The Five

by Lily White

There was no way in hell this girl was a murderer. Not with a demeanor so subservient. The question was: how in the hell did she survive?

Rainey Day, it appeared, was not shy of her body at all. Not that she should be. There was an appeal to her, something raw, primal, and carnal. She was the type of girl men would want without knowing why. A siren, her presence so natural and unapologetic that it brought one purpose to mind.

This woman would be a handful for any man. Perhaps I’d been wrong to immediately assume she was a victim. I wondered if the detectives had the same problem, if they’d called me in because they couldn’t keep their attention from wandering to forbidden places.

“You have a lot of dead people around you, Rainey.” “We all die, just some of us sooner than others.”

“I should warn you, Doc, I’m a bit of a slut. This story-“ Her eyes closed, opened. “This story doesn’t paint me in a pretty light. Not like all of the good girls I assume you’re used to dating.”

“Because that’s what girls like me do. That’s what we’re good for. It’s just sex, right? Nothing special.”

“Plus, I know you think it’s Jacob that does the dealing at my place, but he gets it from me, baby girl. I’ll roll you up something while you wait.”

“You move into this new neighborhood with your mom. You meet the new neighbors and immediately begin a sexual relationship with the oldest brother, Jacob. Sex for drugs, right?” Another nod, her eyes meeting mine, open and honest. “Within a few months, you’re sleeping with the father. Also a sex for drugs relationship. Another few months after that and you’re sleeping with Joel.” “That’s right.” “And then this incident occurs with Frankie. You’ve slept with an entire family at this point.” “All of them except for Rowan.” A slight grin, sheepish. “I warned you I was a slut.” Holding up a hand, I sucked in a breath to temper my reaction. “First, you need to stop referring to yourself that way. In my opinion, you made some poor decisions (incredibly stupid decisions, I didn’t say) and by calling yourself a slut, you are basing your view of yourself, valuing your worth, on those decisions. But those decisions don’t make up for who you are. They are events. Memories. Mistakes. But they are only parts of Rainey, not all of her. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“I think I love you, Rainey Summer Day. I think I’ve loved you since the moment we first met.”

“I like it when you look at me. Your eyes get all big and I know you like what you see. We can be together, Rainey. Just you and me.” Shaking my head, I smiled. “It’s you and me right now. Okay? Just right now. But when we leave this room, we’re friends again. That’s the way it has to be.” “Why?” My heart broke. “It just does. Now go lie down. Let me take care of you.”

“Please, Rainey. Just you and me. I promise you I’ll take care of you. I promise I’ll always protect you.”

“You sure you don’t want me to take you back to my room? You look, I don’t know, hungry.”

“I’ve already told you a thousand times that if you want me, I’m yours. I’ll take care of you, Rainey. Protect you. Love you.”

Five years in the neighborhood. Five older men that abused her as a kid. Five neighbors. Five victims at the party. Five times she slept with Rowan.

I had no doubt that if I said the word, he’d march over there and beat David to death without thinking. Now that I knew David had a gun, I couldn’t let Rowan do it. If something happened to him, it would destroy me. I’d fucking snap to lose the only person I’d ever loved.

“You need to take a shower.” “What? Why?” “I need him off of you, Rainey. I need to scrub you clean and figure out what to do about this.”

“Hey, it’s fine. He didn’t hurt me, Rowan. You need to calm down.” Scrubbing my legs, he didn’t bother to look up at me. “What I need to do is make sure that son of a bitch never touches you again. He’s dead, Rainey. Tonight. I don’t give a fuck what you think about it. I’m taking care of you just like I promised you I would.”

Knowing I needed to do something before this all went horribly wrong, I waited until the washcloth was between my legs to buck my hips and moan. Honestly, I wasn’t turned on, just scared, but I knew how to make a man think I wanted him. “Rowan,” I breathed out, my voice a plea for him to drop the washcloth and use his fingers. He slapped my ass - hard. “Not even funny, Rainey. I know when you want something. Remember? I’m not fucking stupid. Stop trying to distract me.” “Well, somebody needs to distract you. The way you’re talking, I’m scared you actually plan to go over to my house and kill David.” “I do,” he answered calmly, the washcloth rubbing down the back of my leg. “By the end of tonight, he won’t be breathing any longer. I don’t give a fuck about going to jail for it either. Not after what he did to you.” Rowan stood and turned me around to face him, crushing my body against the shower wall with his own. He glared down at me, his chest hard against mine. Watching me silently, he traced the line of my jaw with his thumb. “Nobody, and I mean nobody will hurt you like that anymore. I won’t let it happen again. I’ll kill every last fucking one of them.” “You’re talking crazy.” His eyes closed and opened again, the lashes water spiked and dark. “I don’t care.”

