Friday Night Lights - "The Door's Open, But The Ride, It Ain't Free", Tim/Julie, R
Title: The Door's Open, But The Ride, It Ain't Free
Author: lindentree
Rating: R
Warnings: Dubcon, violence, allusions to rape
Character(s): Tim/Julie, Guy Raston (aka the Crazy Meth Dealer)
Word Count: 3,697
Summary: Finding her stuck at a party in the middle of nowhere, Tim offers Julie a ride home. His offer has dire consequences for them both, because his former roommate is looking for him, and Guy Raston doesn't mess around.
Notes: Takes place during 2x13 "Humble Pie". This was written for cliche_bingo, for the "fuck or die" prompt on my card. Doing "fuck or die" in a universe where "aliens made us do it" is unfeasible required a venture into dark territory, so I would like to be very clear about the fact that this fic contains dubcon/forced sex, allusions to rape, and violence. Please, please do yourself a favour and do not read this fic if you have any trigger issues whatsoever with regards to the above. Additionally, the title was taken from "Thunder Road" by Bruce Springsteen.
Thanks to the_wanlorn as always for the helpful and supportive beta. ♥
One thing Tim could never figure out was why things he did which seemed like good things, smart things, the sorts of things Jason Street might do, seemed to end so badly. Why did it always turn out wrong?
He was at a party in the back of beyond, past the abandoned oil wells on the eastern edge of town. The party was hosted by someone looking yet again to make a buck off the recklessness and boredom of small town kids. Most of Dillon showed up, and the party raged long into the night.
Tim had felt distracted most of the evening, worrying about how he and Billy were going to come up with three grand to repay Guy, the meth dealer. Not for the first time, Tim wished he’d listened to his brother and left the money where he found it. But how would they have paid the mortgage, otherwise?
Around the time he began to grow weary of the party, he spotted Julie Taylor through the throng of people. She looked miserable, standing alone next to a bonfire, absently kicking at the dirt with one foot. He meandered over and asked her where her date was. Julie smiled ruefully and rolled her eyes.
“I got a ride with a girl from my English class, but she’s over there,” she said, gesturing disdainfully towards a brunette keeping herself busy with a guy Tim recognized from school. “So I’m stuck.”
Julie peered at him in the flickering light of the fire, squinting. "What happened there?" she asked, pointing at the gash on his forehead where Guy had headbutted him.
"Oh," Tim replied, looking down self-consciously. "Kinda got into it with someone the other day. It's no big deal."
Julie frowned as though she wanted to say something more, but she didn't.
"So," Tim said, clearing his throat. "Are you stranded, or what?"
"Pretty much," Julie replied, glancing again at her ride, who was still hanging all over her companion. "Unless she impulsively decides to stop swapping spit with what's-his-name."
“Want a ride?”
Julie regarded him, uncertain. “Are you sure? You don’t have to.”
“I was gonna get out of here, anyway. Party’s lame. Come on.”
Julie smiled gratefully and followed him to his truck. They were only twenty minutes down the long dirt road when the truck began to list and bump roughly.
“Damn it,” Tim swore, checking his mirror and pulling over to the side of the road. “It’s a flat. Mind giving me a hand?”
“Of course not,” Julie replied, pulling her denim jacket around herself and hopping out of the truck.
She held the flashlight while Tim worked, and he’d managed to jack the truck up and remove the old tire when he heard a distant rumble. He looked up to see a pair of headlights coming down the road toward them at a leisurely pace.
“Someone’s comin’,” he murmured, squinting at the oncoming headlights. The road they were on was a genuine back road, only used if you knew the Dillon area well and liked to keep a low profile. “Must be from the party.”
“I guess so,” Julie said, a stifled yawn in her voice. “Almost done?”
“Yeah,” Tim replied, glancing up once more. The lights were closer, and the vehicle they belonged to had slowed considerably. “Just need to get the spare on.”
The vehicle pulled over to the other side of the road about twenty feet away from them then, and Tim got a brief glimpse of a pickup truck before the headlights died as the engine was turned off. Tim stood, shielding his eyes against the glare of his own headlights to try to get a look at the driver in the darkness.
“Hey,” he called tentatively, feeling the weight of the lug wrench in his hand. Julie turned to look, her hand still pointing the flashlight downwards.
“Howdy,” returned a voice, over the sound of two truck doors slamming. “How’s big Timmy Riggins?”
Tim’s stomach sank at the sound of Guy’s voice.
“I’m all right,” Tim replied hollowly. Guy walked to the middle of the road, into the light cast by Tim’s headlights. Julie was silent, glancing curiously between the two men. From the darkness emerged one of Guy’s friends who Tim recognized from the night he took off and ended up outside the Taylors’.
“That’s great,” Guy said, smiling widely at Tim. “So, where’s my three grand?”
