Chrissy's head was pounding. "Ladies and Gentlemen," said a voice she recognized, loudly. "You are about to see something that I'm sure none of you have seen before. I've never seen it done before, but it sure as hell is going to be incredible if it works." That sounded like Kevin, the captain of the college swim team.
The last thing Chrissy remembered was arriving at the frat party with her Theta Kappa Phi sisters. Where were they? She didn't dare open her eyes. She felt as if the whole world were off kilter.
"Now I know we've all had a lot to drink," Kevin continued, "some more than others, but what you are about to see will be something you'll want to remember so let's get out those cell phones out. Did anyone bring a video camera? Yes? Sweet." Kevin pointed to someone in the crowd. "Make sure that man has a good view. We'll youtube this shit all over the net."
Chrissy was wondering why her arms were sticking straight up, she wasn't holding them there.
"Now we've all heard the rumors about our wonderful cheerleaders, right? Theta Kappa Phi represent!" There was a ragged cheer from a few of the women present. 'I'm a cheerleader in Theta Kappa Phi,' thought Chrissy. She cracked open her eyes and saw a smear of colors before quickly closing them again.
"Size matters!" yelled someone from the crowd.
A ripple of laughter spread. Kevin laughed too. "You have no idea how right you are," he said. "I think we may have found the source of that delightfully distasteful reputation."
Chrissy shivered as a breeze blew up her skirt. "As you can see, these rumors seem quite justified. In fact, from here they might even not do reality justice."
"Now, Michael is upstairs right now. You all know Michael, right? He won silver at nationals last year in precision diving. He was robbed of a gold by those arseholes at PDU a couple of days ago." There was a round of applause and Michael appeared on the roof of the frat house. His muscled body glistened with oil. He was short, maybe only 5'2", Chrissy remembered. She'd dated him a few times, but had found kissing to be super awkward because she had nearly half a foot on him. A girl shouldn't have to tilt her head down to kiss her boyfriend. It was a small thing but Chrissy just couldn't get past it.
Chrissy's pulse was pounding in her ears. There was a weird pressure on her legs, like someone was pushing her thighs towards each other but pushing her feet away from each other; and it felt like she was doing the splits, but that didn't make sense. Her arms wouldn't dangle up unless she was upside down. If that was the case, how was she in the splits, unless she was being held there?
Chrissy opened her eyes once again. The riot of colour once again filled her vision, but she bore it out this time. She looked to the left and saw two sets of muscular legs there. She looked to the right and saw the same thing. She looked down and saw her ample bosom rising up out of the neck of her shirt, and beyond that, the night stars. What was going on?
"It looks like Michael is getting ready to jump," Kevin announced. "Everybody ready? If you can do high speed recording, turn it on now."
'I'm not ready.' Chrissy thought, but it didn't matter.
Michael leapt off the top of the roof, arms spread wide. His ripped body gleamed as he reached the apex of his jump. He brought his hand up and tucked his body into a pike position and did a double somersault with a half twist, emerging from it just before he hit his target. Instead of the typical diving position, hands extended straight overhead, Michael had his palms pressed together above his head.
Chrissy didn't know what hit her. She was wondering why she was upside down and wishing she'd worn panties because her skirt had flipped up. The four men holding her legs leaned away from her, making her gasp. It felt like they were trying to pull her in two like a wishbone. Then Chrissie's world exploded.
Half an hour earlier…
Kevin flopped back onto the couch. "Well, that sucks," he said. Chrissy had just passed out on the couch beside him. Michael sat, despondent, on the other side of her. Twice in a week he'd been robbed of glory. "Sorry man," Kevin said, "she was a sure thing. Creating an Eiffel Tower is something everyone should experience in college."
Chrissy started slipping down on the seat of the couch, but her skirt didn't. The hem crept up her thighs as the two men talked.
"I know," Michael lamented. "She was ready to go too. I heard she's up for anything when she was liquored, and she was plenty liquored."
