Iniquity: Book One

Chapter Six

My stay at the hospital was pretty uneventful aside from Tony being there. After the doctor and nurses ran some tests and cIeaned my face up again I immediately went to sleep. Thankfully it was a deep and unhindered sleep. Maybe it was because I was just too physically exhausted to dream anything up. I don’t know. After being discharged I spoke with a representative from the store who tried to do everything in his power to make it so I wouldn’t sue the store. I made no promises. I was pretty pissed at them and I knew that something like this could have been prevented. I told him I just didn’t know and I needed time to think about it. The little bald man in the suit with beady eyes wasn’t very happy, but it was the only answer he was going to get today.

Tony was my ride because I didn’t have transportation. “Thanks for the ride,” I said gratefully after getting into his Jeep. “You are always there for me.”

“As I always will be,” he murmured while turning the ignition key. “Are you still tired? It’s pretty early.”

It was about six thirty in the morning and yes I was still very drained. “A little.” It had been such a long night.

I have always hated hospitals. My mother was a hypochondriac and took me to them any time I had a sore throat or a little bit of a fever. Then there was my father and how I had to see him in that bed after his accident, how I had to say goodbye. Tony was there for me then, but it didn’t take away the anxiety that even visiting hospitals still provoked in me.

“Well you should go home and get some rest. I’ll take you to your car. You don’t have anything to do today, do you?”

I thought about it for a second. “Not really.” Then I realized today was Friday. “Jesus Christ!”

“What is it?” he asked with wide eyes. He very nearly missed the red light he was supposed to stop at. “What’s going on?”

“Steven,” I said with an audible grumble. “His shoot is today.”

“s**t,” he agreed. “You going to do it?”

I shook my head. “I can’t. My head is still hurting and I am so drained. I need more sleep.”

“Just text him or something. He will be okay with it.”

“How do you know?” I couldn’t cancel on Steven on such short notice. There was no way. “I can’t cancel on a client like this..”

Tony laughed a little. “He’s a client who wants in those panties.”

“Stop Tony! I am trying to be serious.”

“Me too. Old boy wants to tap that ass,” hesaid prior to erupting into a huge fit of laughter after saying that.

“Do you really need to be so vulgar?” Tony was his usual self now. “Okay, calm down and tell me. Do you think he will mind?”

He laughed some more and shook his head. “No. He does like you a lot. He won’t care and his Sundays are pretty boring. He doesn’t do much except walking his dog, Zelda.”

“Zelda? That’s such a cute name.. It’s like the video game.” I smiled slightly while trying to think about what kind of dog Steven would name Zelda.

“Yep,” Tony said, then added, “It’s his Chi-Weenie dog.”

“What the hell is a Chi-Weenie?” I knew the weiner dog part, but was that a chihuahua mixed in? I couldn’t fathom what such a dog would look like. Maybe a stretched out chihuahua? The thought made me giggle.

“Why a Chihuahua Daschund to be specific.”

The thought of a little dog like that being owned by a big strong man made my heart melt. I was more into this guy than ever.

“He’s had it forever,” Tony said. “You should text him now.”

“Fine,” I agreed. I pulled my phone out of my clutch and texted Steven. It wasn’t more than three minutes later when he messaged me back saying it was definitely okay and that he was still looking forward to it.

“Everything good?” Tony asked. He could probably see the relief wash over my face.

I nodded while putting my phone away. “He’s okay with it.”

“What did you tell him?”

“I just said that I had something come up unexpectedly and couldn’t cancel.”

“Ahhh, well that works.” We were almost to Safeway. “Thanks for the lift.”

He pulled in next to my car and parked. “Now, I know you have been through a lot in the past twenty four hours and I am tired too. How do you feel about me crashing at your place for a few hours. That way I can keep my eye on you.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

He shook his head. “I have to. I’m your friend. We have always been there for each other. Besides you live two blocks away and I live on the other side of town through morning traffic.”

He had a point. “Sure, then, you can come over.”

“Plus I know you need more sleep.”

The thought of sleep started my anxiety going again. I didn’t know if I trusted myself falling asleep. “I do need some.”

“Exactly why you can take these.” He pulled two of the blue pills from his pocket. “Take these now and by the time we get to your place you will crawl right into bed.”

“Good idea.” I took the pills from him. “Do you have anything to drink in here? I would run in the store but it doesn’t look open right now.” I gestured toward Safeway.

Tony laughed at my joke and grinned. “Good one. Welllll, as a matter of fact I have a week old bottled water right here.” He reached into his middle glove box and pulled out the water and handed it to me.

It was old. It was warm. But, I wasn’t picky right now. “Thanks,” I said, prior to twisting off the cap and washing down the two pills. I grimaced. “That water tastes like s**t!”

Tony shrugged. “Well, it might actually be two months old.”

“Jesus Tony, you could have warned me.” I opened the door and stepped out. “Okay follow me over.”

He nodded.

*

When we went inside Tony immediately plopped right down on my couch with a loud sigh. He seemed pretty worn out. I couldn’t blame him. He just spent the night sitting next to me at the hospital. He was a true friend. The fact that he wanted to stay here while I slept some more was comforting. As I went and poured myself some water I realized that the pills I had taken were beginning to kick in. Thank God.

“Tony,” I said after a swig of water. “I’m feeling it now. I’m going to sleep now.”

He answered back from the couch. He was already laying down. “Great, if you have any dreams that are anything but you and Steven getting it on, please wake me up.”

