Edge of Darkness Box Set

by Margaret McHeyzer

  I have to.

  The black car rolls around the corner toward me. I don’t even have to look to know it’s Edgar.

  He slows to a stop only a few feet from me.

  My heart’s hammering inside my chest, and I’m shaking like a leaf. The back door opens.

  Out steps one of the most beautiful men I’ve ever laid eyes on. He’s dressed impeccably in a suit, his hair is neat and slicked back, and his dark eyes lock onto mine. “Hannah.” His voice is pure opium. It hooks me in. But I have to fight it.

  Straightening my shoulders, I hold my head high. I can’t let him do this to me. Stepping closer, I’m careful not to get too close. If I do, he’ll overcome me and I won’t be able to stop myself.

  “Just… tell me. Did you sell a video of me having sex?”

  “Get in, I’m taking you for coffee.”

  “No, Edgar, I won’t. I just need to know if you sold or uploaded a video of me having sex!” I’m more forceful, but inside, I’m barely holding on.

  “Get in.” This demand is final. If I don’t get in, I’ll never find out if it was him, or someone else. I have no idea what to think. I’m so confused. But I need answers.

  I fight with myself. If I get in, he’ll have his talons in me in a matter of minutes. If I don’t, I’ll never know if it was him, or Justin from the brothel. God, I hope it’s not Edgar. That would snap my heart. Break me completely.

  “I… ” I stop what I want to say, because I don’t actually know what it is.

  “This is your last chance.” He gets back into the car and closes the door.

  My body is screaming, I want to get in. But I don’t. The slim level of control I have over my brain is slipping.

  I walk to the other side of the car, and get in.

  He’s sitting back, smiling. He’s relaxed and confident. The way he’s always been. I feel like I’m a mouse in the lion’s den; trying to escape his power before I’m consumed like I’m nothing more than a meal.

  “Did you sell or upload?” I ask again. My resolute is completely gone.

  “Is that all you’re worried about? If I uploaded or sold a little video here and there?” He casts his gaze over me, travelling all the way down my body. The car’s in motion, and for a split second I’m contemplating jumping out. I can’t be in here with him. My control is nearly gone.

  “Did you?” I ask. Tears are threatening, but I’m holding strong. I’m not sure how many more seconds I’ll be able to hold onto my strength.

  His lips begin to smile. That sexy smile he’d give me. “Oh, kitty,” he says with that dangerous dark tone.

  His voice. God, his voice. It holds onto me. Comforts me, caresses me.

  “Please?” my pitch breaks. I can hear the desperation.

  “Kitty,” he says again. This time I respond with a shiver. Goosebumps cover my body. “You’re looking good. Just like I remember you.” He reaches over and places his warm hand over mine. With his thumb, he gently strokes the soft skin on the back of my hand.

  Closing my eyes, I fight the pull he has on me. He owns me, and he knows it. I can’t help it. I lift my hand slightly, and try to link fingers with his.

  What are you doing, Hannah?

  I can’t let him back into my life. I can’t.

  My head is hazy, but not like it used to be after the pipe. It’s more a blanket of want for him.

  I remove my hand, finally controlling myself. Opening my eyes, I look over to him. “Did you do it?” I ask, not letting this subject go.

  Edgar pulls his hand back, and reaches into his jacket pocket. He brings out my old friend. My foe. My best friend. My enemy.

  “What are you doing?” I ask, afraid, yet strangely excited about what he’s showing me.

  “This?” He holds the pipe up, and shows it to me.

  I’m desperate. I want it. Just like he used to give it to me. He’d hold it, and I’d climb on his lap, straddling him then I’d wrap my lips around the pipe and suck in deeply. “Please.” I scrunch my eyes tight, and turn my head away from him. But this is futile. I know what he has, and I know in a matter of minutes, I’m going to want what he’s offering.

  I hear him tapping in a couple of crystals. I hear the flick of a lighter. No, no! I can’t.

  “Would you like to try this?”

  “No,” my voice is weak at best. Exactly like I am.