“Yeah,” Tim said, stepping away from his truck and Julie, “About that...”
“You have it, right?” Guy interrupted, side-stepping Tim to get a look at Julie. Tim’s hand tightened apprehensively around the wrench. He had long since figured out that while Guy seemed laidback, he was actually very tightly wound and impulsive. “Because I want that money now, Tim, and I really don’t want to hear any excuses about why you don’t have it. You get what I’m sayin’?”
“I have it,” Tim lied, “But I don’t have it on me right this minute, so maybe we could -"
“Who’s this, anyway?” Guy interrupted again, nodding at Julie and then looking up at Tim. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”
“Yeah,” the other man said. “You gonna introduce us?”
“Look, just - just leave her out of it, all right?”
“Your mama never taught you no manners, football star,” Guy replied, laughing. “How am I supposed to talk to her if you won’t even tell me who she is?”
“Maybe she doesn’t want to talk to you,” Julie piped up. Tim turned to see her standing with her arms crossed over her chest, an annoyed expression on her face.
“She’s sassy!” Guy laughed, turning back to Tim. “I like ‘em sassy.”
Tim’s mind raced as he tried to figure out what to do. He had no money to give Guy - after gas and beer today, he had about five bucks in his wallet. He certainly didn’t have three grand in his back pocket. He was sure Julie wouldn’t have enough cash on her to satisfy him. He was outnumbered, and the only weapon he had was the lug wrench in his hand, which wasn’t much.
“Why don’t you put that down?” Guy said, nodding at the wrench as though he were able to hear Tim’s thoughts. Tim watched as Guy pulled his handgun out of the waistband of his pants and let it hang limply in his right hand. “I have a pretty good idea of what you’re planning to do with that.”
“Come on, man. I don’t have the money on me right now,” Tim repeated as he slowly placed the wrench on the ground and kicked it aside, “But if you come with me to my place, Billy and I have all your money.”
“I’ll bet you do,” Guy smiled. “The two of you are just the finest, most upstanding boys in town, aren’t you?”
“A hundred percent trustworthy,” the other man guffawed.
Guy turned once again to look at Julie, and there was a strange pause where he just stared at her and smiled.
“Tell you what,” he said, not taking his eyes off her. “I think I’m having an idea, here. How about I fuck your little girlfriend, and my buddy Petey here, too, and then you just owe me two grand.”
Tim’s stomach twisted. He wanted to tell himself that Guy was bluffing, that he wouldn’t, but he didn’t believe it. He watched as the bravado drained out of Julie’s expression, replaced by pale fear.
“I said leave her out of it,” Tim said, trying to keep his voice steady. “Why don’t we just head back to my place and we’ll work this whole thing out.”
“Why don’t you shut your fucking mouth, pretty boy?” Guy spat, not taking his eyes off Julie’s face. “I’m trying to talk to this sweet young thing.”
“Leave her alone,” Tim repeated, taking a step closer.
“What, you jealous? Can’t stand your girl talking to another guy? That’s right, I forgot. You’re the big man on campus. The ladykiller,” Guy laughed, looking over at Tim. He glanced at Julie, then back at Tim again. “Why don’t you fuck her, and we’ll just watch?”
Tim swallowed. “What?”
“I said I want you to fuck her, and we’ll watch.”
Tim couldn’t look at Julie, whose frightened eyes he could feel on his face. Moving without much of a plan in mind, he took a step towards Guy, who immediately struck out with his fist. Tim felt the butt of the gun connect sharply with his forehead, and he went down hard.
“What?” Guy hissed, standing over him. “You think you’re gonna be the big hero?”
Tim wheezed as Petey delivered two sharp, sudden kicks to his stomach. He watched, almost detached, as Guy lifted his handgun and scratched it against his own temple as though he were deep in thought.
“Maybe I’ll just bust up your kneecaps, then,” he said. “That might get my point across. Or we could find out how good my aim is, see if I can’t take out an eye without killing you, you know? Do you think I could do that, Tim?”
“Go ahead and shoot me,” Tim said, standing up slowly and carefully touching the angry cut on his forehead, from which blood was beginning to seep.
“Fine,” Guy smiled, shrugging. He lifted the handgun again and pointed it in Julie’s face. “If that don’t work, I’ll just blow her brains out.”
Julie let out a sound somewhere between a moan and a cry, flinching away from the gun, her back against the driver’s side door of Tim’s truck.
“You messed with the wrong guy, Riggins,” Guy said as he brushed the muzzle of the gun against Julie’s cheek. “Now I’m gonna mess with you.”
Tim could feel panic setting in. He believed every one of Guy’s threats completely, knowing the man wasn’t beyond shooting one or both of them, possibly to kill. He imagined Coach and Mrs. Taylor’s faces if Julie got hurt, if he let anything happen to her. He imagined trying to explain how this had happened, how he had let this happen. He knew that no matter what, he had to prevent Guy from touching her.
