Nemesis: A Love Story

TESSA/CLAIRE

They'd snorted more blow together and some other kind of unknown drug he told her to try.
She hears the thumping of the music outside the door.
Pumping.
He'd started to make out with her.
She wasn't interested.
"Just fuck me" she told him plainly.
"Not a foreplay girl, huh? I'm liking you more and more, Miss Tessa"
He smiles.
"Do you have a condom?" she asks.
"No skin on skin?" He laughs itching across his noise.
"Do I look stupid?"
He shakes his head with a grin and pulls out a condom.
"Always prepared"
She says nothing.
The room grows smaller in her brain. The colours growing intense around them.
Blue and reds.
The walls look they're moving to the beat of the music.
"How ya want to do this, babe" he licks his lips in anticipation.
She looks through her lashes at him and turns her back to him, resting a hand on each side of the sink.
Josh smiles.
"Liking you so much, Tessa" as he smoothly slides up behind her.
The sex isn't romantic or even hot really.
Neither are getting anything deeper than a tension release.
It's rough.
It's hard.
It hurts her a bit.
She clenches her teeth.
Her hands white knuckle the sink edges as he pounds harder and harder inside her.
He's moaning loudly.
Saying her name.
She won't open her eyes.
Won't make a sound.
She lets herself be used.
She feels nothing.
She's nothing.
He's there. Even with her eyes closed he fills her mind.
Go away she pleads with his image.
Please go away.
She forces her eyes open then. Tears streaming down her face.
What was she doing?
Why is she doing this to herself.
She wants to scream STOP.
She doesn't.
She bites her lip to keep from sobbing.
She lifts her head to look at her reflection.
She hates herself.
So much.
A movement catches her eye.
The door is open.
Is she hallucinating?
No.
He's here.
Not a figment of her imagination but him in the actual flesh.
She waits to see the look of disgust. For him to leave.
He isn't leaving.
Instead he steps inside.
Grabs Josh by the shoulders, says something to him as he shoves him out the door.
She turns to face him. Not bothering to fix herself or cover up.
Her panties still around her ankles.
He turns back to face her.
He briefly takes her in and locks eyes with her.
She's disgusting.
She knows this.
She's a scarred up, dark and dirty creature.
She lifts dead drugged out green eyes to him.
Daring him to speak.
Say something.
SAY SOMETHING!!!
She wants to scream at him. Punch his chest. React you bastard!
Tell me I'm nothing.
Instead she leans back.
"Want a turn?"
She offers herself to him because why not at this point.
If he's shocked it doesn't show on his beautiful face.
He just slowly walks to her.
As if in slow motion.
Never breaks eye contact.
He comes to stand right in front of her.
Mere inches away.
He slides down in front of her.
Looking up into her eyes still.
She feels her breathing hitch as his warm hands touch her ankles.
She feels more at this moment then during the whole time Josh was fucking her senseless.
Hugh, won't look anywhere else but in her eyes.
He's not speaking but she can hear his breathing quicken.
His fingertips skim over her panties, grabbing them on each side.
And ever so slowly those same fingertips, those same hands, and her panties, skim along the length of her calves, her knees...
He slowly rises with them. His face so close to her body.
Fingers slowly running up along her thighs, under her pushed up dress.
He's so gentle.
And she feels tears welling up again.
Her panties are carefully put back on, covering her.
He stands up almost to his full height.
Only then does he break eye contact with her. His face coming to rest in the crook of her neck.
She can feel his hot breath against her skin.
His hair touching the side of her face.
His hands reach the edge of her dress and he pulls it back down.
Covering her.
They are both breathing hard.
Her hands loosen from their grip on the sink. Stiff and sore and they now come to rest on his shoulders.
He lifts his head to look down at her.
Green eyes meeting blue.
Those blue eyes drift to where her scar lays exposed.
He deliberately takes his time lowering his head.
His lips come to rest on the edge of her scar.
She sucks in a breath at the feel of his soft lips there.
She grips his shoulders without realizing it.
Those same lips kiss a trail all along the scar.
No one has ever touched her like this.
Never seen the scars and not been taken aback.
He lifts his head to look at her.
A tear falls down one check.
His hand appears to tenderly wipe it away.
This is her undoing.
Fear grips her completely.
She shoves him away from her.
Grabs her coat, thrusts the door open and runs away into the crowd.
Hugh watches her go.
He can't follow her.
Not yet.
He has to catch his breath. Try to stop the thundering of his heart.
When Mike had told him where she was he thought he was prepared.
"I don't think you're gonna want to go in there buddy."
He knew what happened in that room. He'd used that room himself for some mindless fucking with Sheila, when he wasn't in the mood for an audience.
Still to see her like that.
Being fucked like she was just nothing...he wasn't prepared.
When he saw the emptiness on her face, the vacancy in her eyes, he reacted.
Dealt with Josh. He wasn't done with him yet.
Seeing her offer him a turn had broken him a bit.
Didn't she realize how special she was?
She didn't belong here in this place. With these kind of people.
People like him.
~She'll never love you, Hugh~
Anger flooded him at that admission and he lifted the garbage can and smashed it into the mirror over and over.
Otis appears, almost like he materialized, and grabs him from behind.
"Boy, relax. Breathe." Eventually Hugh calms "Let's get you a beer" Otis offers.
"The mess" Hugh says regretful.
"It'll keep".

CLAIRE

It was late. She hasn't heard from Tessa yet. Which sucks because she's at an amazing house party and they could've had a blast and then left to eat greasy food in a diner somewhere and talk. Well she would talk. Tessa would nod or smirk.
It's almost as if magic when her phone lights up and she sees Tessa is calling!
"TESSA my bitch! Where you at???" she laughs into her phone.
"C...Claire"
Claire's jovial mood instantly drops.
"Tessa?" She walks out of the loud room.
She sees Travis annoyed and calling her over.
She waves at him indifferently. Boys so fucking needy.
"Claire..."
Claire hears her sobbing on the other line.
"Tessa honey what happened? Tessa? Please answer me. You're freaking me out. "
"Everything hurts. Why does it always hurt? I want it to stop hurting"
Claire walks to the hallway grabbing her coat.
"Tessa tell me where you are? I'm coming. Do you hear me." She runs out the door and shoves passed the people loitering on the steps.
"Fucking move you ASSHOLES"
She makes it down to the street.
"I don't want to be alone anymore..."
Claire runs towards the direction of the pool hall.
"You're aren't alone Tessa. I'm here. I'm coming. Just hold on. Can you describe where you are?"
"Tat...toos...pink sign."
She sighs in relief.
"I know where you are. Don't move. Tessa do not move!!!"
The line goes dead.
She runs faster, glad for her time on the track team for the first time in her life.
She finds her on the sidewalk.
Passed out.
She runs to her side.
"Tessa wake up! Please wake up"
Smacking her cheeks.
Tessas eyes flutter open.
Her pupils are huge.
Claire holds her head in her lap.
"What did you take? I have to call an ambulance!"
Tessa shakes her head.
"No!!! No hospital. Please." She looks scared. She looks up at the young girl, this mystifying Claire, she could've seen being friends with her  for a very long time but it wasn't meant to be.
Not this life anyway.
"Let me go" she mumbles and passes out.
Claire doesn't realize she is crying when she calls him.
She's surprised when he answers.
She knows he hates it when she calls his business phone.
"I'm sorry. I need your help. No. No. It's not me. It's my friend. She's taken something. I don't know what to do. She's said no hospital. I'm scared, Hugh."
She hangs up.
He's coming.
Hugh will know what to do.