Vein Fire (11 page)

They hadn’t smoked a lot, and after that, Hannah needed more. She went into the kitchen, poured herself some juice to drink, palmed a few Percocets from her purse, and swallowed them like she needed a
rabbit hole to disappear down.

CHAPTER  14

Snares & Subjugation

There was only one Hannah in Matt’s mind—the scarred Hannah. The other one was just his boss’s niece. She had stopped at the worksite, to drop something off for her uncle, and Bob asked what her name was. When she replied, “Hannah,” Matt’s interest was piqued and he approached her. He started talking to her, and she flirted with him, so he asked her to stop by his place when he got off of work.

Of course she agreed. Matt was good looking. He regarded her as he did most women—annoying, but useful. After they smoked up, she mentioned how she liked to fuck when she was high. He obliged her. He was angry anyway—angry at Jared, so pounding it to her helped to relax him.

He knew the original Hannah would show up at some point and it worked out well when she picked that day. He guessed it was her knocking at the door when he was grinding Hannah number two into his couch. He also knew precisely what time Jared would arrive. The double blow job was a bonus. It wasn’t part of the plan, but it seemed like a good idea. He really wanted to fuck both girls at the same time, but the future was a sea of opportunity and as soon as he sorted Jared out, he could move on to such pleasures.

Jared had a plan and Matt respected how well constructed it was.
Fuck, it was pure genius.
The weak spots were only Jared and Matt—Jared because he was insane, and Matt because he had his own ideas. Hannah was too predictable; she’d easily follow the plan without even realizing it.

Ha
nnah number two unknowingly existed as part of the scheme. Jared had told Matt to start dating someone so Hannah would feel rejected.

“Who the fuck am I supposed to date? Girlfriends don’t grow on fucking trees,” Matt responded.

Jared suggested Bubbles, but she was living two towns away, and Matt was relieved to be rid of her. Hannah number two was a gift from the universe—she loved to smoke and party, and was pretty enough to not only make Hannah jealous, but a bliss to fuck.

Matt had seen Hannah’s face twitch when she figured out he had fucked someone else. He felt guilty, but it wasn’t like he could take any of it back. All of it—everything he had done to her was lunacy. When Jared first told him of his plan, he was angry, but would rather protect himself than Hannah, so he agreed. After a night of laying in bed, thinking about it, Matt wondered if what he was going to do was crueler than the cinder block incident.

Matt knew Jared’s routine at the group home; he had lived it for months. Mandatory attendance at dinner was at five o’clock. Afterwards, chores, and then Jared would be free to come over.

The trio was about to smoke up when the knock came at exactly 6:30. Matt let Jared in, and directed him to sit next to Hannah on the floor since the couch was still wet. Hannah number two laughed and leaned in to kiss Matt. He looked over at Jared and Hannah to make sure they were watching—they both were.

Matt pulled back, “Smoking time. You in, Jared?”

“Nah, you guys go ahead.”

Matt knew Jared couldn’t smoke. He still had to submit to weekly drug tests, and even if he didn’t, he probably wouldn’t be interested anyway. Jared got high on crazy.

The two Hannah’s were almost cheek to cheek, sucking in the smoke as Matt held the lighter under the foil. His cock moved in his pants as he couldn’t ignore the memories of the two-Hannah blow job.

When they were done, Hannah number two chuckled and whispered into Matt’s ear. She offered to fuck him again. He had gone soft because her laugh annoyed him already, but he knew it was a perfect chance to show Jared his commitment to the plan.

Matt turned the TV on and pulled Hannah number two up by her arm. “You two watch some TV and we’ll be back in a second. Matt led her into the adjacent dining room. The lights were off, but he knew there was a straight view from the living room, so they would be seen.

His pants weren’t even unbuttoned by the time she was completely naked and reaching for her ankles. He shoved it into her over-stretched hole and started with a good rhythm. Jared watched, but Hannah tried to focus on the television. She twitched and blinked back tears. Even a room away, Matt could tell it hurt.

The look on Jared’s face reminded Matt of something—and then he realized it—Jared had the same expression as he watched Danny die all of those years ago. Matt shook his head to get rid of the images. Just then, Jared put his arm around Hannah and moved closer to her. She leaned her head onto his shoulder, and when he placed his hand on her thigh, she didn’t move it.

Matt could feel himself going soft. He couldn’t stop watching Jared, who was watching him. It occurred to Matt that this was all a game to Jared and he was playing with him as much as he was with Hannah. Matt slammed a few last thrusts into Hannah number two and then held her hips as he remained inside of her for a few seconds. He pretended he had ejaculated; he quickly pulled out and tucked his flaccid cock into his pants.

Coming down from the high was like a free-fall through soapsuds. The group mostly sat in silence, watching re-runs of
Wild America
. Customers popped in, but left quickly. Matt itched to kick everyone out of his house. Hannah and Jared were sitting so close that they were almost snuggling. Jared—snuggling? Matt never thought he’d see such a thing, but it was part of the plan.