  “Are you sure?”

  I peel my eyes open, and turn to him. The pipe is in his hand, the crystals in the bottom. The lighter in his other hand.

  I shake my head, too scared to speak, because I know if I open my mouth, it won’t be to speak, but to suck in the smoke.

  “For old time’s sake.”

  I shake my head again. The taste is in my mouth. It’s right there, teasing me. He holds his hand out a bit further. Something overtakes me, something so strong, I’ve never felt anything like it before. It’s more than a want, more than a need, more than hunger, more than the need for air.

  I move closer to him, and before I even realize, I’m straddling his hips. “That’s it,” he says.

  He lights the pipe. Instantly, relief floods me.

  Yes, that’s it. This is what I’ve been missing. I need this. I can’t escape it. I won’t escape it. Just one more time. I’ve stopped before, I can stop again.

  I lean forward. The pipe is only a hair’s breadth from my mouth. I could pull back and refuse it, but I want it. One more time. Just once.

  “I… ”

  “Shhh, kitty. I’ve missed you.”

  “You’ve missed me?” I ask.

  “I love you.”

  That’s all I need. “Please, don’t let me go as far as I did last time,” I beg.

  He guides the pipe closer to my mouth. “I promise, I won’t.”

  Happiness overtakes me. I’m no longer fighting this. Edgar loves me, and he’ll look after me. This is right.

  One more time, and I’ll stop.

  Chapter 28

  Two weeks later

  “Sky, I need some money.”

  “Justin said you can go back to work any time you want.”

  “Edgar won’t let me. He says I’m not allowed to whore myself out anymore.” I giggle as I light up my pipe.

  “What do you need money for? He gives you what you need.” She wraps the rubber tourniquet around her arm, draws the liquid heroin back and smacks her arm to find a vein. The moment the needle is in her arm, she slumps back, and lets out a sigh. “This is good shit,” she says in a slow and calm voice.

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I need money,” I say again.

  “Ask your parents, they’ll help you out.”

  I burst out laughing, finding what she’s saying funny. “Yeah, after they beat the crap out of me. You know how they kidnapped me? They didn’t feed me once, and they didn’t let me go the bathroom. I had to shit myself. They don’t give a crap about me. They’re too invested in themselves. I hate them so much.”

  “Then come back to Justin’s.”

  I shrug. “I might go back home, and see what I can get. I gotta make sure they’re not there though.” I stare at the wall. I feel like I’ve got so much energy. I don’t want to sit any longer. “I’m going,” I say as I jump up off the sofa.

  “Yeah? See ya,” Sky responds.

  I open the front door, and run down the stairs. I have so much energy, I don’t know what to do with it. I’m walking so fast, I’m almost running. I don’t even know where I’m going. I’m just going.

  “Hey, you’re hot,” some guy yells out of the window of his car as he drives by.

  I stick my middle finger up to him.

  He slows, then yells, “Whore!” before he throws his soda can out the window toward me. It narrowly misses me. I flip him the bird again.

  My feet are walking on their own. The high from the pipe is strong in me. It lasts longer than it’s ever lasted before. I try not to have it all the time, but it’s so good. I c
an’t help it. It makes me super horny, and gives me so much energy.

  I love how I feel. It’s the best thing ever. Edgar’s coming over tonight, so I have to make sure I’m home then. He’s taking me somewhere special. I can’t wait.

  Before I know it, I’m standing in front of my parents’ house.

  How did I get here? Did I walk all this way? Crap, I hope they’re not home. I walk up to the front door and knock. I can’t hear anything. Phew, they’re not home.

  I walk around the back, and see the kitchen window is ajar. I giggle to myself. Idiots. They left the window open.

  I remove the screen, and slide the window open, then I haul myself up and squeeze through the opening. “Hello?” I yell, in case someone’s here. I’m never getting stuck in this hellhole again.

  My parents are vicious and brutal. They chained me to the fucking bed, and kept me there.

  Who’d do something like that?

  I hear nothing.