“Don’t,” Tim said. “I’ll do anything you want, just leave her be.”
Guy’s arm slowly lowered as he regarded Tim, his eyes bright with malice.
“Right on, cowboy,” he said. “I want you to fuck her, right here. For real.”
Tim glowered at Guy, wanting to ask why, not understanding the purpose of this sick game.
“What, you don’t wanna fuck your girl?” Guy asked, off Tim’s expression. “This pretty little blonde thing? She’s mighty cute, cowboy, but if you ain’t interested, I got a feeling Petey is, and I ain’t exactly picky if you know what I’m sayin’.”
Tim turned slowly to Julie, stepping between her and the other two men, hating himself for the way she flinched as he did so. Guy and Petey moved a few feet back, muttering and laughing to themselves, but Guy maintained his presence in the way he constantly clicked the hammer on his gun, playing with it.
Julie looked up at Tim, her eyes wide with fear. Tim felt every inch that he towered over her, caught between feeling as though he was shielding her from the two men, and as though she ought to be shielded from him.
“What are we going to do?” she mouthed at him, her voice not even a whisper.
Tim just stared at her, hating to meet her eyes but unable to look away.
She frowned, staring back. Realization dawned and her eyes welled with tears. “No,” she whispered, shaking her head slightly.
Tim couldn’t find any words to say to her, couldn’t figure out how to get them both out of here without Guy specifically going after her just to fuck with him. Instead, he settled for trying to communicate with his eyes that somehow, everything was going to be okay.
“What are you two doing?” came Guy’s voice from a few feet behind Tim. “I ain’t got all day. I hate waitin’.”
Tim screwed his eyes shut, casting his mind about desperately for an escape, trying to buy as much time as possible.
“Did you hear me, cowboy?” Guy was suddenly behind him, his voice loud and vicious. He pressed the gun against the back of Tim’s head, and he had to struggle not to cry out in fear. A sharp kick to the back of his knee caused him to shove into Julie, pressing her against the truck. “I’m not hanging around some piece of shit back road to watch you two fucking stare at each other.”
Breathing hard and carefully standing back up on his injured leg as Guy released him, Tim stared down into Julie’s panicked face.
“Please don’t do this,” she whispered, holding her hands up against him defensively.
“I’m sorry,” he said, pressing her against the truck with his body as gently as he could, hoping she might see the gesture as protective rather than as an assault. She whimpered, a little sob escaping her throat. Tim could hear the two men behind them shuffling their feet in the dirt and mumbling to one another.
Julie didn’t struggle, didn’t even try, she just stood there stunned and gaping as Tim lifted her against him and reached up under her skirt, shoving her underwear aside. Tim took her boneless hand and placed it against his crotch, closing his eyes tightly and trying to think of something, anything, that might spur him along and end this nightmare just a little sooner.
Unfortunately, with Julie squeezed between him and his truck, all he could really think of was Julie, a rare girl for whom his feelings had nothing to do with wanting to get her into bed. Squeezing his eyes shut again, he thought of the night he brought her home from the party and she had tried to kiss him. He nudged his imagination in a direction he had not allowed it to venture before, and wondered what would have happened if Coach hadn’t been there, and he had leaned into her instead of pulling away.
Tim burned with shame as the thought made him hard.
Furious and sick, he began to tentatively rub his fingers against Julie, slowly running a finger against her clit before curving it gently up inside her. Julie pitched forward and leaned her head against his shoulder her whole body shuddering. Tim felt an ugly sense of relief and horror when he began to feel moisture against his hand.
“Please,” Julie whispered into his ear, her voice tear-filled. “The other one has a shotgun. Just get it over with.”
“Don’t look at them,” Tim replied softly against her neck, as he struggled to hold her carefully against the truck and unfasten his pants. “Close your eyes.”
Nothing in Tim’s young life could match the hatred he felt when moments later, as he pushed inside Julie and she cried out in pain, Guy guffawed from behind him and muttered a lewd, “Nice.”
“I’m gonna kill him,” Tim murmured, almost to himself. He was surprised when he felt Julie’s hands gently grip his shoulders. He looked up and she said softly, her voice shaking, “Don’t be stupid. He’s got a gun.”
Tim cushioned Julie’s head against the truck with his hand, leaning in closer. Nauseated, he tried to think of something, anything, that he could focus on to move things along; obviously having sex in front of two hillbilly meth addicts made him go totally cold. Trying to ignore the men behind him and the disgust he felt, Tim focused instead on the way Julie's body felt pressed into his, her heart pounding, her breath ruffling his hair as she clung to him, gripping his shirt in two tight fists. He looked up to see Julie watching him closely, her face unreadable, her dark eyes huge and bright even in the darkness. He came with a quiet grunt of unwanted pleasure, the thought of using protection only occurring to him then, when it was already much too late.
