Brutal Boy by Selena
ten
Harper Apple
BadApple: I think its time we meet
MrD: You do, huh?
BadApple: Yes
MrD: And why is that?
BadApple: We both want the same thing.
MrD: I knew you liked older men.
Barf. I fight the urge to write back something snarky or ask if he’s seen the video. It’s probably left the confines of Willow Heights by now.
BadApple: Do men rly only think about sex 24/7?
MrD: Closer to 23/7.
BadApple: Good 2 kno.
MrD: What about you, Harper? Do you think about sex a lot?
BadApple: As much as the next girl
MrD: Do you touch yourself when you think about it?
My skin gets crawly, and I shake my hands out, trying not to gag as I picture some old guy like Mr. Behr leering at his phone screen with one hand down his pants. But I suck it up and dive in.
BadApple: As much as the next girl
MrD: Do you think about me while you touch yourself?
BadApple: I’m not having chat-sex w u right now
MrD: But you will later?
BadApple: Depends
MrD: On what?
BadApple: u told me u like negotiations. Whats in it 4 me?
MrD: If we could send pictures on this app, I’d show you.
Does he really think I want a dick pic? Gross. But I have to play my cards right, and flirting with an online creeper isn’t the worst I’ve done to get what I want.
BadApple: What if u showed me in person?
MrD: Greedy little thing, aren’t you?
BadApple: Cut the bs. You want 2 take down the Dolces. I want 2 take down the Dolces. Lets work together n get it done instead of playing games.
MrD: I like how you put it all out there, Harper. Not a great move in a business negotiation, but I respect the direct approach in a woman who knows what she wants and will do whatever is necessary to get it.
BadApple: So…?
MrD: Will you do anything I want if I agree to meet you?
BadApple: once only
MrD: You’d let me fuck you however I want?
I’ve never felt more disgusted with myself. Am I really going to whore myself out for an ally? That makes me no better than what Royal has said I am all along. Guess he was right about me.
But maybe it’s not so bad. Mr. D is not just any ally. He has money. Power. Things that turn me on anyway. Maybe he’s not old and gross at all.
I wish I’d asked Dixie about the Darlings who remain in Faulkner so I could narrow it down, but it’s a little late for that now.
BadApple: Not 4 a meeting. Only if u agree 2 help.
MrD: And what exactly is your plan to take down the Dolces?
BadApple: Whats ur plan? Besides ur little acts of voyeurism thru me. What r u doing w the info i give u?
MrD: All things in good time.
BadApple: u wont work w me even if I let u fuck me?
MrD: Games are so much more fun, don’t you think?
BadApple: I don’t like games. Im doing it with or without ur help. Just thought ud want in.
MrD: I want in you.
I stare at the screen, swallowing several times to keep my disgust down. Guess I’m not the only one laying it all out there today.
BadApple: So u’ll help me or not?
MrD: Patience, my little darling. If I can wait for you, you can wait for me. It makes the payoff that much sweeter.
BadApple: I’m basically offering 2 whore myself out 2 u, n ur saying no?
I’m so frustrated I could scream. My body is my only currency. I have nothing else to offer.
MrD: Don’t be discouraged. We will both get what we want.
BadApple: How do u kno?
MrD: You want out. I want in. It is inevitable.
BadApple: When? I don’t have all the time in the world.
MrD: You have another year and a half before you graduate. Don’t rush this. For now, keep giving me what I want, and I’ll keep giving you what you want. When the time is right, we will meet. I will fuck you, my little treat. I promise.
BadApple: I want 2 meet n make a plan 4 this
MrD: You want too much. I gave you a scholarship. That’s what you asked for. You haven’t repaid that debt. Don’t ask for more.
BadApple: k
I slam my laptop and jump up to pace my room. That did not go as well as I’d hoped. I thought the old perv would be slobbering on himself for a chance to fuck me. Guess even my body’s not that valuable.
But of course not. Rich guys get all the pussy they want.
Do I want too much? Ask too much?
Of course I fucking do. I have nothing, after all. I’m starting from miles behind. I have to work for every fucking clue, and all I have to offer is my one possession, all the more precious to me because it’s all I have. But my body isn’t precious to him or to any guy who can get laid whenever he wants.
So what is precious to him? What do I have to bargain with?
Nothing. Not now.
He has everything he wants except one thing—information on the Dolce boys. That’s the key. That’s the one thing I can provide that he can’t get for himself. And I’ve already promised it to him for something else.
Okay, then. Moving on. I struck out there, but that doesn’t mean I have to give up. I’m used to fighting my own battles. I can still take down the Dolces myself, all the while getting Mr. D his information as I go and keeping my scholarship. He can do whatever the fuck he wants with the useless tidbits I give him. If that keeps him happy for now, I’ll keep providing. Meanwhile, I’ll find the key myself.
I can’t afford to enlist friends in anything dangerous. But I can enlist myself. No one gets that powerful without making enemies. No one can be that dirty without leaving a trail. I just have to find it. Not the little info that keeps Mr. D satisfied, but something big. A scandal. A secret they don’t want the town to know, something big enough to bring them to their knees. Something like the letter the Dolce sister wrote, but with proof. Or that they killed her to shut her up.
That’s the kind of thing that can take down a family like the Dolces. It has to be a scandal, not just illegal but shocking and salacious.
And I know how to find it. It might take time, but I might have that now. I might even have a way in. I don’t know how Royal feels about me now that I pushed him off a bridge, but I know not to assume he’s done with me until he tells me he is. I made that mistake before.
I won’t make it again. I’ll assume what he said on that bridge is still in effect. I can’t change the fact that he’s psychotic and has me in his sights. All I can do is work that to my advantage. Being his toy isn’t exactly prestigious, but it gets me closer to them. And that’s exactly what I want. I want to become one of them, someone they trust. And I’ll do whatever it takes to get there, to get that secret, something so good Mr. D can’t just sit on it. Together, we’ll expose them for the monsters they are, and their crowns will roll.
What’s my plan? It’s simple, really. Obedience is my plan. I can’t change overnight, in a way that makes them suspicious. But I will let them win every battle after a little struggle to make it believable. If Royal wants me on my knees, I’ll kneel. If he wants to own me, I’ll tie a fucking bow around myself and deliver myself to his doorstep. If he wants to fuck me… Well, I already offered my body to a creepy online predator. Why wouldn’t I give it to Royal?
If that’s the price of admission, sign me the fuck up. No matter what it takes, I’m getting in. I don’t want to be just a Dolce girl. I want to be one of them. To be their female counterpart, the piece they didn’t even know they needed until they realize too late that they can’t live without me. One way or another, I’m getting in. Nothing can stop me. After all, I’m a fighter, and I won’t give up until I’ve walked in their world, been swallowed into the belly of the beast, and touched the beating heart of the Dolce monster. Then, I’ll destroy them.
*
Darling Girl
Plain Jane
Red apple
On teacher’s desk
Blonde hair to shoulders—
Proper length—
Everything in its place.
A column of A’s down a page
A book in one hand,
The other tucked behind your back.
But I know your secret.
In the hand they cannot see,
A noose.
Between the pages of the book,
The Marquis de Sade.
Less than a perfect score deserves a spanking—
Will he enjoy it as much as you?
Your proper place,
Bent over teacher’s desk,
A hand fisting your tangled strands
Lift your head and let them see
There’s no Jane here
Only
Mabel.
