HOT SET: Playing with Fidelity (A romantic suspense novel) (8 page)

“
Are you?”

He grinned
. That always got them, enterprising bitches; they were always interested when he told them his job. He deemed it his right to take advantage of that. Nothing was ever for free.

“
That’s right. I’m the owner of Luminous Pictures.
L.A. Force
is one of my babies.”

“
Really?” She tried to downplay her excitement. “That’s interesting.”

“
What part did you just audition for?”

“
Excuse me,” said a voice behind them and the actor who’d auditioned after Amelia pushed between them while shooting Amelia a death stare. It was obvious this woman knew who Bill was.

“
The murdered man’s daughter in Episode 43.”

“
Ah, I know that part. It’s only a small one.”

“
Small, but important.” It would do her a disservice if she criticised it.

“
What if I could get you a bigger part?”

Amelia’s head whirled with exhilaration
. Her smile was spontaneous and he knew then just how young she was. He decided he was very interested in her.

“
Sure. Look, tell you what, doll. I’m only going to be here for five minutes, just need to sort out some business with the Director. How about I take you to dinner and we discuss this?”

All Amelia had eaten was a can of baked beans that morning and her stomach lurched at the suggestion of a decent meal.

“Okay. Sounds good.”

“
Great. You wait here and I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He shambled up the hallway and up the creaking stairs. She could hear his heavy breaths by half way up.

A few minutes turned into twenty as Amelia stood uncomfortably in the
humid hallway, her audition outfit of fitted black t-shirt and black dress pants sticking uncomfortably to her sweaty skin, her pony tail hanging limp and getting tangled in the sweat on the base of her neck. A bead of sweat slithered down her spine and she leant against the wall to stop its itchy progress. It was quickly followed by another drip that glided from her right temple to land in her eye. She scrubbed at it and wished Bill would hurry up. Three other auditionists had passed her, two ignoring her, the other giving her a small smile as she stepped into the oppressive afternoon heat that was now even soggier with a light, misty rain. She was checking the time on her cheap watch again when Bill’s heavy footsteps clomped down behind her. He patted her on the arm.

“
Right, Amanda. Let’s go.”

“
Amelia.”

Bill
didn’t respond and Amelia followed uncertainly, clutching her bag against her chest.

“
It’s worth it, it’s worth it,” she whispered to herself, trying to buoy her courage.

Bill took her
in his red early-model Porsche to a cheap Chinese restaurant and over two dishes of honey pork, talked at Amelia for an hour. She lingered over the beef chow mein, eating slowly in a hope it’d last longer in her stomach if she did. Amelia threw in the occasional comment, encouraging him to talk, hoping he’d be more inclined to help her if she demonstrated active listening skills.

He swigged from his big bottle of Coke and belched loudly, earning repulsed glances from other diners.

“Coke tastes so good after Chinese food.”

“
Yes,” Amelia agreed and took a sip of her tepid water. The clock on the wall said 6:25pm. How much longer did this need to take?

Bill pushed back his bulk from the plastic table
; the chair creaked audibly at the strain. He pulled out a couple of bills, dropped them on the table then gestured with his shiny head towards the door. Amelia figured that was her cue and she quickly scooped the last of the noodles into her mouth and clambered to her feet, grabbing her satchel as she did so.

“
Thanks for dinner. I appreciate it.”

“
No worries. I’m sure I can arrange payment later.”

Amelia’s
shoulders went up and she chewed on her lower lip.

In his car, he placed his hand on her knee and squeezed it
. Amelia recoiled unwillingly as she attempted to dislodge his disgusting touch.

“
Now, now, there’s no need to be scared.” He ran his hand up her leg a few times and this time she managed to stay still. Her shoulders were stiff and she sat like a statue in the plush leather seat.

Bill continued to stroke her leg from her knee to her hip
. The front of his pants bulged and he suddenly took a right turn into a traveller’s motel. It was an old, single level inn with around 20 doors stretched along the building’s front and a large windowed room at the end for the Reception. It hadn’t been painted in years; large white flakes cracked and flapped in the wind, the soft green doors heavily scratched, giving the place an unstable, fragile-as-china appearance.

Parking outside
one of the units, away from Reception, he commanded her to stay in the car and with a click of the latch, heaved himself out of the low vehicle and ambled across the car park.

The sounds of the passing peak-hour traffic were muffled by the tinted windows,
allowing Amelia to deal with her self-reproach with little distraction. She tried not to think about what she was doing whilst concurrently rationalising it. She needed this; it was the only way to help her mother. Her low-quality education and background would restrict her forever. She couldn’t continue Sam’s abuse, she had to fight it, she had to get her mother away. Bill represented an opportunity, a short-cut. She’d be stupid not to take it.

