Renee Page 8

  Temptation ate away at Jared; he was like a fiend craving crack. She stood there in nothing but her heels, inviting him to have his way with her. At that moment, nothing mattered but conquering her body. He stepped toward her and stood so close, their noses touched and he could smell the honey-flavored mint she held captive in her mouth. Jared grabbed her by the back of her neck, and Renee dove in, her full lips taking Jared’s. She pushed the mint into his mouth, and he happily took it and swallowed it, wanting nothing to be in their way.

  Drinking, a game of Russian roulette, and smoking hadn’t helped Renee shake unpleasant memories, and the confrontation with Slice had only stressed her out more. The only thing left to try that could clear her mind was sex. She needed to drown herself in a night of pleasure. She needed to conquer Jared’s body and have the sexual control over someone that her stepfather had taken away from her many years ago. She needed to know what it felt like to conquer new territory and to make her mark on it.

  Renee knew he was in a relationship, but she didn’t know with whom. At that moment, she didn’t care who was in the picture. That night was about her, and no one was going to ruin it. She needed to feel better, and at that moment, Jared’s body was hers, and she was going to control it any way she saw fit.

  The two kissed passionately. Renee couldn’t get over the fact that he kissed her so affectionately yet with such force. He picked her up and sat her on the railing; it was then that she noticed how tall Jared was. She was not a short female, yet sitting on top of the railing put her eye to eye with him. His height turned her on and made her juices flow. She glanced down at the street below, which appeared to be miles away.

  I never knew how nice the view was from here, she thought.

  Renee wrapped her legs around him, and he tried his best to fit her whole breast in his mouth. His tongue danced across her nipple. Like a rebel, Renee leaned her body back, going farther and farther over the railing. Jared had a good hold of her, one hand gripping her breast and the other holding on to her back. He caressed her breasts and introduced her to heaven. She sat up and took his shirt off, but that was the last thing Jared allowed her to do.

  He lifted Renee, took her off the railing and, with her legs still wrapped securely around his waist, pinned her up against the glass doors. With one hand, Jared fiddled with his pants, and his boxers dropped around his ankles. Jared guided himself inside her tight walls and nearly collapsed when he was taken over by pleasure. She clung to his penis like stockings on a woman’s leg.

  Jared’s legs shook slightly, but he quickly recovered and regained his composure. He took control by grabbed on to her body and forcing her to move the way he desired. Whenever Renee tried to take over, he instantly turned the tables and made it about him. It started to rain, but the two didn’t budge. They remained connected to each other while the rain washed over them. It wasn’t until lightning came into the picture that Jared let Renee’s feet touch the terrace again, and the two walked into the bedroom hand in hand. They left the terrace doors wide open. The wind blew the drapes into the room, and the lightning, like a huge night-light, lit up the place.

  The two were intimate with each other until the sun came up. Renee could honestly say that this was the best sex she’d ever had. She had had multiple orgasms, and in the way he had caressed her and devoured her, he had made her feel like her body was a piece of the art. She hadn’t conquered his body and dominated him like she’d planned, but Renee couldn’t deny the fact that he had done an impeccable job. He had erased her bad day had made her forget for many hours that she was miserable and her life was in shambles. For a brief time, she’d felt normal, and life had been good.

  Chapter 11

  Without even glancing over at Jared, Renee grabbed her robe and threw it on. Her manicured feet hit the waxed hardwood floor as she stood up from the bed. It took her a second to catch her balance and walk correctly. Jared had put a hurting on her, and all she could do was smile as she walked out of her bedroom, careful not to wake him. It was chilly in her home, and goose bumps rose on her skin. The house was pitch black, and this would have made a stranger move with caution. However, Renee moved with ease, allowing the darkness to swallow her whole and shield her. She walked into the kitchen, retrieved a glass from one of her marble cabinets, and then grabbed the cranberry juice from the fridge. She stood at the island and poured herself some juice.

  Click!

  “Talk that shit now,” said a male voice.

  Renee placed the container of juice on the counter and let Slice jam his gun against the side of her head.

