Page 126 of Distortion
‘Yeah, he was in the car,’ he mutters. ‘I’m sure I saw him in the drivers’ seat, but after the accident, they said she was alone, so I probably just got it wrong.’
The oblivious idiot goes back to staring at my chest.
‘Was Shade there that night?’ I ask, as nonchalantly as I can considering my brain has begun whirring like an engine.
David shakes his head. ‘Andy was, though.’
Andy was there, too?
‘Well, thanks so much for the game, David. I’m just going to run to the loo.’
He looks at me blankly.
‘The bathroom,’ I clarify, realizing I used the English word.
‘Oh, right, sure,’ he gives me an easy smile, his eyes running over me. ‘Hurry back, babe.’
Ugh, no.
‘Sure thing!’ I put the smile on my face and leave David to rejoin the party, my brain jumping around like it’s on hot coals.
John and Andy were at the benefit that night, but not Shade. None of them were mentioned in the papers at all regarding the benefit my mom was at. None of the photos attached to the articles even showed them there. I’d assumed she was there alone. Andwhywasn’t Shade there if the others were?
I wander around a little aimlessly, half looking for Lu while I think.
John may have been in the car with my mom. According to David, he drove them home. But the news said she was alone in the car, that she drank too much and veered off the road. The car went down a steep embankment and she was thrown out of the convertible because she hadn’t been wearing her seatbelt. It was cut and dry according to law enforcement. It was on a bend where crashes like that happen, on average, twice a year.
I don’t see Lu anywhere, so I go into the games room, just sort of hoping for a friendly face, but it’s not Shade and the others playing pool anymore. It’s Marcus and his friends. All three are dressed like doctors with white coats and glasses. There’s a smell of smoke in the room and I’m suddenly frozen to the spot.
I’m in Stoke’s office. I’m at The Heath.
I’m not there. I’m not there.
But they see me before I can move, and they’re suddenly all around me. I can’t hear what they’re saying over the roaring in my ears. Their hands are on me. I can feel the wall behind me.
My face is gripped hard and hands grab my arms when I try to struggle. My chin is raised and my cheeks squeezed to open my mouth. Something is poured into it from a bottle. It burns its way down my throat, making me cough and splutter. My eyes swim with involuntary tears and I can make out Marcus’s furious looking face. He smiles darkly.
‘It’s just juice, retard. Drink it.’
I try to shake out of their hands, but I’m trapped.
‘Stop,’ I try to say.
‘I lost my spot in the lab because of you’ Marcus snarls in my ear. ‘You made me look like an idiot, you fucking bitch.’ He pours more of the liquor down my throat. ‘Drink up, whore. You’re about to have the best night of your life.’
‘Oh, shit! Look at this, she ain’t even wearing underwear!’
‘I’m not a neurologist anymore,’ one of them announces, grinding on me. ‘I’m a gynecologist!’
‘Shut the door. Put her on the pool table.’
No.
I struggle anew, my head fuzzy and my nails catch one of their faces.
I’m on the ground. My ears are ringing. One of them hit me, I realize.
‘What the fuck is going on in here!’
