Inside

by Kyra Anderson

  His care quickly became part of our routine.

  By Friday I was ready to get away from it all.

  I went to Archangel with a lot on my mind and every intention of talking to Clark. I wanted to ask him more about Dana and how to handle being around the leader of the Commission. However, when the other boys in our group of friends appeared, Clark was not with them.

  “Where’s Clark?”

  “Oh, he’s not coming tonight,” Devon answered. “He’s sick or something.”

  Realizing I would be alone that night at Archangel, I formed a plan to go to the balcony, get a drink, and sit in one of the chairs to pass the night quietly. I said goodbye to my now-estranged group of friends and joined the other Commish Kids, feeling my heart beat quicker as I reached the top of the stairs.

  No one bothered me, which was a relief, since I was not in the mood to talk or defend myself against them.

  I remained in the back corner of the Archangel balcony, trying not to let the reality of my life settle in my chest. It was already difficult to breathe in the heat of the balcony, but occasionally, unwanted memories of everything I had seen at the Commission, or the eyes of the silent Mykail on me as I moved throughout the house would cause a sharp spike in panic that had me trying to calm my breathing. My life and everything I thought was normal had been turned upside-down in as little as two months. My brain was always in turmoil, leaving me in a permanent state of exhaustion as I tried to cope.

  I stood, leaving my drink behind, and descended the metal stairs to the dance floor, weaving through students, needing to move. I was wearing the tight blue dress and felt the fluttering wing of the one sheer sleeve move as I passed through the people to the middle of the dance floor. I started moving with the music as Devon had taught me my first night at Archangel, shifting my hips and shoulders with the beat, letting my body act on its own, forcing my mind to quiet.

  The song faded out just barely as another took over the speakers, the lights flashing in sync with the opening as the other students cheered around me. The bass was heavy and the beat of the song was intoxicating from the first sound, though I could not discern the lyrics. While I didn’t understand the words, my body continued to move as it wanted, feeling the pulse of the music race down my spine.

  I danced until my mind had blocked out everything else, as though I was alone in the room.

  I felt him approach. That strong, cold power was at my back before I could react, large arms encircling me, hands flat against my belly and pulling me tight to him. I gasped and my eyes opened, surprised and dazed.

  His mouth went to my ear, his breath soft against my skin.

  “Keep moving, Little Lily.”

  I obeyed.

  His voice and hands sparked something deep in my belly. My mouth fell open as my hips moved against his. I felt his fingers flex and my eyes fluttered as the fire grew inside me, consuming my nerves. His hands moved from my abdomen to my hips, pulling them tight against his as we moved together. My hands locked behind his neck, weaving in the thick, soft hair at his nape.

  His hands were powerful on my body, one hand resting over my lower abdomen while the other snaked up my side to rest under my breast before lightly grazing over my chest as the hand crossed my shoulders, tracing my collarbone with a delicate touch. I danced with the music, feeling his mouth on my neck as he lightly kissed the skin, his hips pushing against mine in rhythm.

  I moaned, surrendering. It was extremely hot in the club, making me dizzy and causing me to grab the back of his neck harder, forcing myself to remain upright. I closed my eyes and felt my body begin to sweat and shake. Some part of me knew what was really causing the tremors.

  I was a puppet in his hands, responding to his every move. His leg slipped against my behind and I moaned openly, grinding and feeling nothing other than the heat of the room and the sparks his touch left on my skin. His hand moved from my shoulders back down my body, over my breast again, which he gently squeezed before moving his hand across my abdomen, over my hip, and to the skin of my thigh as he kept me firmly pinned, hips anchored to mine.

  A few moments later, I spun around to look at him and saw the man I had been dancing with. He had a smirk on his face, which was normal, but his glasses were off, and the unnatural color of his eyes in combination with the predatory look made knees give out. He was not in his normal three-piece suit. Instead, he was wearing a black shirt with the V-collar exposing the dip of his collarbone. Over that, he had a black jacket and he was also wearing black pants with boots—perfect camouflage for the dark club. He smiled when I looked him over appreciatively, mimicking my scrutiny. I could feel the trail of his eyes over my skin as he scanned me before his hands on my hips and my lack of coherent thought caused me to keep writhing to the heavy, powerful beat of the song.

