The fear poured from her core as he continued to walk around to the front of her curtains, watching her. He commanded her gaze, she didn't want to maintain it and he knew it, but he gave her no choice.
'You like him? Have a crush? A soft spot… or a wet spot… for him?' He saw her cheeks flush at his comment and he saw the truth that he already knew. She did like him. She wanted him, she wanted to kiss him and maybe fuck him. She wanted to protect him from David and confirmation of that ignited the jealous anger within him. He came to a halt three feet in front of her and prompted her for a response. 'Star?' She attempted to look away but there was no way he was going to let her get out of this one. 'You think you can speak up for him and protect him from me? That you can disclose our secret to someone again? Don't you remember what happened last time you did that?' She minutely nodded her head. 'Well, it looks like you need a reminder.' He said looking at Laddie.
'No, please no.' She said the panic rising in her voice as she stood up in a show of protection over the boy and it made him laugh. He stepped towards her and she stepped back in fear, and he walked past her and over to Laddie, tracing his index finger up the boys throat and his long fingernail under his chin. He nicked the boys skin and a trail of blood spots appeared and he watched her physical reaction to him as she began to tremble.
'If you ever say anything about drinking blood or what we are to anybody, including your new boyfriend, again, I'll slit his throat and make you watch him bleed out.' He turned to face her. 'This is your last chance.' He saw the tears welling up in her eyes and his patience hit rock bottom. 'Oh, save me the cry baby shit Star, you know the deal and what we are. I've had enough of this. I'll do what I want with him, and with you.' He rolled his eyes as he spun around to walk away, pulling out a cigarette from his jacket and searching around for his lighter. He shot up to a small cave overlooking a sliver of the ocean and he calmed himself down with his cigarette and as he inhaled and exhaled the smoke, he felt a sense of calm come over him. No matter how much Star wanted Michael, he was David's now, they both were, and he would use each to torture the other until either she killed him or Max killed her. Both prospects seemed rather appealing to him right now. He felt like he was going round and round with Star, threatening her but not following through. As frustrated and annoyed and disinterested as he had become with her, he still couldn't let her go. She was still his Star, his prized diamond and the only sparkle of beauty in the blackness of his existence. He felt the closest thing to love for her that he'd ever felt about anyone. He wasn't going to allow Max to do anything to her, nor did he really want the monster within him to do anything to her either but he did, however, want her monster to come out and play with his and he was fucked off that it was taking so long. And now there was Michael. Suddenly Dwayne appeared and landed next to him, sparking a joint and bringing him back from the recesses of his brain to the reality of the cave.
'Drop him off?' David asked a little too casually.
'Mmm-hmm.' Dwayne answered, the joint still in his mouth.
'Where does he live?' David asked.
'Out at Rancho Palos Verdes' Dwayne said, his lungs full of smoke and he passed him over the spliff. David took it and inhaled deeply watching the dark water lap against the rocks.
'Fucking Hicksville. Where are the other two?'
'Marko accidentally, deliberately bumped into Maria and Paul practically drove into the cast of belly dancers down on the Boardwalk.' David's lip curled up into a half smile.
'What about you?'
'I wanted to make sure the kid was alright.' Dwayne paused, fully alluding to the mark on his neck but David didn't bite so he tried another tact. 'What's going on with her and Michael?' He asked taking another hit, his head now getting fuzzy.
'Nothing.' David shut any hint of that conversation down. 'Michael is Max's toy, not Star's.' There was an edge to David's voice which told Dwayne that it was a sore subject and to leave it alone. David's resentment of Max for bringing Michael into their world was palpable, he was having enough problems with Star as it was without her crush now being one of them. David wasn't going to make any of this easy for Max or his new love interest, Michael's mommy.
The next night David left Star at the cave and led the boys down near the video store and parked up near the water.
'Ahhh… why are we down here?' Paul asked, pulling up next to David.
'Why? Scared?' Marko teased him.
'Fuck yeah, Max scares the shit out of me. I don't wanna piss that dude off any more than I already do.' Paul admitted. Dwayne pulled up shortly after, having dropped Laddie off at the comic book store on the Boardwalk for a while. David was still hiding the boy from Max.
'Don't worry Paul, we're not here for Max. Follow me.' David said eyeing up Max's lady love as she exited the building. David took off riding over to her and circling his bike around her, the boys following and creating a complete circle around her in the parking lot. At first she smiled at them, thinking it was fun but as they continued to trap her in their circle of death, the boys began taunting her, swerving in too close and laughing at her and she quickly became scared. Just what David wanted, for her to get a good dose of intimidation, but then as David rode around once more a pair of headlights shone at him and he looked up to see a red corvette pulling into the parking lot. David's face changed when he realised it was Max and he rode off without talking to him and the boys followed him. David rode back down towards the Boardwalk, stopping at a small hole in the wall bar to have a drink.