Hannah number two stood up. “I gotta go. It’s getting late.”

“Are you okay to drive?” Matt asked.

“Yeah, that’s why I waited so long. I’m already late.”

“Cool. Well, give me a call and we’ll hang out again.”

Matt stood up and kissed her. She laughed and smiled at Hannah and Jared sitting on the floor. “It’s been fun. Maybe we can do this again sometime.”

They mumbled goodbyes as she left. When the door closed, Hannah exhaled and stretched, moving away from Jared as much as she could in the process. It was obvious what she was doing, but Matt didn’t fault her for it.

“I should go home, too,” Hannah said.

“Early day tomorrow?” Matt interjected so Jared wouldn’t invite himself to Hannah’s house.

“Yeah. One more day until the weekend.”

“Could you give me a ride home?” Jared asked.

“Sure.” Hannah smiled, but Matt could tell she wasn’t exactly comfortable with it.

In a matter of minutes, they were gone and Matt was pacing through his house. His thoughts were an eternal staircase—going up to yet another staircase. It was like he was caught between exhaustion and looking for the next trap. Jared’s snare was inevitable. Maybe the subjugation of Hannah was something which wouldn’t have bothered Matt a few years ago, but it reminded him of how he felt in kindergarten after eating too much paste because he was starving. It was something he couldn’t vomit up.

Jared dangled the threat of exposing Matt as Danny’s murderer. Matt chewed this threat like a piece of leather in his mouth. It pissed him off. Jared was smug when he mentioned he had left the information ‘accessible’ incase of his ‘accidental’ death. Jared understood Matt, and knew he’d consider getting rid of him. He was a smart cookie—but like all cookies hidden in pockets, they disintegrated back into sugar and flour crumb
s.

CHAPTEr  15

BlueBird  On  a  Swing  set

Matt was the second man Jared had watched take a woman. The first was Harold, the county tax collector. Every Saturday morning he would kiss his wife goodbye, get a trimming and a shave from the local barber, and stop by Jared’s house.

It was adult business, and Jared would not have cared, but the noises drew his attention. Crouching down and peering through the keyhole became a weekly treat for Jared—after his bowl of cereal, but before he watched cartoons. He tried to predict which position his mother would be in each weekend. It was a game he played in his head, by himself.

Jared’s father worked as a line electrician. While at work one day, his father’s ladder tipped away from a telephone pole and he instinctively reached out for a wire—the wrong wire. Jared overheard his mother telling his aunt that they had to break his father’s arm so it would fit into the coffin.

Breaking the arm of a dead man and the tax collector fucking his mother were two things he thought of everyday. The third was flying. His mother owne
d a pet bird—a yellow and green parakeet with clipped wings. The bird couldn’t fly. His mother kept the cage near the large window in the living room and Jared would watch the bird observing the free birds outside flying.

Jared didn’t even consider their cat, Apollo, when he let the parakeet out of the cage. He thought the cat was curled up on top of the laundry in the basement. He left the room for a minute and when he returned, Apollo held the bird under his paws, taking his time to give small bites to the terrified, ruffled mass of feathers. Jared rescued the bird and placed her back inside of the cage. The tiny puncture wounds from Apollo’s teeth introduced enough bacteria into the bird to slowly kill it. Three days later, the bird was dead. Five days later, Apollo was dead. Seven days later, Jared’s little brother took his first fall over the porch balcony. The circle of life was really a circle of flight.

*

Sneaking into Hannah’s house when she was gone was easy. The
key enabled him to slip in and out without anyone noticing. Exploring her belongings made her all the more fascinating to him. He knew what she ate, where she shopped, and he memorized the scratches written into her diary.

Saturday was his chance; he was going to visit Hannah while she was at home and attempt to spend the day with her. He woke up with an undefeatable confidence, a swelled ego, and an aura of power. Even the staff didn’t bother him that morning; in his plan, they were insignificant—not even worthy of being called pawns. They doled his medicine out for the day, and he left for Hannah’s house.

He knocked for several minutes, but she didn’t answer. He worried she was gone, but he could hear Skye inside and her car was parked on the street. His lack of patience tore off pieces of his good mood, but she finally opened the door.

She looked surprised, but happy to see him. A towel held
her hair in a turban and her robe was loosely tied.

“I’m sorry; did I catch you at a bad time?”

“No, I was in the shower—were you knocking long?”

“Not at all—can I come in?”

“Oh! Yes, sure, I forgot…sorry.” Hannah stepped aside and let Jared in. She sat on the couch, but nervously at the end opposite of Jared. He could tell she still wasn’t comfortable with him. “So, what brings you here?”

“Nothing special, I wanted to see if I could take you out to dinner tonight.”

