Crimson Night Ch. 06

Chapter 6 - As the music dies, and all its sad goodbyes

Over the next few weeks, Paige helps show the apartment. Sarah takes applications from about 20 people, mostly students or younger professionals like Paige herself. A few men, but nearly all women. Their first pick was a woman named Kelsey. She's a few years older than Paige. Just finished a law degree and starting as a junior associate.

Unfortunately when Sarah called her back she'd already found another place and signed a lease. They work their way farther down the list, and end up with a new tenant named Tamara Yoon. A couple of years younger than Paige, a student.

When Paige meets her, the first thing she notices is her smile. She's beautiful, and seems so happy and excited about life. Tamara has long black hair, hung in loose waves around her shoulders.

"Here are your keys, and our numbers if you need anything," Paige says as she hands over a little envelope. "You said you were a student?"

"Yeah, Imaging Sciences at BSU," Tamara replies.

"Oh no way! I did my degree there in Medical Lab Tech. Oh man, did you have any classes with Dr. Felzan?" Paige asks with a laugh.

"Christ, yes. Ugh... he was the WORST," Tamara says. "I don't give A's because nobody is perfect," she adds in a mocking tone. "What a fucking hard ass."

"Like once a week he'd try to erase the white-board with the mouse," Paige says as they both break down in laughter. She hadn't intended to stay, but she quickly finds herself sitting on the bed with Tamara sharing stories about their school days.

"Hey, this is maybe a little fucked up to ask, but any chance you're going out shopping or anything sometime soon? I don't have a car currently. It's my first time living on my own. I didn't really think about all the things I'd need," Tamara says quickly. Clearly nervous, she fidgets with her pillow. "It's cool if you aren't, no pressure. You know what forget I asked, sorry."

"No, no, it's no problem. I'm free now if you want to go do some shopping," Paige says, trying to be as calm and reassuring as possible.

"It's all so overwhelming," Tamara says with a sigh. "I've never been on my own like this before. I was living at home still, but it wasn't really working anymore." Tamara gathers up her things and heads to the car with Paige.

When they arrive at the mall, they shop for mundane household things. The kinds of things you don't really think about the fact that someone had to buy them originally. A toaster, oven milts, a plunger, a drip tray for snowy boots. In one aisle as Tamara is trying to decided between two different comforters she turns to Paige.

"Is it alright if I ask about you and Sarah? Like... are you... you know?" Tamara asks nervously. "Sorry if that's not OK to ask, just tell me to shut up and I will."

"It's OK. Yeah, we're together," Paige says gently.

"That's so cool. She's really pretty," Tamara says turning back to the blankets.

Tamara is fairly quiet until the drive back to Sarah's house. Paige can tell something is gnawing at her, but doesn't want to pry. She fidgets in the passenger seat.

"Did you tell your parents? Do they know about... that you're dating a woman?" Tamara asks finally. The question clearly weighing on her. It takes Paige a few moments to process it. Honestly she hadn't even thought about telling them, its been such a crazy time.

"No, I haven't told them yet. It's pretty new. I guess I'm still figuring things out," Paige responds.

"I can't say I'd recommend it," Tamara says sadly.

"Sorry you had to go through that," Paige says, gently placing a hand on Tamara's leg and giving a squeeze. They ride in silence for a while. Paige considers turning the radio on, but decides that might be inappropriate.

"My friends call me Tam," Tamara says finally.

After unloading the car Paige sits with Tam on her bed for a while. She tells Tam all about meeting Sarah and Liz, leaving out some of the details, including their fame and past. Hearing about Paige being with both Liz and Sarah has Tam intrigued.

"So Sarah doesn't mind that you're with other people?" Tam asks.

"Not really, shes.... kind of wild," Paige attempts to explain. Then suddenly Tam leans in, and kisses Paige.

"My parents were awful to me when I told them I was attracted to women. My mother cried and told me I was a bitch for not letting her be a grandmother. Like I only existed to reproduce, and it didn't matter if I was happy," Tam says softly. "It's nice to meet people who are open minded, accepting."