"Too liquored," Kevin said, "maybe that why she never drinks. You know I heard she did TP once in high school in a field party."
"TP?" Michael asked as Chrissy slipped lower.
"Three dicks in her vage," Kevin said.
Michael shook his head. "No way. I used to go out with her. She's not like that."
"People change man," Kevin said. "This was way before you started dating her. I heard she's cavernous down there."
"Be that as it may," Michael replied, "three dicks? Come on."
Kevin didn't reply. Instead he was looking down. Chrissy's bum had slid nearly off the seat of the couch; the pleather had kept her skirt firmly in place though. Her hem had pulled up enough to show the base of her crotch, displaying the fact that she was pantyless. "She really was ready to go," Kevin remarked. He pinched the fabric and lifted it up to get a better view. "Holy shit," he breathed, pulling her skirt up higher for Michael to see. "Look at the size of that thing. It’s nearly a foot long."
"What? No." Michael relied, unbelieving. He leaned forwards and looked. "Holy crap," Michael said when he Say the Kevin wasn’t lying. As Chrissy slouched lower her legs spread, pulling her lips open and revealing the void beyond. "I take back my doubting the triple penetration," Michael said. "She could probably fit four dicks in there with no problem."
"Dude, she could fit my head in there." Kevin said. "Christ. I bet you could put both hands in and clap without hitting the walls."
"I've never seen anything like that before." Michael said in awe.
Kevin took a swig from the bottle they had been using to ply Chrissy. "Hey Michael," he asked. Michael looked up at him. Kevin’s eyes flicked down. "Think you could hit it?" Michael didn't answer. He wasn't exactly sure what Kevin was asking. "From the top tower," Kevin pressed, "could you hit a target that size?"
"Yeah, sure," Michael replied. "I mean, probably."
Kevin clapped a hand on Michael's shoulder. "Tonight we're going to make history and get you the glory you've been denied."
Michael paused to take a swig from the bottle that he had. "What? Are you suggesting what I think you are?"
Kevin nodded his eyes ablaze. "This will show everyone that you deserved to win that title. It'll be better than any Eiffel Tower."
Michael was silent. He knew he shouldn't, but his drunken mind was working incorrectly and he couldn't come up with a reason to not try. She had been going to give it up to the both of them. That much had been obvious. He took another swig form his bottle.
"Do you think it’s even possible?" Michael asked.
Kevin looked him unflinchingly in the eye. "Normally I’d say no, but look at her," he said. "She is ginormous and you aren’t a large guy."
"But what if it isn’t and I break her?" Michael asked.
Kevin didn’t even have to pause. "That doesn’t matter. If it doesn’t work it doesn’t work; but if it does and we missed out on this opportunity to discover that…" Kevin let it hang as he took another swig. "That would be unforgiveable. We must do it because the opportunity has presented itself and it would be negligent of us to waste it."
Michael couldn’t resist Kevin’s charisma. "Alright," he said. "If you think it can be done, then yes."
"Yes!" Kevin exclaimed and clapped his hands. "You go get suited up my man, and douse yourself in olive oil or something. It should make entry easier. I'll take care of the rest."
Back to the present
For everyone watching, it was over in an instant. Chrissy went from slim to supersized in less than half a second. Michael found himself forced into a ball in a very tight, very wet, and very humid space. The men holding Chrissy staggered when the impact occurred, but held their feet as the weight suspended between them doubled. Chrissy’s skirt exploded off her body and her shirt tore when her stomach ballooned into a three-foot ball. Her chest expanded as well, making her whole torso appear ovoid.
There was silence from the spectators, having just watched the impossible occur. It was Kevin that broke that silence. He threw his hands in the air. The forgotten, mostly empty, bottle in his grasp took flight. "He did it! Michael is inside Chrissy!" There was an enormous cheer form the crowd that covered the sound of the empty bottle smashing on the street.
