The Crossing - Expiation

Both girls were now standing before me in various stages of undress, which I couldn't help but gawk at, slightly. However, as tempting as it was, I wasn't going to take advantage of their vulnerability; that's the very situation I was here to avoid.

"No ladies, I'm not like that. Put your clothes back on please," I requested, calmly.

Melanie spoke up, "You fucked the shit out of me last Friday night!" she said, sarcastically.

"That's right, because you wanted it, and I wanted it; it wasn't blackmail for sex!" I retorted.

"Yeah, you're right, I wanted you, and I definitely enjoyed it!" she said, reflectively, a slight smile in her eyes.

"Then what do you want?" Jan asked, quizzically.

"I don't want anything from either of you; I just needed to meet in private to tell both of you something." I replied dispassionately.

"Ohh." Melanie uttered, "Like we are sooo fucked!" she said. "I already know that!"

Listen, I know what your little group has done in the past and that neither one of you is innocent, but I've heard some things..." I was saying.

"What sort of things??" Jan asked nervously, her eyes flicking between Melanie and me.

"Well, how can I say this," I began, "some "things", that would be very unpleasant payback for you and the others in your group." I remarked dryly.

"Oh my God!" Jan cried, placing her hands over her face and sobbing. "I knew it! All the terrible things we've done are going to come back to haunt us." she screeched, sobbing uncontrollably.

Melanie placed her arm around her friend to comfort her, tears welling in her eyes now. Looking at me she said, "We both knew they would make us pay when they had the chance. Who and how many are we going to have to fuck??" she asked with controlled emotion in her voice.

"Hard core girl!" I thought, rolling my eyes and shaking my head, disbelievingly.

"None, or all, it's going to be up to you!" I replied, curtly.

"I don't understand." Melanie said, numbly, wet trails of tears streaking her lovely face.

"Then let me explain." I said, casually.

Leaving out names, I went over the sequence of events, some of what I had overheard people suggesting, and explained that I couldn't let this sort of thing happen to them. Jan was visibly relieved that someone was concerned, but her body language showed she was terrified at the possibility of having to spread her legs for just anyone. Melanie was a bit harder to read, but it was apparent that she had expected this kind of retribution and was prepared to do whatever she had to in order to keep her other life, secret, and didn't mind saying so.

"Josh, you tell those bastard's that I'll fuck the entire student body and let them sell tickets, as long as that video never sees the light of day!" she said resolutely, looking at Jan as she finished.

Jan eyes grew unnaturally wide as she glanced at me and fixed her gaze on Melanie, "Oh God Mel, I can't do that! I can't just sleep with anybody they tell me too. I just can't!" she said, her entire body shaking uncontrollably, "Except for you, you know I don't sleep with anybody…" her voice trailing off as she realized I was standing right there.

"Bullshit Jan! You'll do whatever you have to do and I know it. You won't like it, but you will do it, because you have to!" Mel said tersely, pulling her tightly to her breast.

Melanie glared at me as she hugged her friend and stoked Jan's golden hair. "Well, are you just going to let them do this to her? I don't give a shit about me, but Jan's not going to be able to handle strange guys using her like that." Mel said compassionately, speaking as if Jan wasn't in our presence.

"Mel, I have already done something about it." I replied, feeling quite proud of myself now that I'd seen the way it affected Jan.

The truth of the matter is that after hearing some of the talk, I deleted you and Jan's files on the servers, after I made copies for safekeeping. If any of those people suspect I did it, I'm in deep shit ladies, so you can't tell anyone. Jan raised her head from Mel's shoulder, tears streaming down her cheeks, and looked at me with horror in her blue eyes.

"Oh God Josh! You've seen the videos haven't you, haven't you!?" Jan screamed at me more than asked.

Grabbing her chin, Melanie jerked Jan's head around, glaring at her, "What the fuck difference does it make baby? What's done is done, now deal with it, okay!?" Mel said, determinedly dishing out tough love to her friend.

Then Mel kissed Jan passionately and brushed back her shoulder length hair. Turning to me, Mel said, "Well, you have all the dirt on us and you're still willing to help, so I have to thank you from the bottom of what little heart I do have." she said, with a sad grin.

