The Sunshine Project Pt. 08

My orgasm fades, and I lie there with the bottle stretching me for a few minutes until I can't take it anymore. It slides out of my body and rolls to the floor, and I'm ready to pass out. I can't sleep without my shorts on though. There'd be no way to explain that to her. So I put them back on and grab a blanket from her coat closet. I have to sleep down here. Even with my release tempering all the lusty thoughts I've had of her all day, it's not safe.

We really need to have a real heart to heart tomorrow.

I lie there drifting off to sleep, hand dangling from the couch, and feel something damp against my fingers. Fuck, Shep, how did you get out? This is all I need.

Chapter 23

Cora

I have a headache and my stomach still hurts. It feels like Danny fucked me with a bowling ball, not a soda bottle. All I can do is lie here and feel sorry for myself. I don't even know what went wrong. Things were good between us until last night, and he just snapped. Lucky for me, Dean and Glenda were out to dinner when I climbed the trellis to my bedroom window and snuck in. Good thing I always leave the window unlocked for Danny to rendezvous for sex.

My phone was dead, but when I plugged it in and powered it on there were so many missed calls from Glenda--zero messages though. It's like she wants to appear to care about me but doesn't really. It was only a few days anyway, not like they had to file a missing persons report or something.

This morning I am tired. I lie in bed staring at the ceiling, feeling completely alone. I can't stay here. I can't go off to college, not with them refunding the trust fund. I can't go with Danny to school or stay at his house. All of my friends are gone away to college already or leave with in the next few days. I don't have money for a hotel or anything. The only thing I can even imagine would help is to steal those guns from Jess and pawn a few.

If I do that I can get a hotel for a few weeks maybe, until I get a job. Then, how hard could it be to find an apartment or something? I've never had to work a day in my life but I guess there's a first time for everything. Besides, if I don't do something I'll be forced to do whatever Dean and Glenda want. I don't mind the idea of college, but I'd change my major, go into criminal justice or something. It's ironic really--me wanting a degree in criminal justice while I'm thinking of stealing.

I push myself off the bed and head for my bathroom. I need to pack a bag of clean clothes and my toiletries and get out of here before they realize I'm home, but first I want a shower. So I turn on the water as hot as I can stand it and strip out of the clothing I slept in. Then I step into the flow and let the warmth relax me, but as I do I feel a sting in my pussy.

"Ow," I hiss and step back, lightly touching myself. That damn bottle had to have torn me or something. And now that I feel the urge to piss--after practically dehydrating myself--I'm afraid to. "Danny, you bastard."

I hold my breath and clench my jaw as I let the urine out of my body, stepping back into the water so at least it's diluted. It hurts like hell, but maybe that was the lesson Danny wanted me to learn. I don't know. He didn't really make sense. I don't use him or boss him around. I just know what I want, and he doesn't, so I tell him. That makes him stupid, not me bossy.

After spending an inordinate amount of time in my shower, I reluctantly turn the water off and dry my body. I hope the guns are worth enough to afford staying at the Holiday Inn, because the other dumpy places in town don't even have livable conditions. At least Holiday Inn has a few jacuzzi rooms. It'll make it feel more like vacation than a temporary living condition.

I dress and pack a bag including a few more expensive jewelry pieces I may be able to pawn off, and I sit on the end of my bed for a few minutes. Once I steal those guns there is no going back. If Jess reports them stolen, I'll have a hard time pawning them. She probably plans to take them to her stupid daycare if she hasn't already done that. If she has, I'm screwed. The security at that place is ridiculous, so people can't just walk in and take kids. There is no way I can steal them from there. Hopefully, though, she hasn't even thought of that yet. She's so torn up over Gus dying, she probably left them sit in that stupid tub covered with dust.

My hair bristles when I hear Dean shout something. I think Glenda is crying, but I don't dare go to defend her. Instead, I tiptoe to my door and open it a crack so I can hear better. He sounds angry enough to be physically violent with her, but I've never seen him strike her. I wonder if this whole nonsense with Jess and Gus dying has him worked up.

"The developers want to move now, Glenda. We don't have all day. If Cora won't get the guns, you have to. If that bitch gets the money to pay the twenty-grand we're out a ten-million-dollar contract. Do you understand? Ten million dollars."

