Brian laughed. “You’ll get your turn.”
The next night they came a little earlier with a plastic kid’s pool and dumped a bunch of water jugs into it. I panicked, thinking they were going to drown us. Courtney and Dani looked terrified too, but then the boys undid our ties. We stretched our arms. My shoulders ached, the muscles tight. I looked at my wrist, the scraped skin and bruises, wondered if I’d get an infection.
“Clean yourselves up, you’re starting to stink,” Brian said.
They watched, rifles perched on their knees, as Courtney and Dani took their clothes off. We’d undressed many times in front of each other, but I looked away. I heard them climb into the pool, the sound of plastic creaking and shifting as they stepped in, quick inhales as they immersed their bodies in the cold water.
Brian pointed the gun at me. “You too, little sister.”
“Screw you,” I said, but I couldn’t help but look longingly at the water.
“Just do what he says!” Dani shouted.
I looked at her and gasped at the bruises on her body. The bite marks across her chest. Courtney was also covered in bruises and bites.
Gavin stepped closer to Dani, pulling her hair back until her neck was exposed, and pressed the barrel of his rifle against a spot behind her ear.
“Better listen to your sister.”
I stood up and took my clothes off, hands shaking, staring at the floor. I couldn’t look at them, couldn’t look at my sisters.
Brian whistled. “Look what you’ve been hiding.”
I was crying, big gasps of fear. I went over to the bath and eased down into the cold water, my arms wrapped around my knees, trying to hide my chest.
They gave us soap and shampoo, dumped cold water over our heads to rinse us off. The soap stung my wrists, but I soaked them in the cold water, hoped it was flushing out the wounds. One of them kept a gun pointed at us at all times.
“Get out,” Brian said.
We stood, shivering. Courtney and Dani didn’t even bother trying to hide their bodies, but I tucked myself behind them. Gavin tossed us some towels.
We dried off, then they handed us some fresh clothes, summer dresses in floral patterns. They looked used, the fabric worn and faded. New underwear—no bras. They bundled our old stuff up.
They had a bag of makeup, said they wanted us to dress up for them. We did each other’s makeup, our hands shaky. They surveyed our work.
“More lipstick,” Brian said. We reapplied.
Gavin pointed to Dani. “Fluff your hair up, like around your shoulders.” She ran her hands through it. “Yeah, like that.”
He handed us beers. “Don’t know why you had to be such stuck-up bitches. We could’ve had a lot of fun.”
We sipped at our beers. I was scared they’d drugged it or poisoned it, but the cold liquid felt good. They also gave us sandwiches, which we wolfed down, keeping our eyes on the boys, waiting for the next step.
They brought in a portable stereo, put on some country music.
Gavin clapped his hands, kicked the ground a couple of times with his boots. “Let’s dance.” We stared at them.
“Why aren’t you dancing?” Brian said.
We danced, and they joined in, twirling us around like we were at a barnyard dance. I could feel my sisters’ anger simmering off of them, though none of us said a word. Our hands were finally untied, but while one brother danced, the other sat with the gun pointed at us.
It was hard to keep dancing. Dani and Courtney faltered and I stumbled, which earned me a slap on the butt from Brian. “Wake up!”
The boys tired of the game and started taunting us, picking on Courtney and me. “What’s your real names?”
“I’m Sara—she’s Melissa.” Courtney pointed at me.
“You’re lying,” Gavin said. “You were lying as soon as we saw you in that busted-down truck.”
Brian started laughing. “Almost got it fixed up.” Dani looked at him. “Think I might just keep it. Take the plates off, throw a slap of paint on it. Make for a real nice souvenir.”
Souvenir.
I wondered how much longer they planned on keeping us alive.
Brian circled closer to me. “Your sister said you just turned fifteen.”
I tried to think which one had told him.
Brian was still talking. “But I think they’re lying about that too. That’s no fifteen-year-old’s body.”
He stood behind me, his breath on my neck. He lifted my hair, nuzzled my neck, grabbed me, and pulled me back. I cried out.
My sisters came toward me. Gavin stepped in with a gun. “Stay back.”
“Leave her alone,” Dani said.
“She’s just a kid,” Courtney said. “You can do whatever you want to me again—whatever you want. Just let her go.”
He reached around, cupped one of my breasts, gripping it hard. I elbowed him in the stomach, kicked back with my foot.
“You little brat!” He grabbed me around the waist and started to drag me out of the room.
Dani and Courtney were screaming, “No! Leave her alone!”