

  “I’m not leaving your father. I love him. This was just something...different.”

  “Yeah, different dick for you to slide around on.” Jordyn stormed toward her mother. If she hadn’t just spent hours on her fingernails she would totally gouge out her mother’s eyes, she reasoned.

  “Watch your mouth, Jordyn. I’m your mother!”

  Jordyn laughed out loud sarcastically. She folded her arms across her chest, realizing for the first time she was only wearing a bra and sweatpants. Her instinct was to cover up her tits but she was too furious to give a shit if Leah’s father saw anything.

  “I’m going to leave you both alone. I think it would be better for you to discuss this matter in privacy.” Mr. Fisher backed toward the stairs.

  “Yeah, go home to your WIFE. I’m sure she’s wondering where you are right now. Let me call her so she doesn’t need to worry anymore.” Jordyn saw him grimace at her remarks. He paused on the stairs, his eyes begging her for forgiveness.

  “Don’t worry, Mr. Fisher. Your filthy secret is safe with me. I wouldn’t want to lose such good neighbors. And a good friend. Leah would probably hate me for sharing the good news with her.” Jordyn felt the vitriol rise up in her words. She made sure to mention Mrs. Fisher and Leah to twist the knife deeper into his motherfucking ginger ass. Jordyn lost her breath from the surging anger in her veins.

  Mr. Fisher nodded quietly and hurried down the stairs. Jordyn glared at her mother as she waited to hear the door click shut downstairs. Once she heard Mr. Fisher leave the house, Jordyn rushed her mother. She lunged forward and tackled her mother in the hall. Both of them crashed to the floor. Jordyn pulled her mother’s hair as hard as she could. It wouldn’t ruin her nails to tear follicles from the slut’s scalp, Jordyn thought.

  Her mother fought back. She slapped Jordyn’s face on each side, attempting to get Jordyn to let go in order to protect herself. In her rage, Jordyn didn’t give a shit about her face. She wanted her pound of flesh. Jordyn screamed at her mother.

  “You fucking slut!” She tugged hair harder. A snapping sound of hair brought her satisfaction.

  “Jordyn! JORDYN!”

  Jordyn let go of her mother’s hair. She jumped to her feet and kicked her mother in the ribs.

  “Don’t fucking talk to me. You’re a goddamn whore. How could you do this to me? To daddy?” Jordyn rested her hands upon her knees. Dizziness worked its way to her head and she needed to catch her breath. Jordyn thought she might puke all over the hallway.

  Her mother sobbed and gasped for air, clutching her side where Jordyn had kicked her. She rolled to face Jordyn, her make-up running down her cheeks like a pathetic clown. She cried out loud.

  Jordyn hoped she hurt her mother. As much as she had physically hurt her, Jordyn knew it could never equal the pain she felt in her own heart. Knowing her mother had cheated on her father. She suddenly thought about calling her daddy to fill him in on what was going on behind his back while he slaved away on the road week after week. While he busted his balls to earn as much money as he could, to give them the lifestyle they enjoyed, his loving wife was sucking somebody else’s dick.

  “Don’t worry, mommy. I won’t tell your HUSBAND about this. I’ll leave that up to you to do. But believe me, when he divorces your ass, I’m going with him. I wouldn’t trust you enough to live alone with you.” Jordyn knew her words sliced through her mother’s soul. It was the least she could do. Part of Jordyn thought of offering her mother as a sacrifice to The First Cut. Spencer could bleed her for their rituals.

  Jordyn suddenly stopped hyperventilating. She realized she might have a good idea. Maybe exposing her mother to The First Cut was a great idea. A penance for her slutty mother. And a much-needed feather in her cap to help bring Zoe down. If she offered her mother to the club then it would work to belittle her mother and serve as a major contribution of dedication to the group. Even Zoe couldn’t top THAT kind of commitment, Jordyn grinned.

  I’ll fix her fucking her ass.

  Jordyn delighted in her new idea. It hardly put a dent in her anguish. But it was a start. Revenge would be sweet. Jordyn decided to leave her mother alone with her fears. Better to let her wonder what I might say or do then to tip my hand. Jordyn stormed to the bathroom and slammed the door shut. She locked the door and stared at her teary eyes in the mirror.