'Marko, get us some beers.' David ordered, veering over to a booth and he sat facing the door, half expecting an irate Max to appear. He hadn't meant for Max to see him tonight, he'd fucked up and knew Max would eventually be on his case over it.
'Are we in shit?' Paul asked him and Dwayne looked at his brother nodding.
'Fuck him.' David retorted. 'I'm sick of him telling us what to do. Time for us to leave old Max behind boys.' Marko put down the beers and David picked one up and drank it immediately.
'How we gonna do that?' Paul asked. 'He's everywhere and knows everything.' Paul drank his beer like nobody's business, obviously nervous of the repercussions that would come from what David was saying. Happy go lucky Paul wasn't so happy defying his elder.
'Leave that up to me.' David said as he picked his teeth with a toothpick and looked around his dingy surroundings.
'Does that mean I can have Maria?' Marko smiled cheekily and Paul nudged his arm laughing.
'Marko, that means we can have whatever and whoever we want.' Dwayne sat there and drank his beer thinking of what David wanted to do. It wouldn't be easy, but nothing David really wanted to do was ever easy. Max owned David, he owned all of them, but he controlled David in much the same way David controlled Star and, like Star, Max wasn't going to freely let David go. 'Dwayne, go get the little shit and meet us back at the Bluff.' David told him and he skulled his beer back, got up and left. David wanted to get back and deal with Star before he was inevitably summoned to Max's presence.
The boys got back to the cave and half way down the stairs, Dwayne lit one of his sticks he used to light the barrels with and walked with it ahead of the others. He walked into the cave entrance and abruptly stopped without actually going down into the cave. The boys piled in after him and they all stopped in the same spot once they were greeted with the same sight as Dwayne was. Star and Michael were kissing. The whole mood changed and Marko brought his hand to his mouth, eagerly awaiting David's reaction while both Paul and Dwayne looked at each other in silent dismay. What the fuck was she doing? David was genuinely surprised, it took a lot to surprise David, and he almost laughed but he found nothing funny about the scene playing out in front of him. Fuck, Max was right, it was just one thing after another with her. Suddenly they stopped kissing and looked up at their audience and Star instantly pulled back and away from Michael, her face visibly dropping with the realisation she'd been caught. Michael, however, stood there as cunt struck as any man could get.
'Not interrupting anything, I hope?' David's question was sarcastically leading yet rhetorical and he could practically see her mind scrambling as she looked at him and the boys behind him. He stepped down onto the cave floor and he stared directly into her soul as he walked between Michael and her, shoving Michael aside with his shoulder. Her eyes followed his and her anxiety filled the room.
'I just pierced his ear for him.' She said apprehensively and David's eyes flicked over to the gold coin dangling from Michael's ear then back to her. You could cut the tension with a knife.
'And piercing ears involves your tongue in his mouth now, does it?' David slated her excuse. He was ready to rip both of their heads off regardless of what Max wanted. 'Funny, I don't remember you doing mine that way. Dwayne, she do it that way with you?' Dwayne had moved down and now stood next to Michael shaking his head and with the look on Michael's face, Dwayne was doing a fine job of making the kid feel more than a little uncomfortable.
'What about yours Paul?' Paul remained standing in the entrance way with Marko to inhibit any kind of escape.
'Nah bro, not mine.' Paul chuckled.
'No. You must be special Michael. Is Michael special Star?' David pushed her harder and all their eyes were on her, including Michael's. He watched her look over to Michael and quickly back at him and she shook her head but he saw more in her eyes than her gesture portrayed. David maintained her eye contact and calmly impressed upon her exactly how much trouble she was really in but all he could do right now was taunt her while Michael was still there and he'd deal to her once he'd dealt with Michael. That's when he thought of the tracks, they hadn't played out on the tracks in over a year and it was time to scare the shit out of the kid. 'I'll deal with you later.' He glared at her as he silently told her. 'Well… sorry to break up this little party but we've got to go Michael. We're going someplace.' He watched as they looked at each other. 'Oh don't worry,' David said, 'she'll be here if you come back.' His eyes slid to hers and he laughed at her expression and he left. 'We're going to the tracks.' David projected to the boys as they exited the cave and their collective energy picked up. They all mounted their engines and Paul enthusiastically led the pack out to the bridge. The fog was thick as they arrived and it made for the perfect atmosphere for David to execute his plan. They parked their bikes off to the side of the lines and shut them off. They got off and walked along the tracks and David looked around approving of his surroundings and his heart thumped in, what he assumed to be, semi excitement. 'Perfect timing.'
