The One Who Ran Away

Chapter Twenty-One

Jo stared up at her ceiling. She was not in a good mood. Cyrene had just stumbled into the house moments earlier. She could hear Cyrene and most likely Derek the Greaser. Jo sighed deeply and closed her eyes. She mentally prepared herself to face the wasted adults.

Jo slipped out of the bed and made sure she was decently dressed. There was no way she'd let Derek ogle her any longer.

A muffled giggle and a loud, "sh!" floated down the hallway. The kitchen light was on, illuminating the hallway in a pleasant yellow glow. Ironic because nothing was about to be pleasant.

"Why, hello there, Jo baby," Derek slurred as she made her way through the door frame. Jo focused on him, taking in his disheveled appearance and bloodshot eyes. She didn't bother to respond.

"It's nearly six in the morning. What the hell were you thinking, bursting in here like that?" Jo spat, glancing at the microwave clock. Cyrene pouted, her bright red lipstick smeared, no doubt from booze and kisses.

"Oh, come on, Jo! Live a little! We tried to be quiet," she giggled. She threw out a hand to steady herself against the counter top. A glass clattered to the floor, shattering into thousands of little shards. Jo groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Whoops!" Cyrene hiccuped and moved away from the mess. She teetered precariously on her skyscraper heels. She hiccuped once more and reached into the silver purse slung over her shoulder. Jo watched, her heart sinking into her stomach, as Cyrene pulled out a freshly rolled blunt. Derek stood up and fumbled in his pockets for a lighter. With a flick, he swiped Cyrene's joint, lit the end, and took a long drag before handing it back to her.

Cyrene giggled and placed a sloppy kiss on Derek's cheek. She then took her own drag. Jo hesitated for a moment before settling herself down on a stool. Cyrene wasn't really causing a scene and she decided to just wait for Derek to leave or get so ridiculous she could kick him out.

Derek and Cyrene stood in the mess of broken glass, sharing the joint. Jo watched them through heavy lids. She had gotten two, rough hours of sleep. She had woken up periodically, strange dreams keeping her sleep unfulfilling. Jo rested her head in her arms, shutting her eyes for just a moment.

***

A pair of rough hands grasped her waist. Jo mumbled sleepily and shifted away, annoyed someone was trying to waken her.

The pair of hands readjusted their grip and pulled Jo off her stool. Jo jerked awake as she was pulled into a sweaty chest.

"Hey, Jo baby. Your mama passed out on the floor. Let's say you and me go have some fun?" A thick Italian accent drawled in her ear. The scent of booze, weed, and stale bread assaulted her nostrils. Jo grimaced as she felt his erection grind into her backside. Furious, she aimed a sharp kick to his shin. She heard him groan but his hold didn't loosen.

"So you like it rough, Jo baby? I can give you rough," he growled in her ear. He managed to carry her down the hallway and into Cyrene's bedroom. Jo struggled and thrashed the best she could while making as little noise as possible. She didn't want to wake Ricky.

Jo had never cursed her slight figure more than now when Derek roughly dumped her on Cyrene's silky sheets. Jo felt disgusted to be touching the bedding. Who knew what kind of kinky positions Cyrene had tried in it. A thought raced through her mind before she could stop it. What if she found out?

Derek dropped his heavy weight onto Jo's little build. Jo lashed out, her fist catching the side of his jaw. Derek growled, his eyes darkening.

"That wasn't very nice, Jo baby."