Chrissy was lowered to the ground. A crowd gathered around her taking pictures of her distorted body, but she wasn’t aware. She was thinking of the torment she’d endured all her life. She’d been called a freak so many times because of her unusually sized anatomy. She had tried embracing it, but that only resulted in her getting hurt. She’d thought that by moving across the country and hiding her peculiarity she could run away from her past. This was magnitudes worse that high school ever was. Tears leaked form her eyes as she felt Michael struggling within her. Hand pressed against her body from the outside, Michael pressed against her body form the inside. Everything hurt.
"I’ve never seen anything like it," Dr. Kardash said as he went examined the Chrissy’s medical record. "You are very lucky to be alive." Chrissy didn’t say anything. Her pelvis was never going to be the same. She was going to have to learn how to walk again. Her bruised organs hurt and she was on blood thinners to prevent large clots form forming while her body healed. "I’m very surprised there was no tearing. Other than your pubic symphysis ligament there should be no real lasting damage."
The hospital staff had been able to remove Michael from Chrissy the morning after the party. While she was under heavy sedation they had been able to gradually open her vagina wide enough to pull an oxygen deprived and alcohol poisoning suffering Michael out of Chrissy’s belly where he was promptly arrested and treated while in cuffs.
Omega Alpha fraternity had its charter revoked. The swim team found all its sponsors pulled and ultimately had to disband. All students at the party were brought up on disciplinary action and all active participants were expelled. Both Michael and Kevin were arrested while Chrissy became a medical curiosity and endured several visits from med students while in recovery.
At the trial became a media sensation. Due to the extreme and bizarre nature of the assault interest was very high. Searches for it on the net increased exponentially as the trial approached. Inside the courtroom nobody would ever be the same after watching the high speed video of the assault. The audience and media were all asked to leave for the showing of the recording. Chrissy couldn’t bring herself to watch, she averted her eyes; Michael watched the video uncomfortably; Kevin on the other hand leaned forwards, almost drooling.
When the people holding her legs leaned to the sides, Chrissy’s lips had spread open several inches. Michael’s hands entered her perfectly. It wasn’t until his wrists were inside her that the two of them actually came into contact. His forearms started pressing out against each of her lips, prying her wider open. The jury gasped when Chrissy’s pubic symphysis ligament snapped, allowing her pelvis to open, hinged by the sacroiliac ligaments attaching her pelvic halves to her tail bone. The moment was marked by the sudden raising of two lumps above her vagina and they subsequent rapid spreading
Michaels arms drove deep into Chrissy’s body, raising a bulge that reached form her crotch to her ribs. Chrissy’s cervix, sized similarly to her vagina, easily allowed Michael entry. When Michael’s shoulders entered Chrissy was when he went as deep as he would be able to go. Under her skin, it was plain as day that his arms were bending as his body continued to ram into her. There were more gasps as one by one Chrissy’s ribs popped off her sternum as his mass crashed into her.
Chrissy was spread to nearly two feet wide when the widest part of Michael passed through her lips. She stayed open that wide as Michael’s body tapered to his slim waist then was stretched once more as his muscled ass entered her as well. The jury members could easily make out Michael’s shape pressing out against Chrissy’s skin as he curled up inside her.
When Michael’s thighs were half way inside Chrissy is when her lips finally started to close. Michael’s descent had all but stopped, but his oiled form spun within Chrissy. His downward momentum had transferred into rotational momentum, sucking his legs and feet in. Chrissy’s flesh bulged and writhed as Michael shifted, her flesh straining against the outward pressure forced him into a tight foetal position.
After the video finished, Michael had his eyes closed and his head bowed. Kevin blinked at the abrupt ending, but his lips were curled in a smirk.
The jury didn’t even leave the jury box to deliberate. The guilty decision was unanimous. Michael accepted the sentence without protest; Kevin on the other hand raged. He blamed Chrissy for her clothing, the alcohol, the way things were leading before Chrissy passed out, anything but himself. The judge had none of it and ordered the bailiff to remove him from the courtroom and slapping him with a contempt of court charge as well.