  His arms encircled my waist, his hand flexed over my backside as his other hand, once again, skimmed up my side and palmed my breast. I moaned and swiveled my hips against his, hungry for sensation.

  “Perfect, Little Lily,” Dana whispered, his mouth close to mine. My eyelids felt heavy. I was drunk off his presence and the heat of the club—it was all becoming too much. “This is the way I want to see you…in need…begging…”

  “P-please…”

  “Keep moving.”

  I stretched my body against his, feeling the need in my belly elongate to encompass my body fully. I pressed my chest to his, moving my mouth closer, but he pulled away, smiling with the familiar dangerous look. He chuckled coldly, dancing with the music against my body, working my nerves until I was incapable of control. I felt like a rag doll in his strong, powerful hands.

  He lifted my leg and wrapped it over his hip, holding me even tighter and in a far more intimate position. I choked back a moan, my eyelids fluttering wildly. He laughed and the sound ran down my spine in time with the beat.

  The hand that had been on my breast moved to tangle in my hair. I gasped as he yanked my head back, exposing my vulnerable neck and kissing the underside of my jaw slowly, smiling against the sweat-slicked skin. I didn’t think about everyone else in the club or how the others could be watching this very intimate dance between me and the one-and-only Dana Christenson. I knew the students on the main floor wouldn’t recognize him, but the Commish Kids in the balcony would know him immediately and would see us only layers of fabric away from having sex.

  I didn’t care. His intoxicating power had turned me to putty in his hands.

  “You are mine,” he growled against my throat. He yanked my head further back and leaned over me at his towering height, seeming even taller somehow. He smiled devilishly. “Do you feel this?” he hissed, pushing me against his hips again. The spark that ran through my body was as sharp and bright as lightning. “That is from me. You cannot run from this.”

  I shook my head. It was too hot. I couldn’t breathe. Dana’s hand was over my mouth.

  “Shhh…shh, Little Lily,” he cooed as I started to panic, though my body was still grinding against his. I could feel his other hand still groping my leg remained hooked over his hip though the touch had turned cold. “Submit everything to me. You cannot escape…”

  I couldn’t breathe. My eyelids fluttered shut I tried to move my mouth away from his hand. It was too hot. The music was too loud. I couldn’t move…

  I opened my eyes, my vision blurry. I was no longer in the club. I was against the side of a building, hearing the thumping of the music in Club Archangel not far away. I tried to regain my senses, though it was nearly impossible. I was sweating and light-headed, finding it difficult to keep my eyes open, feeling dizzy and disoriented. My leg was hooked over someone’s hip and a hand had slipped under my dress and was palming me while the other hand was clamped over my mouth.

  I forced my exhausted eyes focus and saw three boys around me. One more pinned me to the wall as he pressed his body against me, grinding roughly. All four of them I recognized from the Commission.

  “Aw, shit, is sh
e coming to?” Freddie groaned to my right. “Her eyes are open.” My heart began racing, knowing even in my drugged state that I was going to be raped if I didn’t do something quickly.

  “Get the fuck off of me!” I snapped, trying to push Brian, but my limbs were weak and useless.

  “Ha! She’s still pretty feisty!” Lance chuckled, demeaning my desperate attempt to fight back. “Better tame her quick, Brian.”

  I felt Brian’s hand move to my panties but in my panic, I regained some strength and managed to reach one of my hands down to the front of his pants. I felt sick touching him, but I grabbed, twisting my wrist as fast and as much as I could.

  Brian cried out in pain and crumbled, falling away, his hands releasing their grip. I also fell to the ground, unable to find the coordination to remain upright.

  “Holy fuck, dude. Y’alright?!” Justin gasped.