Tim panted harshly into Julie’s hair, resisting the lump that had risen in his throat. Distantly he heard Guy shuffle his feet in the dirt and move towards his own truck. “Hey superstar,” he called, as both men climbed in and slammed their doors. “You still owe me three grand.”
They stayed that way, leaned up against Tim’s truck, until the other pulled away and its lights disappeared on down the road.
Are you okay? rose up in Tim’s throat, but he stopped himself before he said it. It was pointless to ask.
Gently, he lowered Julie to the ground, smoothing her skirt down and turning away to do his jeans up.
“Get in,” he said, not looking at her. “I’ll finish up out here.”
Without a word, Julie went around to the other side of the truck and got in. Tim finished changing the tire and climbed in after her, pulling away with a squeal of tires that sent a shower of gravel flying across the road.
They had been driving for several minutes when Tim finally braved a glance over at Julie. She had her arms wrapped tightly around her body, hugging herself, and silent tears were streaming down her cheeks. She was shaking.
“Here,” Tim said, reaching behind the seat and grabbing an old Panthers hoodie. He handed it to her, and she took it wordlessly and pulled it over her head.
Neither of them spoke another word until Tim took the turn towards Julie’s neighbourhood to drop her off.
“Please don’t take me home,” Julie said, her voice dry and expressionless.
“Won’t your parents-" he began.
“Please,” she whispered urgently. “I’ll make something up, just... I can’t. I can’t. Don’t take me there.”
Not knowing what else to do, Tim drove to his own house. Thankfully, Billy was already sound asleep and didn’t hear them come in.
Julie stood in the middle of the great room, looking small and waif-like.
“Would it be okay... Can I take a shower?” she asked.
“Sure,” Tim said, going into his room and finding a clean t-shirt and boxer shorts for Julie. He came out and handed them to her. Julie looked up at him, her face pale and tear-streaked, and they simply stared at one another for a beat, neither one knowing what to say.
“Where’s the bathroom?” Julie asked finally, breaking the strange silence.
Tim pointed, watching as Julie disappeared into the bathroom, locking the door behind her with a decisive click.
He sat tensely on the edge of his bed, counting the minutes as the shower ran in the other room. Julie was in there for well over half an hour before the water finally shut off. While she was in the bathroom, Tim debated what he ought to do. Her parents would be worried sick when she didn’t come home, but she’d been so insistent about not going there. Should he take her home? Tim wondered what Jason would do in this situation, if he’d go to the Taylors, or if he’d call the police.
Tim didn’t think that Jason would let her hide out at his place, but then, Tim wasn’t Jason, and Jason would never have gotten them into that situation in the first place.
Julie appeared in his doorway, damp hair bedraggled and eyes dark. She was dressed in the clean t-shirt and boxer shorts he had given her, their size swamping her small frame.
“Can I sleep there?” she asked, pointing at his bed.
“Yeah,” he replied, standing up suddenly as though the bed had burned him.
He watched as she climbed into his bed and pulled the ragged sheets and blanket over herself, curling up into a ball. Only the top of her face still showed, her eyes watching him closely.
“Okay,” Tim said, turning away. “I’ll be on the couch if you need anything.”
“Don’t go,” Julie said, sitting up slightly to look at him. “You have to stay.”
“You want me to stay?”
“Yes,” she replied. “I don’t want to be alone.”
Tim stared down at her for a beat before slowly, awkwardly lying down on the bed beside her, on top of the blankets. He frowned up at the ceiling, feeling Julie’s eyes on him once again.
A gentle movement caused him to glance over at her, and he found that she was crying silently once again, her eyes squeezed shut and her whole body shaking. Without thinking, he turned on his side and pulled her to him, holding her tightly. She pressed her face into his neck and wept. At the sound of her crying, a lump rose in his throat that this time, he couldn’t fight back. It was okay that he couldn’t think of anything to say, because he wasn’t sure he would have been able to get the words out. Silent tears leaked out of his eyes, soaking the pillow beneath their heads.
“I was so scared he was going to kill us,” Julie whispered, her breath brushing over his skin.
“I know,” he rasped. “Me too.”
Julie looked up at him, her eyes swollen and red. “You’re hurt,” she said.
“What?”
A hand came up and her thumb gently brushed across the spot where Guy’s gun had cut him. Tim winced, his eyes watering.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he lied, not caring about the stupid cut on his forehead. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
Tim watched as Julie slowly fell asleep wrapped up tightly in his arms, her heavy eyelids opening occasionally for her eyes to land on him and check that he was still there. It took him longer, but eventually he too fell asleep.
When Tim awoke hours later in the pre-dawn light, he found his head on Julie’s chest, her arms wrapped tightly around him. He tried to imprint on his mind the comforting sensation of her warm skin against his cheek, knowing that soon she’d wake up and remember what he did to her.
