Come one, come all, to the greatest freakshow on earth. See the nymphos, the crackheads, the ravers, the sluts and me, Alicia- their queen. Every night in the city by the river, Beloit Wisconsin- AKA little Chicago, we motherfuckers come out to play. I sit atop of my trailer like a throne, sweeping my fire red hair over my shoulder. Looking down at my grey Hooters t-shirt that had seen better days, I kick up my legs to show off my denim booty shorts, as I rule over the festivities.
“My queen!” shouts a familiar voice. My crew; we welcome all kinds, especially virgin sacrifices.
“What do we have here?” I ask as I hop off the roof, landing like a superhero on my bare feet.
My girl Q stepped forward, her sky-blue hair sparkling in the moonlight. “I come bearing a gift, my prize for being a Good Samaritan.”
The crowd was already hooting and hollering.
From where I stand, I can see someone behind her. He towered over Q who stood at 5’4″, so he had to be at least six feet tall. The young man ran his fingers through his dark, shoulder-length hair, making it apparent he wasn’t restrained or brought to the festivities against his will. Also allowing me a brief glimpse of his beauty.
But he stood in the shadows, downwind of the bonfire. I would need to come closer for a better look. “Hey, gorgeous.”
He had a sexy, innocent look, large eyes, with a roundish face, and high cheekbones. “Um, hi.”
I took a step closer, tossing my hair, so it shimmered like a wave of fire. “You an athlete?”
“I-I played some soccer, in school.” With his black hair and caramel complexion, he looked Latino or maybe Italian. Either way, he was exotic, too beautiful for a place like Beloit.
I press my lips to his ear. “Are you my virgin sacrifice?”
He chuckles nervously, glancing at Q for guidance. “I’m not exactly a virgin.”
“Oh, do tell?”
“I’ve been turning tricks ever since I was fifteen, and um, I’m positive.”
“Aren’t we all, Baby?”
“No, I’m HIV positive.” He looked at the ground, crossing his arms in the warm Wisconsin night. He probably assumed that would be a deal breaker. “I’m really sorry. I just came here because Q said I could score some pills, on the cheap.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at his innocent sweetness. “Let me tell you a secret, I’m immune to all human diseases.”
The crowd gave their usual cheer. He was going to be mine.
“Um, okay.”
“What’s your name, Baby boy?”
“Tony Keller.”
“Keller?” That name certainly didn’t match his exotic features.
“My old man’s a factory union leader, he sponsored my mom into the country.”
‘And he beat the living shit out of her,’ I added in my head. That was the story of so many of us, myself included. The Midwest grew a lot of things, corn, wheat, slutty girls, and crazy boys. “You say you turn tricks. But someone as cute as you,” I said as I walked around him, stroking my finger along the collar of his denim jacket. I knew his type. Young men and boys looking for easy money took on truckers at rest stops, letting them have free reign of their bodies. “You ever been with a woman?”
Tony shook his head, lowering his gaze. “Life kind of got in the way.”
There was more to his story, there had to be, and I just had to know. “I think you’re just what I need. I’ll take good care of you.” With a flick of my wrist, a single pill materialized in my hand. “Here, a peace offering.”
“Um, thanks.” Tony downed it quickly, without water, not even asking what it was.
I had to admit I was impressed. “So, tell me, how did you meet Q?”
“A few days ago, my mother was hit by a car. Q, she witnessed the whole thing and stayed with her until I could get to the hospital.” His voice was quivering with emotion.
Q put her arm around his waist. “You’ve been through a lot. That’s why you deserve a night out. Trust me, Alicia will show you a good time.”
I hold out my hand. “You ready?”
Tony nods sheepishly. “I guess so.”
The crowd cheers, as they always do, shouting all kind of vulgar things I should do to Tony. I don’t need any help, thank you very much.
Inside my one-room trailer, I pushed him onto the bare mattress that is my bed. “Take your clothes off and lay down.”
