by Huss, JA
It’s wrong. The whole thing is wrong.
The white paint, the flashing red symbols that I don’t understand, the music, the lights, the flames, the party—it’s chaos. And it’s all wrong.
“Answer me, dammit. What the fuck is—” I stop talking because she has turned towards me and I quite literally lose my words. Finally, I manage to whisper, “What the hell…”
Her face is painted up too. That’s why I was having a hard time recognizing her at the elevator. Her eyes are gone. Closed, I realize. And painted over them are two upside-down crosses in red. But that’s not even the most disturbing part.
Her mouth is an eye. A large, all-seeing eye has been painted around her lips.
I walk forward and take her by the arm. “Who did this to you?”
She opens her eyes and the upside-down crosses disappear. “Leela.”
“Why?”
“I’m doing it for you. Don’t you get it? I have to give you opportunities to succeed, just like you do me.”
I’m shaking my head. “I don’t understand.”
She slides my jacket down my arms. I just stand there. It’s fucking hot out here on the bridge. I don’t even know how it’s possible since it’s nearly the second week of December, but sweat is pouring down my back. I don’t stop her when she continues, lifting my shirt up, and then I actually help her by pulling it over my head.
Her fingers tease their way up and down my chest. She closes her eyes and all I see when she sinks to her knees are those upside-down crosses flashing red at me in the strobe lights.
At the same time, her fingers are unbuckling my belt. Popping the button on my jeans. Dragging my zipper down and then she spreads her legs open and takes my fat cock out, cradling it in the palm of her hand.
Then she abruptly stands up and kisses me. Her tongue passing me a pill as her hand begins to massage my dick.
I am conflicted.
For maybe three seconds I consider spitting it out.
But she spoke my own words back at me. Jack’s words. Leela’s words.
This is a test. I failed the last one at Thanksgiving. Spectacularly. So I could use the easy A.
I swallow the pill.
Then she’s holding a chalice up to my lips. Wine. I take a drink, then try to pull away, but she keeps the cup there. Encouraging me to take it all. So I do.
She sinks back down to her knees. The metal chalice clanks on the glass floor of the bridge and rolls towards the edge. Falls. Disappears. Then crashes down below as people squeal and scream.
I look down at Cadee, unable to reconcile this—creature painted up in glow-in-the-dark white. She opens her legs as she squeezes my cock and then suddenly the beat is louder. The thumping so powerful, it might shatter the glass we’re standing on. And the light becomes a rainbow of colors that flash in patterns and reveal writing on her body. More symbols. And words too. But I can’t read them. They’re not visible long enough for me to read them.
“Cooper.”
My name echoes. It’s like the call of a siren. Otherworldly and ominous. Beckoning.
“Cooper. Watch me.”
I look down just as Cadee closes her eyes to reveal those upside-down crosses. And that’s when I notice that her mouth is the eye. And the eye is painted up in bright colors now. Yellow, and orange, and green.
And then my dick slips into the pupil as it closes around the tip of my head.
For a moment I’m lost in the grotesque symbolism. But then she’s just sucking me off and I lose track of everything else but how I’m letting her rise and succeed.
I don’t remember much after that. Just a few things. Squirting my come into her multicolored neon eye. People shouting and clapping, and then looking down to the third-floor terrace to find the whole party is watching us.
Then bending Cadee over the top railing and fucking her from behind as people cheer.
I wake up the next day in my bed alone.
My phone is buzzing somewhere out of reach.
It stops.
I go back to sleep.
It buzzes again.
Then I sit up and say, “Cadee?”
When I look down at myself, I expect to see evidence. But I’m wearing a t-shirt and a pair of sweat shorts.
I ignore the phone, walk right past it and throw open my doors. The cold December morning air hits me in the face and I take a moment to relish it, then look around.
Looks pretty normal.
Without putting on shoes or a coat, I go to the bridge. All the fire cylinders are gone. And when I look down, I expect to see trash. This place was trashed last night.
Nothing. Clean, like normal.
I cross the bridge at a jog, then pull Cadee’s door open and slip inside. “Cadee?”
But she’s not here, either.
I check the bathroom, even though I know she’s not in there. Just to be sure.
Then I go back to my room, pick up my phone, and realize it’s past noon and I’ve got nine messages.
Two from Jack. Both threats.
Four from Victor. He’s got the Glass House set up, just waiting on me.
Two from Cadee. One telling me she’s in the art building getting her first semester portfolio together. Then another saying she’s getting a mani-pedi with Leela at the spa in Monrovia and she’ll be back by four.
The last one is from my father. “Come see me. Now.”
I pull on some clothes and head downstairs.
No one is around. Not a single fucking person.
It’s creepy, but I don’t have time to worry about it. I take a shortcut through the woods to reach the gate that opens up near the admin building, then slip inside to find the place empty.
Shit, it’s Saturday. He must be at home. But I go upstairs to his office anyway, because I’m already here, so I might as well check.
No one, of course.