She would remember to hate him, and she would leave.
-end-
Author: lindentree
Rating: R
Warnings: Dubcon, violence, allusions to rape
Character(s): Tim/Julie, Guy Raston (aka the Crazy Meth Dealer)
Word Count: 3,697
Summary: Finding her stuck at a party in the middle of nowhere, Tim offers Julie a ride home. His offer has dire consequences for them both, because his former roommate is looking for him, and Guy Raston doesn't mess around.
Notes: Takes place during 2x13 "Humble Pie". This was written for cliche_bingo, for the "fuck or die" prompt on my card. Doing "fuck or die" in a universe where "aliens made us do it" is unfeasible required a venture into dark territory, so I would like to be very clear about the fact that this fic contains dubcon/forced sex, allusions to rape, and violence. Please, please do yourself a favour and do not read this fic if you have any trigger issues whatsoever with regards to the above. Additionally, the title was taken from "Thunder Road" by Bruce Springsteen.
Thanks to the_wanlorn as always for the helpful and supportive beta. ♥
One thing Tim could never figure out was why things he did which seemed like good things, smart things, the sorts of things Jason Street might do, seemed to end so badly. Why did it always turn out wrong?
He was at a party in the back of beyond, past the abandoned oil wells on the eastern edge of town. The party was hosted by someone looking yet again to make a buck off the recklessness and boredom of small town kids. Most of Dillon showed up, and the party raged long into the night.
Tim had felt distracted most of the evening, worrying about how he and Billy were going to come up with three grand to repay Guy, the meth dealer. Not for the first time, Tim wished he’d listened to his brother and left the money where he found it. But how would they have paid the mortgage, otherwise?
Around the time he began to grow weary of the party, he spotted Julie Taylor through the throng of people. She looked miserable, standing alone next to a bonfire, absently kicking at the dirt with one foot. He meandered over and asked her where her date was. Julie smiled ruefully and rolled her eyes.
“I got a ride with a girl from my English class, but she’s over there,” she said, gesturing disdainfully towards a brunette keeping herself busy with a guy Tim recognized from school. “So I’m stuck.”
Julie peered at him in the flickering light of the fire, squinting. "What happened there?" she asked, pointing at the gash on his forehead where Guy had headbutted him.
"Oh," Tim replied, looking down self-consciously. "Kinda got into it with someone the other day. It's no big deal."
Julie frowned as though she wanted to say something more, but she didn't.
"So," Tim said, clearing his throat. "Are you stranded, or what?"
"Pretty much," Julie replied, glancing again at her ride, who was still hanging all over her companion. "Unless she impulsively decides to stop swapping spit with what's-his-name."
“Want a ride?”
Julie regarded him, uncertain. “Are you sure? You don’t have to.”
“I was gonna get out of here, anyway. Party’s lame. Come on.”
Julie smiled gratefully and followed him to his truck. They were only twenty minutes down the long dirt road when the truck began to list and bump roughly.
“Damn it,” Tim swore, checking his mirror and pulling over to the side of the road. “It’s a flat. Mind giving me a hand?”
“Of course not,” Julie replied, pulling her denim jacket around herself and hopping out of the truck.
She held the flashlight while Tim worked, and he’d managed to jack the truck up and remove the old tire when he heard a distant rumble. He looked up to see a pair of headlights coming down the road toward them at a leisurely pace.
“Someone’s comin’,” he murmured, squinting at the oncoming headlights. The road they were on was a genuine back road, only used if you knew the Dillon area well and liked to keep a low profile. “Must be from the party.”
“I guess so,” Julie said, a stifled yawn in her voice. “Almost done?”
“Yeah,” Tim replied, glancing up once more. The lights were closer, and the vehicle they belonged to had slowed considerably. “Just need to get the spare on.”
The vehicle pulled over to the other side of the road about twenty feet away from them then, and Tim got a brief glimpse of a pickup truck before the headlights died as the engine was turned off. Tim stood, shielding his eyes against the glare of his own headlights to try to get a look at the driver in the darkness.
“Hey,” he called tentatively, feeling the weight of the lug wrench in his hand. Julie turned to look, her hand still pointing the flashlight downwards.
“Howdy,” returned a voice, over the sound of two truck doors slamming. “How’s big Timmy Riggins?”
Tim’s stomach sank at the sound of Guy’s voice.
“I’m all right,” Tim replied hollowly. Guy walked to the middle of the road, into the light cast by Tim’s headlights. Julie was silent, glancing curiously between the two men. From the darkness emerged one of Guy’s friends who Tim recognized from the night he took off and ended up outside the Taylors’.
“That’s great,” Guy said, smiling widely at Tim. “So, where’s my three grand?”
“Yeah,” Tim said, stepping away from his truck and Julie, “About that...”