Glenda does more crying. I'm not surprised. She cries a lot when he goes off on her. There are times when I see her with puffy eyes and bags beneath them, and I always wonder if it's because she drinks too much or that she's crying a lot when she does it. Dean's such an ass, using her as a trophy wife while he fucks the whole town, and treating her like this is awful too. It's not her fault I didn't get the guns, though I do feel bad that Glenda may suffer when they find out the guns were stolen right out from under their noses, and they don't get a red cent. But it sounds like the only thing he wants is for Jess to be broke anyway, which works to my advantage.

"I've already spoken to the lawyer. He can put a lien on her property and seize it if she doesn't pay the amount. It's completely legal." Glenda's voice comes out in blubs and huffs. "Don't you even care that our daughter isn't returning our calls? It's been days." Ah, so she does care about me; she just doesn't show it to my face.

"She made her choices. Now, you need to go to Jess's house and get the guns. Don't give her any excuses. Just walk in and take them, and if she puts up a fight, you know what to do."

I hear their bedroom doorknob turn, and I back away from mine, hugging the wall. My heart hammers in my chest, and I feel my breath catch as I squeeze into the corner of the room. Dean's footsteps stop near my door, and I silently curse myself for having opened it. I try to disappear--phase into the wall or something--as my door slowly opens. Dean is on the other side, and I know he can probably smell my shampoo and feel the steam of the shower, but I hold my breath and wait for him to walk out.

As soon as he shuts the door I nearly collapse. Half of me wants to go to Glenda and comfort her, beg her to come with me and follow my plan too. The other half of me wants to get to Jess's house before Glenda does to get those guns before her. I need the money, and so long as she's going to keep playing house with Dean she doesn't. So as soon as I hear Dean's SUV pull out of the driveway, I gather my things and climb down the trellis.

I swear I see Glenda look out her bedroom window as I fire up the T-bird and back down the driveway. They can't have this car; I won't let them steal it. They're stupid if they think I'm just going to give it back. And they're also stupid for not disabling the battery or something, because I have a key too.

It's before eight a.m. Jess is probably still in bed sleeping. Hopefully she leaves her front door unlocked like all the other trusting schmucks in this town, and I can just walk in and take them without her even knowing I was there. She lives in a pretty quiet neighborhood too, Walnut Street. It's like soccer mom central--minivans and kids' bicycles. You'd think the new American dream was to live in Celina, Ohio. And it's to my benefit that everyone is off to church by now.

I park in her driveway. There is a Jeep out front, which makes me frustrated. That blonde bitch is here. As if Jess isn't enough, Allison Enyart is the worst. Rumor has it that she's the town slut. I heard she fucked seventeen guys her senior year--seventeen. I mean, who does that? Even I haven't fucked that many guys, and that's saying something because it isn't like I haven't been invited.

I turn the car off and climb out, leaving my bag and phone on the passenger seat. There is no point in carrying it in with me. This is going to be a precision operation. In and out. No small talk, no catching up. I don't even plan to argue. I am getting my guns and leaving.

I walk to the front door and try to open it but it's locked, so I bang on it, ignoring the doorbell. It's early, and I'm sure she's still sleeping. I don't care. Maybe that will make her less of an obstacle. I stand there a few minutes before banging again. Life doesn't seem to be stirring in there, but I do hear a puppy barking. A few minutes later, the door swings open, and Allie stands there shielding her eyes from the rising sun.

"What the fuck do you want, Cora? You know it's Sunday morning? Shouldn't you be at confession?" She stands in my way, but I am not going to be stopped. I barge in past her looking for the guns.

"I came for what's mine."

"Jess!" Allie leaves the front door standing open, which is good for me. She follows me into the room as I start opening doors. The guns have to be here somewhere. "Get out, Cora. I'll call the cops."

"Good, you can tell them you took my collectible guns, and I want them back. It's written in the will, you know." I have no clue if it's actually written in the will, but I don't care. I open another closet, then move to the kitchen area as footsteps pound down the stairs.

"What's going on?" Jess sounds sleepy at first, then enraged. "What the fuck? Cora, what are you doing?"

"I'm here for my guns." There is nothing in the kitchen, so I turn to the coat closet near the back door. It's the only logical place to have them unless she's taken them to her room or something. "Where are they?"

