Free Sunset Strip: A Tale From The Tome Of Bill by Rick Gualtieri Page B

told me of experiences similar to this.
    I remembered how Jeff had produced a vial of white powder and then helped himself to a line of it across my bare breasts. I was so caught up in the moment that I’d also indulged. At the time, it had turned me on wildly. Now I wondered what the hell had been in it. It had either been spectacularly good coke, or horrifically bad.
    That had to be it. I was in the middle of a goddamned drug trip.
    The whole mess with Jeff must’ve been some fucked up hallucination. There was no other explanation. Speaking of which, I looked about. He was nowhere to be seen.
    “Hello?” I tentatively called out. My voice slurred a bit. Something about my mouth felt odd. Hell, my whole body felt... off .
    No answer came. I was alone in the room.
    “Son of a bitch had his way then left,” I muttered, not entirely surprised. Served me right too, falling for his bullshit. “Congratulations, Lucinda. You’ve just been some dickhead’s one night stand. With your luck, you’re probably pregnant.” I let out a bitter laugh.
    Wouldn’t that be something? I’d left home, tired of listening to my father’s bullshit insistence that women were meant to be barefoot and pregnant. Wouldn’t it be ironic to return home in that state? I’m sure once Linda heard about it she’d be twice the smug bitch she usually was.
    I shook my head. I was getting way ahead of myself. Still, I didn’t feel quite right. The room was still way too bright and now I found myself oddly hungry...very hungry, as a matter of fact.
    Oh no, maybe I was pregnant after all. Tears welled up in my eyes as I glanced down at myself, imagining my body with a belly big with child.
    That’s when I saw all the blood.
    * * *
    It was all over the bed and all over me. How the hell hadn’t I noticed it? As I stared at the previously white bed sheet, an insane urge came over me. I wanted to put it into my mouth and suck it dry. Hell, I even found myself leaning toward it before realizing what I was doing.
    Jesus Christ, what the hell did he drug me with?
    Or did he?
    I remembered the nightmare. Him pinning me down, forcing himself on me just before his eyes turned black. The horrific sensation of having my throat ripped out, of trying to scream but being unable to make any noise above a pained gurgle. After that, it had all gone black.
    I immediately reached up to touch my neck, fearing that I’d feel the bloody grizzle of torn flesh. That made no sense , a small voice in my head insisted - after all, I was still able to speak. There was no wound, not even any pain. It did feel oddly tacky, though. I pulled my hands away and looked down. Unsurprisingly, they were covered in blood. I was forced to assume it was mine.
    A scream bubbled up in my throat. I quickly cupped my hands over my mouth, knowing that kind of ruckus would attract attention. If found in this manner, I would be questioned...hell, I might even be arrested. A girl abandoned in a hotel room wasn’t exactly out of the ordinary in this city. The blood, though, was bound to attract some attention.
    The blood ...
    Against all good sense, I began licking my fingers.
    I should have been reviled. I mean, who wouldn’t be? Sane people didn’t do things like that...not even in this city. Instead, my body shuddered as if in the grip of an orgasm - a pretty damn intense one, I might add. Before I knew it, I was sucking on my fingers as if they were covered in the nectar of the gods. I couldn’t stop myself. I had to get every last drop. I had to...
    “Ow!”
    I pulled my hand from my mouth to find a nasty puncture on one finger. I stared as blood welled from it for a moment, then my eyes opened wide in surprise as I watched the wound close.
    That did it. The spell was broken. Before I found myself licking the sheets clean, I bounded out of the bed, my body feeling surprisingly nimble. I walked into the bathroom and turned on the light.
    The reflection in the mirror was me...yet not me.