  “Fuckin’ bitch!” Freddie snapped, backhanding my face. The pain was sharp and tears sprung immediately to my eyes. I was stunned by the strong pain and then felt myself being pulled flat to the ground by another set of hands.

  “No!!” I screamed, weakly attempting to kick.

  “Fuck! Hold her still!”

  “Excuse me,” a calm, cold voice filled the alleyway. My eyes shot open and my breath hitched in my throat. I turned my head and saw a tall figure, his eyes bright even in the dim lights. Beside him were four men—one I recognized as Sean.

  “Mr. Christenson?!” the boys gasped, their faces paling.

  “Get them,” Dana ordered shortly, his voice disinterested.

  The guards darted forward in an instant, Sean included, and went for the boys. Lance and Justin jumped up to run away, but that just caused the guards to, quite literally, tackle them to the ground. There were sounds of struggling and pained shouts as Sean and the other guard angrily pinned Freddie and Brian to the asphalt. Sean looked at me and I smiled weakly, trying to thank him.

  Dana crouched next to me, his hand enclosed around his pocket watch. His eyes were not compassionate for the situation in which he had found me. I shivered, remembering my strange—hopefully drug-induced—fantasy about dancing with him and praying that he had no way to read my mind and see the fantasy for himself.

  He tenderly tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

  “Aren’t you a fortunate little one?”

  He offered his hand to me. I stared at it, and then at him. He looked into me with those eyes that could see everything and, before I knew it, my hand was in his and he was scooping me into his arms. I was carried, half-naked, into the limousine parked at the entrance of the alleyway. He placed me in the limo before climbing in himself. I hastened to straighten my dress, but my fingers were clumsy and I was on the verge of tears as fear of moving from one assault to another consumed me.

  “Allow me,” Dana breathed, moving his hands to the hem of my dress and slowly pulling it back down over my hips. My breath was stuck in my throat as I watched his hands carefully, anticipating having to fight him off as well.

  When the dress was straightened, his eyes locked on my lap and I shifted uncomfortably under his hungry expression. His gaze moved to my face, the dangerous light playing in the gold color. I felt as though I was trapped in a cage with a wild animal.

  “A-Aren’t you…going t-to ask me i-i-if I’m okay?” I stuttered, unable to keep my voice from betraying my terror. He chuckled, the sound wracking every nerve.

  “No,” he said. “I know you’re fine.”

  “Like hell I am!” I snapped, pushing him angrily, though he hardly moved.

  “They didn’t do anything to you. Not yet, anyway.”

  “That’s not the fucking point!”

  “Oh my, what language,” he chided playfully.

  “Wh-what the hell are you doing here, anyway?! Are you fucking following me?!”

  “Yes.”

  I blinked, not expecting a blunt confession. He cocked his head to one side in the way that told me he was thinking of something dangerous and I had to wonder why he was following me.

  “What do you want with me?” I whimpered.

  Dana smiled mysteriously, his face moving mere centimeters from mine.

  “Everything.”

  My body was frozen as he leaned closer, his tongue darting out to catch the tears that tumbled down one side of my face.

  “I like the taste of your tears.”

  “Please…” I whimpered, sobbing. “I want to go h-home…”

  “I am going to take you home,” he assured. “As soon as Sean gets back.”

  I could not take comfort in his words. I wasn’t sure how long it would be before Sean was back in the car. As soon as he was back, I would be safe from Dana—for a time.

  “It was probably a date rape drug,” Dana noted, moving to the limo bar to get a bottle of water.

  “What?” I choked, trying to stifle my sobs, pushing my tears away with the heels of my hands clumsily.

  “The drug that they gave you.”

  “How do you know?”

  “That you were drugged?” Dana clarified, breaking the seal on the bottle. “I’ve seen the look before.”

  “On girls you’ve drugged?” I said angrily, though I knew I wasn’t very menacing since I was still blubbering.

