Chapter 13

I pulled away from Emily and stood up which got her attention. My shocked outburst didn’t phase either her or Amy but breaking away from them did.

“Evan, where are you going?” she asked me sounding almost shocked that I had left them together on the couch.

“I ... I can’t do this. Sorry,” I told her as I began walking away.

I didn’t stop until I was outside on the back deck. I could have just had sex with those two. I could still go back in there and have sex with them. Sex with two very sexy girls. One who I had waited my whole life to have and one who was just plopped into my lap by circumstance. Being a fifteen-year-old teenage boy I would most assuredly enjoy it. I really wanted to go back in there and have sex with two girls at the same time, but that’s all it would have been and it would have left me feeling empty. Just as empty as I had felt after forcing myself on Emily just days before.

Apparently, Amy and Emily had become close enough that they were willing to share me like that. Looking back, I think it was Emily’s attempt at trying to make it up to me for all the hurt she had caused, but I just couldn’t do it.

As I leaned against the railing I heard the sliding door open and then close followed by soft footsteps as Emily walked up beside me. “You OK Evan? Amy’s fine with this if that’s why you walked out,” Emily said as she leaned on the deck railing next to me leaving about a foot between us. It felt like a mile. It had been so long since we left that much room between us.

I looked out at our little neighborhood. It was almost everything I had ever known my whole life. Emily had been with me through it all from day one. We lived right next door to one another. Our parents were good friends. Only a few weeks separated us in age and we had spent our whole lives together running around this small neighborhood that until recently had seemed so big.

At first, I had thought that maybe I could stay with her. Get past everything despite the hurt and anger it had caused. Even though she had been coerced at first, she had lost herself in the pleasures she had received from so many and given into the darker things that had been forced upon her. As I stared ahead I could see that metal choker out of the corner of my eye. The one that told me what she had become and I knew that I just couldn’t go back to the way things were. There was no going back. She had just proved that to me in the living room of Amy’s house where the whole thing really began.

Instead of trying to talk it out she tried to use sex to get me back. Sex with her and her new friend and lover. Nearly every teenage boy would kill to be put into a situation like that, but it was different when you go through all of the other things thrown at you beforehand. I just couldn’t.

“It’s not that Em. I just can’t. I think we should just gather those tapes and get rid of them. Once that’s done, the two of you need to decide if you want to continue this with me. I’m going to finish this one way or the other. I could really use the help and probably can’t do this by myself, but I don’t think we can go back to the way things were, and considering what was just happening in there, I don’t think you want that anyway,” I said and then turned and looked into those eyes. They were still beautiful and dangerous, but not dangerous for me anymore. They had lost their power on me now. It made me sad yet grateful.

I saw a tear form in the corner of her eye. I had just ended our life together. We both knew it. That single tear tore at my heart. I reached up wiping it away and pulled Emily into a hug. She wrapped her arms around my neck and began to quietly weep, wetting my t-shirt for what was most likely the last time as more tears began to flow I saw Amy standing just inside the door and looked her way. My eyes told her everything and she understood what had just happened thankfully choosing to walk away giving us our last few intimate moments together.

I don’t know why, but I thought of my mother at that moment, and about how devastated she would be. She knew nothing of what was going on or what her daughter had done. She had been so sure that Emily and I would be together for ever. Now we’ll never know what could have been.

Emily’s sobs slowed and I pulled away from her. “Let’s go destroy those tapes, then we’ll figure things out from there,” I said giving her hand a light squeeze as I turned to go back inside without another word letting that hand go.

“Well, that’s that,” I said as I watched the last of the film from the tapes go up in smoke.

We had smashed them open and tossed the tape ribbon into the little charcoal grill to burn destroying all the leverage Ashley had on Amy, Emily, and both of their parents. The rumors would never go away but the two sets of parents wouldn’t go to jail and Amy and Emily could now just walk away if they wanted to.

When I had gotten the tapes, I expected more jubilation once we finally destroyed them, but with the final end of the relationship between Emily and myself, a gloom had fully descended onto our little group.

“So, do you two want to continue this or walk away?” I asked in an attempt to sound more upbeat.

Amy spoke up first. “I want to help. I don’t know what you have planned but I want to finish this,” she said with a touch of vindictiveness.

Emily jumped on board. “Me too. Where do we start?” she added. I could tell she was trying to act like she was OK now, but I knew she wasn’t and probably wouldn’t be for a long time. Despite how intelligent she is, I don’t think she quite understood how I really felt until I ended our relationship. She had actually found herself enjoying the sex, but I could also tell that she wanted revenge now that she understood it had ended what we had. That was good because I planned true revenge. I wasn’t just planning on making things difficult on our tormentors, I was planning on destroying their lives.

“Well,” I began, then stopped and thought for a moment. “Well, we still need the camera just in case. Let’s head there first. Emily?” I said turning to look right at her. “Your dad should be home by now. Go call him and tell him to meet us at In Focus downtown. He doesn’t know it yet, but he’s buying our video camera. It’s the least he can do,” I paused for a moment. “Actually, tell him he has to buy us a camera and make sure he understands that he has no choice in the matter. He’ll need to bring four hundred in cash with him as well. No exceptions. He’ll be meeting me and Amy. Em, this is what I want you to do...”

I had called my parents as well. Telling them that I was going to the movies with friends and would be back before curfew. Had to make sure I covered my own backside. If I got grounded it could ruin everything.

Amy and I had arrived downtown to meet Emily’s dad Nick while Emily worked on another part of plan retribution. They no longer thought the name was silly. It was now perfect as far as they were concerned, especially once they heard the plan. Well, more of it anyway. They weren’t so certain it would work, but the two of them looked at me in a different light once I fed them more details. Emily had known that I could hold a grudge and I almost always got payback for even minor infractions, but she never saw this coming.

“You and Emily are really finished aren’t you?” Amy asked as we exited the highway.

“Yeah,” I answered her without expanding further.

“She really does love you you know. I just think that maybe if you gave her...”

“I can’t Amy,” I said calmly cutting her off. A week ago I would have snapped at her but now I had found an inner peace. Things were different. I was different. “I know she loves me, and I still love her, but I just can’t. It really is better this way. We’re both different now. I can see that we’re going to want different things from life.”

“I understand. It’s just really sad. I’m really sorry Evan. It’s all my fault. If I would have ... If I could have just told your sister no, none of this would have happened,” Amy said reflecting back on what had happened and sounding truly remorseful.

“No, it’s all Ashley’s fault. Nobody else but Ashley,” I told her which I think helped her inner turmoil. “Let’s just let it go for now. No sense in second guessing anyone’s choices now. We need to stay on track.”

“Thank you, Evan,” she replied. “And thank you for getting those tapes back. I wish I would never have met your sister.”

“Yeah,” I said with a light chuckle. “That makes two of us.”

We had arrived at the camera shop and Amy parked the car. I no longer wanted the camera for trying to get Ashley on tape admitting what she had done. It was a stupid idea anyway as it could have still caused problems for the two sets of parents. I no longer cared much for Emily’s mom and dad either. I had lost all respect for them after finding out certain things. They proved they cared more about themselves than their child. I would not provide them a shoulder to cry on as I had their daughter.