Page 54 of Make Her Bleed
"Yeah." I blink rapidly, trying to clear the fog from my brain. "Why? What is it?"
"Uh …" I trail off, trying to figure out the right words to say but nothing is going to make this sound good. "That's the first time I've ever heard of him doing that to anyone."
"Uh-huh, yeah, sure." She rolls her eyes.
"Kai is a monster, but he … likes to watch. He wants to see it happen but I've never seen or heard of him doing it himself. He makes us do it for him. The only time I've ever seen him be hands-on at all was when he held you down."
Her hand tightens slightly as she closes her eyes again. "How often does that happen?" she asks emotionally.
"More than I'd like to admit. It all depends if the cheerleader who gives him head everyday satisfies him. If she doesn't, he makes us punish her. Each year it's a different girl. This year … it's Kaylee Masters."
A part of me wants to shield this from her but I know Kaylee means a lot to Aria. She deserves to know what she's been having to deal with.
"Kaylee! My best friend, Kaylee?" She tries to sit up but cries in pain before I grab her shoulder, making her lay back down on the bed. "He's-he's been making her …" She trails off, tears in her eyes.
"She signed up for it, like every other girl. Every year there is only one but they always want something from the man that can make anything happen. They know the rules. They satisfy him or he hands them off for the day. Kaylee got lucky last time. Dax gave her a bit of a reprieve from the torture by giving her ecstasy.
"Sometimes, when we walk into that house, we know we have to leave our conscience behind or we'll lose our minds. Kaylee knew the deal and what she was signing up for. Apparently, being cheer captain this year was that important to her. She was willing to check her self-respect at the door." Maybe I sound a bit judgmental, which I kick my own ass for, but it's the way I feel in the case of Kaylee Masters and every other girl that signs up for the abuse.
Aria was smart. She tried to run at the first sign of trouble.
She just wasn't fast enough.
"Thank you," she whispers before pressing her face against my hand, a kiss following the affectionate gesture.
I'm in awe as I stare at her, wondering if maybe she feels the same way I do. I want to kiss her and tell her everything is going to be okay, but I know it's not. It's just going to get worse for her.
"For what?" I ask.
An amused smile plays on her lips as she squeezes my hand. "For being brutally honest. That's what I like most about you. You don't sugar coat anything. Everything is either absolutely trash or doable with you. It's refreshing."
Refreshing.
Most people think my personality is excessive but not her. She's used to everyone either trying to scare her with falsities or cheer her up with dramatic truths. I'm neither of those things and she likes that.
"You know what I like best about you?" I press.
"What?" she snickers.
"That you try to see the best in everyone even if there is no good. You look for it, even in a monster like Kai. You try to remember who he was before he showed his true colors and you try to see which version is the real one. The vibrant colors or the dark colors."
She smirks softly. "I think everyone is a mix of both. There is no one truly good or truly evil. We all have malicious thoughts and we all have people we want to protect. Some people have a harder time accepting either part of themselves, the good or the bad. Kai couldn't even admit that he brought me here because he didn't want me to die."
People being a mix of both good and evil is an optimistic way of looking at it. She knows to be cautious of people like Kai but she consciously thinks there is something good in him, even if he hides it as she claims.
"You should've kept running when your dad sent you off," I say, knowing I'm exposing what everyone thinks happened the night of her accident.
"My dad didn't send me off," she denies but I see the lie on her face.
"Come on, darling. I'm not going to rat him out to Kai. If I was in his position, I would've sent you away much sooner than he did," I explain and tighten my fingers around her small ones.
She's about to speak but then the door opens.
"Rowe, what the hell are you doing here?"
I know that angry voice.
Kai.
