Page 56 of Along for the Ride

Gentry and Karson look at each other and nod before pushing past me and opening the door. The time for sneaking is over. They each go to one side of the chair and grab an arm, lifting the man before he realizes what’s happening. When they turn him to face me, his pants are around his thighs and his dick is out. I peer past him and see what’s on the computer screen. Bile rises into my throat.

“Looks like he still has a sick taste for kids,” Karson says. He reaches out a fist and shatters the screen. He turns his face toward my stepfather and snatches the headphones from his head. “Don’t worry, I didn’t damage the hard drive. All your nasty videos are still there for the cops to find.”

Gentry socks him in the mouth before he can scream. “What’s your name, you piece of shit?”

“M-Martin,” he mumbles through a swelling lip. “What are you doing in my house?”

“Where’s my mother?” I ask.

He turns and sees me for the first time, and a look of recognition washes across his face. It’s fucking priceless. The shock. The horror. The transient moment where he remembers what I felt like beneath him. The buffet of emotions he’s laid in front of me is the most gratifying meal I’ve ever seen, and I intend to eat my fill. My trepidation has fled, scared away by this unfamiliar hunger screaming inside me.

“I see you remember me,” I say as I walk up to him and lift his chin with my gloved hand. His green eyes are the same empty, floating orbs that haunted me every night of my childhood.

“What are you doing here, Leana?” he pants as he spits blood onto his T-shirt.

Karson pulls a roll of tape from his bag and begins securing Martin’s wrists, who then tries to scream. Gentry’s ready for him and sends his fist against his mouth again.

“You don’t know when to shut the fuck up, do you?” Gentry says. “Now answer her. Where’s her mother?”

He squirms against the tape on his wrists, his eyes darting between the three of us. “She died. About t-two years ago. She had a stroke.”

I don’t know how to process this information. Maybe part of me hoped my mother and I could make amends, as unrealistic as that sounds. That’s been taken away from me now. And he’s already taken everything else.

Karson sees the tears welling in my eyes, and darkness rushes over his gaze. He steps behind Martin, wraps his arm around his throat, and strangles the ever-loving hell out of him. My stepfather’s face reddens as he fights to suck a single breath past the pressure on his neck. Karson’s hold only tightens, and I worry he’s going to take the fucker’s head off. Just as Martin’s eyes roll back, Karson releases him.

Martin pants, trying to gulp every breath he missed out on. As soon as he’s breathing normally again, Karson repeats the process. He does this torturous dance three more times, and Martin sobs at every release.

“What did you do to our girl here, Martin?” Gentry asks as he stands in front of him and leans down.

“Fuck you,” Martin cries, and Gentry throws another punch to his face. White bone protrudes from the bridge of his nose this time and sends a gush of bright blood over his lips.

“Tell me what you did.” Gentry puts a hand up to the shell of his ear.

“I raised her like my fucking daughter. That’s all!” he squeals.

“Bullshit!” I scream. “You stole my innocence! You hurt me! You did things no one should ever do to a child!”

Karson unsheathes his knife and hands it to me with a wink. I embrace the handle and hold it at my side.

“That’s what you remember?” Martin smirks, spitting a gob of blood onto the floor. “You wanted it!”

His words fuel my arm as I thrust my hand forward and grip his cock. I send the blade through his flesh, slicing it off. Martin releases a hellish, girly scream, and Karson puts a hand to his own mouth to hide his shit-eating smile. Gentry tightens his lips to keep from laughing.

I grip the thinning hair at the back of Martin’s head and wrench his head back until I can look into his soulless eyes. “I was a fucking child. I didn’t consent to what you did to me. I didn’t like it, and it didn’t feel good. You took so much of me, and you never cared, did you? Have you ever wondered what you did to my fucking psyche?” I spit in his face. “Fuck you!”

“I didn’t hurt you! You were fucking fine!” he screams out, spit and blood flying from his lips.

“Fine? I’m fine? I’m fucking two serial killers for fun!” I shout.

Karson lets out a laugh, and Gentry punches him in the side. “Sorry, I just love her mouth,” Karson says through a heave. “Please, continue.”

“I have never been okay since you did what you did! I still have nightmares! I still close my eyes and see your ugly face.”

Martin lifts his chin and spits blood at me. Gentry brings back his arm to hit him again, but Karson holds him back. “Let her,” he whispers.

I bring the knife to Martin’s face and drag the blade down his cheek. He screams and tries to move away, but Karson and Gentry have him in a firm grip, holding him in place so I can continue.

And I do. I fucking do.

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