44. Alyssa

Ihad turned my phone off during dinner, and by the time I remembered to turn it back on, there were a ton of messages waiting for me from Jackie. Now, I'm not sure, but I'm almost certain that the gorgeous woman who had put Denny on his ass this morning was my girl Jacks.

I asked her after the fact, but she sidestepped my question in a way that made me think it was best if I dropped it. I opened the messages and blinked. The first set of images made no sense until I got to the end of it. There were images of Lacey going to a dumpster and looking around before getting rid of a bag.

The next few were of a stick poking around at the bag, which, when opened, showed used sanitary napkins. It took me way too long to figure out why the hell I was receiving that filth, but then it clicked, and all I could do was shake my head.

The next few images were just as gross but of a different nature. I'll have to remember to tell Jackie to blur certain images. All I can say is that Lacey was into bigger dicks this week. Far be it from me to slut shame anyone, but this shit is just wild.

At last count, there were about five different guys, all of whom were taking turns in one capacity or the other in pleasuring Lacey. From the looks of it, there were drugs and alcohol involved, and all participants looked like they were having a good time.

Almost as if she knew I had turned the phone on, it rang in my hand. Garrett had gone up to his office to take care of some last-minute business, so I had nothing better to do. I answered on the third ring and was in no way prepared for what came next.

I listened to what she had to say and surprised myself with my response. "Get her out of there and break his fucking legs. I'll meet you at the hospital."

LACEY

When I reached Pete's place, Pete being the guy Mitzie was messing with, the party was just getting started. My friends showed up not long after I did, with more than enough beer and more pills to add to the tray that had already been set up on the dining table.

This wasn't the first party like this that I'd attended, but there were some new players here, most likely Pete's friends. I could already tell there was something off about Mitzie; she was acting kind of standoffish.

I put it down to her being high and took my first hit of coke for the evening. I grabbed a cold beer from the fridge and went to join the fun. There were two other girls there who were already coupled off with a guy or two, but it took more than this to get me started, so I paced myself.

I wanted the night to be epic since my life had been a dud lately, and I was choosing which of the guys in the room was going to get me started. There was a tray of drugs and a tray of condoms, as well as some toys spread out on the table, which meant I could enjoy myself without worrying about catching something or getting pregnant for real.

I took a seat next to Mitzie, who had sort of a glassy-eyed look and didn't seem to be having a good time at all. "What gives? Why the long face?"

"I've told Pete a million times I'm not down with that sharing shit, but he keeps trying to talk me into it."

I followed her gaze across the room where Pete and one other guy were taking turns kissing one of the other females while the other one was already getting boned by one guy while sucking off another.

This was nothing compared to how the evening could go with the amount of drugs they had displayed. This is only one of the things I hate about Mitzie. She can be a bit of a prude. I think she gets it from growing up in Alyssa's perfect shadow. I don't have that problem, though, so it is what it is.

"You need to loosen up a little." Since I wasn't about to let her bring me down, I went across the room to three of the unoccupied guys to get my own party started. I hadn't cum in a while, and the coke was already making its way through my system in a way that I knew was going to rev me up any second.

I let one of the guys place a strip of LSD on my tongue and waited for the rush I knew was going to come. I didn't know who was kissing me and who was taking my clothes off, and I didn't care.

Pretty soon, all of the guys in the room were crowding around me because they knew who was the best in the room. I took turns sucking them off before I was riding one, getting my ass stuffed by another while sucking the chrome off a third.

The other girls got in on the action while Mitzie sat there looking put out. She always does this shit, and it's getting old. I didn't notice when she got up and went into the bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her because I didn't care.

She was probably mad that her man was fucking the shit out of me but whatever. She should know by now that I can have any man I want and have in the past. It's not like she and Pete were engaged.

The other girls and I took some more hits together, along with some molly, and the party really got going then. I don't know how much time had passed or how many dicks I had taken where; I just knew I felt alive for the first time in way too long.

The door kept opening and closing with more guys showing up, some of whom I didn't know, but I didn't care. This wasn't my first time at the Rodeo. It didn't matter how rough some of the guys got, this was all part of the game, so I let myself be used any which way they wanted and enjoyed the hell out of it.

I was covered in cum from having the guys jizz all over me in a circle jerk. One freak liked rubbing other men's jizz all over my tits before licking it off; some of the other guys were watching some girl-on-girl action before joining in the fun.

I noticed Pete and a couple guys head to his bedroom but didn't think anything of it. I'm not a babysitter, and it was none of my business. It's time Mitzie got with the program and realized that we're no longer in middle school, and that stupid shit was for kids.

She seems to think that she and Pete are in some kind of monogamous relationship when everyone knows Pete's a player who fucks anything in a skirt. Whatever, I'm not about to let her ruin my high; she's an adult, one that's older than me, by the way; she can take care of herself.

MITZIE

Why do I always do this stupid shit? Every time I get too high, I go into a partying mood and forget what happened the last time we partied. I always promised myself that I'd never do it again until the next time it happened. But once the high wears off somewhat, I get very maudlin and hate everything about myself.