  Her eyes worked down to her full breasts. Jordyn looked more like her mother every day. Her mot
her was stunningly beautiful. And Jordyn was too. Maybe she should start to use her body to get what she wanted. Maybe she should fuck Mr. Fisher too. That would put another stake in her mother’s heart. And it would be nice to manipulate Mr. Fisher to avenge her father. She might be able to get all kinds of things from the fucker, while he chewed his nails worrying Jordyn would spill the beans to his wife.

  Fuck him, too.

  Jordyn smiled at herself in the mirror. She licked her lips playfully and started laughing.

  Chapter 18

  Aiden caught himself doing it.

  He chuckled out loud. When he concentrated too hard on something, Aiden jutted his tongue out the side of his mouth like Charlie Brown. His mother used to tease him when he was younger about looking like the cartoon character. Ever since, Aiden found it funny when it was pointed out to him. He always remembered his mother’s words and it made him happy.

  He had been hard at work since he got home from the diner. As he walked home from Leah’s house, Aiden got an idea he wanted to test out. He wanted to create fake blood. Lots of it.

  Aiden’s intentions were to bring an enormous supply of blood to the next First Cut meeting. He would use it as an example of his re-dedication to them. The idea was to make them believe he bled himself multiple times in order to show his willingness to go the extra mile for them. Of course, without actually having to bleed himself. Aiden didn’t have the stomach for the real thing.

  The internet was a wonderful tool for learning odd tasks. Like how to build a bomb. How to create an underground post-apocalyptic shelter. And how to create gallons of fake blood. Aiden found several websites detailing Hollywood-style special effects. Some of the instructions were too vague or convoluted. Aiden figured half the effects artists were high on something which was why their websites were difficult to comprehend.

  But he eventually found one which included pictures and specific measurements. Aiden read through it and then fished through his mother’s cabinets downstairs for the ingredients. It hadn’t been hard to secure things like Jell-O mix, flour and food coloring. Of course, water. However, the special effects were geared to make it LOOK like real blood. There was no information available on how to make it TASTE like real blood. Aiden had to get creative on that front. He emptied his comic book hero piggy bank. After collecting several handfuls of old pennies, Aiden tossed them into the jugs too. He knew blood had a metallic taste, like licking a roll of pennies. So that’s exactly what he used to give the concoction a true-to-life smell and taste.

  Aiden finished working on the phony elixir. His eyes burned from weariness. It was well past his bedtime. And he had a quiz tomorrow in English. But his mind remained active, much to his body’s chagrin.

  Aiden began to do some internet searches on occult rituals. He wondered if he could find something to counteract the powerful spells Spencer seemed to use. Aiden hadn’t really bought into the premise that the chanting and the rituals led to any real powerful benefits. Then he recalled how Zoe and Spencer kept getting stronger since they started using it. Their dominance more complete. Their will harder to combat. Aiden scratched his head. There might be some truth behind the mysteries.

  He started with Aleister Crowley because he knew Spencer was a huge fan of the man’s life and teachings. Each link led to more organizations that spawned from Crowley’s philosophies. And Aiden was surprised how far back Crowley’s learning had derived from. Apparently, Aleister Crowley found tenets of esoteric thought dating back to the Pharaohs in Egypt and ancient Islamic mystics. The man had been well versed in just about every religion and mysticism on the planet. His whole life had been formed around the search for truth. Basic human truth of existence and life. Crowley traveled around the globe and learned all he could before settling into his own skin.

  Aiden became fascinated with the breadth of knowledge which one man could dig up. Some of the specific practices Crowley engaged in turned Aiden’s stomach. The man was no stranger to drugs. And sex was rampant. It seemed Crowley wasn’t particular about being with women only. Allusions to men and orgies and drinking of semen reared their heads here and there. Aiden shuddered when he realized the parallels between what he was reading and what Spencer brought to The First Cut.

  He lost himself bouncing from website to website. Each article interested him more, to the point he had to click on the sources which took him to more information. Aiden had to get to bed before he stayed up all night. He glanced at the clock which showed it was well beyond three in the morning.

  Aiden yawned and shut his computer down. As much as he wanted to keep learning about the weird beliefs, he knew he could never catch up to Spencer’s level of knowledge in one night’s worth of reading. At least he had a better understanding of it. A beginning step.

  Aiden climbed into bed without taking off his clothes. He knew his mother would have a fit if she caught him in bed wearing his “dirty” clothes from school. But he was too exhausted to slough them off. His mind continued to process what he had spent the last few hours reading.