I walked over to the couch and looked down at him. “You bet I will. Thanks for staying over.”

“It’s nothing.” He let out a massive yawn. “Jeeze, I am beat. Can’t imagine how you feel.”

His yawn sparked one of my own. “I and so drained. The good news is my headache is going away. Must be those pills.”

He nodded with a smile while clutching my throw pillow. “They will help with those.” He shut his eyes.

A feeling, a familiar feeling began to spread like wildfire over me. Fear. “Tony,” I stammered, then adding in a small voice, “Can I ask something?”

He opened his eyes a little. “Anything Amb. You know that.”

“Would you.. Would you sleep with me?”

He arched one of his brows in amusement before responding. I should have known that my comment would have elicited this kind of reaction in my friend. “Wow, you know I am gay right?”

“d**k,” I countered. “Look, I just don’t want to be alone.”

He smiled sheepishly. “I’d be happy to. Now, I have a question of my own.”

“Which is?”

“Do you have anything I can wear?” Then both his brows shot up. “I could just sleep in the buff, you know.”

“Tony, I do have some boxers.. They’re pink though.”

His grin widened. “Did you say pink?” His look was priceless.

When my friend walked out of my bathroom in those silky pink boxers I couldn’t help but marvel at his physique. Tony worked out hard. His abs were chiselled and his shoulders were broad. He had a hard body. The boxers were a little small, but they definitely showed that he didn’t skip leg day, judging by the size of his calves and the ripped muscles of his thighs. Thank God he was gay because a man like that being in bed with me would be very hard to resist. When did he get a six pack like that? I struggled to remember the Tony of high school. His body was nowhere near this muscular.

He stretched out next to me and grabbed his pillow. “I set my phone alarm for this afternoon.”

I yawned once more. “Thanks. I shouldn’t sleep the entire day away. I do have s**t to do today.”

“Night Amber, err, I mean day.” He laughed. “Have a good rest.”

“The same to you,” I said before turning over. He snuggled up against me and draped one arm over me protectively.

It was nice being held tightly while drifting off to sleep. It had been so long since I had felt this feeling. Far too long. Tony’s breath was warm and steady, hitting the back of my neck. I felt every single inch of him and inhaled his familiar scent which soothed me to sleep. I was exceedingly thankful to have my friend here. This reminded me of the sleepovers we used to have when we were in high school. We used to stay up late watching movies, eating popcorn and pizza, and talking about boys. I felt protected.

However, his protection wasn’t enough to keep the dreams at bay.

As darkness enveloped me a scene rapidly opened up in front of me. At first it was a blur of black, green, and some light. I could see twinkles of light which made me realize that this was somewhere outside. Then came the smells. I could smell earth, grass and the smell of fire. I could feel the wind caressing my skin. I shivered. My feet were bare and I could feel damp earth beneath me. It wasn’t muddy, it just was soft. It felt nice.

My vision began to clear and I looked at myself. I was naked. However, I didn’t feel ashamed to be. Something just felt right about it. My eyes saw with clarity now and I processed where I was. I looked around and found I was at Silver Lake, a place not far from my house. The water of the lake was rippling slightly because of the wind. It wasn’t a cold wind, rather it was warm. Everything from the smell of the evergreens that encircled the lake, to the warm wind on my breasts all seemed to exist with a certainty I had never known in my dreams. Was this what they called lucid dreaming? I recall hearing that in a lucid dream your senses are heightened. Sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch are all more extreme than what you would experience in real life. Emotional feelings may also be intensified.

I discarded that thought and decided to focus on the present. Why was I here? That was the question I just had to find an answer for. I fell asleep in my bed during morning light and here, in this dream, it was night. I moved closer to the lake shore and finally walked out onto the old wooden pier that people usually fished off of.

Laughter carried on the gentle breeze to my ears, female laughter. I crept closer, slowly, to the end of the pier. Closer. The laughter grew louder and louder. When I stood at the very end of the pier I could see where the laughter was originating from. There was a boat out on the water. It looked like a young couple out there. Out for a morning tryst? Soon the laughter turned into something much more potent, something much more carnal.

The shadowy people on the boat were moving fast. They groped and swayed with heated passion. Laughter had evolved into urgent moans of ecstasy as I watched the girl lean back to let her lover explore her every secret. Now this was a definite change from the slew of bad dreams I had been having. I felt my own blood begin to heat up as I watched the man take up position on top of her and take her with admirable desire. I couldn’t help but become aroused. Her legs went skyways and open as she welcomed him. The boat rocked and her moans intensified. My own excitement was building while I watched. As someone not usually prone to self-satisfaction, a girl has to do what a girl has to do. I gave in to this voyeuristic fantasy and let my hands roam south as I stood there transfixed.

I noticed that the light of sunrise was creeping over the treeline in the distance, illuminating the erotic scene before me. It was almost otherworldly in the way it lit up my surroundings. The lake began reflecting the rising sun with a million shimmering diamonds on the water. It was then that I was provided with a good look at the couple in the boat.

One of them was me.

Dear Lord it was me..

My hands froze as I stared in horrific shock. “It’s me,” I whispered to myself. My voice must have carried because the man turned his head to look at me.

Then my eyes could see with startling clarity who was ravishing me in the boat. Just before the wolf grinned his terrible smile full of teeth, I watched him snap the neck of the girl. The grotesque sound of which had carried into my waiting ears. He had killed her. He had killed me.

“You sonofabitch!” I screamed out.

The beast howled with glee.

My eyes snapped open.