68 Kill by Bryan Smith

Author:Bryan Smith [Smith, Bryan]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Bitter Ale Press
Published: 2013-06-25T04:00:00+00:00

20.

Chip took the Pontiac back out to the interstate. Rather than heading back to the city, he took the eastbound exit and got on I-24 heading toward Chattanooga. He didn’t have a particular destination in mind. It just felt important to put more distance between themselves and the location of the events that had set them down this strange path. Violet either understood his intentions or simply did not care. She closed her eyes shortly after they hit the interstate and fell into a fitful sleep.

Chip kept stealing glances at her as he drove. She slept slumped down in her seat and twisted to one side, with her head resting against the window. Though she was sound asleep, Chip got a clear impression of a troubled mind. Every now and then she would flinch as if in fear of something and several times she uttered the word “no”. It was the only word she said as she slept, but the inflection of it varied greatly, ranging from an emotionless monotone to a fragile cry of terror. There was no visible trace of the wanton hellion he’d fucked a short while ago.

He felt pangs of guilt as he watched her, wondering whether the inner distress she was experiencing was a direct result of her hours of captivity in the Pontiac’s cramped and dirty trunk, which was the kind of thing that would traumatize just about anyone. In addition, she’d been assaulted and threatened. Chip winced as he remembered the dull clang of the heavy lamp base connecting with her head. That blow had been almost as brutal as the ones he’d dealt to Liza’s head, but, so far as he could tell, she was suffering no aftereffects at all.

But maybe she did have a concussion and was just exhibiting her symptoms in a different way. Her behavior was erratic and inappropriate for a kidnapping victim. Wasn’t it possible that was a direct result of the physical trauma she’d endured? He wasn’t a doctor. He had no idea whether a concussion could cause a drastic personality change. He also knew nothing of Violet’s life or what she had been like prior to tonight. Maybe she had always been a weird chick. But, yeah, he certainly couldn’t rule out the head injury as an explanation for her odd behavior. And if his hunch was right, it meant he’d taken advantage of a girl not in her right mind for sexual gratification. He’d felt pretty low at various points throughout the night, but this possibility represented his nadir. His self-image could go no lower. And it didn’t matter that her behavior had incited and inflamed him. He should have known better, should have had better self-control.

He shook his head.

This was all a bunch of Monday morning quarterbacking. He’d been too in the moment while those things were happening and unable to see past that moment. He’d experienced no small amount of trauma of his own over the course of the night. Which didn’t fully excuse his misdeeds, but at least there was some kind of reason he could point to for them.

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