Chapter seven
Nicole
It was coming up to the fifth night that they'd all been gone. Nicole hadn't been able to speak to Duke because she still wasn't allowed a phone, no matter how much she'd begged and pleaded. She was thoroughly pissed off. She'd spent her morning with Slam watching Bad Boys after waking up feeling nauseous and achy. She'd had yet another shit sleep. Slam had been doing his best to keep her up beat. He was what she imagined having a big brother would be like. He was protective when brothers were around that she didn't know very well, he never checked her out and while he made her laugh, he could annoy the piss out of her sometimes as well. She was sure she would have gone crazy if he wasn't there. He gave her a brief update of how things were going with the run but never any specifics. She just wanted to know how Duke was, damn it!
Nicole always thought she wanted a quiet, simple life, now she knew she wanted this. The chaos, the close friends, the constant comings and goings of brothers in and out of the compound. The sound of tail pipes growling was comforting to her now. With everyone gone, especially Duke, she felt like she was missing a limb and the quiet was driving her mad. She didn't feel whole. She was so excited for them all to come back.
******
It was late evening and she was cleaning up the kitchen, it was in shambles since the brothers left. Cereal bowls, unwashed plates and cups covered nearly every surface. She hadn't been doing her regular meals as much, she still cooked and left it for the few brothers and prospects that were there. The problem was they ate and left, leaving a garbage dump in their wake. She tackled the dishes and then the stove top which was coated in a layer of burnt food. It seemed the brothers lacked the basic skill of reheating food without it going everywhere.
While scrubbing the first cast iron burner, she heard a throat clear behind her. She turned to find Helen and four other club sluts glaring at her. They were all regulars around the compound and she had seen them servicing the brothers in the bar or out in the yard from time to time. Not many brothers felt the need for privacy to get their rocks off. Some even seemed to prefer an audience. She couldn't remember their names as she didn't spend any time with them, but she knew Helen. She was always trying to sniff around Duke, not that he paid her any attention. She always had a bitchy insult or comment for her when no one was listening. Today though was not the day to mess with her. She missed Duke, felt like crap and just wanted to curl up in bed, but the kitchen needed her attention first.
"You five sluts gonna help like you should be doing, or just stand there?" Yes she could have asked nicely, why should she though when they'd never extended the same courtesy to her? Was it petty?. Yes. Did she give a damn? No.
"You seem to think you're queen bitch here. You’re nothing but a fat skank who Duke'll scrape of his shoe when you’ve gotta leave. You're nothing, you're a quick fuck and a novelty to him. As soon as you're out the door he'll come right back to me, like he always does." Helen looked pleased with her little speech.
"Is that so?" Nicole arched one eyebrow. All the bitches started to nod their heads.
"That's so! But now we're sick of waiting, so we're here to speed things up a bit." No one else was speaking so she focused on Helen.
"Nice being Duke's fall back is it? Always sloppy seconds to someone else? You must feel so special and proud." Helen bared her teeth in anger. "And just how do you plan on making me leave?" Nicole laughed in their faces, they had no power in this club. Neither did she, but at least she wasn't delusional.
The bitches all looked at each other and a silent message seemed to pass between them. An ominous feeling spread through her. They started quickly towards her. Shit, her heart started to pound the closer they got. She had no where to go. Why hadn't she kept her fucking mouth shut? Way to go, Nicole! She backed up until she felt something at her back, stopping her from going any farther. She frantically looked at the sides for a stray knife or anything to use as a weapon. Why did she have to clean up so well?! A menacing vibe twisted around her as she faced the approaching group.
"I'd prefer you leave in a body bag but I'll settle for a stretcher." Helen's voice was barely recognisable, distorted by her fury into a feral growl. For the first time Nicole could see the club sluts as the predators they were always trying to be. She kept her gaze solely on Helen. That was her mistake.
Before Nicole could even process what Helen had snarled, she was hit on the side of the head with what felt like a rolling pin. She cried out as her vision swam and she fell to the floor. Nicole couldn't believe they'd actually attacked her. She was in shock. She rolled her body towards the kitchen cupboards as all five bitches started to pummel her back, legs and head. Nicole's front was all that was protected by the cupboards that she desperately pressed herself to. The all out fear she felt in her childhood returned ten fold. All the air left her lungs and pain enveloped her entire body as blow after blow rained down on her. She could feel blood running from her head into her eyes, her nose popped and her lip split as fists smashed into the side of her face. She could feel herself weakening, her body overwhelmed with pain and injury started to feel foreign to her. The insults and taunts being yelled were fading away as a loud buzzing filled her head. Nicole pulled Duke's smiling face from her memory and tried to focus on it. With one more kick to her head, she blacked out.
******
Nicole was roused by faint voices, she wanted to reach for them but couldn't respond or move at all. Fire swept through her already excruciating body as her arms were wrenched up. Several hands painfully dug in and locked on different parts of her body. Nails pierced her flesh as she was being dragged to god only knows where. This was it. Her body was going to be dumped and left to rot. She couldn't fight what was happening to her, her body wouldn't let her and all her mind did was play one horrific scenario after another, weakening her resolve to hold on.
"Hurry! Throw her in there and lock it. I'll call Duke and tell him we need to speak as soon as he gets back. Hopefully she'll be almost dead by then. Ain't so pretty now is she!" A cackle any witch would be proud of sounded out.
She heard Helen say more but couldn't distinguish what it was, her voice was getting farther away. A loud slam of a door being closed and the click of a lock were the last things Nicole heard before silence engulfed her.
Her body had been dropped on a cold hard floor. It felt like cement, she wasn't sure. She tried to move into a more comfortable position, off her side and onto her front, but her body wasn't cooperating. The pain was debilitating and whatever injuries she had seared into her attempted calm and left nothing but a pathetic, weeping woman behind. She could feel the cold penetrating her skin and travelling into the depths of her body, wracking her with shivers. She was going to die here. There was no one to find her. No one even looking. No hope. Tears leaked from her eyes that she couldn't fully open and her body convulsed as she suddenly vomited. The clench of her muscles forced a weak scream from her throat. She wished she could hold Duke one last time and tell him she loved him. Beg for him to love her in return. Nicole knew it was too late. It felt like forever, but eventually the darkness took her again.