Coming to the end of the aisle, I walk over to the corner where I saw Brenda lying on the ground. Where Dax killed her.
Five months ago
I stumble down the hall, carrying a bottle of water I stole out of an ice chest. I blink rapidly, trying to clear my blurry vision. Fuck, what did I take? That pill is fucking with me.
“Dax …” I hear a girl laugh.
Aha. I told Scout he was here. I slide my free hand along the wall. This place was once a gorgeous palace, but now it’s nothing but a dirty shack. The walls have holes and burn marks on them from the fire. What was once an exquisite wallpaper is now black and peeling all over—well, what’s left of it anyway.
I come to the chapel as I hear her again. “I’m not in the mood.”
“Ah, come on, babe. You just sent me those dirty pictures. Now I want the real thing.”
Is Dax seeing someone? I haven’t heard him mention it to anyone. If so, Scout would have told me. Or I would have seen them together. I’m always with the guys.
I manage to push off the wall as she goes on. “I said no. Not here. Not …”
Her words are cut off as I step inside the chapel. I don’t see anything at first. Just the rows of old church pews on either side.
“And I said I don’t give a fuck.” I hear him growl.
I make my way to the end of the aisle and stop at the altar and look to the right. A girl lies on her back on the old dingy floor over by the far corner underneath where a window once was, and now it’s just a hole in the wall. Her skirt is pushed up to her waist. One hand is pressed over her mouth and another around her neck. Her arms flail aimlessly in the air. A man straddles her. His hips thrust forward over and over.
I open my mouth to scream for help, but a hand slaps over it while another arm wraps around my waist, shoving my arms down to my side and causing me to drop my drink. The water comes up and splashes my legs. I try to fight them, but I’m too fucked up. That pill making my vision blur in and out.
“Just in time, Henley,” someone whispers so low in my ear. I’m not sure if he said it or I imagined it.
I can hear kids laughing and carrying on conversations right outside the chapel as they walk right by, having no clue what is going on in here. And no way for me to yell for help.
Dax thrusts his hips back and forth, rocking her body against the floor. He removes the hand from her mouth, but before she can get anything out, he wraps that one around her throat too and squeezes. Her lips part, and she tries to fight him a little longer, but I see her grow weaker by the second. His hands squeeze around her throat so tight, his knuckles are white. He’s killing her, and I can’t do a damn thing about it.
Then her arms finally drop to her side, and her body goes limp while he continues to rape her. After one more thrust, he gets up off her. She lies there, and I see a pair of panties ripped on the floor next to her. He picks them up and places them in his pocket. He removes the condom on his still hard dick and also shoves it into his pocket as well.
Her eyes are still open, and her head is turned. She’s looking right at me. It’s Brenda Nash. I know her from school. She’s a junior this year.
He bends down and pulls her skirt down over her exposed thighs. Then he turns to face me. He stops when he sees me. Our eyes meet, and I blink. My face feels wet. Am I crying? I can’t move.
His eyes go from mine to the guy who holds me in place. “Another one?” he jokes.
The guy holding me chuckles without saying anything, but he does let me go and shoves me forward. I trip over my own feet and run right into the man. “Dax,” I manage to get out.
Wrapping his hand around my neck, he holds me in place. I can’t fight him. The drugs are too strong, making my body too weak at the moment. The room alone is starting to spin.
He smiles down at me as though he’s happy I caught him. As if he wanted an audience. “This is our little secret,” he says, lowering his head to my neck and inhaling my scent.
I shake uncontrollably against him. But the other guy …?
“Or you’ll be next.” With that, he lets go of me and shoves me forward. I trip over my own feet and fall next to Brenda’s body. I quickly get up on my knees and look around for him and the other guy, but they’ve left us here.