Why didn't I hurt her? I had the perfect opportunity! I'm not under my dad's roof, I'm an adult, I could have attacked her, and it would be justified.
WOULD IT?
Why the fuck are you asking me?! You're the one who wanted to fucking drown her!
ME? OR YOU? C'MON, BABE, WE BOTH KNOW YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO KILL HER. BUT IT WON'T BRING YOUR MOTHER BACK.
It'll give me peace knowing that the world is better off without her.
YOU AND I KNOW YOU ARE MUCH BETTER THAN THAT.
Then why do these urges still come back?
BECAUSE YOU'RE NO BETTER THAN YOU WERE...
A finger touched at the base of her neck.
AND...
A gross grunt of arousal rippled through her from above.
...FUCK, I JUST WANNA RAPE YOU JUST FROM THAT THOUGHT, YOU DEVIOUS LITTLE BITCH.
Disembodied. Sallie found herself feeling a touch of ice gradually injected itself into her veins, sending a heart-breaking chill from where the finger touched, rolling down her body like an unsettling waterfall.
....Black ink ran in her blood...
HOW FUN WOULD IT BE TO PROVE TO EVERYONE HOW EVIL YOU ARE...
I'm not fucking evil!
AREN'T YOU TIRED OF BEING SO NICE ALL THE TIME...
Yes, but-
...TO LET PEOPLE WALK OVER YOU...
...FOR THEM TO MOCK YOU...
Something seized her spine, erupting an excruciating ache that seemed to have intensified the longer she focused on it.
DON'T LET THEM TAKE YOUR KINDNESS FOR WEAKNESS...
Suddenly her teeth started to throb, a crippling agony she hadn't felt before striking through her cheekbones and skull. She felt tears running down her face. She felt their presence, but not the hot, biting burn that was always expected.
IF YOU'RE SO SCARE OF SHOWING YOUR TRUE SELF...
IOWA launched himself from somewhere at the corner of her eye, which startled her as she had expected him to be behind her this whole time. Hands still scaled over her body, groping her in cruel perversion.
Then she noticed it was several hands...
IOWA stared back at her, a leering grin glaring through the blackness under his mask, rows a yellow-stained crooked teeth. And then, in a small, grilling voice, he said finally:
...FUCKING WEAR ME...I'LL PROTECT YOU...
"-I'll protect you, babe."
Sallie's mind slipped back into reality without warning her, and she vaguely noticed the change in tone of the voice to realise Corey had been talking to her this whole time.
When he looked her expectantly, Sallie wasn't entirely sure how to reply, and so without thinking, she gave him an anxious giggle. And her reaction made Corey cock a brow in uncertainty.
"Huh?"
A blank stare.
"Uhh..."
That was when Corey stopped his brisk walk to their room, facing Sallie entirely now. Luckily, there was no one in the corridor watching them.
"Babe, you had no idea what I just said, don't you?" He sounded a little disappointed.
"I'm...sorry." Sallie sighed, placing a hand on her head and running it through her wet hair. "Just...still kinda..."
"You're still in shock. I know." He murmured kindly, rubbing her cheek with a sad smile. "I'll make you feel better tonight. But..." His smile dropped slightly. "What I was saying is that I think it'd be a good idea seeing your dad."
Sallie looked back at Corey in horror.
"But why?" She blurted out, furious. "That fucking man hasn't bothered with me in ages. He didn't even see me in hospital! Why the fuck should I?"
Corey backed away from Sallie, in genuine shock, to hear such acidity in her voice over her father. He blinked, stammered for a reply as he tried to get over her snapping.
"Babe... I think it'll be good for you. I was saying you go there and prove to him what kind of a woman you have become, prove him that you've made your life much better now." He shrugged casually. "Maybe we can go to his for dinner, rub it in Sam's face that you're a bigger, better person. I'll protect you."
Sallie looked away for a moment, shutting her eyes tightly as if in disgust at such an idea.
"I'll think about it." Came the grumpy reply, and Corey wasn't sure if she meant it or not. She stormed towards their hotel room, waiting for Corey to unlock the door.
Corey lay on the bed alone, wearing nothing but his boxer shorts, t-shirt and his socks. Ironically comfortable in the weird, crooked position he found himself in, holding a beer bottle in his hand as he stared numbly at the TV.
He shoved the bottle to his lips, lazily slurping at it as he watched the silly late-night gameshow. He had decided to leave Sallie to cool off for now. Sam's presence seemed to have stained her mood much longer than he had realised. But then again, this was the same woman who made Sallie's life a misery, and just from the small fragments of moments he had with her, he could tell how much of a disgusting, cruel bitch that Sam was.
"Oh babe..." He murmured to himself, taking another swig of his beer, contemplating if he should grab a third one, but he knew it would only make him tipsier, and he doubted that's what Sallie needed.
But to his surprise, he felt foot falls approaching the bedroom, and as expected, Sallie opened the door, her body silhouetted against the light from the hallway against the dark bedroom. Corey wasn't sure if it was the lighting or his eyes, but from the darkness he noticed Sallie wasn't wearing a bra, a nipple protruding from the darkened round globe of her breast, and he came to realise that she was wearing a thin, lace nightdress, the sight of the outfit told him immediately what her intentions were.
And just like that, his lower gut tightened.
"Babe..." He babbled, sitting up straight as a lewd smirk came across his handsome face. "The fuck are you doing?" He asked, flirty.
