Page 18 of Doesn't Count

“Fuck off, man!” Kokytos shoves me from my left, nearly knocking me off the booth.

“Jesus! So... what? You kidnap her, scare the living shit out of her, bang her up pretty good, and then fucked her?” Hypnos growls in anger.

“No! I didn’t fuck her! I hardly even touched her.” I argue back.

“You better not have; we can lose everything. One claim of sexual assault and we’re done with. You do understand that right?” He questions, trying to knock some sense into me.

“I’m not an idiot. I told you I hardly touched her.” I reassured them.

“Key word: hardly.” Than mutters under his breath.

I drag my palms down my face. “Look, she was the one turned on by this whole situation. Not me. I just wanted to scare her. You guys know she’s only here to out us and you’re just okay with that?”

“What’s the worst thing that could happen if we’re outed?” Kokytos asks.

I can’t even bring myself to entertain his question. They know I have a complicated past, one that could ruin everything we’ve worked for if it’s brought up to the public. I’ve never been able to share the details, to share what it is exactly that I’ve escaped. If my identity, the demon that I've shoved so deep into the depths of my subconscious gets out, I’m fucked.

Before I can say anything else, the bus door slams open. All eyes find a sopping wet girl, arms crossed over her chest, shivering. Red streaks coat her blonde hair, streams running down her body. A brown puddle mixed with red pools at her feet on the linoleum bus floor.

Than stands up, grabbing a towel from the linen closet and hands it to her. She takes it without a word, her eyes glaring.

“Shower’s free.” He tells her, pointing toward the back of the bus.

She nods, passing us without so much as another glance and heads straight for the shower closet. I don’t bother looking her way, but Than does. He watches as she shuts herself in and the sound of the water fills the silence.

“She looks pissed.” He says to us.

“I would be.” Hypnos says.

“Good.” Is the only response I can come up with.

She’s in there for what seems like a half hour, using up all the water we have in the tank. Probably doing it on purpose. We’re quiet again when we no longer hear the shower running. Out comes Ash in a towel, barely big enough to wrap around her entire body, leaving a slit from her thigh to her hip. I watch her as she rushes from the guest bathroom to the bedroom, only for her to come stomping out to the kitchen.

“Where are my bags?” She screeches in a high pitch whine.

My eyes soak her in, despite my every effort not to look. Without all the makeup on, her naked blue eyes pop against her pale skin. Her blonde hair a shade darker from being wet sticks like glue down her neck and back. Her cheeks are hollowed out like she spends too much time fretting over stupid things and forgets to eat, but her body is still carved with a healthy amount of curves. My gaze finds her heart-shaped lips before taking in the fresh scrapes against her collarbone and shoulders. A part of me is mortified that I’ve stooped low enough to hurt her, but the other part finds it thrilling. It feels cathartic to blemish something so perfect in a world that is anything but.

I shrug, “Must have left them at the barn.”

“Are you kidding me?” She screams, her eyes wide.

“You have to earn them back.” I tell her, turning this into a game.

Her eyes frantically search everyone else’s trying to determine if I’m joking or not, but they all look awkward and sorry for her. It pisses me off.

“This is so wrong.” She whispers, shaking her head at me. “Someone tell me where my bags are! I need my computer!”

“Is that all you need?” I laugh.

“Oh my God!” She barrels out between her teeth. She’s seething and I’m loving it.

“Your bags are safe, but you’ll need to earn them back. No computer until I say so.”

“And what do I need to do to earn them back?” she finally asks.

A slow smile cuts across my covered face, “You’ll sit out here with us until the morning.”

Her shoulders drop and her eyebrows scrunch in confusion. “Seriously?”

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