“You have it, right?” Guy interrupted, side-stepping Tim to get a look at Julie. Tim’s hand tightened apprehensively around the wrench. He had long since figured out that while Guy seemed laidback, he was actually very tightly wound and impulsive. “Because I want that money now, Tim, and I really don’t want to hear any excuses about why you don’t have it. You get what I’m sayin’?”
“I have it,” Tim lied, “But I don’t have it on me right this minute, so maybe we could -"
“Who’s this, anyway?” Guy interrupted again, nodding at Julie and then looking up at Tim. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”
“Yeah,” the other man said. “You gonna introduce us?”
“Look, just - just leave her out of it, all right?”
“Your mama never taught you no manners, football star,” Guy replied, laughing. “How am I supposed to talk to her if you won’t even tell me who she is?”
“Maybe she doesn’t want to talk to you,” Julie piped up. Tim turned to see her standing with her arms crossed over her chest, an annoyed expression on her face.
“She’s sassy!” Guy laughed, turning back to Tim. “I like ‘em sassy.”
Tim’s mind raced as he tried to figure out what to do. He had no money to give Guy - after gas and beer today, he had about five bucks in his wallet. He certainly didn’t have three grand in his back pocket. He was sure Julie wouldn’t have enough cash on her to satisfy him. He was outnumbered, and the only weapon he had was the lug wrench in his hand, which wasn’t much.
“Why don’t you put that down?” Guy said, nodding at the wrench as though he were able to hear Tim’s thoughts. Tim watched as Guy pulled his handgun out of the waistband of his pants and let it hang limply in his right hand. “I have a pretty good idea of what you’re planning to do with that.”
“Come on, man. I don’t have the money on me right now,” Tim repeated as he slowly placed the wrench on the ground and kicked it aside, “But if you come with me to my place, Billy and I have all your money.”
“I’ll bet you do,” Guy smiled. “The two of you are just the finest, most upstanding boys in town, aren’t you?”
“A hundred percent trustworthy,” the other man guffawed.
Guy turned once again to look at Julie, and there was a strange pause where he just stared at her and smiled.
“Tell you what,” he said, not taking his eyes off her. “I think I’m having an idea, here. How about I fuck your little girlfriend, and my buddy Petey here, too, and then you just owe me two grand.”
Tim’s stomach twisted. He wanted to tell himself that Guy was bluffing, that he wouldn’t, but he didn’t believe it. He watched as the bravado drained out of Julie’s expression, replaced by pale fear.
“I said leave her out of it,” Tim said, trying to keep his voice steady. “Why don’t we just head back to my place and we’ll work this whole thing out.”
“Why don’t you shut your fucking mouth, pretty boy?” Guy spat, not taking his eyes off Julie’s face. “I’m trying to talk to this sweet young thing.”
“Leave her alone,” Tim repeated, taking a step closer.
“What, you jealous? Can’t stand your girl talking to another guy? That’s right, I forgot. You’re the big man on campus. The ladykiller,” Guy laughed, looking over at Tim. He glanced at Julie, then back at Tim again. “Why don’t you fuck her, and we’ll just watch?”
Tim swallowed. “What?”
“I said I want you to fuck her, and we’ll watch.”
Tim couldn’t look at Julie, whose frightened eyes he could feel on his face. Moving without much of a plan in mind, he took a step towards Guy, who immediately struck out with his fist. Tim felt the butt of the gun connect sharply with his forehead, and he went down hard.
“What?” Guy hissed, standing over him. “You think you’re gonna be the big hero?”
Tim wheezed as Petey delivered two sharp, sudden kicks to his stomach. He watched, almost detached, as Guy lifted his handgun and scratched it against his own temple as though he were deep in thought.
“Maybe I’ll just bust up your kneecaps, then,” he said. “That might get my point across. Or we could find out how good my aim is, see if I can’t take out an eye without killing you, you know? Do you think I could do that, Tim?”
“Go ahead and shoot me,” Tim said, standing up slowly and carefully touching the angry cut on his forehead, from which blood was beginning to seep.
“Fine,” Guy smiled, shrugging. He lifted the handgun again and pointed it in Julie’s face. “If that don’t work, I’ll just blow her brains out.”
Julie let out a sound somewhere between a moan and a cry, flinching away from the gun, her back against the driver’s side door of Tim’s truck.
“You messed with the wrong guy, Riggins,” Guy said as he brushed the muzzle of the gun against Julie’s cheek. “Now I’m gonna mess with you.”
Tim could feel panic setting in. He believed every one of Guy’s threats completely, knowing the man wasn’t beyond shooting one or both of them, possibly to kill. He imagined Coach and Mrs. Taylor’s faces if Julie got hurt, if he let anything happen to her. He imagined trying to explain how this had happened, how he had let this happen. He knew that no matter what, he had to prevent Guy from touching her.