“Dinner? Um…I can’t.”

“You can’t?” His eye twitched.

“No, my parents are having a picnic this afternoon for my grandmother’s birthday and I have to attend.”

“Oh.” Jared attempted to look sad. He never felt sad, but he thought he could fake it fairly well. “It’s okay—I should have called you first. I assumed you’d be up for it and the group home is taking a trip today, so I’m locked out of the house until tonight.”

“You’re locked out?”

“Yeah, until tonight. I’m not sure where I’ll be going then. Hmm…maybe I’ll sit in the park or something.”

“Sit in the park all day?”

“Umm…yes. Yeah, the park.” Jared looked down and blinked several times.

“Well, I guess you could come with me.”

“I could?” His head lifted and a smile broke out across his face.

“Yeah, just let me finish getting dressed and we’ll leave. Here,” she handed him the remote, “watch TV until I get back.”

Hannah ran up the steps and Jared flipped through channels. Normally he would snoop through her belongings, but he had done that all week, so he watched TV.

Skye stood at Jared’s feet and growled at him. He snatched the dog up and twisted its neck a little bit. He threw the dog down and it ran off, trembling.
Your day will come, doggie
.

After several minutes, Hannah came down wearing her trademark long black sleeves and tights. Her wet hair was swirled into a loose bun on the top of her head.

“You ready?” she asked cheerily.

“Wow, Hannah, you look gorgeous.”

“I do?” she smiled broadly.

“Yes, you’re one of those classic beauties.”

“I am?” she asked skeptically.

“I’m being serious, you are breathtaking.”

“Um…okay…I am just going to my parents’ house.”

“Well, they must be proud to have such a gorgeous daughter.”

Hannah laughed and picked Skye up on her way out of the door. “You’re nuts, but, okay”

*

The ride to Hannah’s parents’ house took over twenty minutes. The road was just as Matt had described it to him—secluded, farm-ridden, and with the cracked pavement ignored for the preference of the new highway.

Hannah parked her car in the yard and a little girl with dark hair came bounding out to them.

“Grandma’s not here yet…ooh, ooh, give me Skye!!” After she noticed Jared, she said, “Who’s that—your boyfriend?”

Jared got out of the car, “I’m Jared. I’m a friend of your sister’s.”

The girl gave him one look and ran into the house with Skye.

“That’s my sister, Lorri…ignore her.”

“Oh, she’s cute.” In her little blue skort and matching blue shirt with bows on the sleeves, Jared did think she was cute. Under his breath, he whispered, “Little bluebird.”

Lorri came out of the house, followed by a woman carrying a bowl of cut watermelon.

“Hey, honey; who’s your friend?”

Lorri answered first. “His name’s Jared. He said he’s Hannah’s friend.”

“Well, welcome, Jared. We’ll be eating in about an hour.”

“Thank you; it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Wanna see my new trick?” Lorri asked, putting Skye down. No one answered her, but she bound over to the swing set. “Hold onto Skye, I don’t want to hurt her.”

Hannah picked up Skye and they watched as Lorri climbed to the top of the sliding board.

“Okay, everyone watching me?”

“Lorri, get down from there!” her mother yelled.

“Watch me fly!”

Lorri jumped from the top of the sliding board, her arms spread out, and her little legs pointed towards the ground. Jared smiled in delight and began clapping. Lorri landed and looked at Jared with surprise

Their mother nodded towards Jared and laughed, “Oh, she’s finally found someone who appreciates her trick!”

Lorri grinned at Jared, “Did you like that?”

“Yes! You’re a little star. Can I see you do it again?”

Lorri bound up to the top of the slide again, “Okay, here I go!” and she fluttered downward. When she landed, she ran over to Jared. “I can’t fly yet, but maybe if I keep practicing.” Then she whispered, “Do you wanna see how high I can go on the swing?”

“Do you jump off of that, too?” Jared asked.

“Sometimes, I’ll show you.”

Lorri pumped on the swing set, her little legs urging her to go higher and higher. Her dark hair blew up and back with the motion of her swinging. When she was at the peak, she jumped out of the seat and arched into the air.

“Bravo, little bluebird,” Jared clapped.

“Lorri, stop that! I don’t want to take you to the emergency room on your grandmother’s birthday,” her mother yelled.

People arrived at the party and they started to eat. Jared sat next to Lorri, paying close attention to her ramblings about school and the neighbor’s cat. Jared found it all fascinating, and listened intently to her. He had never experienced school the way she had, and he saw how special she was. Even after dinner, when he kept encouraging her to swing higher, or to jump further, and she complained her legs were tired, he still appreciated how much potential she’d have by the time she grew up.

At one point, he reached for Hannah’s hand and squeezed it. He looked at her windswept hair and her faint pink lips. He had chosen the right girl; after all, these things had to be genetic.