"Actually Jan, I didn't look at your video or anyone else's other than Melanie." I remarked. Truthfully, I only looked at her video because I was the one picked to confront her with the evidence. It wasn't something I wanted to do, and I damn sure didn't enjoy it, regardless of what either one of you think." I stated, firmly.

It would be helpful to know what they have on you, in case; they decide to go after you specifically. At least I could better prepare knowing the gravity of the situation.

"I can't!" Jan cried, bordering on hysteria.

"Oh for God sakes Jan, quit being so damn melodramatic! He could go home and watch the damn video and never tell you!" Mel quipped.

"I can't, I can't!" Jan iterated frantically.

Melanie spoke up with hesitation, "Josh, it's kind of the same situation as mine, with some differences."

"NO!" Jan screeched, Mel holding her tightly to her breasts, "Please don't Mel?" Jan begged, shamelessly.

"It's okay J, he's on our side, and he needs to know Jan, my love." Mel answered, with a soothing quality in her voice.

"Hmm, I beginning to get the idea they are more than just good friends." I mused.

Melanie continued, "As you know, my father and I have a, well a, physical relationship, and I love him very much, regardless if you understand that or not, it's true! Jan's situation is a lot different; her old man raped her when she was thirteen, and now he screws her every chance he gets. A couple of years ago, after her two brothers went through puberty, her SOB of a father brought them into her room one night and watched, as they took turns fucking her until they got tired. Then he rolled her over and fucked her up the ass for good measure. This has been going on for two years now. So you see, Jan's not the evil bitch everyone thinks she is she's just another victim. Jan is also my lover, and one day she's moving in with me and Dad, as soon as we graduate. There you have it, the whole story; so how's that for a really fucked up dysfunctional family!? You know now so use it if you want, I just don't care anymore." Mel said, dejectedly, tears running down her face.

"I'm sorry Jan, I wish there was something I could do to help you." I said, earnestly. "What about your mother? Why doesn't she do anything about this?" I asked, dumbfounded.

Speaking for Jan, Melanie said, "That bitch is so drunk most of the time she doesn't know her name, much less what they're doing to Jan." Mel explained, exasperated.

"Your Dad's okay with this Mel?" I asked her, cautiously.

"Hell yeah! He knows what's going on and is appalled by it! He suggested she come live with us and he'd have a restraining order slapped on them when Jan was old enough to say she didn't want to live there anymore." Mel, replied with a considerable amount of satisfaction in her voice.

"God! I'm so sorry Jan! I didn't know!" I exclaimed, feeling a deep seated anger rise in me.

"Me too!" Jan added.

"I hope the two of you manage to be happy with each other. I mean that, I really do!" I said sincerely.

"Shit! You really are one of the last of the good guys, aren't you Josh!" Mel said with a weak smile, going up on her tiptoes to kiss me gently on the lips, as she hugged me tightly, followed quickly by Jan.

I shrugged my shoulders uncertainly, and continued, "Here is what we are going to do to keep Jan out of the hands of some very mean and vindictive people" I said. "First, if you are contacted and threatened with exposure, unless you comply with their demands; refuse. However, the key to the success or failure of this strategy is in what they demand of you. If it's not something awful that you just cannot live with, like fucking someone, multiple people, etc, then don't refuse just do it. Sorry, but you may have to take your lumps and perform some of the demeaning requests, but you can draw the line on the seriously bad stuff, okay. They will figure out quickly that there are certain things you are not willing to do, even when threatened with exposure, and the demands will eventually stop. The important thing is that they never suspect that you are aware they don't have anything to use against you, okay!?" I remarked. "And for God sakes don't get caught on video or whatever again!" I said firmly.

"Yes, we understand." Melanie said, with more confidence in her smile.

"No Mel, you don't! These people will do their best to get something on you two when they realize the images and video are gone!" I said angrily. "Those bastards will become obsessed to get some dirt on you guys!"

"Wait!" I shouted unintentionally, "I've just thought of something! FUCK! I'm a genius!!" I yelled enthusiastically to myself.

"Well, I can see that modesty is also one of your better virtues!" Mel retorted, sarcastically.

"No really! Listen, here's what you do; Jan, I want you to go home and take your father into your room and show him the mini cam in your ceiling AC vent." I began.

