Alone in the Country Ch. 02

This is not a true story. This is Pure Fantasy.

A week after the event, Rick and Jim were just finishing for the day and saw notes attached to their timecards. They clocked out and headed up to the office as instructed. The front receptionist smiled and handed them an envelope apiece as she was gathering up her purse and book bag her day now done. "Those came in today’s mail. I don't know why they were sent here. There's no return address, but I figured you'd want to get them right away." she said, then motioned for them to leave ahead of her, as she was the last to leave the office thanks to them. Both men thanked her and they held the door for her then walked her to her car before getting into Jim's truck together. They often rode together, taking turns driving to work, saving on gas and wear.

"So, what's it about?" Jim asked as his cousin tore into his envelope while he started the truck to let it cool off.

Rather than answer Rick muttered, "Shit!", as his cousin was opening his as well.

"Oh, fuck." was all Jim could say as he began reading the letter inside.

"It's a bill for five grand. From some place called 'The Tie-Dye'. Who the hell is that and why are they sending me a bill?"

"Didn't you get the letter?" Jim asked as he looked over from his bill, which had been the second page, not the first.

His cousin shuffled the two pages and started reading aloud. "Gentlemen (dare I say that?), I am contacting you to let you know that I know who you are. Thanks to you I had to redo the order I'd spent the week making and now am behind schedule. All the batches I'd been working on had to be redone so I'm sending you the bill for the supplies from that, and then some, for the labor as well as the pain and suffering I had to go through when I should've been resting in my bed recovering from the abuse you dealt me. So you will know, I will go to the police if you do not pay these bills and I have evidence to back up my story, including finger prints on the oil bottle and pantyhose packages, not to mention DNA. And while I may not have a boyfriend who lives with me I do have loyal friends who will support me. Pay your bill. Seriously, Emma Walker"

The two men sat there for a long moment staring at the bills, then both swore again before Jim muttered, "Sorry, Cuz. I swear I don't know how she found out."

Rick shook his head. "I knew I shouldn't let you talk me into that. It's my fault for going along."

"No, I talked you into it. I'll pay for the damages." He said as he took the papers from him, folded them up with his and crammed them over his visor. "I'd like to know how she knew it was us. We neither one made a pass at her while we were working on her pump. We were real careful not to say anything in our regular voices and you can't tell who it is from a moan." he muttered, scowling as he put the truck in reverse and backed out.

"Think she could see through the pillow case?" Rick asked after they pulled out onto the main road as he stared blindly out of his window.

"Naaah. No more than shadow at most. We could've, should've been anyone that way. No, something gave us away that night."

"You were right though. We got in real easy. Are you sure you've never done this before?" Rick asked, still looking out the window.

Jim was already shaking his head adamantly. "Naah, just thought about it a time or two. Probably wouldn't have this time had you not agreed to go along." he murmured as he pulled the papers down and glanced at the bill again. "Won't be doing it again either. Not at this cost. No matter how good looking or tempting." he muttered with disgust.

Rick reached out and took back his papers. "I'll pay mine... somehow."

"To bad we didn't have a recording of her enjoying the hell out of what we was doing. All we'd need was a video of her begging us and we could say it wasn't rape." Jim snorted.

They rode in silence for several miles, listening to the music playing low on the radio while they thought about what had resulted from their night of 'fun'. It was only meant to be fun. Exciting, kinky, harmless fun. Okay, so Jim had gotten a bit more 'fun' out of it than Rick had thought he should've. And, true, it had been rape. But Rick hadn't meant to hurt her... and he hadn't thought Jim would. They hadn't really talked about that night either since then... and perhaps they should've. Jim had beat her with a belt and would've kept at it for who knew how long had Rick not been there.

"Why'd you hit her with the belt?" he asked suddenly, needing to know. "And on her legs of all places? Why not her ass?"

Jim shrugged. "She kept running her mouth. Her legs seemed more... I don't know, attention grabbing. Didn't do as I'd thought it would."

"We could've gagged her. We talked about that. You said you didn't want her gagged. You wanted to hear her begging you not to fuck her you said."

"She did too."

"And what happened to making her want us before we took her?" Rick demanded, turning to look at his cousin now, wanting to know."