  “I love when a motherfucker pops off at the mouth, but when the shoe is on the other foot, she folds up like a bitch.” Slice held on to his gun for dear life, ready to shoot.

  Renee laughed. “I love when a bottom bitch thinks they’re on top.”

  Slice grabbed Renee by the arm and forced her to face him. He wrapped his hand around her throat and pointed his gun smack-dab in the middle of her forehead. “You think this is a game?” he sneered. “I’ll blow your fuckin’ head off!”

  Renee didn’t respond and she didn’t blink. This was a game, her game, and she never lost.

  Slice continued to rant. “What, you think I can’t break you?”

  He looked into her eyes and saw nothing. Not fear, not rage, nothing.

  He went on. “You always thought you were a dude, always thought you were king, with all your money and shit. But I’ll show you who is king. I’ll remind your ass that you’re nothing but a bitch!” Slice spit as he spoke, rage seeping out of his pores.

  It angered him that Renee wasn’t begging for her life and that he couldn’t read her. He wanted control, and she wasn’t giving it to him. Slice released her neck and stepped back a little. “Now, you get on your knees. Bow down to the king.”

  Renee’s eyes turned into slits.

  “Get on your knees,” he repeated. “I’ll show you who’s the man.”

  With one hand, Slice began to unbuckle his belt, but Renee didn’t move. She’d die before she allowed another man to sexually assault her.

  “I said, ‘Get the fuck on your knees!’” Slice slapped Renee across the face with the gun, and she fell to her knees.

  The moment her knees hit the tiles, Slice’s pants dropped and his penis was in her face. With the gun pointed at her, he took his free hand and grabbed Renee by her hair and forced her toward his crotch. He gritted his teeth, anticipating the pleasure. There were nights when he had heard Renee with Julian, and he knew her sex game was tight.

  “Suck it, bitch.”

  Renee opened her mouth, preparing to bite his dick off and spit it at him, but before teeth could meet flesh, Slice’s body dropped.

  Renee looked up and saw Jared standing in the doorway. He held a smoking gun in his hand, with the silencer on. Renee stood. Slice lay dead at her feet, half of his head blown off.

  For a moment no one spoke. Then Renee grabbed her glass of cranberry juice and headed out of the kitchen.

  “What are you going to do about this?” Jared yelled at her back.

  Renee stopped and looked back at him.

  “If the respect is lost in here, then it’s lost out there,” Jared told her, gesturing toward the window with his head.

  Renee licked her lips; the sweat from her top lip left her with a salty aftertaste. “Then I come out of hibernation.”

  Renee put her drink down on the kitchen counter and walked back over to Slice’s body. She bent down and saw that pieces of his head were oozing onto the floor. “I’ll be sure to make my first appearance at your funeral, so that I can spit on your grave.” Renee turned Slice’s head so that his remaining eyeball looked at her. “Fuck you, King. All hail the queen.”

  * * *

  Later that morning, out on her terrace, Renee smoked three cigarettes within a matter of ten minutes and imbibed two glasses of vodka. Her nerves were right back where they’d been before, and the fury inside of her would not rest. Her l
eg shook, and from time to time, her eye twitched.

  Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it.

  She inhaled deeply and trapped the smoke inside her lungs for as long as she could before releasing it. Her eyes, which felt heavy, begged her to rest. However, the fear of seeing her past alive and in color kept her awake. The cloud of smoke she’d just blown out was almost invisible when she flicked the cigarette butt over the railing and watched it fall to its death. She drank the last of her liquor from the short, fat glass and then threw it overboard as well.

  Let it go. Let it go! she told herself repeatedly, but she couldn’t. The similarities were too strong, the memory too dark, and the pain too deep to ignore. She could no longer ignore the first time someone had failed when trying to rape her. Her mind was forcing her to relive it.

  “I gotta piss,” Renee announced.

  “Me too,” Julian responded.

  Julian and Renee looked in the direction of the park’s bathrooms and saw the signs in red capital letters on both the men’s and the women’s bathroom doors. They read CLOSED.

  “Damn. Even the women’s bathroom is closed.” Renee swayed to the side and tried not to focus on her insistent bladder.

