Dark Angels

Chapter Two-2

Lee finally broke the silence. “So where’d it happen?”

Mindy kept her eyes low. “At the University.”

“But it’s Saturday.”

“Yes. There was a game. Football.”

Mindy’s lower lip trembled and Lee thought the girl was about to burst into tears again. She re-thought her strategy. “Here. Have some more wine, dear.” Lee reached across with the bottle. “I called your mother and arranged for you to stay the night. But by the looks of those marks on your neck you might want to plan on a day or two, if you’re determined to hide the truth.”

Mindy picked up her wine and took a long swallow. “Thanks Auntie Leanne.”

“And that’s another thing,” Lee tapped the table top, “if we’re going to be roomies, you better drop the Auntie routine. You’re making me feel old.”

Mindy’s chin finally came up, a flash of surprise. “But you’re not old. You’re beautiful, smart, tall and you are terribly successful. What I don’t understand is... is why you don’t like men?” Mindy caught herself. “I’m sorry. That’s none of my business.”

Though Lee had never married, there had been a few relationships but nothing ever moved the ground beneath her feet and each time, she had backed off. Something had always been lacking, usually between the bed-covers.

Lee couldn’t restrain a giggle. “I like men just fine, pumpkin, but who has the time to find a good one. Putting in sixty hours a week doesn’t leave much left for playing the field. And the few gentlemen I have met have either been leftovers or retreads.”

“Retreads?”

“Divorcees, pumpkin.”

“Oh...”

Mindy looked crushed.

“What is it?” Lee asked.

“I guess I feel like a retread; after today, I mean.”

Lee’s stomach did a flip-flop and inside, she bled a little. “Look Mindy, what happened to you was shitty. You didn’t ask for it... didn’t deserve it. What happened was the worst possible introduction to an adult relationship. s*x should be about mutual understanding and trust. Instead, you got brutally beaten and abused. No one is going to tell you that you got what you deserved, except maybe the three thugs who f****d you.”

Mindy’s head came up; a look of horror flashing through her eyes.

“Yes,” Lee pressed. “You heard me and I’m sorry, but that’s what happened.”

Lee felt desperate, like she was about to bust open, her breasts were throbbing and she squeezed her thighs together. “But it doesn’t spell the end for you. Understand? It will take some time but you will get past this.”

They sat in silence again, each pondering the assault but, like looking through the opposite ends of a telescope, they didn’t share the same perspective: Mindy saw her life narrowing-in and losing focus, while Lee’s s****l horizons were expanding faster than she could comprehend. And she was at a loss to explain the new flood of emotions or know how to handle them. She found herself aching for details. She needed to know what the hell had happened to her niece; the down and dirty of it.

Lee lifted the bottle. “Have some more wine, my dear.”

After they had stacked the dishwasher, Lee suggested they take the rest of the wine and park themselves in front of the television but Mindy’s body was reacting to the punishment she had received at the hands of the men: Her muscles were sore and she felt slightly nauseated. And her head felt thick; the result of mixing wine with whiskey.

“Can we watch television some other night?” Mindy implored her aunt. “I feel, I don’t know... desperate somehow. And I need to lie down or I think I might pass out.”

“Sure pumpkin,” Lee said, feeling a touch of disappointment. “But I need to tend to those cuts and bites first. I’ll get the antiseptic cream.”

Mindy looked up, a pained expression creeping into her eyes. “Please Auntie Leanne, I can do it. I don’t want you to see me like this.”

But Lee wasn’t about to be thwarted. Men had ravaged her niece’s body and Lee was determined to see the results of their work. “This is not a topic for discussion,” she told her niece. “Those men today? They attacked you. Caused you injury. You expect me to sleep tonight without knowing the extent of the damage they’ve caused?”

“But...”

Lee lifted a hand. “Not another word,” she warned. “I know how stubborn you can be. But give it up.” Lee pulled rank. “My house. My rules. Now get yourself to bed and I’ll be right along.”

With a drawn-out sigh of defeat, Mindy got to her feet and took a halting step toward the kitchen door. “Just so you know, I’m not going to the hospital. No matter what you find.”

Lee experienced another delicious quiver of expectation.

Lee was absolutely throbbing. She went into the bathroom to retrieve the antiseptic cream from the medicine cabinet. When she closed the mirrored door, she took a moment to study the image that looked back: A middle-aged, pleasant-looking woman with heightened senses. Her eyes were glistening with anticipation. She thought her nostrils looked slightly flared and she dabbed at the beads of perspiration that had gathered along her upper lip. Lee noticed that her fingers were trembling.” Crap. What’s gotten into me?”

In the bedroom, Lee found Mindy, still in her robe, tightly wrapped like a cocoon and stretched out along the bed. She was staring at the ceiling with eyes brimming.

Mindy was full of dread, thinking of what was about to happen: For the second time today her body would be placed on display. She turned her face away and felt the tears creep from the corners of her eyes. Despite what her aunt had said about retreads, Lee had never taken an interest in men, as far as Mindy knew, and she had always secretly wondered: Was Auntie Leanne a lesbian? And now Mindy found she was questioning her rational: Why had she come to her lesbian aunt for moral support? What an insane choice.

Lee slipped onto the side of the bed. The mattress depressed but her niece didn’t acknowledge her presence; didn’t move a muscle, in fact; except to close her eyes. And there was the steady rise and fall of her chest with each shallow breath. Mindy whimpered when Lee reached for the knot that held the bathrobe.

