You Promised Me Geeks

"Would I," the words slow, pauses, "been like him? If she'd, you know..."

"Ah, no, girl," he said gently as he stopped in front of her, "you'd have been... different, but mostly still you. This... is... special. Now, let me see your face."

She removed the peas. Her left eye was swollen closed, horribly swollen, her entire cheek to her temple, to her hairline, her jawline, black, blue, purple, terrible red.

"This'll hurt," he steadied her head with his right hand, touched her cheekbone with his left, palpated very carefully to her jaw, she winced, but kept her open eye on him although it might end up closed as well.

"Bones broken, YOU will need a doctor. Ok, ice."

She put the peas back, smiled slightly. He nudged her right arm, went to her shirt hem.

"Are you like her? Do you feed?"

"Not exactly," he answered, pressed the bruise he found on her lower left ribs, she moaned, "I, do pain. Other's pain. But I've found ways to avoid doing the worst."

"Brandi, the sorority bimbo."

"Yes," he chuckled, "and a couple others. But we've not found a way for Asha to get around her need. She limits, tries not to take too much from any one. Couple cracked ribs."

"You a doctor?"

"No. Like I said, I do pain. I know how, where to hurt you, maim you, kill you. To break or just bend. What kicked this off? He's the guy been after you, right? She told me a little."

"Dinner, suggestive talk. Then Asha," she winced as he dropped her shirt and guided her arm back, "told him 'ok, big man, time to fuck me so I know you can handle Tracy.' He told her to 'fuck off, I don't do sluts', she said, I think, 'you only want virgins who don't know how shit you are.'"

Aron laughed lightly, nodded.

"That's when he punched her in the face," Tracy continued, "she laughed, said 'that all you got,' he went for her neck. That's when I used that super heavy vase she'd put his flowers in, walloped him, made him release her. Jumped him, bit him, he pushed me off, that was when he got me in the ribs."

Aron raised an eyebrow.

"Asha punched him in the chest, I think that's when he kicked her or something, not sure. I got him with my pepper spray, he screamed, got me in the face. Hell of a right."

"That knock you out?"

"No, sent me backwards, but I stood."

"Shit, girl, Tracy," he looked at her with awe, then at the big, solid man on the floor, "you can take a punch. Remind me to never get on your bad side."

Tracy laughed, moaned in pain, closed her eye, her mouth open. Calmed herself.

"Don't laugh."

"That's when Asha made a sound, a scream... I hope I never hear that again... Jumped on him, wrapped arms and legs, got her mouth on his. They spun around, that's when he slammed her into the wall. But she never let go."

"Yeah, once she's locked on..."

"He went down, I could see one eye... like a sink draining. At the end, she sat up, looked at me. Smiled. Said 'Aron be here in a minute lover, it's over.' She crawled over there, laid down. I found these peas."

"Ok, wait here," he said, "Asha told me about his LTD, found it three blocks away, he didn't want it close to here. I'll come back, get you somewhere you can get help."

"Aron, hey," she said, "what will they see, with him, a doctor?"

"What? Oh. Well, if she'd done you, no one would find anything," he squatted, put his hand on Jed's head, "but this one, like a stroke, nothing but mush in there now."

"Ok, then," Tracy closed her eye, opened it, "there's a path near the dorm, lots of trees, bushes, really pretty in the day. They tell us not to go at night, dark areas, people been attacked."

She paused, gathered herself in the pain. Aron searched jeans pockets, pulled out a set of car keys.

"But I'm a stupid, stupid girl. The RAs and my friends, they all know about him and me. The police have tried to get him for other girls. Nothing. But I was stupid, couldn't sit inside, went for a walk. He jumped me, dragged me there. Beat me to shit, I fought back, bit him. His knuckles are marked, will fit my wounds. Then, he grabbed his head and dropped to the ground, smashed his face on the pavement."

Aron stood, walked to Tracy, put his hand lightly on her left shoulder.

"I crawl to the dorm, get police, all that. I turned twenty-one early October, I have student health insurance, I'll tell 'em not to call my parents so they can't. I'll explain to them later. The RAs will yell at me, but with Thanksgiving then finals coming, I'll just be the latest 'did you hear' tale. If that."

Aron put his nose to her head, inhaled deeply, then kissed her softly at the hairline. Stood, smiled.

"Huh?"

"Just double-checking you're not one of us. That's beyond devious."

"You haven't read much human history, have you?"

He snorted. Stood a step away from her. Looked to her left, bent down and picked up the tube of pepper spray.

"Can you walk?"

She stood, balanced took a couple of slow steps.

"Ok, drop this out on your path, sit back," he slid the pepper spray into her jeans pocket as she nodded, helped her sit, "I'll go get his car, bring it here. I'll haul him out, know a spot we could park it? Dark, not obvious, but close?"

She nodded, smiled as much as she could.

"I'll carry him in, drop him on his face. Then it'll be your show. Up to it?"

"Fuck yeah," the battered and bruised girl said. Aron smiled and walked toward the door.

"Aron..."

He paused, turned.

"She told me she'd eat my pussy, make me feel like I've never felt. Will she remember?"

"Trust me," a raised eyebrow, "she will NOT forget that."

"Good. She also told me she'd find me some good boys, ones who can take care of a virgin. I haven't been good at finding them on my own."

"Neither of you will be doing any of that for a few weeks," he said, "but she'll come through."

"I've waited twenty-one years, a few more weeks won't hurt. Hey..."

He waited, looked at her.

"I know she likes geeks like me, my friends, to feed... she's beautiful, body men kill for... sex toys like...," the girl tried to laugh, winced sharply, "she's fucking a new boyfriend. She sucked a man's brain out... She'll help me rock my world... But."

Aron nodded, confirmed all she'd said.

"She's the biggest geek girl on campus, isn't she?"

Aron laughed, a joyous laugh. First time in a long time.

"The hunted has become the hunter," he said with admiration.

The joy of victory, the twinkle of anticipation, her single visible eye glittered like a jewel. That last doubt he'd had that she might betray them popped like a soap bubble. He nodded at her, opened the door and stepped out, pulled it closed quietly as the girl, the toughest girl he'd ever met, sat and smiled in spirit, her face unable to do the same, a package of half-thawed peas against her face.