“O…kay,” Tony answers in a groggy voice.
I watched as he crossed his arms over his chest. “You cold?”
Tony only shrugged. Reaching for his jacket, he managed to pull on one sleeve before collapsing face first on to the bed.
“Just relax,” I whisper as I remove his jacket, letting it fall wherever. I straddle myself over his hips, licking my lips as I start to explore. As I parted his hair, I noticed Tony had a birthmark on his neck in the shape of an angel, like the kind of thing you would find on a Christmas card. “Of course.”
“Of course, what? Oh, the angel? I think that’s just scar tissue.”
I had to wonder how he knew about the angel. It was clearly not scar tissue. I could imagine that his poor mother used to tell him how beautiful he was, how precious. “Still, it’s cute. I would definitely get it tattooed one day. ” I stroke my fingers down his broad shoulders and a muscular back.
Tony flinched in pain.
As I expect he’s covered in cuts and bruises. All the lost souls who end up at my doorstep tended to be. “Did your pimp do this?”
“I don’t have a pimp.”
That makes more sense. “And that’s why your clients beat you.”
“It works out. I’m kind of a painslut,” he replied with a grimace.
“No, you’re not,” I said as I walked my fingers down his spine, “I’ve known a lot of people like you; junkies, whores- people like you like pain because it’s the only time you feel human touch. Does your mother know what you do for a living?”
“She knows how my dad beat the living shit out of me from the day I was born,” he said with a snort. “And how it took him threatening to kill me to finally convince her to leave the bastard.”
I made my way to his hips. I could see from the low rise of his jeans that he wore no underwear. “I’m going to remove your jeans now.”
“There’s something you need to know,” he said with sincerity that changed to a genuine laugh. “Screw it, if my trucker clients don’t care I don’t think you will either.”
I removed his jeans to reveal his lower body; thighs and prosthetic legs. “Wow,” I couldn’t help but say. The white plastic seemed to hold sensors and other metallic components, these were clearly specially made. “You were able to walk, earlier. And you said you played soccer.” My mind reached the only logical conclusion. “Are these robotic?”
“Yeah, long story short I was born with incomplete legs. I’ve been wearing custom designed prosthetics since I was four.”
“Custom?”
“My mom has an engineering degree. She works at the university. My prosthetics attach with electrodes which allow me to control them like actual muscle tissue.”
Woah! “Can you feel?” I asked as I stroked the seam where plastic met skin.
“I can’t feel my prosthetics, but where they connect…” He gasped and moaned under my fingers. “T-the nerve endings are really sensitive.”
I knew what I wanted to do. “How do you take them off?”
“Remove the straps, then disengage the electrodes. It’s not that difficult.”
“Okay,” I said sweetly, as I unfastened the straps that held the devices in place. The electrodes were like suction cups, each sliding off with a satisfying pop. Every touch caused Tony’s body to tense. “Do you let your clients touch your legs?”
“Most of them just want to get it over with.”
I kissed his thigh, focusing on the area where the electrodes once were. The harder I licked and sucked, the more he reacted, until he was practically humping the bed. “Good boy, now roll over.”
Tony abruptly stopped, his stomach visibly tensed. “Um, sure,” he said nervously. “I-I just need a little help.” He turned his wrist to reveal track marks.
“You shoot up?”
He shrugged. “Heroin, crack, meth: I’ve tried them all.”
“I have something you’ve never experienced,” I said in a whisper as I leaned in close to kiss his soft, pouty lips, “me.”
“You?”
My nails sank into his skin, just below his collarbone, transferring pulse after pulse of a neon green energy. “I’ve been told my power looks like radiation but feels like a deep tissue massage for your soul.”
“Yeah,” Tony moaned. His fingers were grasping at the fabric of the mattress. “I can see that.”
“My abilities come from the earth- the spirits of my ancestors, hundreds of generations of witches.”
“Witches?” he asked with a laugh.
