CHAPTER 7
Riley's POV
No matter how nerve-wracking that performance had been, it had been worth it. The owner had been so impressed he had paid me over two month's rent!
Back home, in that little eight-hundred square foot house, I finally changed back to myself. I peeled a perfect layer of latex skin to reveal my own face, scar and all. A few makeup wipes and a hairbrush later I was nearly back to my old self. The only thing that remained of my performance as Katy Sanguine was the dress.
I inhaled sharply. I didn't like to look at myself, but especially not my naked body. As I slowly pulled off the dress I remembered why.
I was covered in scars. Hundreds upon hundreds of scars laced together to create one huge wall of scar tissue that rippled as I moved. It rarely hurt anymore, but the memories... I put my head between my knees to ward off a panic attack.
They make you look cool, said the Voice.
They make me look like I lost a fight to a cactus.
I shook the Voice from my mind and took a shower, letting the sting of the hot water take up the majority of my attention. After showering I changed into a clean sweatshirt and sweatpants and collapsed back-first onto my bed. I stared up at the ceiling. Pushed into the ceiling with mismatched thumbtacks was a postcard from Dallas, Texas. I extended my arm up, like I was attempting to touch it, then curled my hand into a fist and let it thud back onto the lumpy mattress.
Still upset about that? It was five fucking years ago, kid.
I rolled onto my stomach and buried my face in my pillow.
"I know," I groaned. "That's not something you get over. Ever."
But didn't it feel good? Don't you want to feel that power again?
"Why are you even here?"
To tell you what you want. You know you want it.
"I don't want it, you freak of nature."
Oh, really? I think you'll change your mind soon enough.
The Voice went into what could only be described as its nightly period of "sleep mode." With it gone I tried to forget everything it had said and just focus on my breathing, the ticking of my clock, and the way my head sunk into the pillow. But my mind kept wandering back five years and sending shivers down my spinal column.
There was no way I was going to sleep that night.