The moment the video hit the internet, Chrissy's dreams of becoming an architect died. She was forever known as "that girl who fit a whole guy in her cunt". Despite judicial intervention it could never be removed from the internet. A thousand people saved it to their hard drives and shared it a thousand times. Chrissy tried changing her name several times, but the spectre of that video kept raising his ugly head.
After years of trying unsuccessfully to leave that incident in her past, Chrissy had had enough. She was at the bottom of her bottle after once again being recognized by an interviewer and summarily dismissed. The bills were mounting and she needed money. At the age of thirty after enduring rehabilitation, and therapy, and moving many times to attempt a normal life, she was done running.
The next day, Chrissy stepped off a plane at LAX with only her phone and a couple of hundred dollars. Everything else she had sold to finance this trip, not that it amounted to much. She had resigned herself to following in her mother's footsteps; arriving in L.A., near pennyless willing to do whatever it took to get by. She hailed a cab and had it take her to the largest adult production company.
Chrissy’s mom had spent a decent amount of time in the adult entertainment business in her younger years. This was back before the time of the internet, when porn was purchased in grubby shops on VHS tapes. Chrissy’s mom had an impressive number of titles under her belt, but not in a single movie did her clothes stay on. There was no crossover from porn to mainstream. Yes she made reasonable money, but she didn’t want that life for her daughter. She wanted her daughter to have a respectable career. Shortly after giving birth she packed up and moved to a different state. Using the funds from her film career she purchased a modest house and started bussing tables when she met her still current husband. After the assault, trial, and rehabilitation, Chrissy couldn’t bring herself to face her parents and disappeared. She felt she represented everything her mother had strived to get away from and now, here she was, doing exactly the same thing her mom had done; doing exactly the thing her mom didn’t want.
To Chrissy’s relief, the driver hadn't recognized her; she wasn't ready to deal with that yet. Chrissy took a breath to steel herself and walked in the front doors of the production company her mother had helped make famous. She was hoping that her mother’s name might carry some weight and get her preferential treatment. It was reasonably spacious inside. There were posters up of some of the best sellers. It was strange for Chrissy to see her mother’s face looking back over her shoulder out of a poster with a strategically placed prop maintain her modesty yet showing she was naked. She’d tried to close the door on this aspect of her mother’s life before, but now here she was about to throw the doors wide open and dive in. Then she saw the last person she expected to meet.
"Chrissy," asked a short man entering a lobby from a hallway opposite the front entrance, "is that you?"
Chrissy didn't recognize him. He was well muscled with a plenty of tattoos on his arms, young, with hair cropped short. He looked like a man fallen on very hard times.
"Chrissy, it's me, Michael," he said.
Chrissy's gut clenched. She hadn't seen Michael since the trial. Her fear and anger and fury must have shown in her face because Michael brought both his hands up, palms forwards in an unthreatening manner. "Woah. Easy. I can't believe it's you."
"Michael," she said through clenched teeth.
Before Chrissy could continue Michael interjected. "I'm sorry for what happened that night. I wasn't thinking. I know what it's done to you and from the deepest part of me, I apologize."
Chrissy was seething. "You and Kevin and everyone at that party destroyed my life. Nobody can see me for who I am. Everyone everywhere sees me as just a big hole now. People can't see past that incident to get to know me as a person. Do you know what that does to a person? I still can't walk right." Chrissy took a step towards Michael, her hand balling into a fist.
Michael took a step back, hands still up. "You have every right to be angry at me. I'm sorry that I sent your life went off track."
"Off track?" Chrissy advanced further. "That video destroyed me." She took another step, her arm started to rise. "I have nothing: no job, no home, no friends, no family; all because of that video." Chrissy released her cocked arm and punched Michael square in the nose. There was a crunch and blood sprayed down Michael's front.
Chrissy recoiled in shock. She had never hit someone in anger before. It hurt, and didn't give the satisfaction she had expected. Chrissy shook her hand. "Oww," she said. Michael already has a hand to his face, trying to staunch the blood flow. "It's okay, I deserved that and more," he said.