“Don’t,” Tim said. “I’ll do anything you want, just leave her be.”
Guy’s arm slowly lowered as he regarded Tim, his eyes bright with malice.
“Right on, cowboy,” he said. “I want you to fuck her, right here. For real.”
Tim glowered at Guy, wanting to ask why, not understanding the purpose of this sick game.
“What, you don’t wanna fuck your girl?” Guy asked, off Tim’s expression. “This pretty little blonde thing? She’s mighty cute, cowboy, but if you ain’t interested, I got a feeling Petey is, and I ain’t exactly picky if you know what I’m sayin’.”
Tim turned slowly to Julie, stepping between her and the other two men, hating himself for the way she flinched as he did so. Guy and Petey moved a few feet back, muttering and laughing to themselves, but Guy maintained his presence in the way he constantly clicked the hammer on his gun, playing with it.
Julie looked up at Tim, her eyes wide with fear. Tim felt every inch that he towered over her, caught between feeling as though he was shielding her from the two men, and as though she ought to be shielded from him.
“What are we going to do?” she mouthed at him, her voice not even a whisper.
Tim just stared at her, hating to meet her eyes but unable to look away.
She frowned, staring back. Realization dawned and her eyes welled with tears. “No,” she whispered, shaking her head slightly.
Tim couldn’t find any words to say to her, couldn’t figure out how to get them both out of here without Guy specifically going after her just to fuck with him. Instead, he settled for trying to communicate with his eyes that somehow, everything was going to be okay.
“What are you two doing?” came Guy’s voice from a few feet behind Tim. “I ain’t got all day. I hate waitin’.”
Tim screwed his eyes shut, casting his mind about desperately for an escape, trying to buy as much time as possible.
“Did you hear me, cowboy?” Guy was suddenly behind him, his voice loud and vicious. He pressed the gun against the back of Tim’s head, and he had to struggle not to cry out in fear. A sharp kick to the back of his knee caused him to shove into Julie, pressing her against the truck. “I’m not hanging around some piece of shit back road to watch you two fucking stare at each other.”
Breathing hard and carefully standing back up on his injured leg as Guy released him, Tim stared down into Julie’s panicked face.
“Please don’t do this,” she whispered, holding her hands up against him defensively.
“I’m sorry,” he said, pressing her against the truck with his body as gently as he could, hoping she might see the gesture as protective rather than as an assault. She whimpered, a little sob escaping her throat. Tim could hear the two men behind them shuffling their feet in the dirt and mumbling to one another.
Julie didn’t struggle, didn’t even try, she just stood there stunned and gaping as Tim lifted her against him and reached up under her skirt, shoving her underwear aside. Tim took her boneless hand and placed it against his crotch, closing his eyes tightly and trying to think of something, anything, that might spur him along and end this nightmare just a little sooner.
Unfortunately, with Julie squeezed between him and his truck, all he could really think of was Julie, a rare girl for whom his feelings had nothing to do with wanting to get her into bed. Squeezing his eyes shut again, he thought of the night he brought her home from the party and she had tried to kiss him. He nudged his imagination in a direction he had not allowed it to venture before, and wondered what would have happened if Coach hadn’t been there, and he had leaned into her instead of pulling away.
Tim burned with shame as the thought made him hard.
Furious and sick, he began to tentatively rub his fingers against Julie, slowly running a finger against her clit before curving it gently up inside her. Julie pitched forward and leaned her head against his shoulder her whole body shuddering. Tim felt an ugly sense of relief and horror when he began to feel moisture against his hand.
“Please,” Julie whispered into his ear, her voice tear-filled. “The other one has a shotgun. Just get it over with.”
“Don’t look at them,” Tim replied softly against her neck, as he struggled to hold her carefully against the truck and unfasten his pants. “Close your eyes.”
Nothing in Tim’s young life could match the hatred he felt when moments later, as he pushed inside Julie and she cried out in pain, Guy guffawed from behind him and muttered a lewd, “Nice.”
“I’m gonna kill him,” Tim murmured, almost to himself. He was surprised when he felt Julie’s hands gently grip his shoulders. He looked up and she said softly, her voice shaking, “Don’t be stupid. He’s got a gun.”
Tim cushioned Julie’s head against the truck with his hand, leaning in closer. Nauseated, he tried to think of something, anything, that he could focus on to move things along; obviously having sex in front of two hillbilly meth addicts made him go totally cold. Trying to ignore the men behind him and the disgust he felt, Tim focused instead on the way Julie's body felt pressed into his, her heart pounding, her breath ruffling his hair as she clung to him, gripping his shirt in two tight fists. He looked up to see Julie watching him closely, her face unreadable, her dark eyes huge and bright even in the darkness. He came with a quiet grunt of unwanted pleasure, the thought of using protection only occurring to him then, when it was already much too late.