“White witches, dark witches, I don’t like to categorize my work. All I know is my powers allow me to dive into someone’s soul, to see into their past and unlock their true potential.”
I could feel Tony’s pulse racing as I dragged my nails down his chest. “Do you feel it? – That’s the energy of mother earth.”
“Yeah.” Tony sat up in one strong, swift motion. “I feel it.” He cupped my face and kissed me, slow and intense. Between deep, decadent kisses he managed to come up for air just long enough to look into my eyes. “I want you.”
Possessing superhuman strength, he pinned me down by my arms. Our lips met over and over. “You said you never been with a girl.”
“I had a girlfriend once. I knew .” Tony closed his eyes. I assumed he was picturing this girl’s face, “she deserved better than me.”
“Or maybe you’re the one who deserved better.” I held on tight to his shoulders, moving my hips.
“You’ve ever been with a guy with no legs?”
“No, but I like it.” With every thrust, I responded with another dose of my power until his flesh was glowing a beautiful transparent light green, the color of the forest moon. I could practically see his beating heart. I sank my nails into his back, as I felt his warmth. “God, you’re so amazing.”
Tony smirked. “Yeah, I know.”
The newfound confidence of his tone caused me to laugh. “Tell me about you, is your momma going to be alright? With the hospital bills and all that shit?”
“Yeah, she has decent health insurance. No thanks to my dad.”
“So, what happened? Is the bastard still alive?”
“Unfortunately,” he said with a sigh. “You got any smokes?”
“I have some weed,” I offered, motioning to my nightstand.
Tony helped himself to a pre-rolled blunt, taking a long drag as he laid on his back.
I rested my head on his chest. “Are you wealthy? I mean with your robotic legs and your momma’s university job.”
“If I was rich, I’d be on my way to college, instead of wasting my life in this shithole town.”
“Yeah, I feel you.” But I didn’t. I knew he could have gone to the university for free, as the child of an employee. There was another reason why he clung to his current way of life. “Tell me about your dad, why did he try to kill you? You seem like a sweet kid.”
Tony threw his head back with laughter. “My daddy runs a factory just outside of town. He’s just the foreman, but it’s a union shop so he makes a shit ton of money and runs the place like he’s the fucking owner.” Tony’s words were beginning to slur. “I started hanging out on the backroads giving five-dollar blowjobs. Word got around; the mighty Keith Keller had a son who sucked cock.” He pressed the blunt to his palm, leaving a small burn. “I don’t know what I was thinking. My plan was to humiliate him, the way he always humiliated me and my mother.”
As his expression changed to one of pain, I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of compassion. “We don’t have to talk about it.”
“It’s alright. Not like I can turn back time. My dad, he always wanted another kid. They tried for years. The fact that Mom couldn’t get pregnant again, it solidified his belief that she was the worthless one.” Tony sighed.
I notice him grip his wrist as if his body was craving the numbness of drugs.
“But Momma, bless her heart, agreed to a quick divorce.” He paused to wipe his eyes. “She got nothing but the clothes on her back. And full custody of her crippled son.”
It was clear Tony needed help, just the kind of help I was good at providing. “If you’re still interested in humiliating him my crew can be of service.”
“Really?”
“Hustling doesn’t pay the bills. We all have day jobs; waiters, fast-food, retail, bartenders, strippers. Whatever restaurant, club or bar he frequents, I can guarantee one of us is there.”
Tony bit his lip, he was clearly resisting the urge to smile. “What’s the plan?”
“I know I sound too good to be true, but trust me I’m the real deal.” I left the bed the retrieve his legs. “First step- flirt,” I said as I started to reattach his legs. “Second step- date, third step- fuck.” I quickly finished his left leg and moved on to his right. “And little by little we rob your old man blind until he’s the one giving five-dollar blowjobs.”
Tony looked impressed at my ability to put the legs back in my first try. “Earlier you said you can see into someone’s soul, unlock their true potential. What do you see in me?”
“Strength, poise and an unbreakable spirit.”