Despite everything she put on him, Chrissy felt bad for hitting him. She reached into her purse and pulled out a packet of tissue. "Yes, you do," she said, offering him the tissue packet.
Michael took the packet. "Thanks," he said. That's when the security guard showed up.
"Is there a problem here?" he asked, hand on his holstered pistol.
"No, no. Thank-you," Michael said, holding a couple of tissues up to his face and tilting his head back.
"Mam?" The security guard asked Chrissy.
Chrissy need to flee the spotlight crashed into her, her plan forgotten. "No, we were just leaving," she said. She grabbed Michael's arm and pulled him towards the door. He followed while the guard kept and eye on them.
When they left the building, Michael thanked Chrissy again. "Thanks for not getting me in trouble back there. I'm on probation for another two years. Any trouble with the law and I'm back in a cell."
"I'm still mad as fuck at you," Chrissy said.
"Then why didn't you get me arrested?" Michael asked.
"Because you seemed genuinely sorry," Chrissy replied. "And I'm too tired to fight anymore."
"Trust me, I am sorry." Michael said. "Life hasn't exactly been sunshine and gumdrops for me since then either. It's tough to find a decent job with the title of rapist and a charge of aggravated sexual assault hanging over your head., especially with video evidence everywhere on the web."
Michael pulled the tissue away from his face and sniffed a bit. He gave a couple of dabs and the tissue came away clean. "How about I buy you lunch and you tell me how pissed off you are at me and how much I fucked up your life a bit more?"
Chrissy's stomach growled at the thought of food. It had been a while since she'd had a decent meal. Despite how he looked, Micheal was giving off a very non-threatening vibe. Chrissy expected to be frightened, expected the past to make her rage, but she truly was tired of it all. She just wanted to move on. She nodded.
"Great," said Michael. "There's a burger joint just up the street with fantastic fries."
Chrissy dipped one of her few remaining fries in her ketchup cup. "So that's been my life," she said. "A series of relationships that never even made it to the airport, let alone took off; scattered jobs that I've woked until the video is once again discovered; and several attempts to start over." Chrissy stuck the fry in her mouth. "Damn, those fries are good. So I've told you what's happened to me. What's happened to you?" she asked.
"Well, prison for one thing." Michael replied. "Five years and I was released due to good behaviour and overcrowding. During that time I was raped and beaten far too many times. My swimmer's physique and small stature marked me as a pretty boy and a target. Nobody said as much, but that was the distinct impression I got. The first year was hell, but I bulked up and broke enough bones to make people think twice about having their way with me. The tattoos helped too."
Once people started leaving me alone I left them alone," Michael continued. "I was able to finish school and get my diploma. Like I said earlier though, nobody wants a rapist on the books."
Kevin was able to get out before I did, somehow. His family spent a lot of money on a lawer to review his case. He was back in after a few months though. He'd played nice for the prison board, but when he got out he quickly became a serial rapist. Fifteen women in three months. Fifteen women and one girl." Michael grimaced.
"When word of the girl got around there was no mercy for him. Even inmates don't like sexual assult of a minor; the thing is they're already in prison and in a maximum security prison a good deal of them are in for violent crimes. Any restraint a normal person would have is gone. Last I saw, he had no teeth and was wearing a halo while in traction."
Chrissy got a grim smile. Kevin had shown no remorse about what had happened. Michael had at least apologized and taken reponsibilty for what he had done, and Chrssy could repect that. Kevin had shown no remorse and railed against Chrissy and women in general in a most misogynistic way after scentancing. Chrissy felt Kevin thoroughly deserved everyting he got.
"When I got out there was nobody," Micheal continued. "That video had ruined my life. All my friends disappeared. My family disowned me. I came out with nothing to my name save the clothes on my back and the stuff in my pockets." Micheal put the last bit of his burger in his mouth and took a pull from his drink. "I've been pretty transient ever since. When the video comes up I don't even try anymore. I just pack up and move on. Right now I'm driving a cab and provide protection for working ladies."
