Masked By Madness

3. Dark Divine

Immediately his arms loosened. The past taking its hold over him, he spoke to the dog in an oddly sympathetic tone. "Was I holding you too tight? Did I hurt you really bad? Damnit, I am really sorry, man! I'm such an ass." In a mutter he added, "Maybe I should have been the one to get stoned." Not that it could breathe, the dog's eyes slid closed and it rested its head on Grayson's chest.

Not long after, Jane came running, puppy still on her heels, and sat next to Grayson on the couch so she could easily move the dog from his lap to hers. She took a wet rag and gently began washing the dog's worst exterior injuries, getting rid of layers of dried blood and grime and gravel from the road. Grayson pretended to not be paying attention.

Once Jane finished, she set the rag aside and took a white tube of medicine from her back pocket. She twisted off the cap as she spoke. "This will help prevent infection and get rid of what he might already have. We have to massage it onto his wounds. Be gentle but quick so I can bandage him up before he starts bleeding again."

Silently they both filled their hands with the thick white ointment and got to work. Jane had to bolt away once more to get a bandage after they'd finished. When she returned she meticulously dressed the dog's wounds, picked it up, and carried it outside to who-know's-where.

Back, she grumbled, "Why did you hurt the poor thing?" She bit her lip in anger. "You should thank me for not reporting you, damnit!"

Grayson's eyes sparkled with the thrill of an argument. The devil's smirk found it's way back to his face. "Does it hurt to hurt someone? Is that bad? Doesn't the pain make you feel good?"

"Why don't I help you find out how it feels to be on the receiving end? I'll beat you with a whip and then you can tell me how it felt," Jane replied sarcastically.

"Oh! Jane, how did you know? I've always wanted someone to whip me; I have waited for it my whole life! But, ah, it won't be as fun if I can't do the same to you!"

'This guy is sick. Beyond sick. He's fucking insane!' she thought.

"Can I have a glass water?" he asked out of the blue as if they hadn't just been talking about beating each other.

"Sure," Jane mumbled, going to fetch him a glass of water.

He bolted up from the couch the second she was out of sight. He slipped out the front door and rounded the house, stopping to look out along the yard surrounding the giant red barn. He jogged over and shoved aside one of the massive doors.

He smirked and rubbed at his chin, lifting the latches of half of the cages filling the barn. Rabbits, birds, dogs, and even a couple of funky looking chinchillas ran around the floor, letting out happy noises and getting into some of the bags of food leaning against a stable stall.

'Sorry not sorry Jane!'

***

Jane was late for yet another Monday of classes. She burst in about ten minutes late to her English class, having already missed two other classes. She looked around the classroom at everyone busy writing away on their surprise test.

"Fuuuuck!" Jane cursed under her breath as she made her way to Miss Griselda's desk.

"Take your test and get to work, Jane!" Miss Griselda snapped.

Jane took the packet from her and dragged her feet to an empty corner desk. She stared at the test with it's bold, twenty sized font title; PREPOSITIONS. The test was covered in blanks where the proper prepositions were meant to go. And of course there weren't any hints to go off of.