  Yes, I’ve got some time before they get home. I go straight to my parents’ room. I take out their drawers, one by one, and tip them upside down. I need to find money. They better have some. I need some. Edgar told me I’m gonna have to start paying for the rocks, but he won’t let me work at Justin’s.

  I go through all their drawers, I haven’t been able to find anything.

  I go into the kitchen, and look through everything there too. “Jesus,” I say to myself as I look for things.

  “Hannah?” Dad’s voice booms from behind me.

  Before I look at him, I roll my eyes. God, these people are such monsters. I turn and display a fake smile on my face. Dad’s in a towel, his hair glistening from the shower. I don’t recall hearing the water. “Daddy?” I say as I step toward him. He’s staring at me. His mouth is gaping open, and I can’t help but feel like he’s judging me. “What?” I yell at him.

  “You’re using again.” He clasps at his heart as if he’s shocked.

  “I’m clean,” I say. “But I need money.”

  “No. No money.”

  “This is bullshit. You owe me after the way you treated me.”

  “What?” he asks, looking confused. “I can’t talk to you when you’re using. Because I’m not talking to my daughter, I’m talking to the drugs. Crystal meth?” he asks.

  “I’m clean,” I say again.

  “Really, and that’s why your skin is filled with those terrible spots. Your arms have got scratch marks again.”

  “There was something crawling under my skin, but I got it out now.” I start scratching again, feeling something crawling.

  “Let me help you.” He steps closer and lifts his hands in surrender.

  “I don’t need help, old man. I need money. Are you gonna give me some, or not?”

  “Hannah, I can’t. All you’ll do with it is spend it on drugs.”

  I roll my eyes and huff in frustration. “Here we go again. What are you gonna do? Keep me here chained to my bed again? Sorry, old man, but those days are gone. I have someone who loves me and takes care of me. Unlike you and that bitch of a mother.”

  He shakes his head, and a few tears roll down his cheeks. “We’re devastated,” he says in a small voice. “This isn’t what we want for you.”

  “No? Prefer to beat me instead?” I ask as I step back from him.

  “I can’t argue with you. Because in your head, you believe the words you’re saying. We’ve never beaten you. We’ve always given you everything you’ve wanted. We’ve never denied you.”

  “You haven’t? With what, Dad?” I spit his name as if it’s something dirty. “You’ve gambled everything away. And Mom… she’s a whore,” I smugly say. Dad looks confused. As if he has no idea what I’m talking about. “Don’t pretend. You’re a gambler, Mom’s a whore and you’re worried about me occasionally having the pipe? You’re a loser.”

  “Hannah, you’ve said those words before, and I know you believe them. But it’s not true.”

  I look away, not believing a thing he’s saying. “Whatever,” I say. “Give me money.”

  “No, but I can get you help.”

  “I don’t have a problem.”

  “Yeah? Prove it to me. Let me get you into rehab.”

  “You think you know everything, don’t you? I don’t need rehab, I just need Edgar.” I straighten my shoulders and smile. “He takes care of me now.”

  “Obviously. Look at you. When was the last time you had a shower? Or ate? Or even looked in the mirror? You’re a shadow of the girl you used to be. You’ve fallen under the spell of drugs again, and if I’m guessing right, I’d say this Edgar is the guy who’s feeding them to you.”

  “Edgar does feed me!”

  “Drugs. Drugs that are made with chemicals that could kill you.”

  “Whatever!” I shout and throw my arms up. “Give me money.” I hold my hand out to Dad.

  “No.” He’s standing his ground, but I’m not leaving without money.

  “I tell you what. How about I give you something in return?” This I can do, because let’s face it, men love sex.

  “Hannah.” Dad’s voice becomes more strained. “Don’t do this.” His face twists in agony.

  “Come on, it’s only sex. For fifty.” Dad cries while he shakes his head. He rakes his hands through his hair, then buries his face into his palms. “Don’t act like you don’t want to have sex with me.”

  “Hannah Rose Mendes!” I hear my Mom’s voice from behind me.