"Are you sure about this?" Paige asks. When Tam nods, Paige pulls her close, kissing her softly. Paige kisses down her neck, across her collar bone, the tops of each breast. She pushes up her shirt, gently kissing a trail down her stomach.

Tam arches her back to meet Paige's mouth. Paige hurries to undo Tam's pants. Throwing them to the floor as she dives in, her mouth exploring Tam's most intimate areas. It doesn't take long for her to leave Tam panting softly as Paige slides back up the bed to lay beside her.

"Did Sarah teach you that?" Tam ask breathlessly, her face flushed. "Think she'd take on another student?"

It doesn't take long for Tam to join in with Sarah and Paige. Initially star struck when she finds out who Sarah is, she quickly gets over it and becomes a welcome addition to the bedroom. There isn't the same romance there is with Sarah, but Paige finds herself bonding with Tam in their own unique way.

After a few weeks they get a text from Sarah. She has a special night planned, and tells Paige and Tam to meet at her place tonight. When they arrive Sarah greets them at the door with a smile, and a drink in each hand. She hands Paige and Tam the drinks and leads them inside.

"You guys are going to love this," Sarah says eagerly. She takes them to the bedroom, and Paige gasps as she takes in the sight of a naked woman tied to the bed. She's bound and blindfolded. The woman is similar height to Paige, but where Paige is soft, this woman is lean and muscular. Tanned from extensive time in the sun, her blond hair is styled in an undercut.

"This is Shannon. I found her on a hookup app. Shannon is going to be our plaything for the night. She's given us permission to do anything we want to her. Nothing is off the table," Sarah explains as she reaches down and gently runs her hand over Shannon's naked body.

"What do you mean anything?" Paige asks hesitantly.

"I mean anything," Shannon says. "The safe-word is vanilla. Until I say that, I'm yours."

To demonstrate, Sarah parts Shannon's legs, and gives her a swift smack to the labia. Shannon gasps, but doesn't say a word, doesn't close her legs.

"Did you like that?" Sarah asks.

"Yes mistress," Shannon replies. Her voice is laced with excitement. Eager for things to continue.

Tam is frozen, unsure how to react. Paige however decides to give it a try. Paige walks over to the bound woman, and starts by giving her a kiss and cupping a breast. Gaining confidence Paige slides a hand between Shannon's legs, eagerly exploring the smooth wet folds.

Sarah quickly finishes her drink and begins to undress. The other women follow her lead and it isn't long before they're all on the bed. Tam laying between Shannon's legs, furiously lapping at her slit. Paige sits on Shannon's face, while Sarah kneels on the bed kissing Paige.

Sarah pours them all another round of drinks. After a moment of consideration she takes the bottle of whiskey and pours some over Shannon's stomach. All three of them descending on the bound woman. Licking, sucking, and biting.

A few more drinks, and some play later, the room is hot and humid. The air filled with the smells of sweat, sex, and liquor. Sarah has a flash of inspiration.

"Open wide now," Sarah says to Shannon, as she lowers herself to Shannon's mouth. Shannon begins to lick eagerly, but quickly begins to cough and sputter as Sarah begins to pee. Sarah grins as the sound of her overflowing the helpless womans mouth fills the room. Paige and Tam look on shocked as the coughing fade and Shannon begins to gulp down Sarah's offering as fast as she can. The sounds of splashing urine slowly taper off as Sarah empties.

"How was that?" Sarah asks her helpless toy as she lifts off the womans face.

"Incredible mistress," Shannon responds, gasping for breath.

"Make sure to clean me up good," Sarah instructs, lowering herself back down. When Sarah is satisfied she shifts, presenting her asshole to the woman. Shannon accepts her new task with enthusiasm.

Seeing the wild scene play out, Paige grows more bold. She straddles Shannon, putting her hands on Shannon's breasts, gently sitting on her stomach. Paige looks at Sarah as she follows her lead and begins to urinate on the helpless Shannon. Shannon doesn't seem to notice she continues to tend to Sarah. Tam gasps in shock. Blushing furiously Paige looks to Sarah for reassurance, and is met with a deep passionate kiss.