"How do you know that's where it is, if you didn't see the video?" she asked indignantly.

"I didn't see the video; that's where they placed all of them because the vents are in good coverage spots." I explained.

Continuing I said, "Take you Dad in your room, show it to him, and explain that you are being blackmailed and they have everyone on video. Also, make up some story about a radical Christian group of students that are demanding that it stop or they will turn the video over to the police." I commented, adlibbing as I went. "Even if he doesn't fully believe the story, it should scare him enough that he and your brother will leave you alone." I said, secretly hopeful that it worked, for her sake. "You might even be able to work this to your advantage, so you can move in with Mel and her Dad right away. Hell, blackmail him if you have to; that's up to you!" I said, neatly wrapping everything up and tying it a nice little bundle. I hoped!

"Josh," Jan said, putting her arms around my neck, "thank you so very much! You don't know how much this means to me. I couldn't stand someone else doing that to me." her voice cracking as she hugged my neck and kissed me quite passionately before releasing me and wrapping her arms around Melanie.

"God, I am sick for her!" I was thinking, now noticing Jan staring at me with a deep frown on her face.

Immediately, I sensed what she was thinking, "It's not pity you're reading in my expression Jan, its helplessness. I wish to God there was more I could do something about your scumbag father. We'll find a way to make him pay for this." I heard myself say with confidence, knowing that he would probably get away with it.

"Do you want a freebee Josh?" Mel asked, smiling seductively, taking Jan's hand and placing it in her pants. Jan immediately worked her hand inside of Melanie; through her pants, I could see Jan's fingers working feverishly inside. Mel swayed lazily in response.

"No thanks Mel, I've got to go." I replied, blushing.

"Well then, would you like to stay and watch?" she asked, slipping her hand down the front of Jan's pants.

Jan immediately melted into Mel's body as she fondled her, which was making me hot, so I excused myself and gracefully made my exit.

"It's a great offer maybe you'll give me a rain check?" I asked, slyly.

"Sure! How about it Jan?" she quickly asked.

"Anything for Josh." Jan replied, earnestly.

Briefly touching each one's shoulder, I strolled down the path in the dark, leaving the flashlight so the girls could find their way back. Approaching the parking lot, from the woods, a blindingly white light shined in my eyes, killing my night vision.

"Halt!" the voice over the speaker said, "Hands on your head and walk forward."

"Shit!" I thought, "What the hell is going on?" I asked myself, walking forward, hands on my head, as instructed.

Several times I had to look at the paved area in front of me so I didn't walk off the path, stumbling over a few obstacles I couldn't see in the brilliant white light. Once I was within a few feet of the parking area, the light went out and an unamplified voice said, "You can put your hands down now." followed by muffled laughter.

"Sorry about that, man!" said a voice I thought I recognized.

Unable to see a damn thing, I stood there as the white spots slowly began to fade from my vision. As my eyes gradually regained their night vision qualities, I could make out the dark outline of someone silhouetted again the low level glow of lights in a patrol car. Walking toward the car I could hear the muffled tones of the police radio and the distinctive crackle the squelch makes as it received a signal.

"Billy?" I asked, unsure.

"Yeah, it's me! Sorry about the little joke. It seemed funny at the time; boredom makes you do strange things sometimes." the police officer said jokingly.

"No problem. I just didn't know what the hell was going on!" I remarked, casually.

"What's going on? Who were you in there with?" he asked, in a semi-official tone.

"Oh! Yeah, I was talking to a couple of girls." I said, sheepishly.

"Really! Where are they?" she asked, flatly.

"Well, they're still in the park." I replied.

"Without you!?" he said, surprised.

"Yeah Billy, they're, ummm, lesbians, so they really don't need me.
Although, they asked if I wanted to watch." I remarked laughing.

"Hmm, and you didn't take them up on it?" he asked, quizzically.

"Watching's not my thing." I glibly replied.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." he remarked laughing. "Hey, I thought you were going to call me?" he asked, jokingly.

"Well, I was; I thought the end of the week would be better for you, so I was going to call you tomorrow." I responded, putting my hands in my pockets.

"What are you doing now?" Billy asked.

