People had brought coolers full of beer and soda. I had a bottle of cola, and so did Gabe. Neither one of us were big drinkers—not anymore. Before Magda’s attack it was pretty much a guarantee that I was going to get drunk at every party I went to. Nothing like a friend’s gang rape to make a girl more cautious. I think Gabe just didn’t like to lose control.
As we approached the fire, the scent of another kind of smoke hung heavy in the air. God, pot smelled like skunk. I never got into it, but I knew a lot of girls who did because they liked it better than beer, and they didn’t have to pee as much.
Caitlin was already there with her boyfriend, Rick, and they came to meet us as we approached the fire. I was glad that we were going to hang out with them, and Paul. Lately I’d been paying so much attention to guys who were rotten douche bags that spending time with ones who were good was a welcome change. It was nice to know that Gabriel wasn’t an anomaly.
Anna had brought stuff to make s’mores, so we gathered close to the fire to indulge in sticky chocolatey goodness. I’d just made my first one when Jenny, a girl from defense class, approached. She said hi to all of us, but her attention was mostly fixed on Anna. And Anna batted her big, anime-like eyes back at her. No one else seemed surprised that Anna was into girls. Had I been that self-absorbed that I didn’t even notice the people around me?
Yes, I had been. I purposefully ignored people so I didn’t have to know about them, or care. I was stupidly afraid of making a friend and losing them—or worse, doing something stupid and having something horrible happen as a result. It didn’t matter how many people told me that Magda didn’t kill herself because of what I’d said that day; I still believed she’d be alive if I hadn’t said it. Or maybe she would have lived long enough for me to see she needed help.
Someone had brought a sound system, filling the pot-laced air with a throbbing bass beat. I looked around at the others gathered around the fire. There were girls wearing clothes that were completely inappropriate for the setting, and guys being idiots putting each other in headlocks. That was going to escalate to full-blown wrestling as the evening progressed. It wasn’t a pit party until somebody went too far and play fighting turned into the real thing. I’d seen guys who were best friends when they walked into a pit party leave bloody and battered and hating each other.
There was a track, or road, around the mountain of gravel in the center of the pit. The other side of this mound was where people went to make out. The scrub on the bank was where you went to pee. What I liked about the place, was that even though you could find a little bit of privacy, sound carried. If a girl started screaming, we were all going to hear it, even over the music, because we tried to keep quiet enough that no one called the cops.
My gaze kept searching the crowd. Beside me, Gabe nudged my arm with his. “They’re not here yet,” he said.
I turned my head just enough to look up at him and smiled. “That obvious?”
His lips tilted on one side. “Little bit.” Then he took my hand in his. His fingers were warm and strong. When I thought about them touching me, my entire body started to tingle.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he said with a laugh. “I’ve never been big on sex in cars, but you could change my mind.”
I smiled. It sounded like a great idea to me, but I wasn’t into voyeurism, so maybe in a more discreet location.
We hung out, singing and laughing, eating way too much sugar and chocolate. Anna and Jenny were really hitting it off. She seemed to be a nice girl. She was in the school band and drama club, and she looked at Anna like she was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. That was good enough for me.
Around eleven, Drew and his crew made an appearance. I watched them as they stood around the fire, talking to the mindless few who flocked to them like drones to a queen bee. Someone said something to Brody and then laughed. Brody didn’t look impressed, and gave the guy a shove. My ego immediately determined that the guy had said something about the night I’d left Brody covered in lipstick and locked in his car.
They didn’t have as many hangers-on as usual. Maybe their popularity was actually waning. Could it be? Detective Davies had dealt a major blow against Drew’s social standing when she pretty much called him a rapist in front of the school. She’d done more in those few minutes than I had in the last month with my pink ski mask. I wasn’t jealous—I was thankful.
I wanted Drew Carson’s fall to be a hard one.
