Page 24 of Web of Lies
Please don’t do it! But of course, I never listen to the logical, safe part of my brain. Oh no, not me. I head right for danger and laugh in its face. I’m like Simba sometimes.
With no apprehension, I walk into the basement, taking in the musty room. Old gym equipment with years’ worth of dust sits in every corner of the room, rusting away. I find Carter in the last spot I saw him.
“He beat your ass,” I say, tilting my head to examine the large amounts of blood still pouring from his brow.
I look his body up and down, finally seeing the amount of damage inflicted on him up close. Blood seeps from Carter’s split lip, too, and bright red marks line his right eyebrow. Five metal points look like they’ve dug into the side of his face, leaving an intricate crisscross design in its wake. His knuckles are bashed and bloodied from the fight. If Carter looks like this, then how does Seger look?
He clenches and unclenches his fists. Pain probably soaring through his hands and wrist, but his expression stays the same. He could hit me for what I’m about to do. Or not. His choice. His breaths are like a bull about to charge. Half of me wishes he had a ring in his nostrils for me to pull so he’d calm down.
“This’ll hurt,” I comment, reaching into my messenger bag at my hip. I place an alcohol wipe on his bloodied knuckle, receiving a grunt. He tries to yank his hand from my grasp, but I hold tighter.
“What the fuck are you doing, New Girl? I swear to fuck, I didn’t ask you to do this. Now back the fuck off. I’m not in the fucking mood.” He growls, trying to yank his meaty hand away from me again. But I hang on, forcing him to stay in my hand, cleaning more blood off.
“For fuck’s sake,” I mutter, looking up into the violent storm brewing in brown eyes. “If one more person spouts off about me being the new girl….” He snorts at that, successfully pulling his hand away from me, rubbing his bruised knuckle.
“You’ll what? Spit on them? Try to crush them with your shoe? Jesus, New Girl, you’re about as small as a fucking troll. You can’t do a damned thing.” He rolls his eyes in aggravation. At me? At Seger? Who knows? Carter seems to get angry at anyone and everyone around him.
“Oh, a troll? Really?” My eyebrows furrow as I think about those rainbow-haired dolls my sister collected as a child. They had weird gems in their belly buttons. Do they still make those?
Carter’s ferocious growl pulls me from my thoughts by curling his fingers around my throat. I stumble when he pushes me back into the wall, knocking the air from my lungs. The back of my head collides with it, softer than I expected, but it still scrapes against my scalp, pulling my hair with my jerky movements.
My eyes widen at his violence towards me, staring at the monster looming over me. I knew this was a possibility. Always expect the unexpected, I say. But this? Damn. He’s got me good, and I kind of want to pee myself.
My muscles go limp in his grasp. Sure, I could pee my pants right here and now, but that won’t make him stop. So, I go limp and hope he loses some steam soon. Again, stupid, stupid me poking the evil, unhinged bear.
My heart pounds in my ears and steadily thrums through my veins. “Is this why they call you Cruel?” I ask through a breath, willing my heavy tongue to work with me.
He sneers at me, showing all his clenched teeth. The pressure around my throat is constant, threatening, but not enough to kill me. No. By the darkness seeping into his eyes, he wants me scared and begging. But he wouldn’t harm me right now.
“For more than one reason,” he growls, inching his face closer to mine. I stare into the soulless depths of his brown eyes, noting the gold specks. They seem to float on top, sprinkling throughout his eyes like a deception. Pretty on the outside, but devilish on the inside.
“And those are?” I ask, raising my eyebrows in question. Ugh. I need better sleep tonight before I get myself killed with all my stupid questions.
“Jesus,” he growls, squeezing his hand around my neck again, sending what feels like electrical pulses throughout my body. “You don’t know when to stop, do you? Do you keep asking stupid fucking questions until someone finally has enough and walks away?” I shrug, which seems complicated through the tension bleeding into my muscles.
“Ah—it’s just part of my condition. I speak before I think, I utter questions before I’ve had time to think about them, which reminds me. Do you really fuck your step-sister?” His soulless eyes bug out in surprise.
A deep, soul tearing laugh vibrates up his chest, shaking his head. He licks his lips and presses his body against mine. His annoyingly fiery breaths heat my ears.
“I wouldn’t put my dick anywhere near that fucking psycho ass bitch’s pussy, and neither would she.” He leans in further, lips touching my ear lobe. “Because not a common fact, New Girl, but Piper’s tongue has been in more pussy than I can count. She’s a carpet-munching psychopath, hellbent on ruining my fucking life. So—why don’t you let that cute little rumor fly instead,” he whispers those last words directly into my ear.
I swallow hard. “Well, there’s nothing wrong with that,” I whisper back, connecting my eyes to his. He shrugs a shoulder and steps back.
I’m sure my brain could think of more than a few things to say right now, but I think I’ve already pushed my luck with Carter. If I could get my brain to shut up and not ask questions, my life would be easier. Impulse control, Kaycee!
He steps back, eyes roaming over my body with predatory intentions. He wipes a bloodied knuckle against his swollen lip, possibly contemplating something. Hopefully not to kill me. You know—I like my life right now. Maybe Magnolia encountered him? Physically, Carter could throw her off a boat easily. Perhaps he held her under again?
“You scare easily, New Girl?” Carter asks in a deep voice, rubbing his knuckles again.
I shrug my shoulders. “No,” I say through a swallow, hiding the tremble in my voice. Yeah, I’m convincing, I know.
He exposes his teeth in a wide, gnarly grin, biting in my direction. I frown—please don’t smile like that. It’s scary enough when he walks around scowling and shoving kids aside. But it seems he pulled his smile directly from my nightmares. He looks like he’s about to eat my firstborn child if I had one, anyway. Will he require my firstborn in exchange for my life?
“Oh good, because what’s about to come your way, you’ll need that fearless bullshit you think you’re on.” He stretches his neck and takes a few steps away from me. “Remember my warning, Little Troll.” My face falls at another stupid nickname.
“It’s Kaycee, for crying out loud. New girl? Troll?” I push off the wall with force and march right up to his oversized giant form towering over me. “It’s Kaycee,” I say again, and he nods, mocking my sudden outburst.
“Nah, New Girl, I really like this whole nickname business. Little Troll, New Girl, it could be worse. I could call you a fucking whore or something.”
