Page 7 of Hyde

Apparently I shut the door just in time, there’s a thunk of something hitting it accompanied by a growl. I don’t even know why she and Flint needed a blood test, just that growl is enough to know who fathered her.

*

On beautiful fall days like today, the football players tend to go from practice down to the river. And coming off of last weekend’s win, they should all be out there. Except for Dustin.

During practice, he received a text from his mother’s number, letting him know that the cable and internet went down and asking him to run home to let the tech in.

Because what teenage boy wants to go without those necessities? Let alone stop to consider that his mom’s number came up without her typical picture.

While I was able to spoof her number, I didn’t want to full out steal her identity. Someone in law enforcement might take it as a challenge if the job looked too good.

No, I just wanted him to head home at a time I knew we’d have some privacy. I get there earlier and disconnect all of the relevant wires, then wait for him to show up.

The kid really made it easy for me, he left practice without showering, so was pulling off his sweat soaked shirt as he walked into the house. Coming up behind him, I get him into a headlock that Royce would be proud of and after a few seconds of him struggling, the kid starts tapping my arm.

Like he thinks we’re just sparring and I’m going to release him?

When his legs buckle under him, I get him into a chair and secure him with zip-ties.

In the moments it takes him to come around, I select a paring knife from a wooden block in the kitchen and stand over him.

I’m dressed in black, head to toe, with a mask over my face and sunglasses covering my eyes. Squatting down in front of him, he starts sputtering all kinds of threats out almost immediately and I realize my mistake.

Looking around, I spot a dishcloth and stuff it in his mouth. I almost grin when I see that his nose is slightly crooked and the tell-tale yellow circle of a bruise remains near his eye.Way to go, Le-Lee, I think.

“I heard you like to grab tits. Is that what gets you off? Humiliating girls?” I ask and his eyes darken with a trace of fear for the first time since he came to. “I’m here to make sure, that for the rest of your life, you think long and hard about touching anything without the owner’s express permission.”

Holding the knife up in front of his face sets him off, and he tries his damnedest to break free as the towel muffles his words.

I had the thought last week that nurses practice giving injections on oranges, so I started practicing how to slice a nipple off by cutting the ends off of oranges. It made today’s task easier than I expected.

Once I’m done and I’m holding his severed flesh in my hand, I almost start to vomit. Confirming what I’ve long known: that I don’t have the stomach for this line of work. Turning, I take deep breaths as I start opening drawers.

Sticking his nipple in a baggie, I grab plastic wrap and another dishcloth—a clean one this time. Placing it against his chest, I secure it by wrapping the plastic tightly around his torso.

“God, that was awful,” I exclaim, still taking deep breaths through my nostrils when I clap him on his shoulder. “Now, look at me Dustin, because this next part is really important.”

Once he looks up, I lean down so my masked face is no more than a foot away from his pale, sweaty countenance.

“I want you to remember this:you have another nipple. Today, at least.” With those words, I straighten up, cut the tie on one of his wrists, grab the baggie from the counter, and head out the way I came in.

The Taphers can sort out their new cable and internet issues on their own.

*

When I pull up to Gunner and Riley’s house, I realize that tomorrow’s dinner will be a cakewalk compared to what tonight will be like.

Leslee has sought me out since she could walk, and I’ve always had a soft spot for her—she was articulate at such a young age, and while her one-liners always cracked me up, she also had the ability to be still at times. Riley would give her coding assignments and she’d come into the security room to work on them, occasionally asking Wrench or me for help.

Knowing I have to steel myself against her emotions tonight, I take an extra moment, putzing around with my bike.

Xander opens the door and walks out to join me.

“Leslee won’t come out of her room,” he says quietly. “She’s been in there since the parents told her this is your going away dinner.”

I grunt, reaching out to rub his mop of hair. “Christ, kid, you’ll be taller than I am by the time I get back.”

“Did you hear? Aunt Emma and Mom are going to home school us, starting next week,” he tells me, his eyes shifting to the door of their house.

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