CHAPTER 18
I watched Adam for what felt like hours. In fact, it was just over an hour. Finally, he left the group and walked off into the shadows. I figured he was going to take a leak. I had a small window of opportunity in which to act.
I told my friends I would be right back, and walked away. Gabriel was talking to some friends, so he didn’t notice me leave. Once I was sure no one could see me, I got my ski mask and pulled it over my head. I took off my jacket and stashed it behind some shrubs.
It was dark—really dark—so it took me a couple of seconds to find Adam. By the time I came up behind him, he had just zipped up. He must’ve heard my footsteps, because he looked over his shoulder and said, “Get your own rock, man. Or are you a faggot?”
I didn’t say anything. I kicked him in the back, sending him into the mound of rock and gravel he had just pissed on. Then I went at him with a couple of shots to his kidneys and to the back of his head. I lost my footing on the gravel and stumbled. I had to back away to get my balance again.
My stumble gave Adam time to get up. He turned toward me with a glare, one of his hands pressed to the back of his head. “What the fuck?” His gaze narrowed. “It’s you. I’ve been waiting for you, bitch.”
My heart gave a little thump in my chest as adrenaline coursed through my veins. This was my favorite part.
I didn’t speak. I didn’t move. Instead, I waited for him to come at me. Better to use his own energy against him than waste mine by going on the attack. He didn’t disappoint me. In fact, he came at me with a roundhouse that I barely managed to duck. Shit. Of course he would be the one who could actually fight. Thank God he was drunk.
I kicked him in the knee. He cried out and stumbled. I didn’t think anyone would be able to hear him above the music, but I was on guard all the same. I punched him twice before he managed to punch me in the stomach. I doubled over, gasping for breath. God it hurt.”
“Did you think I’d be easy like those other two pussies?” Adam demanded, coming at me—a shadow with clenched fists. If only there were a bit more moonlight. “I’m going to make you wish you’d never been born, bitch.”
He swung again, but I dodged. His fist struck me in the shoulder, rather than the chest. Stars exploded behind my eyes as he landed a punch just above my ear. How twisted was it that I was glad that at least that bruise wouldn’t show?
I had to end this quickly. People would be wondering where I was. People would be wondering where he was. So, when he came at me again, I used my Krav Maga and aikido training to use his own force against him, and clotheslined him. He fell hard onto his back on the gravel.
I dropped to one knee and punched him in the face, feeling something split beneath my fist. He sat up suddenly, and I felt a burning pain in my ribs.
“How does that feel?” he demanded. The pain intensified, and I cried out. “Yeah, that’s right.”
I punched him as hard as I could. He fell back, unconscious. Reaching down, I found something sticking out of me. Oh fuck, he’d stabbed me.
I was shaking. I didn’t know if it was shock or adrenaline. I pulled it out and used the light on my phone to look at it. It wasn’t a very long blade, and I didn’t think he’d hit anything vital. Still, I was pretty freaked out. I wiped the blade on my sock—I didn’t want to leave any evidence behind.
My thumbs shook as I texted Gabe to meet me at the car. Then, when
the light from my phone hit Adam’s face, I knew what to do. The bastard tried to kill me. I remembered everything he done to Magda in those photos, in the video. I remembered what she told me he had done—what little she could remember. I remembered all the terrible things he’d said to and about her. Leaving him in his underwear, or naked, was too good for him.
I still had the knife. I leaned closer, shining the light on his face. I swallowed, took a deep breath, and then I went to work. I worked fast, ignoring the churning in my stomach every time the blade pierced his flesh. When I was done, I folded the knife and put it in my pocket. And then I grabbed his phone to take a photo, but it was locked. Damn. I wiped it down and tossed it on the ground beside him.
I stood up and started walking. My legs trembled with every step, making me stagger like I was drunk. I got my jacket and put it on so no one would see the blood soaking my side. I stuffed my mask inside to stanch the flow. Was that my blood on my hands, or Adam’s?
