Pete inched his way between her feet and reached for the snap on his jeans. But before Pete could unzip his fly, Gina burst into the room once again. Her eyes were red from crying but she had pasted a shaky smile on her face.
“Petey,” she said in a throaty voice. “You don’t want to fuck her. Look at her, she’s all bloody. She's gross!” Gina pulled her top off and caressed her breasts playfully. “You want me, not her. Come on, baby.”
Pete looked down at Brook with distaste. Blood and fluids smeared the insides of her legs, her hair was tangled, and her eyes nearly swollen shut. Then he looked at Gina, his woman, and moved to her. She jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist as he carried her toward the door.
“Where the fuck you going? You pussy-whipped, dickhead?” Jase jeered.
“Why the hell do I want sloppy thirds when I can have this?” Pete flipped his hair out of his eyes and flashed a yellow smile over his shoulder. He left with Gina, and Brook prayed that Benny and Jase would follow them from the room.
“Well, fuck him,” Jase grumbled, rolling Brook from the fetal position she had assumed and nudging her feet apart. “I’ll have another go.” He dropped his pants.
Brook back-pedaled across the mattress. Jase dropped to his knees, grabbed her by the ankles, and forced her legs apart. “She is pretty messy,” he conceded. “Well, there’s more than one way to fuck a bitch.” He flipped Brook onto her belly and crawled up between her legs.
Brook’s horror expanded into a living monster inside her chest. “Nooooo! Oh, God! Please don’t. Not that!” Brook was terrified of being taken this way.
“You’re gonna love this, bitch. I'm gonna get ya where the good lord split ya." She heard Jase spitting and felt something wet land on her skin. Then there was pain and she screamed long and shrill, shoving into the mattress, trying to get away from the unspeakable intrusion.
“Push back!” Jase shouted. “Work with me. It’ll go easier on both of us.” He wrapped an arm around her throat and held her firmly in place. Three of her nails broke off as she dug her fingers into the mattress. Hate filled her heart.
Jase grunted in satisfaction. “Tight,” he moaned. “God, she’s tight.” He began a slow pumping motion. It seemed to go on forever, much longer than the first time he’d used her. Brook cried weakly. Jase pushed her face into the mattress, cutting off her air. Eventually, he found his release again and rolled off her body.
Brook gasped, filling her lungs with ragged breaths. As her head cleared, a bitter loathing rose in her, and she yearned for a chance to kill the son-of-a-bitch. To rip his heart out.
Benny flipped her over onto her back again, grabbed her ruined shirt, and wiped at the mess between her legs before taking her one more time. Both men left the room together, laughing and slapping each other on the back for a job well done.
Brook’s intestines seized and she felt like she was going to explode. She crawled to the door and pounded on it.
“I need the bathroom!" she called, squeezing her buttocks together to keep from soiling herself. "Please! Oh, please hurry!" After several agonizing minutes, the door was flung open.
“Come on. Get your ass up!” Gina was in a black mood. She grabbed Brook’s arm in a rough grip and yanked her to her feet. “I’m not your fucking slave, you know.”
Brook stumbled into the bathroom. She had barely seated herself when the diarrhea started. Helpless to stop it, Brook endured the humiliation. Gina made retching noises and glared at her with disgust, finally backing up to wait in the hallway.
When Brook was finished, she cleaned up as well as she could with tissue. As she stood to flush the toilet, her legs shook and her backside burned. Through the tiny bathroom window, Brook could see nothing but darkness. In just a few hours, her world had disappeared and she had been plunged into a nightmare. She moved to the sink while Gina glared at her from the doorway. Turning on the tap, she lathered her hands with a sliver of grimy soap. Then, she splashed her face with cool water, and drank from her cupped and trembling hands.
She hardly recognized her own face in the mirror. Clark had always told her how pretty she was. He'd be shocked if he could see her now. She hungered to feel his comforting arms around her. To be cradled, protected. The longing turned into a soft sadness inside her as she realized he’d probably never hold her again.
Gina hit the door with the palm of her hand, startling Brook. “Turn off the fucking water and move your ass. I ain’t got all day.”
“Can I have a cloth to clean up with?” Brook was shamed by the groveling note in her voice as she begged for the privilege of doing something she’d always taken for granted.
“Oh, for Christ's sake! No, you can't wash up. Damn, you're a pain in the ass. Get on back across the hall and leave me the hell alone.” Gina shoved Brook into the hall, but instead of obediently entering the bedroom, Brook turned and dashed toward the rear of the house, bouncing off the walls of the narrow passage until she came to an open door on the right. Behind her Gina bellowed in anger, but Brook didn’t slow. She raced for the window and thanked God when it opened on the first try. No screen hindered her way, and she slipped like an eel through the opening, dropped to the ground, and raced for nearby trees.
The backdoor of the house banged open and coarse laughter rang out, not the response Brook was expecting. There were a few mumbled commands, but she couldn't make out the words.
Dashing from tree to tree, Brook drew in ragged breaths, trying to look in all directions at once. From her left came Pete’s voice. “Little bunny, where you hopping off to?” His tone was mocking, completely unconcerned.
Then, to Brook's horror, a second voice came from the right. “BrooklynBridge is falling down, falling down, falling down. BrooklynBridge is falling down, and Benny’s gonna land on top of her.” His musical abilities left a lot to be desired, but his message was clear. They were toying with her. Brook stopped, holding her breath, and listened. Where are they? She couldn’t hear a thing except the pounding of her heart in her ears.
Then, Benny stepped from behind the tree she was using for shelter and wrapped his arms around her. “Gotcha!”
Brook freaked. She fought like a wild woman and if Pete hadn’t shown up to help, she would have caused severe damage to Benny. As it was, she left several claw marks on his arms and red marks on his face and neck. Pete simply enfolded her against his chest, trapping her arms at her sides. He lugged her back to the house where Jase sat on the rear steps smirking.
“Give the bitch back to Gina and tell her to do the job right this time or I’ll have to teach her how.” Jase instructed.
Red marks stood out against Gina’s ashen face. Livid, she hurried Brook back to the bedroom and shoved her inside. "I wish you were dead," she growled. "Just where the fuck did you think you were goin' anyway? We’re in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere! It’s your fucking fault Jase slapped me around. Pete’s such a pussy sometimes. I can’t believe he didn’t stand up for me. I fuckin' hate you!” Gina slammed Brook with her forearms, knocking her onto the mattress. Shivering, Brook grabbed the stained sheet and wrapped it around her nakedness, keeping her gaze glued to Gina all the while.
Gina's eyes roved the room and fell on the torn garments scattered about the floor. Swooping down, she grabbed them and stormed out, bellowing, “Are you guys out of your mind? Do you know how expensive these clothes are? I would have loved….” Her voice trailed off as she moved away from the room.
Minutes later Brook heard the small ding of a microwave. The smell of food reached her, but did not stimulate her appetite. She listened to her captors through the thin walls as they talked around mouthfuls of what smelled to her like popcorn and pizza. No one offered her anything to drink or eat, which was fine with her. She didn’t think she would be able to keep anything down, even if someone shoved food in her mouth. But, the point was well taken that she would not be fed. Her life was to be forfeited. Once the initial rush of adrenaline drained away, Brook became aware of pain flaring in her feet. Her barefoot rush into the wilderness had left cuts and bruises on her soles. She rubbed them gently against the mattress. They were just more injuries to add to the list.