by Bridle, Dee
“Set up a website with his phone number telling everyone to call him for anal,” I said
concentrating on the running scripts on the screen.
Will laughed, and said, “Love it!”
“Put him on the Sex Offender’s List,” said Noah.
“Empty the fucker’s bank accounts,” said Will.
“Immobilize the engine on his merc,” grinned Noah.
As my fingers flew over the keyboard, I glanced over and saw Ava curling up on the couch. She looked exhausted and pale. Her bruises looked worse against the paleness of her skin. I would take care of this shit, and I would take care of her. I would make it all right again.
I started with the website. Next up was hacking into Antony’s Facebook account. I deleted his photo albums, put messages all over his wall, and defaced his profile. I searched for any links to Ava. People were already talking about tonight’s party on Tyler’s party page. Some had put up photos of her. One had drawn devil horns on her. I deleted it all. Some girls had messaged Ava on her wall and were calling her names. I deleted them, too. No one would taunt her online ever again.
“She’s exhausted,” murmured Noah.
I looked at her and saw that she had fallen asleep. I stopped typing for a moment.
“He must have been pretty rough for it to bruise so quickly,” said Will, touching her bruised wrists.
“I’ll get her a blanket,” said Noah.
I stood up and gently lifted her in my arms.
“I’ll put her in my bed.”
I carried her into my room and put her down on the bed, pausing just to take her in. She stirred up every emotion I tried to suppress. There was something very comforting about seeing her asleep on my bed.
I looked at the bruises again and bristled. I wanted to kill him. I wanted to go right now, find him, and seriously hurt him. Now I would do whatever I needed to do, to make him pay.
I leaned over and pulled her shoes off. I tucked her legs in and pulled the comforter over her. I went back out to the living room to get my laptop. Will was by the front door with a knife.
“Where are you going?”
“Outside, to do a little twilight slashing to all four tires of his car.”
“Nice one,” I said. “Try and scratch it deeply on every panel while you’re at it.”
Will grinned and left the unit quietly.
I went back into my room and closed the door quietly behind me while I kicked off my shoes. I sat down next to a sleeping Ava and then leaned against the headboard, my laptop on my chest.
I blocked Antony from her Friend list. Then I hacked into her phone and deleted all the texts. I deleted everything that was still there, even though she might have thought she had deleted them. Everything was wiped clean.
The sun was just coming up as I started on the next task of hacking into Antony’s phone and then his hard drive. I was going to delete everything referencing Ava. I was determined to get rid of the video for good. Once I found the original video, I looked at it frame by frame. I zeroed in on the girl on the bed. It was her friend, Sophie. I contemplated if she had even known that he had been filming her at the time.
Interesting.
I looked through the other collections of videos that he had made. Not surprising, Antony had been a busy boy. This was just the beginning. I would eventually ruin him.
Chapter Seven: A Big Ball of Mess Inside
Ava
I awoke and took a moment to adjust to my surroundings—Zac’s room. Last night came flooding back to me and I sat up in bed looking for him. I had no idea of the time, but there was sun shining in through the window. So, I guessed I had slept through the morning. Zac’s laptop was on the bed with a program running on it with continuous code flickering on the screen. There were two Red Bull cans on the bedside table, and I considered whether he had even gone to sleep last night. I heard water running and realized he must be in the shower.
I curled back up in his bed and put his comforter over me, not wanting to leave the bed and face the day. It was the only place where I felt safe. I remembered Antony’s face last night, looming towards me with a determination that scared me. I speculated what would happen at school tomorrow, and if I’d be able to survive the gossip and hatred.
I looked at my wrist to see the redness replaced with bruising. Then I touched my sore, aching neck. I remembered the salty taste of his hand against my mouth, and it made me grimace. How dare he violate me like that? I hated him.
I thought of Sophie and our now non-existent friendship. A month ago, I never would have thought that someone like Antony could ever come between us. He blindsided her, and she automatically took his side. Unbelievable! Maybe he had done this to other girls and that’s what kept them quiet.
I put my face into the pillow and suddenly wanted my life to go back to the way it was before. I was in Zac’s bed, but for all the wrong reasons. I liked that he was helping me with this, but I couldn’t help worry that it would push him further away.
He didn’t need all my dramas. No one did. I was so alone that it hurt my chest to breathe. If Zac hadn’t found me last night, I would be at home right now, all alone.
I missed my mother, wherever the hell she was right now. I missed having a confidante like a mother should be, sharing my life and directing me in the right way. I missed her and resented her for leaving me.
The shower was turned off, and I listened for the door to open. I didn’t move, knowing I would look like hell. I wanted to take my clothes off and get rid of them. I wanted to get rid of the memory of Antony, and I needed to shower. I didn’t know how much longer I’d be welcome here, but going home was the last thing I wanted to do right now. I hated the thought of being alone there, knowing that Antony knew where I lived.
The door opened and he walked back into the bedroom, running his hand through his hair. With just a pair of shorts on, his perfectly toned chest provided me with a glimpse of his tattoos. I took the moment to look him over while he thought I was still asleep.