“Did you read that from a fortune cookie?”
“I’m serious. You know the Spartans? Like that movie ‘300’ or that video game with the bald guy who killed his family?”
“God of War?”
“Yeah, that’s the one. Spartans, as a culture, tortured their kids from the moment of birth way worse than anything our fucked-up families ever did. Those who survived became warriors and those who didn’t, well they just didn’t. You, Tony, you’re a survivor, a true modern-day Spartan warrior.”
That made him smile. “I think I love you.”
“I love you too, Tony Keller. Welcome to the Freakshow.”
Chapter 2, Two weeks later:
“Alicia!” I hear him cry, through the darkness of the trailer park. Looking out my window I see him, Tony Keller, he’s drunk or high- probably both.
I sigh as I left my bed. Even in his inebriated state, it wouldn’t take him long to find my door.
“Open up!” he’s kicking the door, which would be a problem in itself, with Tony being a well built, former athlete. But with his robotic, sensory motorized, prosthetic legs he could very well break the door down before anyone even called the cops.
In one quick motion, I open my door and pull him inside my one-room home. “What?”
His long hair hung loosely over his eyes. “You know what I want.” His dark eyes looked at me with intensity, lust, power. With his pouty lips parted ever so slightly I could feel the heat of his breath.
“No, I don’t think I do,” I reply mockingly.
“I want you on your knees.”
I was only wearing an oversized t-shirt and cheap plain white underwear. But I was more than accommodating.
I knew why Tony was here- I was dating his father.
I wouldn’t call it dating, the dirty old man was my sugar daddy and I was his arm candy. But he loved to brag to his co-workers about my tight, little millennial ass.
I can feel Tony’s rough, callused hands on my thighs. He’s come to play. “You like that?”
My knees went weak. “Yeah, I love when you touch me.”
“Really?”
I can hear his pants unzip.
My body was tensing, I could feel the warmth building in my core. I needed him to blow. “Your daddy says you’re an f-up little junkie. One of these days he’s going to have to identify your corpse.”
That did the trick.
Focusing my power, I tensed my abs, causing a glowing blast of energy to radiate from my core. It was enough to overwhelm him.
As his body fell limp, I saw the truth, I saw everything.
Tony buying drugs from five guys outside of Walmart. They looked to be workers on their break, older men, with prominent beer guts and facial hair.
Tony getting gang-raped inside a public bathroom stall. From the momentary flash, I couldn’t tell if these were the same men that he bought the drugs from, but he was definitely not having a good time.
Tony sitting on the floor of the bathroom, alone, snorting cocaine (or whatever) off a toilet seat. He starts to laugh, gripping his chest until his eyes started to glow red.
My mind flashes back to reality; I’m in bed with Tony collapsed by my side. “My poor, baby.”
Tony sighs an exhausted sigh. “Funny thing is, I was really thinking about getting clean.”
“You tried to get clean?” I pull my knees to my chest, under my t-shirt.
“I thought it would be one final f-you to my father to finally kick my demons to the curb- but lucky me, I found the one clinic that doesn’t take drug addicts.”
“You have to detox.”
“For a minimum of five days, before I can be admitted: that means the emergency room.”
“Would that really be so bad?” I removed his torn jeans off his long fiberglass legs. I disconnected the straps and electrodes. Until he was essentially stripped of his power.
“That would be a one-way ticket to the psych ward,” he laughed. “Yeah, f- no.”
I roll Tony on to his side, to remove his shirt. He is now completely naked. “So, you went on a binge instead?” I spoon his back, his skin smells of sweat but his hair smelled like cedar and mint (some kind of body spray.)
Tony looked over his shoulder, turning to me with the sweetest smile. “Live clean or die.”
“Right,” I reply with a smirk.
“So, what do you want to do now?”
“You’re going to detox here, with me.” I kiss his sweat-soaked shoulder, as he turned away.
