My head is spinning with a valid excuse for why she needs to stay.
“Could you perhaps stay with her? I’ll go to our camping site and grab some blankets so that she won’t catch a cold on top of it.”
Another exchange of glances. “Sure,” she says, “No problem.”
One of the men steps forward. “I’ll stay too.”
I pull my best worried face, acting as if I am scared if I am left behind with the pair of them, while my man goes away. The girl notices. She waves at him dismissively. “Kevin, it’s fine. I’ll stay. You two hurry up and get help.”
“I’m Tammy, by the way.”
“Claire, and that’s Tom,” I respond without hesitation.
“Nice to meet you both. These two are Kevin and Sam.”
I give them a nod, still faking that I’m in horrifying pain. Tammy urges the men to get going, and Jasper pretends to do the same, walking away from us in the opposite direction. Tammy talks a mile a minute. The girl doesn't shut up for one second. She tells me who the men are (friends from work), and says she has a crush on Sam.Poor Kevin. While she rambles on, she’s a fucking chatterbox, probably trying to distract me from my pain, I carefully take in our surroundings, my eyes scanning for Jasper. Relief floods me when I see his form appearing. Tammy doesn’t hear him nearing us.
“Ladies.”
Tammy looks up, startled. “Oh, Tom! That’s fast, I wasn’t expecting you back yet.” Her eyes darting toward the tree line, probably scouting for the two men. She fumbles with the sleeve of her burgundy-colored jacket, as Jasper stares down at her.
“Where’s the blanket?” she asks.
“You'd better run, Tammy,” he says.
“What?” She blinks at him in surprise, and a nervous laughter slips past her lips.
I roll my shoulders, crack my neck, and stand up. Surprised, she glances at me.
“Your ankle,” she says in disbelief.
“Miraculously healed. It seems your chatter has healing powers, although my ears seem to be bleeding now.”
Tammy is trying to grasp her reality, and she has a hard time doing so. Her confusion is a beautiful thing to witness; theemotions that flicker in her eyes are intense, and watching them fade excites me.
“Where did you come from?” Tammy whispers to Jasper.
He crouches down and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, but there’s nothing loving about the gesture.
“See, Tammy, that’s the thing with birds that always sing their own song, they never hear the song of another.”
Chapter Eleven
Tammy is absolutely perfect. The tears that have wandered over her skin, give her a waxy look. She reminds me of a porcelain doll. I turn to Jasper.
“Can I please have her for my photography? Like… Can you not tear her apart? Or do it after I’m done? Please?”
Her eyes widen in distress, listening to my words and my implication.
“Darling, she’s all yours. I know I ruined the other one; this one is for you.”
I stand on my toes and kiss him. Tammy’s whimpering is our background music; her muffled sounds are the only thing that breaks through the silence that surrounds us.
“Let’s lay her on her back first,” I say, and Jasper picks Tammy up and displays her for me on the metal table. He watches me expectantly. This is his personal event, sitting frontrow. I sway my hips as I circle her, giving him glances as I bite my lower lip. I can’t believe I’m doing this. I grab a candle and light the wick, so the wax can melt. I made sure to get one made of paraffin wax, as it retains heat longer. I watch it in a trance, an impatience that lingers inside me, as eagerness takes root. Jasper eyes me curiously.
As the wax starts to pool around the wick, I pick it up and lazily let it drop on her forehead. Her skin responds instantly to the touch, the wax sealing in her flesh. Red swelling sets in immediately, and small blisters begin to pop up. I let fresh wax pour over the sensitive skin, coating her entire forehead. As it cools down, I warm my palms and begin to mold it, flattening it.
“You will be my personal wax doll, your skin as silken as those in the death photography images that I love so much,” I whisper tenderly.
