Page 9 of Justyce
I shiver as the wind wraps itself around me, but it’s not because of the cold. I know one day drugs will claim my mother’s life. I just hope it’s not anytime soon. My step-father, Dereke, creeps me the fuck out and I’ve witnessed firsthand him supplying her drugs while he pisses up the rest of the money.
Shaking my head in defeat, a sense of rebellion blankets me. I need this night so I can forget how screwed my life really is. Justyce is the perfect pawn and distraction. He thinks he’s playing me, that I don’t see him for what he is, but I’ve always seen him.
There’s a fraction of pain behind his eyes and the stupid and naïve part of me believes I can use that to my advantage, that I can make him capitulate to my demands.
Ever since he trapped me and shoved his hands in my panties at the studio, I haven’t been able to forget what happened. It plays in my head, going round and round like a fucking carousel at the fair. Heat travels throughout my body and sinks into my core at the memory and I can’t help but moan.
Shaking the thoughts of a boy I really shouldn’t be intrigued by, I scoot down the water pipe and land on the wet grass with a thud.
My head whips behind me to see if anyone heard me, but as my mother’s sex laden scream infiltrates the air, I know I’m lost to them anyway.
Curling my lip in disgust, I sprint across the road and wait in the bushes for Bianca. I’m expecting to see her running down the street and I’m thrown when a black beat up truck pulls up beside me with Bianca calling my name.
“Bianca! Shut the fuck up,” I hiss.
She giggles. “Get in, girl. We have a par-tay to attend.”
I roll my eyes at her but can’t stop the grin drawing my lips up at the side. I run out of the bush and jump into the waiting vehicle.
Bianca whistles. “Damn. You are dressed to slay some dungeon dragons, girl.”
The sentiment isn’t lost to me. After all The Tartarus Mafia is named after a torture dungeon in hell. Well that’s where my bets lay.
Looking down at the sapphire blue mini dress I stole from my mother’s closet, I realize I can’t argue with Bianca’s comment. The dress is classy yet sexy.
My eyes find the rear view mirror in the front of the truck and the beady eyes assessing me has me feeling suddenly exposed. The man has to be in his early thirties but he looks a lot older. His face is weathered and his hair is slicked back as if he’s trying to impress. I’m not impressed.
I rip up the gaping neck of the dress to conceal my breasts and try to pull the back down at the same time. The man in front smirks, seeming happy that he’s unnerved me.
I don’t bother confronting him or asking Bianca where she’s found this schmuck because I know he’s disposable and she won’t be going home with him tonight.
The smirk pulls at my lips as I smile at my best friend. Bianca’s little black dress enunciates her every curve, and the giggle I know is fake is just a little extra to plunge the knife in deeper to the dickhead driving. Her tits wobble with each chuckle and I shake my head that men actually fall for this shit.
Stopping for gas, Bianca excuses us, telling beady eyes that we’re freshening up. Grabbing my hand, she rushes through the gas station and instead of heading toward the bathroom, she leads us toward the back door.
Bianca’s blonde hair whips around as her ferocious green eyes look toward the truck we were in. “What a clown,” she rushes. “Let’s move before he realizes we aren’t coming back.”
We giggle, running across the bitumen and into the bushes. As soon as our heels hit the sand our feet sink in slightly with the sludgy sound echoing around us.
Bianca pulls a flask from her stockings, takes a swig, and hands it to me. I do the same and wince as the straight vodka hits my tongue.
Clearing my throat, I question, “Where did you find that one?”
“He was sniffing around my older sister. You know Tiffany, she likes the creeps.”
Bianca’s not wrong. Her sister sells herself short and to anyone who’ll pay attention to her. Bianca believes it’s daddy issues, seeing their dad cheated on their mother with their housekeeper, knocked her up, then left them. Personally, I don’t think it’s a huge loss. Whenever Jose, Bianca’s dad, would look at me, I felt as if spiders were crawling under my skin. He repulsed me.
Clearing the thoughts from my mind, I ask, “Where exactly is this par-tay?”
Bianca flicks her hair back and eyes me with what I know is devilry dancing in those pools of green.Oh uh.
“You remember everyone whispering about the apparent undisclosed location of that dilapidated cemetery with the ruined houses around it?” Her face lights up. “It’s real.”
Goosebumps prickle across my body, and even though it’s cold out it’s not from the weather. Something tightens and coils in my belly in warning. I dismiss it and focus on having a fun night instead.
Eventually the worry bleeds out. It is replaced with Bianca’s excitement that’s steadily bounding around us. I smile at my best friend then breathe in deeply, allowing the smell of rain and nature to cloak me.
It feels like we’ve been walking for hours and my feet hurt, but when I peer at my phone it appears we’ve only been walking for half an hour. Music pumps in the distance as does my heart with pent up adrenaline.