“I’m not worth it, Rowan. Really, I’m not.” Tears stung my eyes, his gaze tracking one as it rolled down my cheek. Leaning down he kissed it softly, his body still pinning me to the wall. “Yeah, Rainey, you are. You’ve always been worth it. One day you’ll see yourself the same way I do, and you’ll be so mad at yourself for letting people treat you the way you have. It ends. Tonight.” Shaking my head, my lips quivered. “I won’t stop using my body for drugs, Rowan. I don’t mind it.” “Rainey-“ “You have Megan. She’s good for you. She can help you become something so you can get the hell out of this life. I’m nothing. I’ll only drag you down and it looks like I’m already doing it. You’re talking about killing someone.” He grinned, the expression hard instead of adorable. The boy I knew wasn’t here. This person was a stranger. “I’m telling you I’m killing someone, because it’s happening.”

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered. “You have no fucking idea how beautiful you are.”

“You need a man. I’ve become exactly what you need. You, Rainey. Not for anybody else. Just for you.”

I should have understood him from his kisses alone. They were never timid, never shy. He was a dominant man who could lead me anywhere he wanted. I’d been his first, had walked him through a moment of shyness, but now that something else in him had come to the surface, he would never be shy again.

“Spread your legs.” “Rowan-“ “I said spread them, Rainey.” Eyes meeting mine, he canted his head to the side. “Don’t make me say it again.”

“I’ll love you forever, Rainey. Protect you. Take care of you. There’s nowhere you can go where I won’t find you.” Lifting his head to look down at me, he said, “You and me forever. Do you understand that? Fuck everybody else. They don’t matter. They never did. Just you and me, okay?”

Professionalism completely gone, I sat and listened to Rainey describe sex with the boy she loved while a dead body floated in the bathroom next to them - watching her hand move over her body the entire time. Transfixed by that hand and where it was going. My mind had checked out apparently. My willpower dissolving. Rainey Day had reeled me in just like every other man who knew her. Whether she knew that or not was the question. As soon as she opened her eyes, I focused my attention on my notepad. The girl had just confessed to a murder and I was fighting everything inside me not to become erect.

“I don’t make promises, Justin. I can’t.” “Why not?” “Because Rowan made me promises he couldn’t keep. When he died, he broke all of them.”

“That boy - no, man - Rowan was no boy by the time he died. So, that man did everything he could for me and I just kept on hurting him because I couldn’t let him love me. He died thinking I didn’t care about him. All he wanted was for me to respect myself, to care about my life as much as he did, and I wouldn’t stop striking out at him, pushing him away and letting him believe I didn’t want him.”

While she was calming down, her body trembling as the heartache bled out of her, I was trying my best not to notice how her breasts felt crushed against my chest. Just like every other man in her life, I was the bastard who couldn’t ignore how my body reacted to her presence. Right here on this couch, where her mother’s boyfriend had fucked her while demanding she call him Daddy, and also the same place she’d helped Rowan stage David’s murder. What the fuck was wrong with me?

Rainey had no shame, and it appeared neither did I.

Normally, I’m not the type to watch television, but that night I needed something to keep my mind off the case. Unfortunately, almost every movie and television show is guaranteed to contain some scene with sex. I’d flip to watch one, groan when the obligatory scene appeared, then flip to another. Over and over again until I found myself watching reruns of Sesame Street because I knew it would be safe. At least, I thought it would be.

Rowan had potential, more than any of us. And because I could see the truth of what was inside him, I couldn’t bear the weight of keeping him from seeing it himself.

Because of me, he’d committed a crime, one that would lock him away for the rest of his life, and it would all be my fault.

“Doesn’t make sense to me. Megan’s hot, her family is loaded, and she’s not a slut like you. I’m not sure why Rowan gets all pissy when your name is brought up.”

“You’ve been avoiding me.” My voice was lazy, deeper because I hadn’t quite woken fully. “For good reason.” “That’s impossible. There’s no reason out there good enough for you to shove me away.”

“Paul is fucking my mom.” Eyes closing, Rowan sighed. “Yeah, I know. He has been for a week now. Which is why I know all the lies you told me about not being allowed over here are bullshit. Scoot over.” “Why?” “Scoot, Rainey. Don’t make me move you myself.” Rowan crawled onto the mattress to spoon me from behind, his strong arms wrapping around me, holding me tight to his warm body. Burying his face in my neck, he planted a soft kiss on my skin. “I’d say I’m sorry about your mom, but I’m not. What you’re feeling right now is what you’ve made me feel for years.” Anger coiled deep in my belly. “What’s that supposed to mean? She’s my mom” “And you’re my girl, but I’ve had to watch you fuck my dad and my brothers.”

Rowan was using me. Just like Jacob. Just like Joel. Just like Paul and Frankie. He was taking what I was offering without either of us claiming it was love. I’d broken him. For him to do this, for Rowan of all people to do to me what men had always done, it meant I’d finally crushed what was once innocent and sweet inside him.