Tony was shivering. “Nah, I-I want to die.” He sounded like he was joking but his voice was getting weaker.
“I know you do, but that’s not going to happen. Not on my watch.” Tony wasn’t the first case I’ve seen but he was by far the worst. “Let’s get some sleep.” Resting my face to his back, I stroke his skin, making small circles from his collarbone, to just below his ear. With each touch I infused my energy; glowing green pulses caressing over his skin.
I noticed that the green glow did not dissipate but instead seemed to seep into his skin until his body was covered in green leaf-like patterns. With our newfound connection, I could feel his dreams, his heart, his soul. I couldn’t help but smile as my eyes drew closed.
As I fell asleep my dreams were filled with images of a little boy with prostatic legs. His brilliant mother worked on the robotic elements of his legs, but she did it as a game, to encourage physical fitness. Little Tony is laughing, smiling; his mother’s love was making him confident and strong.
“Tony come play with me!” shouted an off-screen voice.
I see a little girl with blonde hair. She approaches a grade-school-age Tony, who is covered in bruises and limping in pain. As she takes his hand white healing energy flows from her fingers.
“There, all better,” she giggles with a kiss to his cheek. “I love you, Tony.”
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
I awaken at seven to my phone alarm. I roll out of bed to make a breakfast of instant coffee and toast with jam. “Hey, Tony.” I took a seat on the bed, placing the coffee on a safe flat surface.
“Hey,” he grumbled.
“You need to eat. The coffee will help with the pain and the toast will settle your stomach.”
“You a doctor or something?”
“Nah, I just have experience.”
Tony slumped back to sleep.
“Tony?” I brushed his hair back from his shoulder to see if the green energy was still there. On his neck were a series of neon green freckles. I blow a soft breath, which causes the leaf pattern to reform along his skin.
“Where’s my mom?”
“I think your mom is still in the hospital.” It had been a little over two weeks since I first met Tony, but I assumed that someone who had been hit by a car would still need to be under a physician’s care.
“No, last I heard she’d been discharged to the physical therapy clinic.” He swallowed hard, “but that was a few days ago. I’ve kinda ghosted her.”
“Oh,” I said as I continued to focus my power on the green freckles.
“I miss my mom, and miss Sunny.” He rolled his neck, stretching his back.
“Your girlfriend?”
Tony sat up, the very idea of this girl seemed to fill him with strength. “Samantha Jane Foster, she always went by Sunny,” he said with a smile as he took a sip of coffee. “She always had a heart like a sunrise; warm, peaceful. I haven’t seen her in so long. I mean I know she’s still in Beloit, she lives with her Mom but…”
“I’ll find her. Beloit’s a small town.”
Tony shook his head and laid back down.
I knew he had more to say but, at least he didn’t say no. I placed a call to my friend Patricia (or Q) since she was the person who introduced me to Tony. I knew she would be getting off work at around noon. “Hey, Q.”
“Hey,” she said quickly. I could hear the cash register in the background. She worked at the university cafeteria in the mornings, before classes.
“You still in contact with that woman who got hit by a car?”
“With the hottie son? Yeah, I know where she is.”
“That ‘hottie’ is detoxing off bath salts, in my trailer.”
Q was laughing. “So, what’s the plan?”
“He said he legit wants to get clean but he needs to be sober in order to get into a rehab program. You think you could pass along a message to his mom, just to let her know he’s ok?”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
I checked the time, it was now close to ten. Wow, how did that happen? I laid back, with my phone connected to the nearby Wi-fi of the Starbucks. Q would be off soon until then I would try to locate the mysterious Sunny.
“Samantha Foster,” I said out loud as I typed the words into my sear bar. “Beloit, High school.” There was one giant Highschool that served Beloit and the surrounding counties. Since she was a childhood friend of Tony’s I assumed that would be a good place to start. I expected to find a senior portrait or something generic but instead, I found an article about her father’s disappearance.