New Laurie’s desk is clean and her computer is off, just as it should be.
But the door to my father’s office is open. And that’s not how it should be.
I stand there in the doorway for a few moments. I want to go snooping through his shit so bad. But I know better. This place is wired from top to bottom.
This is just another test.
Did I pass last night?
Was fucking my girlfriend painted up with creepy symbols a test?
She said it was, so I have to believe her.
I leave the admin building, go to my car in the parking lot, and then drive around the lake to the mansion.
Jack is sitting in the great room when I enter. He’s pointing a remote at the massive TV over the fireplace. “Finally. Have a seat, Cooper. We have a lot to go over.” Then he clicks the remote. I’m still processing when the screen flicks to life and the party from last night comes into view.
Specifically, Cadee and me on the bridge.
The vid was shot from the third floor. But whoever was doing the filming was using a long lens, because every fucking detail is visible.
“What the fuck is this?”
Jack looks bored when his eyes meet mine. “Your final exam.”
“What?”
“Sit down, Cooper. You did OK. I guess. Let’s go through it together, shall we?”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
Jack looks at me like I’m the dumbest person alive. “There’s not enough to use here, so”—he shrugs—“it will do. But it’s not a great use of resources.”
“Jack—”
“She was told to push you, Cooper. And she did her best. I’m not faulting Cadee. But you certainly didn’t rise. You did a much better job that one night when you spanked her over your knee.”
I knew. I knew there were cameras. We all knew. Everything we’ve done since we walked out of rush last summer has been recorded. We knew this.
But realizing that my brother has been watching me fuck my girlfriend—no. Not just watching. He’s critiquing—well, that pisses me off.
&nbs
p; My eyes slide over to his with rage.
I take note of the yellow-green remnants of bruising he has from the last time I beat him down and then suck in a deep, deep breath to calm myself.
I knew he would get back at me. I knew this. And I beat the fuck out of him anyway.
So this is all my fault.
I sit.
And I listen.
As we go through it.
Together.
When I finally make it out to the Glass House, I find Victor inside eating a sandwich. He brushes the crumbs off his fingers, finishes chewing, and then says, “Let’s get this show on the road. I have a million other things to do tonight.”
Then he winks at me.
And for the first time since I woke up, I feel in charge again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX - CADEE
After our mani-pedis, Leela drops me off at campus. She wishes me good luck during finals week and then says she probably won’t see me again until Christmas.
When I get home, Cooper isn’t there. So I just climb into bed and watch TV.
I’m just about to give up and go to sleep when I hear the faint sound of the elevator ding. A few moments later, he enters my room.
I wait for it. Because I deserve whatever he has to say about last night.
But he doesn’t say anything.
Just walks over to the bed, grabs me by my hair, pulls me down onto the ground, takes out his cock, and shoves it down my throat.
I am slapped. I am pulled around the floor. I am fucked from behind. He comes on my face and my tits. He chokes me twice. The second time I pass out.
When I wake up, I’m in the shower. The water is freezing cold. I’m naked and alone.
And when I look in the mirror, I see that my neck is bruised. And then I see the message.
I have risen is written in red lipstick.
I dress and then go over to his room. I find a note. It says, At the end of the week you will move home. Servants’ quarters, southeast wing of Valcourt Mansion. You wanna play this fucking game, Cadee? Fine. We’re gonna play.
I look in his closet and find all his clothes gone.
He’s moved out.
I sit in my room all Sunday just watching the workers string up Christmas lights. They go all out. Even on my floor. And by nightfall this place is a thing out of a fantasy.
I stand out in the middle of the glass bridge and think about homecoming. How the lights in the central garden were magical. How happy we were. How beautiful Isabella and I looked and how handsome Cooper was in that military-ish suit he was wearing.
I could stare at those pictures down on the main level for hours.
And that night, after everyone has gone home and the outside of the building is lit up like a winter dream, I lie on my bed with my head at the foot and just stare up at the picture of Cooper and me fucking on the Valcourt throne.
I haven’t seen Isabella in weeks now. In fact, I haven’t really seen anyone but Leela.
Are we still playing a game?
Or is this my new reality?
Am I a sex slave?
Or am I a secret weapon to take down a whole community of rich, sick fucks?
Were my parents really legacies? Or were they just slaves?
Did my mother belong to someone once? Was she an offering?
If the bloodline thing is true—then that answer is yes.
And if I get pregnant, my girls will be slaves too.
I wonder if there are any boy slaves?
Is that where Victor comes from?
I leave the building. I see the bodyguard who follows me into the woods. I know they’re there. Just like they were for Mona. But I don’t care.
I walk all the way over to the other side of campus. Into the Prep side. Things are very quiet. All the buildings are dark and the woods are darker.
But I know this path. I don’t need light to find my way to the little gardener’s cottage. And anyway, Victor is still up. His lights are on.
He looks up when I knock. I can see him through the large window near the door.