Vomit rushed up my throat. I’d barely fallen to my knees before it poured out of my mouth, hot and sour. My body twitched as I wretched, adrenaline and shame battling it out. What had I done? Beating Adam was one thing, but I had cut him. I didn’t have to do that. I could have just made the V out of lipstick like I had with Jason and Brody.
“Oh, God,” I whispered, closing my eyes. “Oh, God.” I was going to die. I was going to get caught. I was going to jail. Something. There were going to be consequences for this. I couldn’t just walk away. Could I?
Jesus Christ, I’d cut Adam’s face! I wretched again, tasting acid and chocolate and burnt marshmallow.
Gabe would know what to do. I swiped my sleeve across my wet mouth and staggered to my feet. The blood on my hands was getting sticky, and the spinning in my head was getting worse. The parking lot wasn’t far. I had to get there before I passed out. I walked as fast as I could.
Gabe was already there when I made it to the car.
“What the hell happened?” he demanded. “Where were you?”
I lurched toward the car. “I went after Adam.”
“Are you crazy? What if someone had seen you?”
I met his gaze as I opened the passenger door. “You can lecture me all you want later. Right now, we need to get back to your place. He stabbed me.”
All the color drained from his face. His dark eyes were wide. “Stabbed you? Fuck, Hadley, you need a hospital.”
“No! He knows he cut me. If he tells the cops... They’re already looking at me.” I climbed into the car and shut the door. “Fuck, Gabe. I cut him too.”
Gabriel was still swearing as he got in and slammed his own door shut. He started the car and peeled out of the lot.
“Is your mom home yet?” I asked. Now that I was in the car, the feeling like I was going to pass out had waned.
He kept his eyes on the road. His jaw was clenched, and I knew he was so pissed with me. “No.”
“Good. Can you stitch me up?”
He swore some more. “You need to be examined to make sure he didn’t hit anything vital.”
“We can’t go to the hospital.”
“I know somebody.” That was the last thing he said to me until we pulled into the driveway on the edge of town. The house was small and in need of repair. There was a pickup truck parked outside. A dog barked from inside the house.
I got out of the car. Gabe came around and took my arm. “I can walk,” I said.
He didn’t respond. His fingers gripped me tight enough that I would probably bruise, but I didn’t try to pull free, because I needed his help to get up the steps to the front door. It wasn’t that I felt weak, it was just that my legs were still shaking that bad.
A dog barked when Gabe rang the bell. A few minutes later the door opened, revealing a young guy in nothing but a pair of track pants. He was ripped. He also had dark circles under his eyes, and a scar on his chest that look like a bullet wound. A gray pit bull sat beside his right foot.
“Gabe,” he said. “Little late, isn’t it?”
“Sorry, Chris. We need some help. The no hospital, no cops kind.”
Chris nodded and stepped aside for us to enter. The dog wagged its tail when Gabe patted it on the head.
I smiled, feeling a little drunk even though I hadn’t had anything to drink. “Nice puppy,” I said.
Chris glanced from me to Gabe. “She on anything?”
Gabe shook his head. “Nothing. She got stabbed.”
“Get into Mom’s room. I’ll get my stuff.”
I stumbled as Gabe half carried, half dragged me through the kitchen into a small hallway, and then into a small bedroom. He turned on the lamp, bathing the room in a dim golden glow. It was definitely a woman’s bedroom, and it smelled of dust and perfume. I don’t know how I knew, but I knew then that Chris’s mom had died, and he hadn’t been able to bring himself to pack her things away yet.
“Can you stand?” Gabe asked me.
I nodded. “I think so.” I sounded a lot more confident than I felt. When he let go of me, my right knee sagged a bit. But I managed to stay on my feet with the help of the bed’s footboard. He came back a few seconds later with a large black garbage bag and a towel.
“You’re not gonna let him cut me up and put me in that, are you?” I asked.