Tim panted harshly into Julie’s hair, resisting the lump that had risen in his throat. Distantly he heard Guy shuffle his feet in the dirt and move towards his own truck. “Hey superstar,” he called, as both men climbed in and slammed their doors. “You still owe me three grand.”
They stayed that way, leaned up against Tim’s truck, until the other pulled away and its lights disappeared on down the road.
Are you okay? rose up in Tim’s throat, but he stopped himself before he said it. It was pointless to ask.
Gently, he lowered Julie to the ground, smoothing her skirt down and turning away to do his jeans up.
“Get in,” he said, not looking at her. “I’ll finish up out here.”
Without a word, Julie went around to the other side of the truck and got in. Tim finished changing the tire and climbed in after her, pulling away with a squeal of tires that sent a shower of gravel flying across the road.
They had been driving for several minutes when Tim finally braved a glance over at Julie. She had her arms wrapped tightly around her body, hugging herself, and silent tears were streaming down her cheeks. She was shaking.
“Here,” Tim said, reaching behind the seat and grabbing an old Panthers hoodie. He handed it to her, and she took it wordlessly and pulled it over her head.
Neither of them spoke another word until Tim took the turn towards Julie’s neighbourhood to drop her off.
“Please don’t take me home,” Julie said, her voice dry and expressionless.
“Won’t your parents-" he began.
“Please,” she whispered urgently. “I’ll make something up, just... I can’t. I can’t. Don’t take me there.”
Not knowing what else to do, Tim drove to his own house. Thankfully, Billy was already sound asleep and didn’t hear them come in.
Julie stood in the middle of the great room, looking small and waif-like.
“Would it be okay... Can I take a shower?” she asked.
“Sure,” Tim said, going into his room and finding a clean t-shirt and boxer shorts for Julie. He came out and handed them to her. Julie looked up at him, her face pale and tear-streaked, and they simply stared at one another for a beat, neither one knowing what to say.
“Where’s the bathroom?” Julie asked finally, breaking the strange silence.
Tim pointed, watching as Julie disappeared into the bathroom, locking the door behind her with a decisive click.
He sat tensely on the edge of his bed, counting the minutes as the shower ran in the other room. Julie was in there for well over half an hour before the water finally shut off. While she was in the bathroom, Tim debated what he ought to do. Her parents would be worried sick when she didn’t come home, but she’d been so insistent about not going there. Should he take her home? Tim wondered what Jason would do in this situation, if he’d go to the Taylors, or if he’d call the police.
Tim didn’t think that Jason would let her hide out at his place, but then, Tim wasn’t Jason, and Jason would never have gotten them into that situation in the first place.
Julie appeared in his doorway, damp hair bedraggled and eyes dark. She was dressed in the clean t-shirt and boxer shorts he had given her, their size swamping her small frame.
“Can I sleep there?” she asked, pointing at his bed.
“Yeah,” he replied, standing up suddenly as though the bed had burned him.
He watched as she climbed into his bed and pulled the ragged sheets and blanket over herself, curling up into a ball. Only the top of her face still showed, her eyes watching him closely.
“Okay,” Tim said, turning away. “I’ll be on the couch if you need anything.”
“Don’t go,” Julie said, sitting up slightly to look at him. “You have to stay.”
“You want me to stay?”
“Yes,” she replied. “I don’t want to be alone.”
Tim stared down at her for a beat before slowly, awkwardly lying down on the bed beside her, on top of the blankets. He frowned up at the ceiling, feeling Julie’s eyes on him once again.
A gentle movement caused him to glance over at her, and he found that she was crying silently once again, her eyes squeezed shut and her whole body shaking. Without thinking, he turned on his side and pulled her to him, holding her tightly. She pressed her face into his neck and wept. At the sound of her crying, a lump rose in his throat that this time, he couldn’t fight back. It was okay that he couldn’t think of anything to say, because he wasn’t sure he would have been able to get the words out. Silent tears leaked out of his eyes, soaking the pillow beneath their heads.
“I was so scared he was going to kill us,” Julie whispered, her breath brushing over his skin.
“I know,” he rasped. “Me too.”
Julie looked up at him, her eyes swollen and red. “You’re hurt,” she said.
“What?”
A hand came up and her thumb gently brushed across the spot where Guy’s gun had cut him. Tim winced, his eyes watering.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he lied, not caring about the stupid cut on his forehead. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
Tim watched as Julie slowly fell asleep wrapped up tightly in his arms, her heavy eyelids opening occasionally for her eyes to land on him and check that he was still there. It took him longer, but eventually he too fell asleep.
When Tim awoke hours later in the pre-dawn light, he found his head on Julie’s chest, her arms wrapped tightly around him. He tried to imprint on his mind the comforting sensation of her warm skin against his cheek, knowing that soon she’d wake up and remember what he did to her.
She would remember to hate him, and she would leave.
-end-