The Second Covenant

All three of them wore an expression like I’d just run along and hit them in the back of the head with a two by four. Riley of course was the first to recover, putting finger in his ear and giving it a wiggle before saying. “I’m sorry, I thought you said you wanted to pull a prank?” I didn’t repeat myself nor did I smile. Riley gave the other guys a look of watery, false and badly acted hope. “Oh, she’s finally come to the dark side.” He threw his arms up in triumph. “When and where, I’m in!” Peyton was now frowning at me. “I think the real question is who and why?”

I nodded and looked down at my toes, at the shiny tops of my boots. “I’m sure all of you remember Taylor Hodges?” Tristan frowned now too. “That guy in our graduating class, who was accused of rape.” I nodded and he went on, Tristan had a nearly photographic memory, tell him something and he never forgot. “But the charges were dropped when the girl said she lied, a freshman ahh…Molly something. Her parent’s actually pressed charges, but she said the sex was consensual and it dropped.”
“Molly Evers. She didn’t lie.”

Silence as they all looked at me. “And you know this because?” I looked at Peyton, evenly, no expression just a lifted eyebrow. “Taylor can’t get it up unless you scream.” I’d practiced this art of giving nothing away, it worked on my parents but apparently not so well on the guys. Practically in snyc, their eyes turned black, the little ring of fire exploding from their irises until there was only blackness. “He...” Peyton was the leader of our group, because he was the oldest, and physically the strongest and right now, he looked about ready to do murder. Tristan and Riley too. Peyton couldn’t even finish what he’d tried to say, so I did it for him. “I didn’t scream.”

I could feel the power pulsing off them in furious waves, the leaves trembled, the ground seemed to ripple. “Ease up guys or the dads are going to come investigate.”
“He tried to rape you?” Peyton bit out the words between clenched teeth.
“When?” Tristan was rarely angry, he was the quiet calm one of the three guys, but right now, he was pissed and was about to blow a gasket.
“Sophomore year, at State. Right after you three graduated.”

I told them all of it, well except for the details, that I kept to myself. I wouldn’t ever tell anyone exactly what he’d done, it was my secret to keep. But as I told them, I remembered…more than I wanted to.

We had all been on the swim team, another family tradition, it was my first time at State Championships and our school had been chosen to host the competition. I had won both Two hundred relays for the girls team. That was fifty yards freestyle, fifty breast stroke, fifty butterfly and fifty backstroke. I was pumped up with pride, I had won, twice, at State. I was a sophomore and this meant that I was now going to be on Varsity. No Sophomore was on Varsity.

I was tired by the time I got to the locker rooms, I wasn’t paying attention, and honestly it had never crossed my mind to be cautious. The locker rooms were our private ones, the other teams had the lower floors for their use so I hadn’t thought. I’d stripped and stepped into the shower, washing the chlorine from my hair, buzzing, drowsy with achievement.

The stall door opened and I turned, thinking it was one of the girls. It hadn’t been.
His smile hadn’t been all that pleasant, but I knew who he was. He’d been watching me all day; and now he had me naked and cornered. He’d told me in a disgusting hiss that my body was just to hot to be ignored, that it deserved some special attention and he was going to give it to me. One punch to the stomach and another hard slap to my cheek had numbed my reflexes or I might have lashed out at him, plus the fact that I was exhausted from my races.

He had me pinned, trapped, his hands on my body, sliming my skin with his intent. Hot tears ran down my cheeks and I struggled so hard, but he was bigger, stronger than me but I refused to cry out. It was what he kept telling me, to scream. “Go ahead, your bodyguards aren’t here to keep you safe. Scream for me baby.”
But I hadn’t and he couldn’t get it up unless I screamed. He’d shoved his hand between my legs and touched me, fingers seeking while he bit down hard on my breast. I still have the teeth marks.
But I didn’t make a sound.
“I saw him the other day at the Pharmacy, he’s moved back.”

Peyton had his hands in his hair, fisted and a look of horrified guilt, with tears in his eyes. Riley and Tristan didn’t look much better. I stood there, quietly, just waiting. Peyton scrubbed his hands down his face and reached out for me, to hold me. “Why didn’t you tell us?” I sighed and snuggled against him, loving how right it felt to be here, in his arms, my brother. “I just wanted to forget, I didn’t want anyone making a bigger deal than it had to be.”
”Why didn’t you use your power on him?” Riley’s voice vibrated with his fury and I turned to pull him into the hug. “I don’t know.” Peyton shuddered behind me, still so mad, not at me, at Taylor. Tristan closed the circle of male bodies around me and I was surrounded by their strength, their love and support. “What’s the plan?”

I smiled and let Peyton pull my back up against his chest, I was the center of the circle, as I had always been. “We’re going to scare him into confessing his sins to the police. His father is a devout catholic.”

Riley got that mischievous glint in his eyes. Green now instead of black. “What’s that got to do with it?” My smile was slow, pure evil. “The party at the Dells tonight, he’ll be there, most likely looking for a new girl to hurt. Taylor knows bible verse. We’re going to be the Four Horsemen of The Apocalypse.”
Tristan gave a low laugh. “Hell hath no fury like Cherish.”
“Damn right.”