Maeve spent the next three years as a typical teenager. She went to parties, dances and got decent grades in school. Her first kiss was disappointing, as was smoking a joint. Instead of feeling all happy as she expected, she got a little paranoid, wondering if somehow, someway he’d find out. For some reason, Sean’s threat stuck like glue, and although she only saw him once in a while at Mass when he was home for a school holiday, she often wondered what he knew and what he didn’t.
He’d clearly said he intended to be first in line when she became available, and at seventeen, it seemed he might be a little late. As her eighteenth birthday neared, she determined he was full of crap. There’d been plenty of times he could have approached her after church and he hadn’t. There was also the telephone and any idiot could write a note, if not a letter.
No, he’d been playing with her that day, teasing the naive young girl who obviously had a crush on him. She blushed, knowing she’d been transparent and decided strolling by his place of employment dressed as a South Street hooker hadn’tbeen her finest hour. At the time, she hadn’t even realized how much she worshiped him. Then the big jerk threatened her. That cooled her ardor. How dare he act like he could intimidate her? Well, actually he’d scared the bejesus out of her, she admitted. The thought of being on the receiving end of a spanking from Sean O’Malley was not something to joke about. The man had muscles on his muscles and an attitude to match. She’d never seen him back down from a fight; he had a ‘don’t mess with me assertiveness’ and the reputation to back it up.
On the other hand, he’d always looked out for her, coming between her and disaster many times. He could be kind, gentle and thoughtful. On her seventeenth birthday, she’d received a dozen yellow roses with a card that said ‘Enjoy your birthday, but not too much’. It wasn’t signed, so they could have been from anyone, and she refused to believe they were from him.
Maeve dated a few boys, but nothing serious developed. She didn’t like being pawed, and for some reason, that seemed to be their main objective. “What are you saving it for?”was a nasty question she heard more than once and that was usually the last date. In truth, she wasn’t sure herself. Most of her girlfriends had given it up long ago. She tried to convince herself she remained ‘a good girl’ because of her religious beliefs, but part of her suspected it had something to do with The O’Malley’s warning, which was just foolish. He was nowhere around and would probably never know nor care what she did after all this time. It was a silly school girl’s infatuation, and it was over.
A few days before her eighteenth birthday, she joined some friends to hang out in the field behind the school. They built a campfire and someone brought along a boom box. Soon they were partying and attracted another group of kids from a nearby public school. A cute boy visiting his cousins from the States named Tony singled her out immediately, and Maeve was flattered as her girlfriends looked at her with envy. From hispack, he produced several bottles of wine which began to make the rounds. Handing Maeve an unopened bottle calledTickle Pinkhe announced it was hers alone in honor of her birthday.
Smiling, he opened it and handed it to her. Taking a small sip, she was surprised how good it was. It did tickle her nose and tasted a bit like carbonated fruit juice, not at all like the heavy communion wine she was used to. She shared her bottle with Tony who only took a few sips, and all too soon, she was holding it upside down with a pout on her face.
“Aw, ’tis all gone,” she giggled.
“That’s okay, babe,” he assured her. “I’ve got something else.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a packet of pills and held out his hand to her.
Maeve shook her head.
“Come on, babe,” he pleaded. “These are nothing, just a few ludes. Have a couple. They’ll make you feel great.”
Cautiously, Maeve took one pill and looked it over. It was small, how much harm could it do she thought? Popping it in her mouth she glanced around and saw that most of the kids had paired off and moved beyond the light of the fire. Her world was beginning to spin when Tony eased her onto her back.
His kisses were sweet, she sighed. If another man’s face appeared in her mind, so what. This boyo was here now. She hardly felt his fingers sliding under her sweater. It wasn’t until she heard the snap of her jeans pop open that she tried to stop him. That tiny noise sounded as loud as a shotgun.
“No, Tony, stop,” she said faintly, reaching to capture his hand as it slid down the front of her jeans.
“Come on, it will be fun,” he promised, lowering his face to her breasts.
“No, I don’t want to.” Trying to push him away, she found her arms were about as strong as noodles. A tear slipped into herhair as she realized what she’d done. The O’Malley was going to kill her.
As though she’d conjured him, he suddenly appeared between her and the stars, his big body blocking out the light from the fire. His face was completely in shadow, but there was no mistaking his sheer size, or the growl that came from his throat. He picked Tony up by the scruff of the neck, shaking him as though he were a puppy.
“What did you give her?” he demanded in a voice Maeve had never heard before.
“Nothing, man,” Tony squealed, struggling to get away. “She just had a little cheap wine.”
“What did you give her?” Sean repeated, tightening his grip on the boy’s throat.
“A lude, man,” Tony whined as his hand clawed at Sean’s. “Shit, she only took one. It’s no big deal. She’ll be fine.”
“How long ago?”
“I don’t know, maybe ten minutes. She’s just drunk.”
Maeve lay sprawled on the ground watching the scene unfold between the boy and O’Malley. She hoped when he killed her he did it quickly because there was a very good chance she was going to vomit. If that happened, she’d have to lay in it because she sure as hell couldn’t get up.
* * *
Sean tossed the kid away, enjoying his yelp when he hit the ground. Looking at Maeve, he went down on one knee, gently tucked her breast back into her bra, and pulled down her sweater. He tried not to notice her lacey underwear as he zipped her jeans and snapped them. Her expression was curious, but she neither moved nor spoke, something that worried him.
“Come on, darlin’,” he said, taking her under her arms. “Let’s get you up.” He held her by her waist once he had her upright. Her legs seemed to be useless. Moving her toward the light of the fire, he was just getting ready to stick his big finger down her throat when she began to retch. Supporting her with one arm, he gathered her long auburn hair in his other fist.
It was over in a few minutes. When she looked up at him, she was white as a ghost and sweating profusely.
“Can you walk?” he asked after she wiped her mouth on the sleeve of her sweater.
She nodded, but when he took her arm to lead her away, she didn’t get three steps before she went to her knees. Scooping her into his arms, he carried her away into the dark, her head resting weakly on his shoulder.