Sarah gets up to pour another round of drinks. Tamara not wanting to feel left out takes a turn riding Shannon's now vacant face. She cant bring herself to piss on the woman, but can't deny how turned on she is watching Shannon get used like this.

As Tamara rides, Sarah stands at the side of the bed giving instruction to Paige. Paige has a small leather wrapped paddle, and is gently giving spanks to Shannon's legs. Sarah give direction and encouragement, while drinking the last of the whiskey straight from the bottle.

"Harder Paige, come on," Sarah prompts. Paige gives a harder slap with the flexible paddle. Still nothing too intense. Tam thinks about how her parents have definitely hit her harder before quickly pushing the thought down. Tonight wasn't the night for thoughts like that.

Paige moves higher, giving Shannon a harder hit to the underside of one breast. Tam can feel the woman gasp under her, a bright red mark forming on her breast. The wild intensity of it all catches up with Tam as she shudders, tensing momentarily before she lets out her held breath. Letting her orgasm radiate through her. She dismounts from Shannon and walks over to stand with Paige and Sarah. Her legs feeling weak, she leans on the nearby dresser. In the afterglow of her orgasm she cant help but feel incredibly happy. Surrounded by supportive women who allow her to explore and be herself.

Sarah begins to straddle Shannon in the same way Paige had earlier. Her knees pressing into the now cold wet sheets. She uses the paddle Paige had been using, swiftly whipping Shannon's sides all up and down her body. Tam and Paige watch on as Sarah winds up for a particularly powerful swat, the little paddle breaking at the handle as it makes impact. Sarah tosses it aside, and leans down to lock her lips with Shannon's in a long intimate kiss.

When she finally breaks the embrace, Sarah leans back. She rocks her hips back and forth, looking up to the ceiling as sweat pours down her face. Both women breath hard as Sarah nears her climax.

Suddenly Sarah slaps Shannon in the face, hard. Paige's breath catches in her chest as she watches a line of blood run down Shannon's face from a busted lip.

"Hey, that's too much," Paige interjects putting a hand on Sarah's shoulder.

"Did she tell me to stop?" Sarah asks shrugging off Paige's hand. Shannon's shakes her head.

"No mistress, I didn't," Shannon responds. Her hips softly thrusting under Sarah's weight.

Sarah winds up and slaps Shannon again, and again. Paige begins to relax and watch the show, when Sarah's slaps turn to punches. Savagely Sarah punches the woman in the face once, twice. Paige thinks it's just play until she sees the blood on Sarah's knuckles.

"Stop! Please stop!" Shannon begs softly. Sarah ignores her, continuing to hit her as she rocks her hips.

"What the fuck, she's asking you to stop!" Tamara shouts as she intervenes. Pushing Sarah off of Shannon and releasing the buckles on the straps holding Shannon to the bed. When Tamara pulls off the blindfold tears are running down Shannon's face. Sarah leaves the room. Tam gently lowers her to the floor letting her sit against the wall to catch her breath.

Sarah returns, a new bottle of whiskey in hand. She takes a long drink and sets it on the dresser before turning to look at Shannon. Shannon smiles weakly up at Sarah. Sarah suddenly delivers a vicious kick, catching Shannon just under the ribs. Paige and Tam look on in horror as Shannon doubles over sobbing. Sarah descends on her, attacking her in a wild rage.

"Stop! Sarah, stop! Oh god please stop!" Tamara screams, tears flooding down her face. Paige is too stunned by the brutal attack to even move. They watch in horror as Shannon begins to pee herself as Sarah continues to beat her. Tam tries to pull Sarah off but is pushed away.

Sarah emits a primal scream as her hands clench around Shannon's neck. Squeezing tighter and tighter. Paige feels her legs give out, sinking to the floor. Shannon's movements go from frantic struggling, to weak acceptance as Sarah continues to strangle her. Shannon's moans, her body shuddering.