I just wanted to go back to a time where Rowan loved me, where he looked at me like I hung the moon. How selfish was that? He finally moved on like I told him to, but all I wanted was for him to come running back.

“It’s okay, Rainey. I’ve got you. I’ll always have you.”

This woman had lived hard. Had become hard. Had fought tooth and nail to continue scrabbling forward while everything around her was falling apart.

“Yet while he died - as he burned in a car not more than a few blocks from here - I was watching his girlfriend cheat on him while I was having sex with his brother. He was burning and I was getting off.” The comment surprised me, my brows lifting up my forehead. “I thought you said you only orgasmed while with Rowan.” Dangerous territory, Justin... A bark of laughter shook her shoulders, her eyes pinning mine. “I didn’t get off because of anything Jacob was doing, Doc. I got off because I knew that when Rowan found out what Megan had done, the two of them would be over.” Aaaaand we’ve set a new low bar for fucked up.

People shouldn’t die alone. They should be surrounded by family and loved ones, they should be held and reminded that their lives had meaning. The universe is rarely so kind.

“A pretty girl like you needs to be careful in this area. There’s no telling what the men around here will think. They’ll try to take advantage of you. Always be careful, Rainey. Not all men are bad, but there are a lot of nasty ones hanging out just trying to hurt nice girls.”

“Don’t play stupid, Rainey. It might work with other people, but it doesn’t work with me. What were you talking to Joel about?” Rowan had let his hair grow out, the ends dusting his shoulders, the front brushed back. I wanted to run my fingers through it. “He invited me to a party tonight.” Cursing under his breath, he darted his eyes to my window, the blue made brighter by the subdued sunlight. “How much are they paying you?” “I don’t think that’s any of your-“ “How much?” Gaze meeting mine, his jaw was tight, the dark stubble causing his cheeks to appear more sunken than they were. “Two hundred.” “I’ll give it to you to stay home.” Rowan had been on edge for weeks around me, but to suddenly lash out was surprising. “Why do you even have that much money on you?” “Don’t worry about that. Just take it and stay your ass home.” “I’m not taking your money.” His grin was feral, angry. “Why? Is my cash not as good as Joel’s?” “No, but I haven’t earned-“ “Then fuck me for it! I don’t care what I have to do to make you take it. I don’t want you at that party tonight. Two hundred? Either your rates have gone up or Joel is planning on you sleeping with a lot of guys. I can’t stand watching it, Rainey!”

“It’s not my fault you fell in love with me, Rowan. I warned you not to.” “Warned me?” He laughed. “Yeah, you warned me all right with your damn body all over mine without expecting a damn thing for it. Do you realize I’m the only one?” “What?” Twisting just enough to glare at me, Rowan’s mouth pulled into a smirk, his eyes blazing. “I’m the only one you fucked without getting paid for it. Either with drugs or money, it doesn’t matter. No. You wanted me, just me.” Quieting for a moment, he glanced away. “I turn eighteen in two days. We can leave here, Rainey. I have a plan and I have the money to keep us going for a while.” “How?” “How isn’t important. I can take care of you, just like I promised. I can love you and protect you. And it’s like I’ve always said, Rainey, I’ll find you.”

Rowan made me feel powerful. He made me believe I was worth more than what I’d become. It was too bad that my story would never be worth the paper it was written on. Nobody cares about girls like me. We’re lost to the shadows, tossed aside and forgotten about by a world that only wishes to see beauty, intelligence and fortune.

The world might not care to see me, but Rowan did, his eyes lifting as his neck craned back. Shimmering blue, those eyes had seen me since the day we first met. Only me, his Rainey Summer Day, the girl who’d ruined him the minute she moved next door.

“Rowan, touching me is dangerous.” Hands locking just beneath my knees, Rowan pushed my legs apart far enough to kiss the inside of my thigh. “I don’t care,” he said against my skin. On a whisper, “You know I won’t say no. I’ll make love to you right here and now, but then tonight, I’ll be taking men back to a bedroom to earn the money Joel promised me. Can you handle that?” “No.” “Then stop touching me.” “No.” His hands crept up the tops of my thighs, higher until he was ripping at the button of my shorts. “I need this, Rainey. I need you.”

“Tuck your shit in your pants and get the fuck out. My brother damn near killed your friend for bragging about what’s going on back here like a fucking dumbass. Get the fuck out.”

“Rainey, babe, you’ve caused some problems tonight. Angel just left. I think she broke up with me, and Rowan is losing his shit over you. Your puppy can’t handle this. Do you hear me?”

“How are you doing over there, Doc? You look like you want to cry.” Cry or beat the shit out of someone, I wasn’t sure. It was too bad every single one of those bastards were dead. I would have loved putting them in the ground myself.