“Not a sound, child,” Lee cautioned. “This will take but a moment.”

Lee separated Mindy’s robe and lay the terrycloth back. Her breath caught. It wasn’t the fact that Mindy was a pretty girl. Even being small, Mindy was perfectly proportioned. She had long legs, a tiny waist and her wholesome mounds were peaked with cheeky-looking cherries. The girl was a doll. Her body was exquisite and Lee had guessed it would be. Young Mindy was in possession of a physical beauty, and a presence of being, that clothes could disguise but not hide.

It was the ring of bruising around the girl’s left n****e that caused Lee’s breath to stagger. The skin was lacerated and the teeth marks were deep. The opposite n****e was torn and weeping. And lower down Lee saw yellowish bruising either side of the pubis that matched a man’s narrow hips; a testament to the s****l pounding her niece had endured during intercourse. And lower still, between her thighs, more teeth marks left by an animal who only wanted to inflict hurt and misery.

Lee sat back and slicked her lips. Her buttocks clenched and she pressed her legs together. A spasm arched her lower back and her spine seemed to crack like the roll of a whip. In a moment of clarity, a brilliance she couldn’t explain, Lee realized she envied the girl. Wanted to share in the pain and humiliation.

Lee shuddered; fought to control her emotions. “What kind of savage would do this to a young girl?” Lee asked. The only answer was Mindy’s staggered breath.

A poignant moan escaped Mindy’s lips as Lee lifted the left breast and applied cream, delicately swirling with slippery fingertips. Lee thrilled to the puckered flesh; the feel of the swollen tissue cupped in her hands.

Mindy seethed when Lee pushed the mangled, misaligned n****e back into place. “This will need a butterfly bandage for a day or two; until the skin knits.” Lee applied the cool cream.

The teeth marks between Mindy’s legs were superficial but the v****a itself gaped and was terribly inflamed. The vaginal lips had been shredded by sharp teeth. Three men have used her here, Lee tempted herself, prodding at the swelling with a fingertip. Mindy wept quietly as Lee gently separated the delicate petals with her thumbs and placed a finger at the opening, looking for the telltale sign of blood.

Lee sighed deeply. “You’re scoured raw, raw as burger-meat... but there isn’t any bleeding. Hold still now. I’m going to apply some cream.”

Mindy protested with a low groan but let Lee re-position her knees. Lee slid two fingers through the goo at the bottom of the jar and, gently holding back the vaginal creases with one hand, she slid her fingers along the protracted muscle tissue. She worked the cream in as far as she dared and fought the desire to slip all the way in. Instead, she gingerly massaged the inflamed lips and c******s. Mindy squirmed in shock and disbelief.

Lee ignored her. “Did they do you in your bum?”

Mindy’s eyes circled wide and for the first time she looked up and caught her aunt’s eyes. “God. They do that?”

“Sometimes. Just to be mean. I guess it hurts a lot. And it’s degrading, of course. Men like to treat women like barnyard animals. It gives them a sense of superiority, to hear a woman scream. Did you scream, pumpkin?”

Mindy’s chin came up. “Yes I screamed. Until they started hitting me. And then I just cried a lot.”

“And your bum?”

“One of them shoved his fingers in.”

Lee exhaled and cupped the girl’s hip. “You had better roll over. Let me have a look.”

She was being violated all over again and Mindy wanted to refuse. But then what would be the point? It would be over soon if she didn’t make a fuss. And it was easier to surrender to her aunt’s wishes, like she should have done with the men. Resisting had been futile; the outcome inevitable. And if she had let them have what they wanted in the first place, maybe they would have gone easier on her. She rolled up on an elbow and flopped onto her tummy.

Lee gazed down on Mindy’s perfect little behind. The round buttocks were firm with youth. And held tauntingly high, like an upturned nose. Lee separated the halves and touched the pink cone with a greasy finger.

“You’ve a nasty looking cut here; from his fingernails. Be still now. This will only take a second.”

It took a surprising amount of pressure to breech the tightly wound muscle but as soon as Lee had slithered a fingertip in, Mindy opened like a greasy slipknot. Lee swiped the inside of the girl’s anus with antiseptic cream, withdrew her finger and was relieved to see that there wasn’t any blood. The girl needed rest and kind understanding, but physically, she would recover in a day or two.

Lee wiped her hands on a towel. “Okay. You can close your robe now but I’ll have to reapply the cream tomorrow.”

Mindy rolled over and tugged at the fleece. She was a little surprised. “You’re finished? I mean; you didn’t... I thought...” She realized she was nattering and clamped her lips together before she started to sound foolish.

Lee cupped the girl’s face. “You thought what?” she questioned.

Mindy studied her aunt for a moment, eyes searching. “It’s nothing,” she finally said. “I guess I was just expecting something; well something more.” Mindy felt the tears welling up again and, pushing herself forward, she put her arms around Lee’s shoulders and kissed her on the side of the neck. “You were so gentle, Auntie Leanne. Thank you. And just so you know, I liked it; having you touch me, I mean.” Mindy kissed her aunt a second time. “I’m sorry for misjudging you.”

Lee unwound Mindy’s arms from about her neck and lowered the girl back to the pillow. “You get some rest, now pumpkin. We’ll talk more in the morning.” Lee stood up from the side of the bed, turned off the lamp and quietly closed the bedroom door. Alone in the hallway, Lee reached for the wall. Without it, she feared her knees might collapse. And she needed a real drink.