Jim shook his head and frowned heavily. For a long moment he didn't say anything, just continued driving. As they turned into his cousins apartment complex, he finally muttered, "I don't know. I just got so angry. We did wrong, I know, but... Hell, Rick. She was a fine little thing. She lived out there all by herself, seemed so... knowing. Like when she greeted us that day. Gentlemen. I don't know, it just seemed uppity. She seemed uppity."

"You're nuts, Jim." Rick said, staring at him in disbelief. "The woman was lovely, I agree, even better looking once naked, but she never once acted uppity. She probably does know a lot. Especially if she really does fetch thirty dollars for nighties like the one you ripped off of her. She was nice to both of us, leaving us to do our work, not getting in the way, not whining over the price, and not standing over our shoulders. You were angry at her from first sight. Why's that?"

"Perhaps it was the way she looked at us. She thought you were worth a long look while she barely glanced at me." Jim snapped gruffly.

Rick's brows flew up in shock and for a moment he could only sit there gaping at his cousin. "You're nuts! And jealous to boot? Unbelievable!" he growled with disbelief. "She didn't like your looks so you decided to beat her and harshly rape her? Is that it?"

Jim's lips were drawn low and he did his best not to look his cousin's way as he pulled the truck up at the curb in front of the walkway of the apartment he was renting. "She enjoyed it." he muttered, looking out his window.

Rick shook his head. "Not until we put the oil on. Good thing I went into her bathroom. If I hadn't found that oil, I would've gone into the kitchen for something. Jim, you dry fucked that poor girl ...and beat her with your belt. Hell, had I not been there, there's no telling what abuses you would've reaped on her. And did you happen to notice how big her vibrator was. We were both three times the size of that thing. And, yet, you went and crammed that little thing into her ass without even giving it more than a swipe in her own juices. Hell, she could've been a virgin for all you'd known and you rammed your dick in her so hard that first time that I'd actually expected to see blood after the way she screamed." He again shook his head and muttered then, "I truly hope you meant it when you said you won't be doing this again. Your little rape fantasy is going to cost us five grand a piece and that's if she doesn't change her mind afterwards about going to the cops. You got the pantyhose and we each opened a package, not to mention the facts that neither of us used a condom. Fuck! I just now remembered that too. We didn't use any fucking latex! Shit!"

Jim's head jerked around at that and stared at him wide-eyed for a moment. Then, as the implications of that settled in he returned his gaze to the windshield before him. Both men groaned as they slid down in their seats, thinking of all that could come of this now. "She wasn't a virgin. That means she was sexually active. Think she was clean? I don't feel sick down there. No itching. No redness, swelling or pain. You?"

"You're worried about STD's?!" Rick barked jerking up and around to glare at him as if he'd lost his fucking mind. Actually they both had. "How about the ultimate in incriminating evidence and DNA, idiot!"

"Well, yeah, semen. She said she had DNA evidence. Semen, perhaps hair from our bodies and heads." Jim agreed, nodding.

"And if you pump semen into a woman four times in one night what might happen if she's not on the pill?" Rick snapped as if he was talking to a child.

He watched as his dense cousin finally got it. "A baby... Oh, fuck no."

"It's possible and the worst evidence against us, one of us, which could collaborate her story quite well." he muttered in disgust as he shoved his bill into his shirt pocket and grabbed his hat off the dash. "Yeah, she was a great fuck. Probably even without that fancy oil of hers. But if she gets pregnant, it's gonna be a lot more than five grand we'll be having to pay. At least one of us. And just think what my ex is going to do to me if that happens and she finds out... which she would eventually. Crazy bitch already has me by the balls over my supposed infidelity. I barely have a pot to piss in these days thanks to her and her crafty lawyer. As much as I've always wanted kids, I'd never in my stupidest dreams conjured up this possibility."

"I told you I'd help you will the bill to the Walker woman." Jim muttered, shaking his head. "And if it comes down to a baby, I'll take the blame there also. Hell, your ex already thinks bastards run in the family after your father cut you off at the first sign of divorce."

"Pops had to. She would've got that lawyer to go after him through me." Rick said with a heavy sigh. After a long silent moment, he murmured, "You know, if you'd had issues with a woman like my ex, I might could understand your need to be mean to another woman, Jim, but that just seems out of the blue and very unusual for you."