"I'm sorry for being grumpy before." Sallie replied softly, her small hands wringing together nervously. "I've been in such a stupid place in my head...and Sam didn't help..."
"I know, Sal." Placing his beer bottle on the side, he was about to get off the bed to reach his little girlfriend, but Sallie approached him promptly, getting at the foot of the bed and crawled over his body, so she knelt over him. "Ohh..." He managed to groan. "I like this Sallie,"
"This Little Meep is gonna make you feel better..." She ran her hands over Corey's chest, feeling the soft chest hair again. How she loved the sensation of it bundling up in her palms. "She loves you,"
"And I love her too, so much." Grabbing her arm, Corey yanked her down for a kiss, the immediate demand for her fired up Sallie's blood, unconsciously spreading her legs to the point she rested her hips against his, and already feeling his erection pressing against her. "Ohh, babe..."
From the corner of the dark room, a small, neon-green light beamed up, a ringtone interrupting their moment. Sallie glared at it, seeing it was her father calling. Probably to have a stab at her for seeing Sam today. She ignored it, quickly distracting herself by biting Corey's thick neck.
"Sal," He heaved her off him promptly, sitting up. "Go answer that."
"I don't want to."
Corey's lips cocked a small smirk.
"I love it when you're a brat, but you're gonna answer that call."
"Why? I don't wanna fucking talk to him."
"Babe..." There it was. That serious tone of voice, the inkling hint of IOWA merging from his throat, reminding her who she was dealing with. And Sallie glared down at him, the pair staring at each other with a silent argument in their gazes, until one of them gave in.
"Fiiiine!" Sallie groaned, rolling her eyes as she got off from Corey in a huff, snatching her phone. "This is a fucking holiday, why can't people leave us the fuck alone..." She grumbled to herself, answering the phone. "Hello."
"Hello love, you okay?"
Corey watched, hearing the vague voice of Mr. Knight from the receiver end, and listened to the conversation carefully.
"Yeah." Blunt. This is nasty Sallie. "What's up? You usually don't call me."
"Can't a father call his daughter?"
In the dim light, Corey watched Sallie give him a hot glare, almost a punishing: This is your fault I'm pissed again.
"What do you want?"
"Sam saw you today at the pool at the Staybridge Suites. You guys were talking again-"
"What do you want? I'm busy." Sallie repeated, more firmly now, her disinterest in her stepmother still evident. She just wanted to fuck Corey and make him scream her name.
"Well, because you were so good to Sam, we had an idea that we think you'll love." Corey watched Sallie's face darkened more and more, examining her so carefully as she experienced heartache at the voice of her father, the suspicious nature of this call, the general disregard for Sam, and the common anger issue that seemed to have swiftly returned from this afternoon. "We were planning to go to this Family Holiday Park next month and wanted to invite you. Like a family." He paused. "You can bring Corey with you too."
Sallie winced at the very idea. Scowling, she casually glanced back at Corey, who was getting up from the bed and approaching her, his eyes imploring her to...
She silently gave him a blazing glare.
No! Fuck off!
"I'll think about it."
Corey reached to grab the phone, and Sallie rushed away from him, tucking the phone from his grabby hands.
"Well, we need an answer as soon as possible-"
"I need to ask Corey first." Sallie muttered, despite watching Corey nodding frantically at her. She shook her head back angrily.
"Okay, love. I'll let you discuss with it and get back to me about it as soon as you can."
"Yeah, sure dad. Bye." And Sallie quickly hung up before Corey could snatch the phone from her. "Corey!" She snapped at him once she knew it was safe to speak.
"Sallie! Please-"
"Why do you wanna do this shit so bad?! He's my dad!"
"Sallie-!" Corey stopped, realising that they were both shouting at such a late time of the evening, and with a collective sigh, they dropped their voices. "Look, babe. I know you and your father haven't gotten along lately. But I want you to make amends with him while you can, while I'm with you too. I promise you; it'll be worth it."
"Why the sudden change of heart?" Sallie asked in a small voice. "Thought you didn't like my dad."
"Not much, but I do want to get to know him better. I think Sam is the issue. Not him." He hung his head slightly. "Besides, some of us don't see our dads at all."
Sallie had to ponder what he meant by that comment, and soon her eyes widened in realization.
"Sweetheart..." Shamefully, her eyes fell. "I didn't...I'm sorry...you never spoken much about him."
Corey shrugged bitterly.
"What is there to tell? He fucked me and my mom off when I was a kid. Fuck him." Folding his arms in slight agitation, he added: "I just don't want you to miss out on what I lost."
"You had your mum though." It wasn't a stab, but Corey felt it regardless.
The silence rested heavy on both of them. Sallie fiddled with her phone in her hand, trying to kill the awkward silence between them. "I just...don't wanna be around her."
The fury shifted from Corey's eyes, and he cupped the back of her head with his hand.
"I know, babe." Corey sighed, pulling her into a forgiving embrace. "But if you let her win you this time, stopping you from being with your dad, you'll regret it."
"I just wish mum was still here..." Sallie replied, her throat tightening on her. "You would have loved her."
"I know I would." Kissing her gently on the forehead, Corey hugged her firmly, feeling her small hands gripping onto his back, her small, soft body squished against him. "Please, babe, let's go on this holiday with them, prove that bitch that you're in a far better place than her. Rub it in her face that your boyfriend is in a famous band!"
Sallie pulled away from the hug slightly, giving Corey a weary look, reminding Corey of their secret relationship.
Corey sighed deeply once he knew what she was thinking and could only hug her back again silently.