James Foster was a former principal of the high school who later served on the School Board, before his mysterious disappearance. He was never declared dead and no charges could be brought, but the opinion of the police and most of the family and friend was that his wife, Elena, killed him. There was an address mentioned, as a possible crime scene. There was no mention if his wife and daughter still lived there, but it was only a twenty-minute journey, (for me anyway) so I decided to take the chance and check it out.
“Goodbye, Tony. I’ll be back soon.”
I walk to a window and with a wave of my hand I transformed in little red cardinal and flew off into the sky. Butlin drive was a family-friendly suburban neighborhood. Not as upper-class as the gated communities near the university but not as trashy as the trailer park. I landed on my clawed feet, transforming back into a red-haired woman wearing only a t-shirt.
I look around, unsure where to start when I feel a presence, a strong fire-based creature. I walked towards a large, single story house with a gated garden. I stop and stare. Whatever I was sensing was behind that gate. “Hello?”
A tall Hispanic man emerged. He had muscular build, dark eyes, sculptured features. He was dressed like a handy-man or a gardener, (as one would expect for Wisconsin,) but there was something hypnotic about his gaze. “Hello there,” he said in perfect English. His deep sensual voice had just enough of an accent to make me weak in the knees. “May I help you?”
As soon as my brain comes back online, I force myself to speak, “Um, do you know a Samantha Foster?”
“Oh yes.” He turned to the house. “Sunny!”
The very word made my stomach churn. Sunny- like the warm sunshine. “What is it, Jahil?” A blonde girl exited. With her long blonde hair pulled back in a neat ponytail, classy blue sundress, and perfect makeup, she looked every bit the angel of Tony’s dreams.
“This girl was asking for you.”
“Hi,” Sunny said in a cautious tone.
I couldn’t blame her. If I looked like a blonde angel, I wouldn’t want to talk to someone who looked like me. “Do you know Tony Keller?”
“Tony?” Her face froze in a look of horror. “Where is he? Is he ok? Is he in trouble?”
“Yeah,” was all I could say. “I-I should go.” I start to run, down the street no longer caring who saw. I wanted out of this place where I didn’t belong.
“You don’t need to go.” It’s the man’s voice, echoing all around me.
What was his name, Jahil? I didn’t stop. “I can’t I’m so sorry.”
“If you must go, then go. But you will find your way back here.”
I was nowhere near the house, there was no way I should be able to hear him. I wanted so badly to ask who or what he was, but at that moment, I was too embarrassed. Whoever he was, he was above me; maybe he was a servant, maybe he was her stepfather or her boyfriend.
I ran towards the highway, transforming back into a bird, to be able to take a shortcut back to the trailer park. I land on the dirt in front of my trailer, taking a moment to wipe the tears from my eyes as I transform back into my human form. My door is wide open and Q’s car is parked out front. “Q?”
“I’m here. I hope you don’t mind, I let myself in.” By that she meant, I would need to replace the lock on my door.
“It’s fine, I’m glad you’re here, how is he?” I enter the doorway to a heartwarming sight. Tony’s mother was in a wheelchair, scrunched by the side of my bed, stroking his face as he slept.
Q leaned against the wall, still in her work uniform. Her focus was on her phone screen. “I can watch him while you go to your shift tonight.”
“Thanks, Q. Mrs. Keller do you need anything?”
“Call me Maria.” I recognized the women from Tony’s dream, but she was clearly older, more haggard. She looked to be in her fifties with dark hair, pulled into a messy bun, and dark eyes that looked just like her sons’. Despite her difficult life, she wore a smile of pure joy and light. She seemed genuinely happy for all she had even as she sat in a wheelchair with a back brace and barely moving fingers and god knows what other injuries.
