Clayton, why do you always have ink on your hand?”
“Ink?”
“There”, she put her finger on the spot and the electric
shock hit him again. This time it was stronger and he pulled
his hand away.
“ It is not ink. It is a birth mark. I have always had it.
Rebecca, why does your touch shock me?”
“ I don’t know, Clayton. I don’t know.” He kept looking at her.
Dark blue eyes again.
“Clayton what are you thinking? Your eyes have that
look again. ”
“ What look?”
“ They get dark blue, then you ask me something difficult, or
you accuse me. What is to come, question or accusation?”
“Question. Do you want to be with me?”
“Oh
okay. That is definitely a dark blue question. Yes.”
“So why do you turn away from me? ”
“ Another dark blue question.”
His eyes
were changing now, a light, icy colour.
“ Rebecca, don’t tease me now, okay? No teasing, no
lies.”
“ Because we will hurt each other and I could not bear it.
That’s the way it is, isn’t it?”
Clayton
saw the pain in her eyes and he turned suddenly and held her. He
had wanted so desperately to do that, to comfort her and she
collapsed in his arms. He liked the feeling of comfort he gave
her.
“ Rebecca.....”
“No more dark blue questions, please. I t is my turn.
Why did you ask me about the butterfly? ”
“What?” Icy blue eyes again. Shit, wrong question,
Rebecca.
“ Never mind. It is not important. Leave it. No more questions
tonight, okay?”
“What are you avoiding, Princess? What lies behind
those sparkling black eyes? ”
He
moved her away from him, lifted her face and looked into her eyes.
Her saw the fear in her and he let it go. She is afraid of me. I should never
have asked about the butterfly. Correction. I should never have accused her about the
butterfly .
She closed her eyes and he said, “okay, relax. No more dark
blue questions ,” and he
smiled. His eyes were their bright blue again. The moment had
passed.
“I
think I had better go before things get all messy again. Rebecca, I
want to talk about this, okay? ”
“ Okay.”
He got
up and she walked him to the door and she heard it, hissing
outside. It had moved to the side of the house, away from where her
parents were.
“ Rebecca, go inside. You should not be outside alone. Good
night.”
His voice had been curt. Had he heard it? Had it
scared him?
She threw herself on the couch. Oh God, what can I do? Can I destroy
that horrible thing on my own? I have to find a way. I have to have
Clayton. He was too wonderful. Yes, there must be a way to kill
that miserable fucker! She got up, agitated and plotted and schemed. There must be a
way, she convinced
herself . She went to
bed, filled with fantasies of torture and pain for the creature.
None of her plans were even close to realistic, but they made her
feel better. Oh Clayton, don’t give up on me
yet.
*****
Chapter 10
Clayton was also in despair. As he was leaving her house he
had felt that tug again of some urge to protect her. He knew it was
not rational. She was safe in her house and her parents were there.
Anyway, what could she possibly need protection from except
him? What is
wrong with me? He had
held her and it had been so magnificent. He had touched her and he
had loved it. He had also enjoyed the ‘shock treatment’. Imagine what the
sex would be like. He
had to get her away to Jonathan and Jackie’s anniversary. H e
would make love to her there and they would shock each other to
high heaven. This thought made him smile and he almost forgot about
the fear for her safety, but not for long. He got up in the middle
of the night, shocked by his dreams.
Rebecca was bound with thin, silken ropes that he
could hardly see. He had just stood there, not seeing them. She was
crying out to him, for help, but he could not understand what she
was saying. Use
your hands, Clayton, please , she screamed, but he did not understand. He stood there helpless, unable to
Sarah Woodbury
June Ahern
John Wilson
Steven R. Schirripa
Anne Rainey
L. Alison Heller
M. Sembera
Sydney Addae
S. M. Lynn
Janet Woods