"Now? Well, nothing actually. I was thinking about going home." I replied.

Looking at his watch, Billy paused and thought a moment, "I've got an idea." he began, "My shift ends in thirty minutes, what do you say I meet you at Toby's and we take the Challenger out to the lake, so I can drive it?" he suggested. "I'll bring some cane poles and we can do some night fishing, or not, whatever you want to do. Is that cool with you?" he asked smiling.

"Hey it sounds like fun, and you get to drive the car, as promised. Sure, let's do it!" I said, excited about getting out, and kicking around with somebody new. "What kind of trouble could I get into; I'll be with a cop!" I thought to myself.

Chapter 3

Thirty minutes later I was sitting in Toby's parking lot when a blue Dodge Ram pulled up, Billy emerged reaching into the bed and pulling out some poles.

"Are we going to be able to get these in the car?" he asked skeptically.

"Sure, I'll put them through the passenger side window. We should be able to get them in." I remarked, confident I could make it work.

"I'll be right back." Billy said, walking toward Toby's. I watched him disappear though the front doors, and started placing the cane poles in through the window. When they were in I had to climb into the seat through the driver's door and make my way over the console. Once in the seat there was plenty of room to ride. Presently, Billy came of the front door of Toby's carrying a large paper bag, which he placed behind the driver's seat, before walking back to his truck.

I sat and look out the passenger window into the early evening sky, and was thinking how clear it was tonight when Billy pushed the driver's seatback into place.

"The keys are in the ignition." I told him, as he got in.

"Great!" he said, cheerily. "Have you called to tell someone where you are?" he asked, giving me the cop look.

"Yes I did, and I told Mom I would be late, and I had my cell phone. Dad!" I commented, jokingly.

"Very funny! I was just checking to make sure your parents wouldn't be worried, smart ass!" he remarked, grinning.

"Let's see how this baby handles!" he said, excitedly, peeling out of the parking lot. "Sorry! I'm not used to this much raw power!" he remarked, apologetically.

I just gave him a nonchalant shrug as he sped down Hwy. 90 on the way to the lake.

We were at the lake in twenty minutes, but it took another fifteen minutes down back roads to get where he was going.

"There's a good fishing spot down here a ways, that's really busy on moonlit nights. And, it's very secluded so nobody will bother us." he explained.

"Good! I'm not a big fisherman, but whatever." I said casually.

When we arrived Billy got out, came around and removed the poles so I could get out of the car. The cane poles had spikes clamped around the bottom, so I place them butt first into the sandy soil just behind the waterline. By the time I was done, Billy reappeared with the paper grocery bag, and a knapsack I hadn't seen him put in the car. Handing me the grocery bag, he opened the knapsack and pulled out two blankets, spreading one out on the ground behind the poles, and putting the other aside. He removed a flashlight from the knapsack and set it to the side of the blanket.

"Hand me the grocery bag big guy." he said, gesturing he was ready to take it.

I handed him the bag and stood by, as he took soft drinks, and various other items that didn't all necessarily go together, out of the bag. "He must have done some quick grocery shopping while he was there." I assumed, silently. Digging around in the bag he retrieved a cardboard bait carton and handed it to me.

"Would you mind baiting the hooks while I get the rest of this stuff together?" he asked nicely, rummaging around in the bag again.

I shrugged and said, "Sure." Walking over to the poles, I open the bait carton took out a worm and began baiting the hooks, which is not as easy as it may sound, in the dark. Struggling with some of the hooks, I finally got every hook baited and the line in the water. My hands were slimy from the worm juice, so I spent some time washing them off in the lake, until they were clean, wiping my hands on my jeans to dry them.

Standing up, I turned to head back to the car, and saw Billy walking toward me with two plastic cups in his hands. He held out one hand with a cup in it, as he reached me, in a universally accepted unspoken gesture, denoting, "this is yours". Accepting the cup, he briefly laughed and said, "Here, I have a surprise for you."

Taking a whiff of the contents, I recognized some type of alcohol, "What is it?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, it's nothing, just bourbon and coke. Don't tell anyone I let you drink or my ass is grass." he said grinning. "So how old are you Josh?" Billy asked, nonchalantly.

"I'm eighteen." I replied.