Jim shrugged. "You just missed my issues, Rick. You've had so many of your own lately that... well, I've had a few too. And, no, I'm not going to share. But it may have had something to do with the Walker woman." he said as he once more looked out his side window, avoiding his cousins eyes as they turned to eye him narrowly.

"You need counseling, cousin?" Rick asked quietly.

"Nahh, I've got it out of my system. Think she'll accept an apology from me?" Jim asked without turning around.

"Who? For what?"

"The Walker woman. For being so mean. Not for the raping, even though I'm feeling pretty bad about that right now too, but for the way I did it. I could've at least made it better for her."

"We could've just scared her and left." Rick agreed with a nod. Then he shook his head. "I don't know. It's not going to get her to change her mind about going to the police or about us paying for her losses. Might keep her from running off screaming if she ever sees us again. I don't know. Maybe we should compose a couple of letters after we get the money together for the losses we caused. Send it like she did, with the payment." Rick said as he opened his door and got out. "It's a stupidly good idea. We'll just have to be careful. We can't admit to any wrong doing, not to the rape and abuse. We'll have to word it just right. Think about it and see what you come up with, I'll do the same. I'm gonna go visit Pop and see if he'll make me a loan. It won't be going to my ex and he knows I'll pay it back. You've got two grand of mine as it is. Maybe he'll hand out three for no real reason."

Jim shook his head. "Good luck, Cousin. Let me know if you need me to cover you. I'll see you on Monday when you pick me up." he said as staring out at the neighborhood beyond rather than meeting his eyes.

Rick closed the door and headed up to his apartment. A shower and clean clothes were needed before he went to see his Pops. He was fairly sure his dad was going to ask all sorts of questions when he asked for the three grand, but much to his surprise, his dad only wanted to be sure it wasn't going to the 'bitch of an ex-wife of your's' before he wrote out the much needed check. Rick swore he'd pay him back and he would even though his dad waved the promise off. He stayed and watched a ball game with his old man and drank a couple of beers before he headed back to his place for the night. When he got back, he pulled out a beat up looking yellow legal pad and set to work on an apology letter to Ms. Emma Walker of 'The Tie-Dye'.

Jim left his cousin and on the way to his house he began to stew over the whole thing. At home he got a shower and wolfed down a sandwich and some chips as it churned in his mind. After putting his dishes in the dishwasher, he pulled out his checkbook and wrote the check out to her personally. The more he thought about it, the more he stewed. Granted he'd been in the wrong, and he knew it. He wasn't completely stupid... just fucked up sometimes. He'd just had a string of bad luck with women of late. That and a lack of luck with them. Not to mention, he'd always been second to his cousin and most of the women he knew, knew his cousin too. Most times, they were more interested in getting hooked up with Rick than any real interest in Jim. Rick was oblivious these days. If he hadn't been ragging him about not dating in over a year, not getting laid in over a year, Rick probably never would've given in to his stupidly bright idea to rape the Walker woman. Had Jim been getting something in the last year he probably wouldn't have even thought about it.

"So stupid." He muttered to himself as he turned her letter over and picked a pencil out of the cup in the center of his table. He needed to come up with an apology that wouldn't admit he raped her and yet would cover his brutal behavior.

An hour later, he was in his truck headed back out to her place with the bill and check in his tee-shirt pocket his apology written and erased a couple dozen times, left behind on his desk the back of her letter erased until it was smeared with lead, nothing legible or decipherable. He was disgusted with himself and the whole ordeal and wanted it over with. It'd been bothering him for a week now anyway and he wanted... no, he needed it settled. He didn't want to wait until Monday. His cousin had always been better at things like that. Patience, looks, women, schooling. He was the 'boss' of their partnership at work. Had even gotten Jim the job. Jim was good at one thing though. Saving money. He had money. Not a lot. He wasn't rich, but he'd gotten a great deal on his place and he'd been renovating it. Planned on selling it at the end of the year before taxes were due on it again and buying him another fixer-upper. It'd be his third. He had nearly all of the money from the first house still. He was a bit of a tightwad with his money, but not if Rick needed it. Rick was more of a brother than a cousin. His best friend since they were three years old and his folks moved back down here from up state. He would've never asked another person to partner him in anything, most especially a crime.