'What's going on?' Michael innocently asked, confused as to what they were doing there.
'Michael wants to know what's going on.' The boys laughed at David's comment, adding to Michael's confusion. 'Marko, what's going on?'
'I don't know. What's going on Paul?'
'Wait a minute, who wants to know?' Paul stumbled along the railway trestle, playing the game.
'Michael wants to know!' Dwayne answered him and Paul laughed. David put his ever domineering arm around Michael's shoulders and guided him to where he wanted him to be.
'I think we should let Michael know what's going on.' David said staring at him.
'Yeah…' Paul agreed and David spun Michael around to look at Marko.
'Marko?' They stood and stared at Marko.
'Good night Michael.' Marko said waving at him and he stepped off the bridge and David watched with glee and laughed at Michael's shocked expression.
'Bottoms up man.' Paul clicked his fingers and howled like a wolf as he followed Marko down. Dwayne was next and, being the man of little words he was, he just pointed at Michael and disappeared. David turned to face Michael.
'Come with us Michael.' He coerced him then he took his step off the edge. They all hung onto the underside of the bridge and Michael's face soon appeared looking down at them. Paul and Marko were trying to kick each other and they were all hooting and laughing. This was a game they loved to play.
'Hey Michael!' Paul yelled.
'Michael Emerson! Come on down!' David laughed, knowing Michael couldn't resist proving he was as brave as they were and could do anything they could and, sure enough, he did.
'Way to go Michael!' Marko yelled and Dwayne cheered him on.
'Welcome aboard Michael!' Paul taunted him laughing, knowing what was coming, as both he and Dwayne swung from one hand to the other.
'Fun huh?' David's tone was dark as the train was heard above them.
'How do you like it?!' Paul screamed just as the trains horn drowned out almost all of their noise. David faced Michael as he hung and he looked up and smiled as the train began to rumble above them and, as if on cue, Michael began to panic.
'Hold on!' David yelled at Michael.
'Jesus Christ!' Michael was totally freaking out and Paul looked over at him laughing, the force of the train beginning to rock him roughly backwards.
'Yeah…' Paul laughed and he let go.
'JESUS CHRIST!' Michael looked on in horror as Paul fell out of sight and into the mist below.
'Don't be scared Michael!' Marko yelled before he too dropped off the bridge. Dwayne was hanging on with one arm now and he didn't address Michael as he let go, only he more floated down into the white abyss leaving David with Michael.
'Michael! You're one of us! Let go!' David yelled to him.
'I'll do what?!' Michael was incredulous and he looked at David like he was crazy.
'You are one of us Michael!' David repeated.
'Wha?' Michael mouthed and David took a deep breath in and silently let go.
'DAVID!' Michael screamed as David was swallowed by the mist below him and he was left all alone. David landed just down from the bridge in the dry river bed next to the boys, who were all hollering for Michael to drop. David joined them by projecting into Michael's mind saying his name over and over again and laughing at him. The train had now gone yet Michael still hung there and this surprised David, but then he saw him fall. He yelled and screamed as he dropped like a stone and the boys went quiet watching to see what David was going to do. David just wanted to let him fall, to watch him explode as he hit the ground but suddenly Max was in his head.
'You let him hit the ground, you'll find Star's head on the lobby desk in your cave, then you'll be next.' Little did Max know that David was as pissed with her as much as he was with Michael, but he did know that she was the one person David would protect and David took off. He flew to intercept the falling body like a dark superman and caught him in his arms and Michael had passed out. He off loaded him to Marko and told him to take him home, which Marko did, while he and the other boys flew back up to get their bikes. The sun wasn't far off and they needed to get back so David told Marko they'd meet him back at the cave and they all headed off. The boys arrived back and, upon entering the cave, David looked over at Star's bed and he locked eyes with her for a few seconds but he was too tired and realised he wasn't in the mood to confront her tonight. She could wait in fear for her come-uppance until tomorrow night and he continued to walk out the back with Paul and Dwayne following him. He hung upside down thinking of Max and of his plans for Michael and it dawned on him that Michael could be David's way out. Once Michael and his brother were in the 'family,' Max would become enamoured with them and David and his boys would fall out of favour. This could actually work for him. He heard Marko come in and hook up next to him and David closed his eyes.