I'm not here to judge anyone else or what they do with their life, but there are just some things I am not comfortable with. I like to have sex with my man when I'm high, but that doesn't mean I want to share myself with everyone who walks through the door.

When the orgy in the other room became too much, I left and went into the bedroom to get away. It's not the first time I've seen Pete making out with someone else and had my high not worn off as much as it did; I probably wouldn't have minded.

But as soon as I heard who was coming tonight, I decided I needed to pace myself. There are a couple of Lacey's friends that have been trying to get me to sleep with them for years at this point and no matter how much I tell them that I'm not interested, it always seems to land on deaf ears.

I was in the room for no more than ten minutes when the door opened, and Pete walked in with just the two people I was trying to get away from. Before I could even say a word, Pete approached me, and before I knew it, I felt a prick in my arm.

"What…" Whatever he'd hit me with acted fast, or maybe it just mixed with whatever was already in my system because I was fading out fast. I tried fighting them off when the two men started pulling at my clothes with Pete just standing back there watching.

I saw him put a wad of cash in his pocket and felt something inside me die. I had no energy and couldn't even cry out for help, not that anyone would've heard me over the loud music.

Just as darkness began to fall, I heard what sounded like glass breaking, then there was a scuffle, and everything went dark.

The bright lights of the hospital room hurt like hell when I finally came to; I don't know how much later. How did I get here? What the hell happened? Where was everyone? All of these questions went through my head as I looked around the room.

This didn't look like any hospital room I'd ever seen but somehow I knew that that is where I was. Maybe it was the smell or the sounds of the machines, I don't know. "Good, you're up." I turned my head in the direction of that voice in shock.

"Alyssa, what're doing here?"

"What do you think I'm doing here?"

"If you've come here to gloat, you can leave. I get it, you're better than me, happy?" She got up from the chair and came to stand next to the bed.

"I'm here because someone who was raised by Corbin Archer shouldn't end up like this." I snorted and rolled my eyes.

"Good one. Your father didn't raise me; he hated my guts."

"What're you talking about?"

"Oh, like you didn't know. He only had one daughter, and that was you. He hated everything about me. All those times he took me out was because Mom made him." Why did she look so surprised? "You didn't know. Well, let me tell you, he hated my guts because I wasn't you, his precious daughter. The only reason he ever took me anywhere was because Mom used to threaten your life if he didn't."

Why the hell was I talking so much? I never meant to tell her these things. It was bad enough that she'd won at life in every way while I failed; did I need to give her the final nail in my coffin?

"Corbin was mean to you?"

"No, not exactly, but when no one else was around, he never had anything to do with me. Like I said, he only knew I was alive when Mom forced me on him. That's why I hated you so much. It took me a long time to realize that it wasn't you I should be hating. It was my own mother."

"She's the one who took me away from the father who loved me and tried to give me yours. Now my father hates me too. Are you satisfied? Why don't you get out of here and go back to your perfect life?" I turned my face away from her, feeling empty and alone.

She was quiet for so long that I thought she'd left, but then I felt her presence in the room and turned to see her sitting there, deep in thought. "Do you know that you could've been hurt really badly?" I guess she felt my eyes on her.

"Yeah, well, who cares?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"What is it?"

"What do you want out of life? Forget everything else for now; just answer that one thing. Is it to go back to school and finish your degree? I know you failed out last semester."

I thought she was trying to rub it in, but there was no inflection in her voice. Then again, she's always been a cool one. She never showed what she was feeling.

"No, I never wanted that. That was always Mom's deal, just another way for her to force me to be like you. I was never smart, and we both know it."

"So, what is it that you wanted to do?"

"Why do you care? It's not like there's any love lost between us."

"I'm not sure myself, but I think I just realized that you were as much a victim of your mother as I was."

She actually looked like she meant it. "So, tell me, what is it that you wanted to be?"

"A hairstylist. It was always my dream, but Helen said it wasn't good enough."

"Fine, you'll go to rehab for six months, then you can go to school to get your license."

"What? Who's going to pay for all of that?"

"I am!"

"Why would you do that? Don't you hate me?"

"Yes, but I think I finally realize that you weren't to blame as much as your mother was. Take it or leave it; the longer I stay around you, the more I want to pound your face in."

"Didn't you already do that?" What the hell? I'm actually laughing with Alyssa. I must be really high. Maybe I died.

"Get some rest. I'll have you signed out of here and taken to rehab. Once it's done, you can decide where you want to study. A word of advice, if I were you, I'd get out of this town and start over somewhere else."

She started to walk away. "Hey, how did you find me? What happened to Pete and those other guys?"

"That's a story for another time, but I don't think you should see him again. He's going to be really pissed."

She left out the door, and I slumped back against the pillows, trying to make sense of the exchange. What the hell is going on? Why would Alyssa help me? Whatever happens next, I guess I have her to thank for getting me out of whatever Pete and his friends had planned.