Hell, he'd just been so tired of the brush off look from women, the long look over his cousin... Yeah, he'd been jealous. He'd always been jealous. Rick was buff, so the women say. Jim was too, just not so noticeable, he was taller but looked lanky...

"Stupid fool." Jim muttered as he turned his brights on and tried to remember where her place was again. He was on the right road. He remembered passing the gas station and then the sign for the auto repair shop, then the shop itself... was it the third speed limit sign or the second after the auto shop?

He saw it then, the third speed limit sign, just past the small creek bridge, almost miss able with all the other bridges and signs unless you remembered it was the sign with the black truck limit beneath it as well. He hung a left into her drive and wound back for a bit before having to slam on his breaks at a gated fence. He frowned as he got out to stared at the gate, thinking he'd made the wrong turn. Moving to the left into the bushes, he peered around the last clump of trees just as a massive pit bull and a German Sheppard came barreling around the same clump of trees. He caught a glimpse of her barn seconds before the pair nearly slammed into the fence, barking their heads off as if yelling at him to go away. Jim didn't hesitate when they both turned towards the left and he looked beyond to see that the fence didn't go far, just enough to block off the drive and keep cars out of her yard. He was just closing his truck door when the pair reached him. With a glare at the beasts, he backed his truck up all the way to the road and turned back towards home.

Apparently he'd have to do it Rick's way after all. Damn it!

He didn't have a good weekend. He didn't do any work around the house and he didn't go anywhere. Didn't move much from the couch in front of the television. He didn't eat much, nor did he bathe. He even slept on the sofa, leaving it only when he had to go to the bathroom. By Sunday he was a mess but was beyond caring when the doorbell rang. He looked over at the door, and thought about not answering, but then sighed and rose to at least find out who it was. A peek around the drapes beside the door and he knew he had to answer. Opening the door, he left it to swing inward as he went back over to the sofa and laid back down to watch as his cousin came in and frowned over at him.

"You look like shit." Rick grumbled as he closed the door and moved over to take a seat across from him.

"Nice to see you too, cousin." Jim muttered as his eyes went back to the TV.

Rick leaned forward and picked up the papers on the coffee table. As he did, a check fell out of the pile and he leaned down to retrieve it from the carpet as he read the name on it. "I see you didn't have any trouble writing your's out." he murmured as he noted the date on it.

"I went out to see her, to apologize in person." Jim confessed gruffly as he flicked off the TV.

Rick's head shot up and narrowed his eyes on him angrily. "What in the hell did you go and do that for!"

"Don't get your panties in a twist, I didn't see her. She's made a few changes out there. She's got dogs and a gate up across the drive now. I didn't try to go past it. Big mean looking dogs too." he said as Rick looked at the eraser mess on the back of the letter. "Did you come up with an apology for yourself?"

Nodding, his cousin tossed the papers and check back on the table and leaned back in the recliner. "Yeah." he said as he pulled the neatly folded papers out of his inner vest pocket and handed them over to him. "There's one for you there too. If you're happy with it all you have to do is sign it."

"Did your dad have a problem with the money?" Jim asked as he opened the pages and began reading.

"No. Didn't ask any questions either, after I promised it wasn't for my ex."

Jim nodded but didn't look up from his reading of both apologies. When he finally finished, he murmured, "You did great, thanks. Like you said, apology without confessing a thing other than messing up her work. When are we going to mail them?"

"In the morning sometime. We'll need to stop by the bank and deposit the money you have of mine. I've already done Dad's check and written out one for Ms. Walker. I've got envelopes and stamps already addressed to the address on the bill. All we need to do is sign these, stuff the envelopes and mail them... Jim, how long have you been sitting in here?" Rick asked as he looked at the small pile of dirty dishes and the wrinkled clothes he was wearing, not to mention his messed up hair and the deep beard.

Shrugging Jim muttered, "Most of the weekend." Before his cousin could say anything about that, he smoothed back his hair and grumbled, "We really fucked up. I really fucked up. I keep thinking about what I did to her. Not the sex, the bad stuff. I didn't think I'd feel so guilty over it."