"Vanilla," Shannon gasps, her voice horse and strained. Immediately Sarah lets go of her, standing up and offering a hand to help Shannon to her feet. Paige's fear and rage turn to confusion as Shannon wipes off her face and rubs at the spots where the ropes dug into her wrists.

"Thanks, that was incredible," Shannon says her voice strained but her demeanor completely calm. With the easy confidence of any regular house guest she stretches and walks out of the room to the kitchen. Paige and Tam are still at a loss for words when she returns with a soda, a snack, and ice pack. Shannon opens up the hall closet, grabs a few towels and tosses them on the bed before sitting down to enjoy her snack. Sarah settling in next to her, suddenly as gentle as ever.

Tamara quickly puts her clothing on and rushes out without saying a word.

Finally the pieces fall into place. Paige sees it now, the darkness that Lizzy warned her about. The cruelty. The absolute brutality. Paige thinks about the gun sitting at home, understanding the fear Liz felt. Paige is certain now as well that this isn't just some random woman from a hookup app.

"Gwen," Paige says the insane situation suddenly making sense.

Paige throws on her clothing and rushes after Tamara. She catches up with her walking down the street. Tamara is crying, extremely distressed. Paige tries to comfort her but Tam pushes her away. Paige is hurt, just wanting to help. Her hurt turns into understanding as Tamara begins to vomit in a nearby bush.

Paige holds her, rubbing her back softly until she finishes. She takes her hand and holds her close as she walks her the short distance to her house. Paige doesn't live far, but it's far enough to feel like a long solemn walk in the chill night. Neither says a word as make their way down the sidewalk, the trauma of the night setting in.

When Paige opens the door, Tamara stumbles in, collapsing on the couch just as her legs fail her. She tries to talk, but is only able to cry and shiver at first.

"What the fuck was that?" Tamara finally asks. She pulls her knees to her chest and looks to Paige for answers. Hoping to make sense of things.

"I don't know," Paige answers, partly a lie. She doesn't know for sure, but she strongly suspects that Shannon was actually Gwen.

"Why didn't we stop it? What if that had been one of us?" Tamara asks, her voice harsh and ragged. The fear leading her to shake violently.

"I don't know," Paige answers again. She feels a flood of shame wash over her. She had been part of it, enjoying it, until right before the end. Everything seemed fine, then suddenly it was all so wrong.

"I thought she was going to die Paige. I thought I was about to watch someone die," Tamara says. She gasps for air, continuing to tremble. Paige wraps her a blanket, hugging her tight.

"It's OK. Shannon is fine, you're fine, I'm fine. You're safe here, I promise," Paige gently strokes Tamara's hair as she holds her to her chest. In a way Paige welcomed the distraction of having to help Tamara. It gave her something to do, something else to focus on. It meant she didn't have to be alone with her own thoughts right now.

As Tamara calmed down, Paige had more time to think about what happened next. This was too far, too much. This was so far outside of anything she knew how to deal with, she wasn't even sure what her next steps were.

Eventually Tamara falls asleep, exhausted as her adrenalin spike fades. Paige gently extracts herself, leaving Tam to sleep peacefully on the couch. She puts on her coat and shoes, stopping by her bedroom briefly before heading back outside. She locks the door securely behind her and walks back to Sarah's place. Paige wasn't sure what to expect when she got there, but the weight of the gun in her pocket reassured her that she could handle whatever might happen.

Alone, she walks through the night with a grim determination that things finally had to change. That after tonight, there would be no going back to how things were.

Paige reaches Sarah's house and finds the door still left open from when she left. Cautiously she steps inside, quietly closing the door behind her. When she enters the living room she sees Shannon asleep on the couch. She's laying on her stomach, looking as comfortable as any guest can. The woman is surrounded by a small pile of food wrappers and empty drink cans, clearly continuing her snacking after Paige had left. In the bedroom, she had thought the woman had tattoos covering her back. But it was dark, and she only saw her back briefly. In the light of the living room however Paige could see her back clearly. It was covered in scars, many of them absolutely horrific looking. The only time Paige had seen anything like this was movies when someone was whipped as punishment.