I stayed as long as I could, talking to her about Tony’s childhood and the mechanics behind his unique prosthetic legs. Tony was a brilliant student and a soccer prodigy. She blamed herself for allowing Tony to be so physically, emotionally abused by her ex. “It’s my fault he turned to drugs. His mind is too beautiful for this world.” Tears filled her eyes as she spoke. “I’m sorry. I was just thinking about the last time I saw him drawing. W-When he was sixteen Keith burned all of Tony’s art supplies, so Tony started to go to the roof and sketch the clouds. He would see these magical worlds, that no one else could. Part of me thinks he could see heaven because that was where he was meant to be.”
Tony was sleeping but I swear I could see him smile. He could hear her or at least feel her. It kinda made me homesick for my own mother. But that’s a story for another day. “Have you met Sunny?”
“She was a sweet girl, but I think Tony’s father damaged him so badly he thinks he’s unworthy of love.”
With a heavy heart, I got dressed to go to my dinner shift at Applebee’s. Q promised to watch over Tony and Maria until I got back, even if that meant spending the night. Because my sugar daddy had the tendency to make surprise appearances.
It was a shitting night for tips, and soon I was feeling sick to my stomach. I had to step outside for a smoke, but as I tried to light a cigarette my hands were trembling so badly, I dropped my Marlboro.
“You alright?”
I looked up to see Keith Keller, Tony’s dad, my boyfriend. “Hey, Love. I missed you.”
“You drunk?”
“I’d like to be.” My world is spinning, I can’t breathe. “Take me home, Loverboy?”
We load into his truck. I shoot my manager a text about how sick I’m feeling and she says it’s fine for me to leave (although I will be forfeiting the rest of my night’s pay.)
As we load into Keith’s burgundy Buick Sierra, I can’t help but notice the interior. This wasn’t the first time I’d been in his truck, with his lush interior and heated seats, but this was the first time my heart was overwhelmed with greed. I wanted this truck. I wanted his money. More than the meager hundred he would give me, no, I wanted his life. I wanted to cut off his head and deliver it to Tony and Maria on a silver platter. No wait, I would have to have it mounted like a deer head.
We ride out to his house, just outside the city lines, in the even smaller township of Clinton, Wisconsin.
Even as we kiss I think about how I’m going to do it. There are plenty of guns, knives, even a chainsaw in the garage. But before I know it, we’re having plain boring sex on his soft, luxurious king-sized bed.
I look up at the mirrored ceiling.
I wish it was Tony slender, muscular body on top of me, but it’s not, it’s Keith’s pale blonde redneck body. His hands are large and meaty. While Tony has the hands of an artist, Keith has the hands of someone who beat his wife and disabled son. This horrible monster of a man, who only allowed his wife a divorce when she agreed to walk away with none of his wealth.
All I can do is stay still until he finishes. In a little while, he’s asleep. I can feel my unpainted nails transforming into dark thick, cat-like, claws. I look at the clock on the nightstand, it’s 3 am. I drag my claw along his neck, it would be so easy.
My stomach hurts. It’s a sharp pain that causes me to lay back. Looking up at the mirrored ceiling I see my body- my lower stomach is glowing green. WTF?
“Hello?” said a small voice.
“Um, hello? Am I pregnant?” I had never been pregnant before. I always assumed I couldn’t even get pregnant.
“Yup!” the voice answered sweetly. “You made love to a creature worthy of your power.”
I was frozen in place. My hand drifted to the glowing spot, it felt warm, like a soothing massage. “Are you Tony’s baby?” The timing would make sense. After taking Tony’s virginity I had sex with his dad as well as a few other men, but they weren’t special, they weren’t Tony.
“Tony is my daddy, I will have his beauty, his courage, and his strength.”
There were tears in my eyes, I truly wanted this baby. I could imagine holding a little girl or boy with Tony’s dark eyes and tan skin. Maybe the little one would even have his smile.
“But you must stay with Keith,” the voice added. The glow got stronger until it filled the room with light.
Looking around, I understood. “Because all this can be mine; the house the car, the money.”
“You know what you must do.”
The idea made me sick to my stomach. “I do.” I had to get Keith to marry me and to do that I had to pass off this baby as his.
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