  “Let me assure you, Little Lily, when I want a woman in my bed, I don’t need to use any drug,” he purred, his eyes shining with a very intimate light. My fantasy that night was proof enough of his surreal powers of seduction. The more I thought about how little I fought him in the hallucination—who was I kidding? I didn’t fight him at all—I knew that there was a part of me that wanted him.

  He moved the bottle toward me and I reached out. He pulled it away and shook his head, clicking his tongue.

  “Oh, no, no, no, Little Lily,” he said. “You have no coordination. You would drop this and spill water all over the limo.”

  I felt the fear consume me to the point where I was getting tunnel vision. The only thing keeping me from passing out was the knowledge of Dana’s presence and that I needed to be alert to fight him off.

  His eyes locked on mine again, hungry and cruel. He lifted the bottle.

  “Tilt your head back and open your mouth.”

  Every joint and muscle in my body was frozen. The car was getting smaller and smaller. I knew there was no escape. The doors were locked and he was causing paralyzing fear within me. It was impossible to run.

  “Come on now, Little Lily.” He showed me the bottle. “Aren’t you thirsty?”

  I was very thirsty, but more than anything I was frightened, both to obey and disobey. Slowly, I tilted my head back and opened my mouth, trembling uncontrollably.

  “Open your mouth wider,” he hissed, his voice laced with something that made my shivering worse. I opened my mouth a little more and he moved the top of the bottle to the side of my mouth and poured. I tried not to choke, but as he pulled the bottle away and I dropped my head, he spilled some water on my chin and it ran down my neck, soaking into the front of my dress. His eyes darkened and lit with fire at the same time. He ducked his head to my neck, his tongue moving up the trail of water.

  I whimpered, unable to move away.

  The tears started falling down my cheeks again as the frightened sobs rose in my throat. “Please don’t…”

  “I love it when you beg.”

  I closed my eyes, cringing at his tongue on my throat. One of his hands snaked up my thigh, over my side and to my breast, palming it as his mouth moved to my jaw and chin. He finally pulled away, grinning darkly.

  I continued to cry, backed against the door, trying to put as much distance between us as physically possible in the cramped space.

  “Ah,” he breathed, “there are those tears again.” He moved to my cheek and I tried to turn my head. He kissed the moistened skin. “I want to make more of these.”

  “Sir,” a voice said as Sean climbed into the driver’s seat.

  “Yes, Sean?” Dana said, kiss
ing me once more on the cheek before backing away. I went limp against the door, lifting my hands to my face, my whole body heaving with silent sobs.

  “The boys names have been taken down and we will be sure to contact their parents. The police have also been called. The others are waiting with the boys until the police arrive.”

  “Excellent.” Dana nodded approvingly. He turned to me and I tensed, my eyes wide, fear rocketing through me that he would continue the molestation even with Sean in the car. “We are taking Little Lily home.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Dana did not touch me or speak to me for the entirety of the drive. Instead, he stared, watching me cry and sob in terror, refusing to let me look away from his eyes. There wasn’t a smile on his face, but there was a frightening fire in his gaze that caused my anxiety to double. I wished my heart would give out right then and I would simply die. It seemed to be the only way to escape him.

  He appeared to be fascinated by my crying. He was enthralled, and the more interested he seemed, the more I tried to compose myself. Finally, I had pushed my tears away completely and sat straight, holding myself together with every ounce of strength I had within me.

  I sat as far away from him as possible, our eyes locked in battle. I wanted to watch the scenery pass, to see how much longer I would be trapped in the limo, but I could not look away.

  When we entered my neighborhood, Dana sighed and reached to the bar in the limo again, releasing me from the hold of his eyes.

  “Here,” he said, handing me a small mirror and a box of tissues. “Clean yourself up.”

  I looked at my reflection, not really caring about my appearance after everything I had been through. However, I looked like hell. I removed the runny mascara from my cheeks and did my best to look normal again. His eyes remained observant, still fascinated. When I was finished, I handed him the mirror and the box of tissues.