"You guard prostitutes?" Chrissy asked.
Michael nodded. "I was leaving a client when I ran into you."
"They- they don't mind what you did in the video?" Chrissy tentatively asked.
Michael shook his head. "It wasn't easy getting them to trust me, but I did." He sighed. "Truth be told, I'm just not interested."
"Prison turned you gay?" Chrissy asked.
"I'm not gay," Michael said, "definitely not gay."
"So, what? You don't like women or men?" Chrissy paused. "You're asexual now?"
"You're partially right," Michael said while Chrissy took a sip of her drink. "I don't like men, or women. I like just one woman; and I didn't know it until about an hour ago."
Chrissy coughed and nearly did a spit take. "What? Me?"
Michael nodded. "I know it's fucked up. I barely know you. I mean, we went out a few times almost a decade ago; there was the incident that brought us to here; and now there's just us. I have nothing I care about in my life right now. But after seeing you here, I don't want to ever not see you again."
Chrissy was stunned. She was silent for a bit before carefully replying."I don't know if I can recioricate your feelings."
"That's fine, I'll wait," Micheal replied, "like I said, not interested in anyone else. It's not pity or a creepy obsession with the target of my crime. After our first attempt at dating nobody else clicked. Maybe that why it was easy for Kevin to manipulate me into diving into you like that. You weren’t the only one wasted that night."
Chrissy thought about that. She hadn't really clicked with anyone either since then. Chrissy thought back that near decade to why they split. She didn't like being taller than him; that was it. In every other way they had been a good match. It seemed such a puerile reason, but with other taller boys practically tripping over themselves to get to know her then it had been enough. Now, after so many failed attempts it seemed a very insignificant issue. But she was still angry at him for violating her in such a profound and public manner.
"Look, you've just arrived, and have nowhere to stay. How about you stay at my place? It's not the best part of town, but it's better than the cheap motels. I can sleep on the couch." Michael suggested, "Or if you'd rather, I could use the money I just got to pay for a motel room for you for a couple of weeks to let you get your bearings around town."
Chrissy thought about that. The offer was was very tempting. She didn't relish walking into a porn studio the day she arrived and getting to work, but she had no other options that she could see. A chance to rest would be great; and strangely, she found that she didn't fear Michael, not like she had imagined she would. His sincerity appeared genuine.
After hearing that his life had gone off the rails as much as hers had was some comfort to her. Seeing him, a previous champion, reduced so low was quite gratifying. On top of that, she had passed some of the motels she would have been able to afford for any length of time on the way to the studio, and could see syringes in the gutter just out front. The thought of staying there for any length of time made her shudder. Micheal's admission of the effect she'd had on him was reassuring. She actually felt she could trust him.
With no other real option open to her, she agreed.
Michael was right about his apartment not being in the best part of town. Chrissy saw several people wearing gang colours, but at least there was no drug paraphenalia on the sidewalk. The building was squat and rather ugly and the hallway dimly lit, but inside Michael's apartment, it was actually quite nice; sparse, but nice.
"Here it is." Michael said as he opened the door into the livingroom.
The room was small but bright. A tube T.V. sat in the corner with a VHS and DVD player on a corner entertainment unit. There was a loveseat on the wall across from the corner with small plants on either side. A low coffee table was the only table of significance in evidence in the apartment. Hung on the walls were medals from highschool and college swim meets and pictures of what Chrissy assumed was his estranged family.
"You have a sister?" She asked.
Michael smiled sadly. "Had a sister. After prison she wouldn't talk to me. Nobody in my family would." He sighed. "I hope that one day I'll be able to pull my life together and maybe they'll acknowledge me once more, but I don't know if they'll ever forgive me."
Michael led her through a door into a room with little more than a bed and a dresser. It had a very monastic feel. There were no decorations on the wall and no unessential furniture. A small window was placed high up on the wall to let some natural light in. It probaby would have let in a reasonable amount of fresh air had there not been several layers of paint gluing it shut. The single bed had clean sheets and a hard mattress.