  “Shit,” I mumble. “Hey. I need money.”

  Mom storms over to me, and grabs me by my upper arm. “Get out!” she screams as she drags me through the house toward the front door.

  Something takes over, and I turn. With my hand in a fist, I punch Mom as hard as I can in the nose. Bloody spurts out all over the place. “Hannah!” she screams as she cups her nose.

  “You think you can tell me what to do?” I smack her again. This time punching her in the eye.

  “Stop!” she pleads.

  “You’re a stupid bitch!” I smack her again, this time to the side of the head. She stumbles back and falls to the ground, hitting her head against the leg of the table in the family room.

  Dad grabs me by the shoulders, turns me so I’m facing him, and slaps me across the face. “Get out now before I call the police. When you’re ready to get clean, call us and we’ll be there for you. But for now, you’re nothing more than a junkie.” He shoves me, and before I know what’s happening, he’s pushed me out the front door and slammed it in my face.

  “FUCK YOU!” I scream at the top of my lungs and beat on the door. “FUCK YOU!” I turn and walk down the driveway, leaving this house of hell behind, once and for all.

  Neighbors are coming out of their houses, looking to see what’s going on. “Screw you all and your peaceful neighborhood. Watch yourselves, because I’ll come for each and every one of you bastards.”

  Most of them slink away back in their houses, closing the doors behind them. Gutless pricks. “Hannah,” one of the neighbors’ yells toward me. “Please.”

  I storm up to her, standing on her front lawn. “You want a piece of this? I should kick your fucking head in. You rapist pedophile! You’d come into my room at night, and touch me.”

  The woman looks at me, shakes her head. “You need help,” she says. “I’ve known you for years, and I’ve never touched you.”

  I lift my sweater, and show her my breasts. I start to fondle them in front of her. “This is what you used to do to me.”

  She looks horrified. “Child, I hope you get the help you need.” She turns her back on me.

  I lower my sweater, and leave. Everyone’s gone back in their houses. Gutless.

  With anger pumping through my veins, I walk back to my apartment.

  Chapter 29

  Walking home from my parents’ house, my adrenalin is pumping hard through me. I can’t believe my mother. How dare she call me a whore. Who does she think she is? She’s the one who’s sleeping around w
ith everyone. Not me. Edgar takes care of me, he looks after me.

  My hands tremble as I angrily walk back toward the apartment. I know where I left the pipe, it’s on the small table in the kitchen. I need it. It has to calm me down. It’s the only thing I can have that’ll settle my nerves.

  And my father. The nerve of him offering me fifty dollars to have sex with him. He’s my God damned father. My own father. I laugh out loud. I bet Mom’s no good in bed, and that’s why he offered me the money to sleep with him. He’s desperate for a good lay, and considering Mom wasn’t home, he thought it would be a good opportunity to get him some.

  Sick bastard.

  Who does shit like that?

  But then again, my parents are highly dysfunctional. The most screwed up anyone can be.

  Dad dropped his towel and started stroking himself in front of me. Mom tried to kiss me. Ugh, they make me sick.

  The anger fuels my walk. I need to get back to the apartment quickly. I need the pipe. Just a small drag should be enough to calm my wild mind down.

  I see the building in the distance, and run the rest of the way. It’s not particularly well-lit, but I can tell by the shape and the graffiti on the walls that it’s where I live. Night has started to fall, and soon, it’ll be pretty black out.

  I look up to the sky, trying to find the moon. But it’s not out tonight, nowhere to be seen. There are a few clouds in the sky. They look dark and looming, as if they’re warning me that something shadowy is on the horizon and that I need to beware of it.

  But what could possibly go wrong?

  I have the best guy in the world in love with me.

  The best roommate I could ever ask for.

  I just wish I could go back to Justin’s to work. Edgar keeps telling me I need to pay for my crystals, and they cost him money. I owe him a little bit, and he knows I’m good for it. I just have to get a job.

  Maybe, I can beg Justin for my job back, and keep it a secret from Edgar. That could work.