Page 4 of Jerk

RYE

Junior Year: Spring Semester

“Wh-what are you going to do?”

The shake in her voice does nothing to me as my eyes dance around her bare body strapped to the slim leather table. Dark red lights highlight her curves, her blue eyes locking with mine.

“Whatever I want.”

“Wicked Games” by the Weeknd fills the room, a freshman from campus in my domain. Amanda? Kat? Whatever-her-name-is risked showing up to beg for an invite to tonight’s party. On her knees, she said she’d do anything, and after last semester, I can use the distraction. The problem is, she isn’t very fun to play with.

Moving toward a velvet curtain, my fingers trail the string of equipment hanging from a thick gold rope. Paddles, floggers, whips, chains. When my finger lands on the handle of a dull-edged dagger, my trail stops.

“Everyone’s watching.”

That moment replays in my head ten times a day. It’s everything I planned, but something was… off. She didn’t protest. She didn’t put up a fight. Shealwaysputs up a fight.

Hannah’s social media accounts all say she turned over a new leaf during the break. Charity events. Volunteering in Bali. Even reading to young girls. It’s all a desperate act.

Reaching for the dagger, my grip tightens around the black handle.

“What are you planning on doing with that?” Party Girl’s voice breaks my thoughts.

“Don’t ask me stupid questions.”

She nods, her pink nipples hardening under my gaze. But, looking at her naked body laid out for me doesn’t do it for me either. Her long dark hair hangs off the edge, her lips almost the same shade Hannah wore at the gallery. But the eyes. They’re different. Too dull and too eager all at once.

Rolling my shoulders, I try shifting my focus to the girl who's ready for me to take out my frustrations. A vessel I can channel every last drop of fury into. Someone who knows how to bow to their Crown.

“You crossed a boundary coming here today,” I say, hovering the edge of the blade right above her left thigh. “You’ll pay for that.”

The dull blade kisses her skin before she squeals. “Wh-wait!” A deep sigh escapes me. “I’m sorry, I’m a little nervous. Can you give me a second?”

“You’re boring me.”

“That knife just doesn’t look very fun.”

This won’t do. I’m about to tell her to get out when a voice comes from behind me.

“Whoa.”

Turning on my Italian leather boots, I squint through the blur of my high to see who it is and…well, this is a hell of a surprise.

“If it isn’t my long-lost little sister.” Her heavily lined eyes wander around what she knows as the main lounge of our modern mansion. Her jaw hangs open as she takes it all in, and let’s say I’ve made some alterations. “Welcome home, Krystal.”

“Little sister?” The girl I’ve already forgotten about asks.

Krystal stands in the arched doorway in plaid pants and a leather jacket over her thin shoulders. Gone are the bags under her eyes, and she’s actually sporting a tan instead of her usual pale skin.

“You finally escaped the Academy?” I ask.

She nods, a slow one, but she still doesn’t speak. Her gaze continues to move around the room, and I can’t blame her. What was once the finely decorated home we grew up in is now, well, not that. In this room, tufted leather chaises replace the antique armchairs tucked away in a storage unit at the back of the house. They surround the leather table in the middle, red silk draping from the crystal chandelier.

“What on earth did you do?” Krystal finally asks.

“Re-decorated,” I reply, watching as she fixes the black beret on top of her black and grey shaggy cut. We inherited a lot of bullshit from our folks. Money tainted in expectation, a culture no one in this town cares to understand, and unreasonable standards. At least we inherited some style. Reaching for the pack of cigs in my oversized black trousers, I drop the dagger to the floor. “Father didn’t invite me to his circle-jerk on the greens, so I’m having one of my own.”

“He already cut you off,” she says, reminding me how fast news travels. She takes a step further into the room, her eyes on the row of “tools” hanging off the back wall. “And you’re still trying to piss him off?”