  Julian sucked his teeth. “I knew we shouldn’t have had that second Slurpee.” He continued to look around until he was staring at a quiet area filled with trees. “I’ll be back.” He took a few steps away from Renee before she pulled him back.

  “No! If I can’t go to the bathroom, you can’t go,” she whispered. “You’re just ready to whip it out, aren’t you?”

  Julian smirked. “Don’t blame me for being a man.”

  Renee rolled her eyes. “Let’s go to the school. Summer classes are still going on, so it’s open.”

  “They’re not going to let us in. We’re not in summer school.”

  “Banks is on duty,” Renee reminded him.

  A wide grin jumped across Julian’s face. “Why didn’t you say that to begin with? You’re about to let me piss in the bushes and shit.” He laughed at his sense of humor. However, the silent treatment Renee gave him and her lips curling into a frown were reason enough for him to grow serious.

  The instant Renee stepped foot back inside her high school, she was grateful for her straight As, which allowed her to enjoyed her summer break. Staring out a classroom window and listening to her classmates enjoy the nice weather was not her idea of summer. The front door closed behind Renee and Julian just as they approached the security desk.

  Dressed in a light blue short-sleeved shirt and dark blue pants, Mr. Banks had his undivided attention on a small portable TV, which the two were sure he wasn’t allowed to watch while on duty. Julian slammed his hands down on the desk and watched as their favorite guard jumped in his seat.

  “I was watching the news!” he shouted without looking up. He cut the TV off and slid it inside the drawer. He was on his feet and straightening out his uniform when he finally made eye contact with both students.

  “You know good and damn well that you weren’t watching the news,” Julian teased. His finger was pointed at Mr. Banks, and on cue both he and Renee laughed.

  “Lower your damn voices. Now, what the hell are you two doing here? You’re not enrolled in summer school.” Mr. Banks spoke in a hushed tone, but he made sure he added enough bass to his voice to remind the teenagers of his position of authority.

  “Can we use the bathroom, Mr. Banks? The park’s bathrooms are closed, and I don’t think I can make it home.” Renee spoke as politely as possible.

  “Now, you know I can’t let you past this desk,” he told Renee. Then he turned to Julian. “And unless you got to take a shit, I suggest you go find a tree and handle your business.” Mr. Banks plopped down in his seat, grabbed the white washcloth on his desk, and dabbed at the sweat sprinkled on his forehead. He scratched his head. “Time to take these cornrows out,” he said to no one in particular.

  “Come on, Mr. Banks. We’ll be real quick,” Renee pleaded.

  Mr. Banks ignored her and took his mini television out of the drawer.

  “You owe me, B,” Julian said.

  Mr. Banks leaned back as much as the chair allowed and threw his thumb in the air. It pointed to the hall beyond. “Be quick and don’t get caught.”

  As she and Julian rushed down the hall to the closest staircase, Renee heard Mr. Banks mumble, “Motherfucker’s too smart for his own good.”

  “Why does he owe you?” she asked.

  Julian held the stairwell door open for Renee. Together, they jogged up the steps. “I caught him selling weed to a junior. I said I’d keep my mouth shut, but he’d be in my debt. Plus, he’d have to pay me two hundred dollars.”

  They reached the second floor, and right before Julian stepped into the hallway, he heard his name being called.

  “Yo, Julian!”

  Julian leaned over the staircase railing and looked down. On the bottom landing, Hendrick Curry, a sophomore who had returned from boot camp a few months ago, stood smiling.

  “Drick, is that you?” Julian called.

  “Yez, sir!”

  Julian flew down the stairs, and when he reached the bottom landing, both teens pounded their fists together.

  Just then Renee’s bladder sent her a warning that if she didn’t get to a restroom, she would pee on herself right there. “Julian, I gotta go!” she called over the railing.

  As if he had forgotten all about nature calling, he looked up at Renee and waved her off. “Go. I’ll be right behind you.”

