Fear of Falling by S.L. Jennings Page B

puddle. He’d bring the electrical device as close as he could to her, getting off on her bloodcurdling screams, laughing at her wide, horrified eyes.
    Seeing her so broken down and pleading for her life revealed something to me. It showed me what true desperation looked like.
    My introduction to the closet fortunately was more merciful, though not by much. On nights when he was overcome with drugs, alcohol, and his own sickening thirst for our tears, he would lock me in that dark closet. The light switch was on the other side of the door where I could hear my mother’s cries, pleading for him to let me out. Hearing her child wail in the dark, my little fists pounding the door until they were raw and bruised, tore her in two. But part of me was relieved. He would have his fun with me, my tiny whimpers sating his sickening need until his chemical high plummeted him into a coma-like sleep. She would be safe for the night.

    “Ok, spill it. And don’t say there isn’t shit to spill.”
    I rolled over Saturday morning to both Angel and Dom lying on my bed, wearing their nosey-as-hell, shit-eating grins. I was pretty sure why, but I decided to feign ignorance anyway. Damn, I wish I could lock my bedroom door. It was way too early to submit to an interrogation.
    “What are you talking about?” I asked with a yawn.
    Angel rolled her eyes before scooting me over and folding herself around my body. Dom was close behind her, hopping over our bodies and easing down on my other side. He was snatching one of my pillows before I could protest.
    “You know exactly what I’m talking about, Kam. Spill the deets about the bartender, and don’t leave out a single morsel. And if you tell us there’s nothing going on, Dom and I will hold you down and tickle you until you pee. We will piss the truth out of you one way or another.”
    “Yeah, Kam,” Dom added. “What’s up with you two? The sexual tension was stinkin’ up the place like a fog machine. Start talking.”
    I rolled my eyes and sighed, pulling my comforter over my head. “Not you too, Dom. I thought we had an understanding? You don’t see me questioning you about every walking vag you talk to.”
    “That’s different,” Angel interjected. “He doesn’t know or care about any of those skanks enough to answer any questions.”
    I felt Dom shrug beside me. “True story.”
    “Besides,” Angel continued, “this is a first for you. For all of us, really. You like him, Kam. Like him -like him. This is a pretty big fucking deal!”
    I pulled the covers down from over my head and frowned at both of them. “Who said I liked him? I don’t even know the guy.”
    “Ah, but you want to know him. And that’s the part that counts.” Angel wrapped her slender arm around my waist and rested her head on my shoulder. “Come on, just throw us a bone. Just a teeny tiny bone, and we’ll leave you alone.”
    I felt my face heating under their expectant stares and could feel my annoyance meter rising. “Why do you two even care? It’s not like I haven’t ever been with a guy before. Shit, I just got out of a pseudo relationship like a month ago.”
    Angel let out an exasperated sigh. “But you know that shit wasn’t real, Kam. Stop dickin’ around, and tell us the truth. Do you like this guy or not? And remember, I know when you’re lying to me. I have a bullshit-ometer. My nipples twitch whenever someone lies.”
    Dominic and I locked eyes before bursting with uncontrollable laughter. Big, ugly guffaws that had us sprouting tears and snorting.
    “What?” Angel trilled. “I’m serious! They seriously do twitch!” And with that, she raised her camisole and flashed us her C-cups, causing us to laugh even harder.
    “Ewww, get those things off me! And that is the biggest crock of shit I have ever heard, and you know it!” I squeaked just as she pinched my arm. “Ow! Don’t be mad because it’s true!”
    Our spoiled little brat scrambled to her feet and poked out