Mind Prey

door open and leaning to the left; and behind it, a dark space, a place she really didn’t want to go. “John, you don’t want to hurt me. John,” she said. “I took care of you.”
    He thrust a finger at her. “You don’t want to talk about that. You don’t want to talk about that. You took care of me, all right, you sent me down to the fuckin’ hospital. You took care of me, all right.” He looked around wildly, then saw the beer can on the floor. He’d forgotten that he’d finished it. He came back at her. “Come on, let’s see ’em.”
    She crossed her arms over her chest. “John, I can’t…”
    And as quickly as he had before, he hit her again, open-handed, not quite as hard. When she put her hands up, he hit her again, and then again. She couldn’t block the blows, she couldn’t stop them, she couldn’t even see them coming.
    Then he was on her, slamming her back against the stone wall, ripping at her jacket, at her blouse. She screamed at him, “No, don’t, John…”
    And he swatted her again, knocked her down, pulling her hair, guiding her to the mattress, and landed on top of her, straddling her waist. She struck at him, flailed uselessly. He caught her hands, brought them together, took them in one of his, held them. She couldn’t see him very well, realized that she was bleeding, that she had blood in one eye.
    “John…” She began to weep, not believing that he could go on.
    But he did.
     
    W HEN HE WAS done, he was angrier than when he had started.
    He made her dress, as best she could—her blouse was ripped nearly in half, and he took her bra away from her—and then thrust her back in the cell.
    Both of the girls, even the small Genevieve, knew what had happened. When Andi dropped onto the mattress, they automatically curled around her and held her head, while the steel door clanged shut.
    Andi couldn’t cry.
    Her eyes had dried, or something. When she thought of Mail—not his face, not his voice, but the smell of him—she wanted to gag, and sometimes did, a reflexive clutching of her throat and stomach.
    But she couldn’t cry.
    She hurt, though. She was bruised, and felt small muscle pulls and tears, when she’d struggled and twisted against his strength. There wasn’t any blood: she checked herself, and though she felt raw, he hadn’t ripped anything.
    She was dry-eyed, stunned, when Mail came back.
    They felt something, a muffled part of the sound, vibrations from the floor above, and knew he was coming. They were all facing the door, sitting on the mattress, when the door opened. Andi tucked her skirt beneath her.
    Mail was wearing jeans, a plaid shirt, and wrap-around sunglasses, and held a pistol. He stood in the open door for a moment, then said, “I can’t keep all of you.” He pointed at Genevieve. “Come on, I’m taking you out.”
    “No, no,” Andi blurted. She caught Genevieve’s arm, and the girl pulled into her side. “No, John, please, no, don’t take her, I’ll take care of her here, she won’t be a problem, John…”
    Mail looked away. “I’ll take her out to the Wal-Mart and drop her off. She’s smart enough to call the cops and get back home.”
    Andi stood up, pleading. “John, I’ll take care of her, honest to God, she won’t be a problem.”
    “She is a problem. Just thinking about her in my head, she’s a problem.” He pointed the pistol at Grace, who flinched away. “I gotta keep her, because she’s too old and she could bring the cops back. But the kid, here—I’ll put a bag on her head and take her out to the van and drop her at Wal-Mart.”
    “John, please,” Andi begged.
    Mail snarled at Genevieve, “Get out of here, kid, or I’ll beat the shit out of you and drag your ass out.”
    Andi got to her knees and then to her feet, reached toward him. “John…”
    He stepped back and his hand came up and caught her throat, and for a half-instant she thought she was dead: he squeezed for a second, then threw her back. “Get the fuck away.” And to Genevieve: “Get out of here, kid, out the door.”
    “Wait, wait,” Andi said. “Gen, take your coat, it’s cold…” Genevieve had rolled her coat into a pillow, and Andi got it off the mattress, unrolled it, and fitted it around the child and buttoned it, kneeling, looking into Gen’s eyes.
    “Just be good,” she said. “John won’t hurt you…”
    Genevieve went like her feet were stuck in glue, and Andi called, “Genevieve, honey, ask for a policeman.