He had a large one that covered his entire left shoulder, another one that wrapped around his rib cage, and then a set of large wings on his shoulder blades, with the devil underneath. Oh, my god. I couldn’t stop staring at him. He was everything I had imagined and more. I watched his back muscles move under his tattooed skin as he went over to a chest of drawers and grabbed a T-shirt.
He turned around, and I was still staring at his finely chiseled abs and the perfectly formed V that disappeared into his shorts as he looked to me.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey,” I said, my cheeks flushing.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, shoving his arms into his T-shirt and putting it on.
I watched it slide down, covering his muscled skin and felt the disappointment of the shirt hiding such perfection.
“Okay,” I managed to say.
“You slept all night, which is good,” he said, coming over to the bed and sitting down.
He checked his laptop and then typed something.
I watched him, and then I slowly sat up in bed and pushed my hair off my face. I felt unsure of what to do or say next. He glanced over at me and his eyes narrowed on my neck.
“Are you sore?” he asked next.
“A little,” I said, moving my wrists. “It just hurts if I press on them.”
He frowned.
“Did he hurt you anywhere else?”
I shook my head and looked down at the bed, not wanting to tell him that he had groped me as well.
“Why didn’t you call me?” he asked quietly.
“I guess I didn’t know what we were…and I didn’t know if you were with someone else and that I would be…interrupting.”
His frown deepened.
“You were nearly raped, Ava. You wouldn’t have been interrupting anything.”
I swallowed hard.
“Thanks for finding me…and taking care of me. I don’t know how I would have gotten throug
h last night by myself.”
“Where are your parents?”
“My father goes away a lot with his girlfriend,” I said quietly, not looking at him.
I braced myself for his next question about my mother. But he didn’t ask.
“So your friend, Sophie, seems pretty pissed,” he said next. “I blocked her on your profile as well as all the others who felt like they wanted to say something.”
I cringed.
“The sex video no longer exists…on any level, not even on the dickhead’s hard drive,” he said next.
I raised my eyebrows.
“You can do that?”
“I can do a lot of things,” he murmured, looking back at his laptop.
“So you weren’t joking about the anal website thing?”
“No.”
“And you’ve done all those other things?” I pressed.
He nodded.
“So you’re my knight in shining armor,” I said, with a small smile.
“I’m definitely not that,” he said
, getting up from the bed. He opened the window across the room and sat on the ledge as he lit up a cigarette.
I had obviously said the wrong thing, and I could have kicked myself.
His phone rang and he looked at the screen and then answered it. He started to talk about set times and who was supporting some band. He chuckled with them and then got up from the window ledge. He threw the cigarette out of the window.
I watched him head over to the chest of drawers again, but then he bent down and opened the bottom drawer. He pulled out a pair of girl’s shorts. Then he opened his top drawer and pulled out one of his own T-shirts. He laughed at something with his caller, and then he glanced at me and passed me the clothes. He pointed to the bathroom and then turned and left the room, still talking.
I sat there looking at the closed door. I had obviously annoyed him with my comment. So, did he want me showered and out of his bed? Maybe I should just get up right now and go home. I felt completely out of my element, and didn’t know him or what he wanted.
I looked down at my ripped T-shirt and knew I had to get out of these clothes that I would never wear again. I climbed out of the bed and went straight to the bathroom, remembering to take the clothes he had offered me. I closed the door behind me and looked at the girl’s shorts. They were my size and I mulled over the idea of them belonging to an ex-girlfriend. Maybe she had been a one-night stand and had left in a hurry, leaving her clothes behind, while wearing his clothes. The thought made me hate the shorts instantly. I put them near the basin and didn’t want to touch them until I had to.
Stepping into the shower, I let the hot water run over me, easing my soreness and tension. I took his soap and enjoyed the scent of sandalwood. It reminded me of him and his kiss all those nights ago. I wanted to do it again, but I had no idea where to go from here.
I finished the shower and dried myself with a towel, wondering if he was back in the room or still out talking with his friend. I ran my fingers through my wet tangled hair and then put his T-shirt on over my bra and underwear, leaving the shorts at the basin.
The T-shirt was well worn and had a band’s name across it. I loved the feel of it. I stepped out of the bathroom and saw him lying on the bed with one knee up. He was looking at something on his phone. Our eyes connected and I gave him a quick, unsure smile.
“Nice T-shirt,” he said with an amused look.
Then he looked over my bare legs and his gaze found its way back up to my eyes. I blushed a little and looked away. I weighed up the idea of going over to him or putting my jeans on and going home.
“I’m tired,” he said, putting his phone down and then putting his hand behind his head on the pillow.
“Did you sleep at all?” I asked pushing my hair back and stepping over to the bed.
“No, I might get a couple of hours now,” he said with a yawn.
I looked at him on the bed, longing to get back in there with him.
“I’ll go home then, leave you to it.”
He closed his eyes and murmured, “Whatever you want to do.”