The scars weren't all lines however. Some of them were smaller round circles. Burns she realized with horror. They had to be burns. In the chaos of the bedroom she hadn't considered things. She remembered now though Liz's explanation, that Gwen didn't feel the pain the way most people did. In that light, the events of tonight made a little more sense.

Paige slowly works her way through the house, unsure which Sarah she might run into. Would she be met with her Sarah? Or with the raging violent Sarah from earlier? When she finds her, she's sitting on the floor of the bedroom, drinking from the open bottle of whiskey next to her. Paige recognized this Sarah too, the sad, drunk, remorseful Sarah. Paige lets go of the gun in her pocket, zipping the pocket closed. Thankful that she won't be needing it.

Sarah looks up at her, the same sad look that's become familiar to Paige. Paige isn't surprised to see Sarah has her necklace in her hands, slowly fidgeting with the ring. In the dim light of the bedroom the red stone is dark, cold looking.

"I'm a monster," Sarah says, her voice choked with a sob. Paige doesn't disagree, instead she sits down across from her, silently waiting for Sarah to be ready to talk again. Sarah takes a long slow draw from the bottle that had been by her leg. The air in the room smells positively flammable. Either Sarah spilled somewhere, or she's absolutely tanked.

"I'm sorry. You and Tam didn't know, weren't part of it. You didn't consent to that," Sarah says hurriedly. Her voice coming and going, punctuated by sobs. She takes another drink, as Paige considers taking the bottle from her.

"That's Gwen, isn't it?" Paige asks after a long silence. Sarah nods. "And you set this up before hand? You knew she'd beg you to stop, and that you wouldn't?"

"That's part of it. Stop isn't the same as the safe-word. She wouldn't have wanted me to stop. The fear is part of it, part of the fantasy I guess." Sarah explains. "But it's not a fantasy if you're not in on it." Sarah takes another drink, her breathing hard.

"This is why I quit the band. Or I guess why Liz quit first. I don't know what's wrong with me." Sarah says with a sigh. Paige reaches to take the liquor from her but Sarah pulls it away, taking another drink.

"I haven't felt that for a long time. That cruelty. That darkness. The desire to hurt someone like that. I thought it was gone," Sarah continues, another drink. "Not gone I guess, but... less. Diminished. When it was just me and you, it was so much more tender. I want that, I want to be like that all the time. I don't want... this monster inside me." Sarah sobs. She starts to take another drink, but instead pulls the bottle back and throws it across the room with scream. The bottle explodes on the floor as Sarah pulls her knees to her chest. Her frustration, her fear overwhelming her.

"I'm scared Paige," Sarah says finally. "If you and Tam hadn't been here... I don't know if I would have let go."

Paige swallows hard, feeling the fear creep back into her with that revelation. The earlier outburst leaving her questioning if she should have come back. Sarah clearly isn't stable, especially right now. Sarah slumps forward, swaying slowly.

"Is it over between us?" Sarah asks softly. Now the meek, shy Sarah Paige has seen only rarely. Such a stark contrast to her usual self.

"Sarah... I..." Paige starts to reply.

"I need help. I need help before something terrible happens. I know it's asking a ton Paige, but please. Don't leave me, not yet," Sarah pleads.

"What's the plan then?" Paige asks hesitantly.

"Rehab I think. As a first step. Rehab, therapy. It gets worse when I drink, but if I'm honest with myself it doesn't ever fully go away. Are you willing to stay with me, if I work through this?"

Paige scoots across the floor to sit next to Sarah. She holds Sarah's hand, considering her options.

"OK. I'll try it. Only if you keep making an effort. Only if you keep wanting to be better, OK?" Paige puts her head on Sarah's shoulder. She realizes she's signing herself up for a difficult ordeal. Possibly an impossible task. She can see the pain in Sarah's eyes, hear it in her voice. Paige believes this really is Sarah's rock bottom moment. Things were bad now, but when they were good, they were so good. She hopes desperately that Sarah can get the help she needs.