Allie grabs my arm, and I feel her fingernails dig in. With a hard shove I shake her loose, and she slams into a kitchen chair before toppling backward over the couch. Now I know the guns are in that closet. I dart over to the door and yank it open. There they are, beautiful and all nicely packaged in the clear tub Glenda put them in. I smile at my bounty and pick them up, but as I turn to walk to the front door, Jess is there in my way.

"Move," I snap, stepping around her, and she reaches for the tub, but I wrestle it away from her prying fingers. "You can't have them. They're worth money, and I need them."

"Cora, you don't want to do that." Jess sounds fearful now, like she's worried about me or something. I pause long enough to look at her pitiful expression. Her dark hair is messy, tangled and dirty, and she wears an oversized t-shirt over her black panties.

"Don't tell me what I want. Just stay out of my way."

I don't even expect Allie to come out of nowhere. She snatches one of the guns from the tub and points it at me, and I laugh. "Oh, that's rich. I'm so scared." Turning, I continue toward the door when from behind me I see a flash of light and feel an electric jolt to my body. The tub drops from my hands, and I'm plunged into darkness as my body lurches forward. It stings and every muscle in me is tight.

What the actual fuck just happened?

Chapter 24

Jess

"Oh my God, Allie, what did you do!" I look on in horror as the pile of pink and white clothing moves around. It reminds me of that scene in the movie where the alien is moving around in the man's stomach and pops out. I keep expecting Cora's head to appear all bloody with sharp teeth and screaming.

"Fuck, Jess, she had the guns. She was going to leave."

"So you fucking shrank her?" I grab fistfuls of my hair and pull. This has gone too far. We were supposed to get rid of these things, and if Cora wants them that bad maybe she should just have them. Now she's shrunken, and even if I want to resize her and send her away, I can't. Now she knows they're not toys, and she knows we know too.

"Jess, calm down. I didn't have a choice." Allie waves the gun around in my face, and I yank it out of her hand. She looks afraid too, like she knows she shouldn't have done that, meanwhile the pile of clothes is still moving, and any second, Cora is going to emerge freaking out.

"What do we do? My God." I can't stand up anymore. I walk to the couch and sit down where Allie was sleeping. The cushion is still warm from her body having lain there all night. I cover my mouth and rock. I thought the nightmare of having someone shrunken was over. At least we know how to resize her, but I don't see a way we can given the circumstances. Allie was very well aware that we couldn't tell the cops. Cora will probably demand it. She's been assaulted.

Allie bends and pinches a bit of Cora's white blouse and picks it up gently, exposing a very dazed girl. Cora sits with her knees hugged to her chest in the center of her pink panties and capris. Her hair is frazzled, and her eyes are wide. She's shaking. I know she'll be fine, but she doesn't know that. And by the look on her face she isn't happy with us at all.

"Cora?" Allie asks, crouching next to the pile of laundry. Cora probably feels exposed. She's naked just like Allie was.

"What happened?" she asks, shaking.

"Jess, we need to get her something to stay warm. She'll go into shock like me." Allie rushes into the kitchen while all I can do is sit paralyzed, gaze fixed on the tiny woman on my living room floor.

Things are supposed to be back to normal now. I can't do this again. I stare at the shrink ray. The other guns lay scattered near the door which is still open. If Cora wanted to, she could get up and run out, but she sits there, and I swear I see tears in her eyes. I raise the gun and point it at her. I need to make this right immediately so it's not any worse than it has to be. Maybe I'll tell her she passed out. That won't explain why she's naked but what else will I say?

I close my eyes, ready to pull the trigger, and Allie walks back in with a towel. "What are you doing!" Before I can fire, she grabs the gun. "No way. She'll tell someone. You can't do that until she's calm and we have a rational discussion with her."

"What's happening?" Cora asks, now clearly crying. "What did you do to me? I'm so small."

"Shut up, Cora." We both snap at the same time.

"Allie, this is wrong. We can't do this to her."

"We have no choice. If she tells someone, we'll all be hauled off to some military research facility, and they'll experiment on us. I am not doing that." Allie puts the gun in the tub and throws the towel at Cora before slamming the front door and locking it. Then she stoops to pick up the other guns and put them back into the tote.