"Ah, so you're a senior?" he continued, sipping his drink.

"Yep!" I responded, short and sweet.

"So, where are you going to college?" he continued to query.

"Oh, I don't know; I have the grades to go anywhere." I commented, "I just haven't applied to any universities yet. It's early yet, but after New Year's; I'll have to get serious." I said, thoughtfully.

"Well, it's a big decision, I'm sure you are gearing up for tough choices." Billy remarked, wistfully.

"Yeah, I guess, it's just not at the top of my list at the moment." I said, turning up my cup.

I didn't realize I'd downed the entire drink sitting there. Only ice was left when Billy took my cup and walked off to make me another drink. I sat on the edge of the blanket; arms wrapped around my legs, knees pressed against my chest, watching the faint moonlit outline of the red and white corks as they floated on the surface of the still water. From where I was sitting, nothing was biting yet, but I didn't really care I wasn't much for fishing.

Billy came back and putting a hand on my shoulder for support, lowered himself into a sitting position beside me. Handing me the cup, he leaned forward to look at the corks.

"Not a bite yet? he asked, taking a swig of his drink.

"Nope. I haven't even seen one wiggle." I commented, absently.

"Well, that's hard to believe on a full moon. I guess I just have to sit here and drink." he said laughing.

We sat there for a while talking, and I found out he had gotten his BS from State, in criminal justice, he was twenty four, worked out of course, was a car and motorcycle enthusiast, and liked to party. Unfortunately, he usually had to drive to the next town to do that since he was a local cop. Billy was a really nice guy, and there didn't seem to be any pretense to him, he was genuinely friendly, and appeared to be interested in local happenings, and such. He was an all around community minded individual with a great deal of common sense; I liked him!

"Do you want another?" he asked, placing a hand on my shoulder to rise.

"Yeah, sure." I replied, feeling pretty good at the moment.

Sitting there waiting for Billy to bring me another drink, my body felt a little numb, and I had a slight lightheaded sensation. Although, I was feeling fine overall, as I stretched out my legs in front of me and leaned back on my elbows. Looking up, the moon was almost a third of the way above the horizon now, round and full, casting silvery light down on the lake and surrounding trees. In the time we had been sitting there my eyes had adjusted to the dark, and the dull shadows now seem to take on a life of their own. You could see intricate details of objects in varying shades of gray, and the gradients blended to provide detail and depth to various objects, bathing them in pale silver shards of light. I was beginning to wonder where Billy had gone when he reappeared carrying our drinks. Sitting up, I took the cup he offered, as he used my shoulder once more to set himself next to me.

Thanking him, I took a big gulp of my drink, and could swear it seemed stronger than the last one, but I was unsure. It's not like I hadn't had a few already.

"Whoa, that was strong!" I said laughing.

"I probably forgot to stir it, so all the alcohol was on top." he explained. "Look at the bright side; you don't have to go to school tomorrow." he remarked, laughing.

"Yeah, I'm glad about that, for sure!" I replied, lazily.

After a brief silence, I asked Billy what it was like to be a police officer, and he explained the liabilities and hazards of the job. He also talked about the good he felt law enforcement did. It was easy to see that he liked his job. We'd been sitting there awhile as he talked about his duties, before I became dimly aware that his leg was directly next to mine, and his right hand rested, partially on his thigh and mine. Maybe it was the amount of alcohol I'd had, but it didn't actually freak me out, it was sort of different. That might be the wrong term to use for the way I was feeling at that moment. To be more accurate, I would say it was oddly exciting; in a weird sort of way. It's really hard to describe, but I could feel the warmth of his fingers through my jeans, and while it was cool outside, it seemed to me that his body was really warm for some reason. Even though his upper body was several inches away from me, I could feel the intense heat radiating off of him, in the cool night air. Taking a long drink from my cup, the effects of the alcohol were becoming noticeable to me. I felt like I had a slight temperature; my body was very warm, and hummed as though electricity were coursing through it. There was an odd sensation of lightness to my limbs, and all of my senses seemed to be in a heightened state, which is probably why I noticed Billy's fingers caressing the inside of my left thigh, just above the knee. Turning up my cup, I downed the last of my drink, turning to Billy asking if I could have another.