Page 40 of Kingpin

“Now, woman!”

She jumped with the force of my voice before she slid off my desk. The smell of her body lingered around me as she quickly rolled her skirt down. I heard her sniffling as she rushed for my door, flipping the lock in the process. Before she took her leave, she peeked at me over her shoulder.

“Don’t make me get up,” I warned.

She disappeared.

Taking with her a mark I knew I’d never be able to get back.

17

Bonnie

I stared blanklyat the wall as I sat in a tub full of bubbles.

With the jets roaring and the bubbles mounting, I let silent tears paint my cheeks. I felt used. Unwanted. Broken, in some way. This was what everyone talked about. This was the Israel everyone claimed him to be.

Maybe they were right, and I was wrong.

I looked down at the teeth marks against my breasts. My fingers rose, feeling the soft bruises my skin boasted. A tear streaked my cheek as my eyes rose to the wall again, replaying the afternoon in my head.

Then a knock came at the door. Its insistence pulled me from my trance.

“What?” I asked flatly.

“I’m home,” Israel said

“I don’t care.”

“Dinner is downstairs.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“It’s there if you want it.”

I scoffed. “Go the fuck away, Israel. Leave me alone.”

I was angry, and I felt I had every right to be. No matter how many showers I took and no matter how many baths I soaked in, I couldn't wash away the disgusting feeling between my legs. My virginity was gone, and he didn’t care. No one cared except me. I mean, it didn’t hurt. Not like everyone always said it did. There was blood, though. Much more blood than I cared to admit to.

Another knock came at the door. “Bonnie?”

“What?”

“You’ll be in my room tonight.”

I paused. “What?”

I heard the bathroom door crack. “You’ll be in my bed tonight. No negotiations.”

I sneered. “Sure. Fine.”

“I thought that’s what you wanted.”

“Maybe it’s not what I want anymore.”

“Well, at any rate, that’s where you’ll be. And I don’t like people going to bed after me. They usually wake me up, then I can’t get back to sleep.”

“When are you heading to bed?”