"And when someone reports her missing?" I stand and try to get the gun, but Allie moves the tub behind herself and firmly shakes her head at me. "Allie, this isn't okay."

"Hello! Bitches! What is wrong with me? You know Glenda is coming over here to get those guns from you. I just beat her to it. She's probably on her way right now."

I turn and look down at Cora who is now standing with the towel wrapped around her body, looking like she just got out of the shower. She isn't showing a trace of shock the way Allie did. In fact, she is just angry. What the fuck is wrong with her?

"You realize I can step on you, right?" Allie says snarkily as she picks up the final few guns and stands, holding the tote.

"Fuck you, Allie."

"You're not even the least bit surprised?" I ask, stepping back and gawking at her. I'm so confused.

"I knew you two were freaks. What sort of fucked up shit have you been doing?" She crosses her arms over her chest. "This is going to wear off, right?"

"Uh, no. I was like that more than a week until we figured out how to reverse it." Allie walks past her, and for a second, I feel afraid she really will stand on Cora. I drop to my knees and cover my face.

"I'm so sorry, Cora. I tried to warn you the guns aren't safe. GG was a military scientist--you know that. We didn't know what the guns did..." I don't even know why I'm confessing this to her right now. She doesn't even have a heart. She's as bad as her parents. If I make her normal, she'll just take the guns and run, turn me in probably.

"I wasn't kidding. I need the money from these guns. My mom is on her fucking way. If she sees me like this, you'll have hell to pay. Make me normal." Even in her vulnerable position, Cora is a complete bitch.

"She's right, Jess. Get her keys. If Glenda shows up and sees her car in your driveway, we're fucked." Allie comes back looking flustered and my shoulders sink.

"We're really doing this? We're holding her hostage until we figure out what to do with her? The cops will come looking. Glenda will report her missing. How do we hide her then? Or her car?"

"Get the fucking keys. We'll figure that out later." Allie goes to pick up Cora's pants, but Cora swings at her, pummeling her hand. Then she grabs Allie and bites her finger. "Ow, fuck!" Allie jerks her hand back quickly then reaches out and flicks Cora on the back, sending Cora tumbling a few inches away from her clothes.

I grab the pants and search the pockets to no avail. "They must be in the car. They're not here." I toss the pants back onto the carpet and watch as Allie darts to the hooks next to the door. She grabs my keys and runs to the hallway entrance to the garage while I stare at Cora.

"You're not going to get away with this, you know that. Right? You make me normal size right now, or everyone in this town is going to know what a freak you are." She walks over to me and kicks my knee as hard as she can and then hops on one foot while holding her toes. "Shit."

"Cora, you're literally eighteen inches tall. You can't hurt me." I reach down to pick her up, and she tries to bite me too, so I jerk away. "Stop it. I have to put you someplace safe. If Glenda really is coming, you're not going to like the experimenting they do on you in the lab when she turns you in."

"Fuck you, Jess. You should have just given me the guns when you had the chance. You're totally going down for this."

I stand, towering over her, and look out the picture window out front. Allie is trying to pull the told T-bird into the garage, but she pops the clutch, and the car lurches forward. I don't have time to sit here and watch her putter up the driveway, so I hurry to the laundry room and grab my hamper, carrying it back into the living room. Cora is busy trying to climb into the armchair, presumably so she can look out the window.

I freak out a little again. Cora is shrunken now. This is so fucking insane. People are going to report her missing, just like that girl ten years ago that went missing from the backroad while taking a run. I'm going to jail.

Fucking jail.

I set the laundry basket down and try to decide how to pick her up without getting bitten. I can't think straight; my mind is racing. I glance at the pile of clothing and then look back over my shoulder at the hallway as I hear the garage door shut. Allie comes in with keys in her hand jingling, and an envelope which she lays on the end table.

"What did you do with my car?" Cora snaps. "You better not have damaged it."

"Don't worry. We'll get you a Barbie car." Allie looks down at the hamper. "What are you doing?"

"She kicked me. She can't just be running around my living room. I just don't know how to pick her up and put her in there." I gesture at it, and Allie scowls and walks toward the kitchen. When she returns she's got an oven mitt. It's shaped like a shark, with little teeth around the thumb so it looks like a shark eating the pan handle when I use it.