He didn’t even look at me. He simply laid the plastic bag on the bed and then placed the towel on top. Then, he removed my jacket and shirt and tossed the ski mask on top of them on the floor.
“Lie down,” he said, helping me onto the bed.
I did as I was told. “How bad does it look?” I asked.
Gabe’s face was still pale, and in the dim light his eyes were as black as ink. “Bad,” he whispered.
Oh, shit.
A few moments later the overhead light came on. I winced at the sudden harsh light. Chris nudged Gabe out of the way. In his hands he had a medical kit, but not the kind you kept under your bathroom sink. His looked professional.
“Chris was a medic in the army,” Gabe told me.
That was great, but I still felt weird letting him see me in my bra. “Gabe says it looks bad.”
Chris shot me a faint smile. “That’s because he’s a wimp. Let me take a look.”
I sucked in a sharp breath when his fingers touched my skin—not just because his hands were cold, but because it hurt. “How big was the knife?” he asked. “Just the blade.”
I held up my hand, spreading my thumb and index finger apart until they were the distance of the blade. It had felt bigger when I pulled it out of me.
Chris continued to poke around my side for a bit with his cold hands. “You’re lucky. It looks like the blade hit one of your ribs and then deflected upward.”
“Meaning?” I asked.
Chris gave me another smile. At that moment, if he told me the sky was pink I’d believe him. He was just one of those people that inspired confidence. “Meaning the wound is long, but not serious. Be glad that the person trying to hurt you didn’t know jack shit about how to use a knife. I’m going to clean this up and stitch it. It’s going to hurt some, but you’re going to be okay.”
Tears of relief burned the back of my eyes. “Thank you,” I said. “If I ever have any children, I’m naming one of them after you.”
He chuckled and glanced over his shoulder at Gabriel. “You sure she’s not on anything?”
Gabe shook his head, a reluctant smile curving his lips. I could tell he was just as relieved as I was. “Yeah, she’s just special.”
I met his gaze. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.
He nodded. “Don’t do it again.”
“I won’t,” I promised.
“I hope you got the son of a bitch back,” Chris commented as he dampened a cloth with that yellowish stuff they put on surgical woun
ds.
I was still looking at Gabe. “I did.”
Chris cleaned my wound. I tensed when I saw the needle in his hand. His smile was kind. “No way around this, sweetheart. It’s going to hurt. But I guess the Pink Vigilante is tough enough to not let a few stitches get to her.”
My entire body jerked. I stared at him in horror. “What did you just call me?”
“Relax. You’re safe here. I’m not going to turn you in. I loved her too, you know. Take a deep breath. Now let it out, slowly.”
I watched his face, rather than his hands as I released the air in my lungs. The needle pierced my skin. Oh, shit it hurt.
“You’re the guy she used to write to,” I wheezed.
He smiled sadly but didn’t look up from his work—I could’ve used the break. “I am indeed that lucky guy.”
I can’t quite explain the feeling that came over me. Magda used to tell me about Gabe’s friend who was in the army. He was a couple years older than her brother, and she had a huge crush on him. She wrote him every week, and he wrote back almost as often. Sometimes, she read me parts of his letters. He had told her that hearing from her made his time overseas bearable. She had freaked out when she heard he’d been shot. She worried about him for days, until his mother let her know that he was okay.
“She wanted to—Jesus Christ that hurts!—marry you.”
Chris went still, and I enjoyed the brief reprieve. It hadn’t even hurt this bad to get stabbed in the first place. “She deserved better than me. Now, take another breath, sweetheart.”
I don’t know how long it took him to stitch me up completely. It felt like hours. I’d like to say that I was stoic, and action-movie-cool for the entire thing, but tears leaked from my eyes. I tried to suck it up and accept my consequences, but I was so relieved when he was done I couldn’t hold back the tears any longer. He bandaged me up and told me to get some antibiotic cream to make sure I didn’t get an infection, otherwise I’d need to go straight to the doctor.