  He had more respect for the occult now.

  And much more fear.

  Occult practices were well outside the norm for people like Aiden. For most people really. It involved a willingness to let completely go of earthly beliefs and habits. Patterns indoctrinated over centuries of human evolution. Being able to partition the mammalian brain in order to allow something foreign under the skin. Occult practices were nothing like religion, although Aiden had correlated the two in his mind. There were similarities and overlaps in terms of prayers or masses. But it was different on so many other levels.

  Aiden tried to recall the difference he had read about the Left Hand Path and the Right Hand Path. He thought one had to do with white magick while the other was more black magick. The confusion began to hurt his head.

  He started to look forward to Friday. Aiden hoped Zoe came back to give him the thumbs up to re-join. Instead of being scared of her will, he was excited about matching wills. Pushing back where he used to give in.

  The fear was still prevalent.

  Too many unknowns still lingered over the whole club. And his plans. How far would he be willing to go? Could he pull it off without guilt or fear of retribution? Did he have to hurt someone else? Worse, would he be hurt again for doing this? His wounds still ached from last week. The thought of being caught red-handed stirred the bile in his gut.

  Aiden closed his eyes. Amid all his nervousness, Leah’s beauty danced across his lids. Her flowing red hair, trailing her soft neck as she smiles at him. Aiden can smell the fruited shampoo, the mesmerizing scent which he could never tire of. Aiden wanted to be with Leah. Alone. He knew what he was doing, his involvement of Leah in his actions, endangered all possibility of happiness with Leah. Not only could he be hurt. Leah could be hurt. And Aiden wouldn’t be able to live with himself if something were to happen to Leah. His first order of business was still to protect her from harm.

  As Aiden pictured Leah in his arms, he drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter 19

  Leah grabbed a cereal bar from the cabinet. She thought about it for a moment, and grabbed another one to toss in her bag for later at school. As she bit into the cereal bar, her mother entered the kitchen. She forced a smile at Leah and busied herself with going through the refrigerator. Leah knew her mother’s routine well. The lunch meat would get placed on the island. Then the mayo. Then her mother would grab some snacks from the cabinet and begin tucking a handful into a zipped up snack bag.

  “Who’s taking you to school today?”

  Leah tried to swallow a chunk of cereal bar so she could answer her mother without choking on a bite. “Todd is coming by.”

  “What happened yesterday? Your father told me you walked to school. Nobody carpooled yesterday?”

  Leah sensed something in her mother’s voice. She couldn’t tell what it was. But there had been an edge she hadn’t seen before. Leah had noticed her mother’s silence the last few
days. She thought her parents must have gotten into a fight because they both appeared to be avoiding each other.

  “Um, yeah. I just felt like stretching my legs a little. The guys still went together. I just wanted some fresh air.”

  Leah’s mother continued to construct lunches for her men. She listened to Leah without making eye contact. Leah took another bite of her cereal bar as she watched her mother.

  “Is everything okay, mom?”

  She held the morsel of bar inside her cheek, waiting for her mother’s response.

  “Of course.”

  Leah didn’t buy it. Her mom was always bubbly to the point of being obnoxious. Leah thought her mother was the happiest person on the planet. Always smiling. Always offering help or service to her family. The words came out flat. And there was no vitality behind her eyes. Or her actions.

  “It seems like you’ve been in a funk the last few days.” Leah wondered if her mother heard her, or chose to ignore her. She kept working away on sandwiches. “You know, cause if you need to talk to anyone...” Leah decided not to finish her offer.

  Leah was about to step outside to wait for Todd. The silence became awkward and Leah wanted to escape as quickly as she could. Suddenly, her mother looked up.

  “Thanks, honey. I’m okay. I appreciate your concern.” She rounded the island and came toward Leah. Her arms wrapped around Leah so quickly Leah hadn’t had a chance to lift her own arms to hug back. Instead, her mother squeezed her while one hand was down at her side and the other was holding the cereal bar to her lips.

  “Okay. This was fun.” Leah tried to crack a joke so her mother would release her. It took a few long moments before her mother stepped back. Leah could have sworn her mother had been crying but she put her back to Leah to finish working on the lunches. Leah wished her mother a good day and then hurried out the door. Standing in the front yard waiting for a ride to school became much more interesting to Leah. Even though she wished her mother would come out of her funk soon.