"Here's where I usually sleep," said Michael. "It's not fancy, but it is pretty dark and quiet at night."
Chrissy didn't right away go back to the studios to sell herself out. With a place to stay secured she tried to find less distasteful work but found that she was more well known in L.A. than anywhere she had been before. It was very demoralizing.
She chipped in with Michael's rent with money scrounged from the few odd jobs she could pick up here and there, but it was never a significant amount. For his part, Micheal was a veritable saint. He never hounded Chrissy for money or pressed his presence upon her. After a couple of weeks he’d found a cot that he setup in the living room for himself.
It was a month before Chrissy met one of Michael's clients. Chrissy was already on her third job and things were becomming unpleasent there. A few of the other employees were giving her sidelong glances. It was only a matter of time before someone said something and her shifts dried up.
Chrissy was sitting on the love seat watching TV when the door slamed open, making her jump. Michael was there and in his arms was a lady who looked like she'd been smashed in the face with a brick. "Chrissy. Get me some ice and a blanket," he ordered.
"Oh my god. What happened?" Chrissy asked.
"I'll tell you in a bit," Michael said as he moved over to his cot. "Right now I need to assess the damage to see if she needs to be taken to a hospital." Then to the woman in his arms he said "Don't drift of on me Lizzy. Don't fall asleep."
Chrissy went to the kitched to grab anything frozen that might work. "Why not take her to the hospital right away?" she asked.
"Because she can't afford it and it will put her and her kids out on the street," Michael replied as he gently removed the remains of the woman's shirt. He sighed "This isn't as bad as it looks."
Chrissy returned with a bag of ice cubes and another bag of frozen mixed vegetables. Lizzy was leaning forwards, resting he head on Michaels shoulder while he was gently pressing on her ribs. Spots of red and brown were starting to show on her back, down one side, and face.
"I don't feel any broken ribs, but you can't fall asleep Lizzy, you hear me?" Micheal lifted her off him and held her upright. "You're concussed and if you fall asleep I won't be able to tell if anything more serious is going on."
"Yea," Lizzy said and nodded.
Michael leaned Lizzy back back on the couch. He took the vegetables and pressed them against the side of her face. The bag of ice he wrapped in her shirt and pressed against her side then pulled the blanket over top of her. "I'll be right back Lizzy. I'm going to get you a drink and get Chrissy to take a look at my back. Don't fall asleep."
Michael motioned for Chrissy to follow him into the kitchen. When they we're both in there Chrissy whispered, "What the hell Michael?"
Michael grabbed the bottom of his shirt and pulled it up over his head, grunting and wincing as he did so. He was very ripped. "I was driving for Lizzy today and things went south," he said.
"So you bring her to your place?" Chrissy asked.
"Yeah. I don't know where she lives," Michael answered. "These girls don't like giving out their addresses to anyone. This place is safe. I can make sure that she's okay here and my help is free.
"Most of these girls, they're no better off than you were a month ago," he continued. "You at least hadn’t quite given up yet. These girls have."
Michael turned and put his hands on the counter. "Is my back bad?" he asked.
Chrissy sucked in a breath through her teeth when she saw the long scrapes across his back. They were an angry red and oozing blood in a couple of places.
"It probably looks more painful than it is," Chrissy said and pulled a paper towel off the roll on the counter "I've seen worse." She quickly quickly ran the paper towel under the tap to wet it and pressed it to to wrost part of Michael's back. Micheal echoed Chrissy's gasp from earlier.
"It stings," he said.
"Like I said;" Chrissy noted, "it's not great, but it’s just surface." She dabbed again at Michaels back. "So what happened?"
"When we showed up I thought the place looked sketchy so I grabbed my pipe wrench out of the trunk and tucked it up my sleeve before we went in. The guy that answered the door looked even sketchier than the house. Lizzy was a bit nervous at the sight of him, but he was giving her a grand for the evening." Michael shook his head. "I knew it was too good to be true."