I never thought much about how much glass was used to make this building. It reminded me of a greenhouse. I maybe thought it was a greenhouse when I was a kid.
But it’s not.
It’s just… transparent.
Victor opens the door. “Cadee. What are you doing here?”
“Can I ask you something?”
He looks around nervously. “I think you should go home.”
“It’s an easy question, I promise. All I want to know is—where do your parents live?”
“What?”
“Where did you grow up?”
“Why?”
“I just need to know.”
“On the other side of the lake. Like everyone else.”
“You have a mansion over there?”
“Yes. Of course.”
“You’re not just lying to me?”
He cocks his head. “Why would I lie about that?”
“Can you show it to me?”
“Now?”
“Yes. Now.”
He sighs. “I guess. But is this a good idea?”
“I just need to know who you are.”
He grabs his coat off a hook on the wall, slips it on, and jingles his car keys in the pocket. “Fine. Let’s go then. My parents are gonna be pissed when I wake them up to introduce you, but fuck it.”
If he’s trying to make me feel bad about that so I’ll say forget it, it doesn’t work.
We walk to his car in the student parking lot near the stadium, then take the long way round to get to the other side of the lake.
His family lives far, far away from the school.
But he wasn’t lying. He does have a very nice house in the woods. Nothing like Valcourt Mansion, but it’s still a mansion by anyone’s standards. He shuts the engine off in the driveway and says, “I’m not gonna wake up my parents, but I’ll show the family photo album.”
I nod, and we go inside. He has a key. He knows the alarm number. He leads me to a large room, walks right over to a built-in bookshelf, and pulls out a photo album.
I flip through it. He’s in there. He has a past, and a family, and he grew up in this house.
I get up and put the photo album back where he got it. Then I nod.
We leave, but instead of going to the car, he tugs on my coat and leads me into the woods. Then he says, “What the fuck is this about?” while staring at the driveway.
I sigh. Look past him. Not at anything specific. “Who am I?”
“What do you mean?”
“I thought maybe you and I were… I dunno. Alike.”
“Alike how?”
“Well, you’re not in, Victor. You’ve never been in. They make you work for it. And I’ve never been in either.”
“Oh.” He pauses. Frowns. Not an unhappy frown. More of a pity frown. “You thought I was someone’s secret kid?” He smiles as the last few words come out. “You thought maybe I grew up poor. Like that would explain who you are?”
I nod.
“I don’t know what you are. Or why you’re special. But you are special, Cadee. At least to them. And I’m gonna say one more thing and then we’re never gonna talk about this again, deal?”
I swallow hard and nod. “Deal.”
“You do not want to be special to them.”
“Why?”
“Even if I knew, I wouldn’t be able to tell you. That would be crossing a line. But I don’t know. The only thing I do know is that they are very careful. They are very patient. And the offerings are few and far between.”
“What is that?” I whisper. “Tell me what it means.”
“It’s not code, Cadee. All you have to do is look it up in the dictionary. It’s right there in black and white.”
“Victor—” But the panic on his face makes me stop and when I turn, I see the bodyguards walking towards the woods. “We need to go. You’re gonna be OK. Don’t think about it. Just…
keep going.”
“But Victor—”
“Shut up, Cadee.”
He leads me out of the woods and then hands me off to the bodyguards. They have a car at the end of the driveway and they drive me back to school, then walk me through the woods to the dorm.
I stop at the dedication sign though. And they don’t tell me to keep going or give me any kind of direction whatsoever. Just let me stand there and read those words again.
The Hunter Building. In loving memory of Ian and Avery Hunter and dedicated to their daughter, Cadee.
I sigh and this breath comes out as a puff of steam in the frigid night air.
Then I turn and keep going
Just keep going.
When I step off the elevator and look at my room, I see a shadow moving beyond the sheer curtain. “Cooper?” I whisper it to no one.
But when I go inside and pull the curtain back I find Leela.
She doesn’t say anything. Just smiles at me. And then she walks towards me and opens her arms.
I sink into her.
Not because I love her. Not because she’s my friend.
I sink into her hug because she is all I have.
And that is sad.
I am… sad.
The next day is Monday. Last week of the semester. First day of finals week.
My final exam for life drawing is to draw a subject in three days. Seventy-five percent of our grade is this one final subject.
Our subjects have been interesting, to say the least. It turns out some people are harder to draw than others. Children, for example, are very easy. So many smooth lines. We did lots of kids in the beginning. Only their clothing made them challenging, that’s how cartoon-like kids are.
Then we did students. Also clothed. Each other, mostly. And again, it was mostly about the clothing.
But then we started doing twenty-somethings. Naked. Also fairly easy.
Then middle-aged. Also naked. Slightly harder. Their bodies weren’t so perfect anymore.
Then we did an old man and his wife with crazy wrinkles.
So the whole way over to life drawing I’m wondering what kind of model we’ll get for the final. Other kids are wondering too. They guess old people. Groups of them, maybe. Or in some insane pose. And they keep guessing as we all set up and get ready.