I stood there, rigid with indecision. I knew what I wanted to do, but I wasn’t confident enough to do it.
“What’s wrong with the shorts?” he asked next.
I swallowed.
“Nothing. I just…”
His eyes opened, and he watched me, waiting.
I had to be honest with him.
“I just…didn’t like the idea of wearing one of your girls’ things,” I mumbled.
He grinned and closed his eyes again.
Annoyed at his desirable grin, I turned back around to the bathroom, and said, “I’ll just get my jeans back on and go home then.”
“Like I said, whatever you want,” he said calmly with his eyes still closed.
“Got it,” I snapped and walked back into the bathroom.
I picked up my jeans from the floor. I couldn’t think of anything worse than putting them back on. Then suddenly, I favored the shorts over anything that reminded me of last night.
“They’re my sister’s, by the way,” came his amused voice from the room.
I dropped the jeans back to the floor and ran my hand through my hair. He had a sister and they belonged to her. I rolled my eyes at my stupidity and then pulled the toilet lid down and sat on top of it. I covered my face with my hands, and I felt like I was going slightly mad. Between the emotional upheaval of last night’s ordeal and now being here in Zac’s room, I felt more and more like a naïve innocent.
I wanted to cry but willed the tears back. I spent the next five minutes concentrating on my breathing and trying to get my mind in order.
It wasn’t long before I took a deep breath and stood up with determination. I grabbed my T-shirt and jeans from last night and pushed them into the small wastebasket.
I stepped out of the bathroom and saw that Zac was already asleep. He was obviously worn out from helping me all night. My chest ached at the thought of all the trouble he had gone to for me.
I slowly walked over to the bed, and without another thought, I gently climbed in next to him. Truth was, I didn’t want to be alone. I couldn’t stand the thought of not being next to him.
* * *
I awoke later that afternoon to a buzzing sound. It took me a moment to figure out who I was and where I was. Seconds later, I worked out that the buzzing and familiar music was coming from Zac’s phone that was in-between us on the bed.
Zac moved and put the pillow over his head as I looked down at the screen. Janey. Jealousy stirred within me and then the buzzing finally stopped. Was she the one who had called during our kiss that made him leave that night?
I looked at the time on his phone and saw that it was 5 o’clock. We had slept for hours. I glanced back at Zac and he was still sleeping under his pillow. His tattooed arm was holding the pillow down.
My eyes wandered over the tattoo, and I looked at the intricate detail, surmising what the symbols meant. My fingers itched to pull the short sleeve of his T-shirt up to see the rest of it, but I didn’t.
I thought about getting one and what symbol I would have. But I didn’t know where I would put it. I needed to move away from home, first, because my father would definitely not appreciate a tattoo. I imagined Sarah’s face and how she would react to it. That’s when I decided that I would get one after school was finished. Why not? Life is short.
The phone started to buzz again between us, and Janey’s name came up again. Zac groaned from under his pillow as his hand moved down to feel for the phone.
His head came out from under the pillow and he answered the call.
“What?” he answered in annoyance with his eyes still half closed.
He listened to the caller in frustration.
“I don’t fucking know! Whatever! I don’t give a shit! Well, fuck off then,” he said, ending the call.
He dropped the phone back on the bed. He let out a loud sigh as hi
s head went back down onto the pillow.
He then suddenly got off the bed and went into the bathroom. I heard the toilet seat bang against the tank before he used it. I waited for him to return, unsure if he would be annoyed that I had stayed.
The mattress moved as he climbed back over and lay down again next to me. I waited for him to say something. Anything. But he didn’t. I was fully awake now, and I glanced over and saw that he had closed his eyes.
“What time is it?” he asked.
“Just past five,” I said quietly.
“You okay?” he asked next.
“Yep,” I said.
He opened his eyes and looked at me.
“You’re throwing your clothes away,” he stated.
I realized that he didn’t miss a thing.
“I never want to be reminded about last night again.”
“Fair enough,” he said, stretching out his arm and then yawning.
I stayed on my stomach, watching him. I enjoyed the closeness, however long it lasted.
“If anything happens at school tomorrow, you need to call me,” he insisted.
“Okay,” I whispered, secretly loving his protectiveness.
“He most likely won’t even go near you now that this has all happened, but just keep your wits about you. Watch where you go.”
“Okay,” I said again.
“You need to probably think about getting some self-defense classes,” he added.
I smiled at his thoughtfulness and care.
His eyes narrowed at my smile.
“Don’t give me that look,” he murmured.
I stopped smiling.
“I’m not giving you any look,” I denied.
“You are. You’re seeing something that’s not there; wanting something that I can’t give you.”
Hurt speared my chest. He had done it again. In one flurry of words, he had pulled away from me and hurt me again. Those words hurt more than the bruises. Preservation of pride made me lift my chin.
“I’m not seeing or wanting anything from you,” I lied calmly.
I got up from the bed and went into the bathroom to grab the shorts. I put them on and strutted back into the bedroom.