Drowned In Silence

11. Bodies

Bodies

Dynah

The next morning, I’m awoken by the sound of sirens, doors, and loud voices. At least I didn’t wake up in a field like last week.

I only fucking fell asleep a few hours after my only visitor yesterday, left. I had to shower and bandage myself from the wounds he gave me. It was such a nice present after not seeing me for a few weeks, even though all I wanted to do was orgasm a million times. And it wasn’t going to be from him. Asshole.

Sitting up in bed, the blanket falls off of my chest and puddles into my lap. The new bruises stand out against the paleness of my skin. Usually I wear them like armor, proud of the shit I’ve survived.

But lately it just feels like each new issue is a bruise to my soul and not just the skin. Like every flaw of me feels like it’s shattering everything inside my body.

I pull the rest of the blanket off, stand up, and stretch towards the ceiling. I think he bruised a few ribs, but it’s nothing more than I’m used to. If I’m not doing it to myself, then it doesn’t matter.

Reaching beneath the mattress I feel for the familiar metal of the blade, but leave it there. Sometimes you need to make sure things don’t fall into the void.

Another siren makes me jump, and I decide to throw some clothes on, and investigate.

However, I’m not the only one who is investigating this morning. All of the neighboring rooms are also out on the balcony and in the stairwell, murmuring to each other and pointing into the field.

“Sabrina. What’s going on this morning? Who got fucked up this time?” I ask the only other working girl.

She turns to me with tears in her eyes. Sabrina has always been very emotional. She used to come to my room at night and cry to me because someone hurt her. I sat there for many hours with her, nursing her back to good vibes until she grew a damn backbone.

“Someone was found dead in the field last night,” she replies, moving around other people to come to my side.

“Do we know who?”

“No one has said any names yet, but it looks like he was murdered.”

She rubs her hands together, the chill in the air an omen to the winter that is right around the corner. We’ve had our first snow, but it melted when the sun came up. We won’t be so lucky next time.

“Well, shit. I hope it isn’t someone we knew. Do we know what they look like? Maybe it’s a regular or something,” I whisper to her. I don’t want to cause more of a scene than there already is.

“Excuse me, Ladies. Do either of you know a Dynah Avery?” An officer asks. She must have come up from behind us on the other stairwell.

I turn around and my face drops before I can answer. Of course this is happening to me. “Yes, officer. That’s me. May I ask why?”

Sabrina slowly backs away, her tears falling harder.

“Can you please come with me? I just have a few questions to ask, and I’d like a little more privacy,” she motions to the stairs she came from.

“No problem, lead the way.” I swallow hard. Nothing good comes from speaking to the cops. Especially as a prostitute.

The officer takes me down to her patrol car and lets me lean up against the back hatch as she pulls out her notepad.

“My name is Officer Perez, by the way. Thank you for letting me speak to you. This morning we got tipped off about a murder victim in the field across from this motel. Do you know anything about this?” She asks.

“Nothing more than what I’ve seen in the last ten minutes. I just woke up hearing sirens and came outside. My friend Sabrina filled me in that there was a murder. That’s it.”

“Do you know a Jonathan Ross by chance? We found his ID on his body, and a witness pointed us in your direction saying that they saw the victim leaving your room the other night.”

“Oh my god, is that who was murdered?!” I gasp, throwing my hand over my mouth and trying to be as calm as possible.

“Please just answer the question,” she demands. Her eyes hold sympathy, but I understand this is her job.

“Yes. He was with me the night before last. Maybe it was two nights ago. I don’t know right now. He uh– I uh– We had sexual relations around eleven to midnight. Then he left, and I showered and went to sleep.”

“I understand. I know what you do, Ma’am. So he left at midnight?” Her tone changes and she bounces from one foot to the other.

“Yes,” I whisper. Fuck. She’s going to arrest me. I didn’t do anything, but I can’t prove it either. Fuck, fuck, fuck!

“Do I have your permission to take a DNA swab on the inside of your cheek? This is simple for cross-referencing and the process of elimination,” she rattles off. Her tone right back into authority after being so meek a second ago.

Fuck. She thinks I killed him. I’m screwed. I'm going to prison. I won’t last in prison. He is going to kill me.

I nod and open my mouth when she pulls the testing swab from the evidence bag that was on her hip.

“It will only take a second.” I open my mouth, allowing her to get it over with. The cotton touches the inside of my cheek, feeling dry and scratchy. “Okay. Now I must tell you to stay in the area. Please do not leave the county, and if we come back, please don't run. Do you understand?”

“Yes, ma’am. I do. Anything else?” I ask shyly after she’s done.

“Actually, yes. Hold on,” she steps back and turns to the radio on her shoulder, nodding at the replying officer like he can hear her head rattle. “Do you know why the killer would use a raven skull or mirrors?”

My heart rate picks up, and my blood turns cold. It can’t be. The guy who stalked me through that same fucking field? The guy who wrapped his hand around my throat and licked my cheek? The same fucking guy who left a recording of him touching me in the middle of the night and making me come?

“I have no idea,” I quickly lie to her. She can’t find out that it’s him .

Why won’t I tell her it’s him? I have no fucking idea why I’d lie to her, because that would put the blame on him and not me, but I can’t put my finger on it.

Something about him just… screams at me to save him from this hassle. Save him from the torment that I am used to. No one else knows about the shit I’ve been put through, and no one else needs to.