  Renee had no time to give him an attitude. All her attention was placed on making it to the bathroom while she still had control of herself. She turned the corner and was relieved to see that summer school wasn’t run like the regular school session. If it were, no classrooms on this floor would be empty and the school would have a woman stationed at the girls’ bathroom door, collecting IDs and assuring that the girls were in and out of the stalls in an orderly fashion. Renee ran inside the bathroom and breathed a sigh of relief when she finally got to go.

  “I didn’t think I was going to make it,” she said aloud to herself.

  In the middle of relieving herself, she heard the bathroom door open, then close. Soft footsteps walked past her stall. After ripping off pieces of tissue, Renee cleaned herself up, left the stall, and headed for the sink. She jumped a little when she saw the boy they all called Psych leaning on the windowsill.

  “What are you doing in here?”

  “What are you talking about? What are you doing in here?” Psych shot back.

  “I’m using the girls’ bathroom,” Renee answered, emphasizing the word girls.

  “No, you must be mistaken. This is the boys’ bathroom.”

  There were dozens of rumors about how Psych had got his nickname. According to one, he had once been committed to a mental institution. Others said that he was bipolar and would change moods on you in a second, and that this had earned him the nickname. However, the most popular assumption was that he was a hotheaded eighteen-year-old who had been accused of rape and found guilty, and for this crime, someone had dubbed him Psych. No one knew which rumor was true. Psych had no friends and kept to himself. However, when you were six feet tall and close to three hundred pounds, it was hard for people to ignore you.

  “Wait a minute. I know what you want.” He stepped closer to Renee. Only a small space remained between them now, and when he smiled, Renee could clearly see his chipped tooth.

  Renee backed up, but he quickly closed in on her. Renee flung open one of the stall doors. The door knocked Psych in the forehead, and Renee took off. Her hand was reaching for the doorknob when she felt a hand grab her by the back of the neck. Psych threw her down on the floor.

  As she crashed against the floor, Renee screamed. Psych straddled her and held her down the by neck. With his free hand, he pushed Renee’s skirt up and snatched her underwear off. He tossed the cotton material to the side.

  “I know why you’re
here,” he growled. “I know exactly why you’re here.”

  “Get off of me! Get off of me!” Renee kicked Psych and clawed at his arm, all to no avail, because he never flinched. The blood that oozed from his arm had no effect on him. He was enraged, like a battered soul high off drugs. There was just so much moving Renee could do under his solid frame, but that didn’t stop her from trying. And when she tired herself out, she clamped her legs shut.

  Not again. This can’t be happening, she thought.

  Without warning, Psych stood up and pulled Renee onto her knees. He wrapped her hair one time around his hand, and with the other hand, he dropped his pants, followed by his boxers. He shoved Renee’s face in his crotch.

  “Suck it, bitch.”

  Renee clasped her mouth shut. Her jaw was tight, and her lips were sealed.

  Psych put his face close to hers. “I said suck it!” Psych pushed himself farther into Renee’s face.

  She opened her mouth and threw up on him, spraying him with a mixture of liquid and clumps of that morning’s breakfast.

  “What the fuck!” He shoved Renee away. His first reaction was to get the vomit off of him.

  “Help! Help me!” Renee shouted.

  She scurried past Psych as he was cleaning off his shirt with a paper towel. He attempted to run after her, but he became wrapped up in the pants around his ankles and lost his footing. He fell forward. Renee’s body was halfway out the bathroom door, but Psych was able to grab her foot and pull her back inside. Again, she cried out in pain when she hit the floor. The loud thump resembled a low-level earthquake. He dragged her farther inside the bathroom.

  “The last one didn’t get away. There’s no way you are,” Psych snarled as he climbed back on top of her.

  Psych was tugging at the bottom of her shirt at the very moment Julian barged into the bathroom. He took in the sight of a half-naked Psych pressed against Renee and caught a glimpse of her panties on the floor. Julian pulled his right leg back, and with all the power he could muster, he brought it forward and kicked Psych under his chin. Psych’s head cocked back, and he flew backward. He hit his head when he landed a few feet away, and was knocked unconscious. Julian stepped in front of Psych, his hands balled into fists.