Michael raised is voice. "Are you okay out there Lizzy?"
"Yea. Dizzy." Lizzy replied.
"Anyway, she goes into the bedroom and I take a seat on the couch. Things are going okay for almost twenty minutes before I hear voices being raised. I'm off the couch in a second, but the bedroom door was locked by the time I reached it. Then Lizzy starts screaming.
"I kick at the door and my foot goes right through it; cheap door, but still locked. Through the hole I see three guys. The deal had only been for one. I was thankful that I'd had the foresight to hide the wrench up my sleeve.
"One of the guys was holding her down. One was feeding her his fist. The last one had his back to the door and was unbuckling his belt. They had all stopped when my foot came through the door. I got the wrench ready and took a couple of steps back so I could get a good run.
"I heard them give Lizzy a couple of kicks as I ran at the door. It broke when I hit it. Part of the door stayed attached at the hunges. That's what scratched me. The guy who had been pulling his pants down didn't have them up yet. I tripped on the bottom part of the door and crashed into him, pushing him into the the one doing the hitting as I fell.
"The guy who had been holding Lizzy down came at me before I could get up. He was going to head stomp me until I swung the wrench and hit him in the shin. There was a crack. His shin bent in half and down he went."
Chrissy covered her mouth. The mental image of someone's shin breaking and bending turned her stomach, and the matter of fact way Michael described it was horrifying. "Oh my god," she said.
Michael smiled grimly. "One thing prison taught me was how to fight. Are you done?"
"Oh, yes," Chrissy said as she gave his back one last dab. "Do you have any polysporin or something?"
"One of the plants in the livingroom is Aloe Vera," Michael said as he got a glass and filled it for Lizzy. "Break off a leaf and use the gel inside. It doesn't have the chemicals they put in the manufactured stuff."
Chrissy followed Michael out of the kitchen and broke off a leaf as he suggested while he helped Lizzy up and helped her take a drink from the glass. "I'm sorry I've go no straws for you Lizzy," he said.
Lizzy sounded a bit drunk. "S'okay," she mumbled and then lay back down.
Chrissy sat at one end of the loveseat, aloe leaf in hand. "Sit," she commanded Michael.
Michael sat and turned his back to her. He sighed as Chrissy squeezed the gel out of the leaf and onto his scrapes. It felt nice and cool.
"So what happen to the other two guys?" Chrissy asked as she started to spread the aloe gel around."
"Well, they came at me together," Michael said. "The one who had punched and kicked Lizzy I hit in the face with the wrench. Nearly took his head off. He has a broken nose and eye socket now. The other guy got too close for the wrench. He hit me a couple of times in the side, but I was able to give him a good hard kidney shot and he dropped like a rock. I gave him a couple of kicks after he dropped, just to make sure he'd be pissing blood, then stomped on his nuts."
"This guy is a good man." Lizzy said from the cot. "We all know we can trust him. He'd never hurt a woman"
Chrissy wasn't sure what to think. This woman obviously didn't know who Chrissy was. Had she not seen the video? Did she know who Michael was? Granted, he seemed a different person now. Over the past month he'd not made her feel uncomfortable at all. Then she realized she had been there a month.
Chrissy stooped rubbing the aloe in. At first she'd only intended stay a day or two. Now she realized she'd grown comfortable here. She felt safe and understood in a way she hadn’t for a very long time. She was on even ground here, amongst the low, and it felt good. People got to know her, not just from the video the way they did uptown.
"Michael," Chrissy asked. "Are we roommates?"
"I guess so," Michael said. "I mean you've been here for a month now. Do you want to move out? I'm fine with you staying here."
"No, I just didn't realize..." Chrissy trailed off. Could it she she had forgiven him?
"Are you done with that aloe?" Michael asked.
"Oh yeah, let me just cover it so you don't get it all over." Chrissy folded some paper towel and placed it over the aloe gel. It wasn't a proper gauze bandage, but would do in a pinch.