It was just a body
. It was just a body. He’d never have her mind, her soul.

It was just a body.

Oh God, I have to get out of here.

She pulled on the door handle and it swung open and
it bumped into Bill.

“
Coming in?”

“
No, I want to go home, please.”

“
Home? Why do you want to go home?”

“
Because I can’t do this. I’m not that kind of girl.”

Bill stared at her, irritation sinking his face into a warped, ugly mask
. He stepped towards her, trapping her in the car’s open door.

“
Don’t be stupid. You’re all that type of girl, every one of you actors.”

Amelia flinched and turned away, closing her eyes, the voices in her head
screaming “danger, danger!” Bill ran his finger down the side of her face, across her shoulder, then gripped her upper arm in a vice hold so tight, she went light-headed with the pain. He dug his nails into her under arm.

“
You’re nothing more than a little prick-tease, aren’t you honey.”

“
Please, I don’t want this. You’re hurting me!”

“
Of course you do, all women do. That’s the only thing you’re good for.”

“
No, stop, please!” she cried, backing along the car.

Bill twisted his hand on her arm
, her muscles burned from the pressure and her knees buckled.

Bill pushed his face into hers and
whispered, “if you dare make any noise, I’ll scar that pretty face of yours.”

He
then dragged her to a door while she whimpered, frightened beyond sense. Bill slid the key into the hole, turned it and it swung inwards, creaking, displaying an old double bed, cracked side tables and the entrance to an ensuite bathroom. Bill tugged her roughly through the entrance into the semi-dark room.

Without further ado, Bill pushed her with
his full strength onto the bed. Amelia slammed onto the covers, jumped to all fours and tried to crawl to the other side of the bed, blubbering and clumsy in her terror. He grabbed her ankle and dragged her back.

“
No! Let me go, please!”

“
No! Let me go, please!” he sang to her in a high-pitched voice and he pulled her waistband back so hard, it cut into her stomach. “You conniving bitch, you deserve everything you get. You’ve slept with other directors, why not me?”

She
heaved against the pain at her waist. “No, I haven’t, I’ve never done this before. Please, get off me!” Tears slid down her cheeks as she ineffectually tried to kick him away. But he was too heavy, strong and aroused and grabbed her hair from behind, pulling it hard, her scalp burning. She screamed in agony and arched her back and Bill got into position behind her, ripped her pants and underwear down and rammed himself into her, breaking through her hymen. She was dry inside and combined with her fright and virginity, the pain was intense and she screamed again, scratching his legs.

“
See that’s it. Yell, you bitch! I knew you wanted it!” he wheezed as he pumped into her, ignoring her sobs, keeping a tight grip on her hair.

Amelia gritted her teeth and
cried, the snot and tears mixing into a long rivulet that dripped off her chin. She prayed it would be over soon.
Dear God, dear God, dear God, make him stop
! Her vagina burned from the assault.

To Amelia’s eternal
relief, a minute later he grunted, stiffened, and came on her back, a throaty cry accompanying the action.

He
knelt on the side of the bed in satisfaction, letting go of her hair, relishing the after effects of the orgasm. Amelia scrambled away from him and was hunched on the floor, leaning against the wall as far away from him as she could get. Nearby on a stand were two towels and she grabbed at one and valiantly scrubbed at her skin to clean herself up, to get the feel of him off her.

Bill scowled at her, thinking her pathetic. It was then
when he noticed the blood clearly smeared on the off-white motel sheets.

Well
, she was telling the truth. He reached down and pulled up his pants from around his ankles.

Amelia spoke from the
wall, “so, am I going to get it?”

“
What?”

“
The part?”

“
What part?”

Bill
paused for a moment as his brain put the puzzle pieces together until it made sense. She’d given her virginity for a part in a sitcom. Stupid girl.

“
You must really want it.”

“
I figured there must be some payment for what you just did to me.”

Bill thought for a
moment, “sure, if you make it worth my while again.”

She
tensed. “What more could you possibly want from me?”

“
Tell you what doll, I’ll see you here again tomorrow night, same time and we’ll discuss it then.”

Amelia sat quietly
, the spot between her legs throbbing, the blood trickling down her skin, her hair stuck to her wet face; her bare lower half feeding her anger.

S
he’d been raped. She’d given up more than she thought possible and for what? Being abused? By a disgusting man. A man just like her father. They were all sick bastards. She’d had her virginity taken for nothing. She could never, ever get that back.

Curled on the floor, staring at her rapist, she second vow in that moment. S
he would get revenge on this disgusting man, whatever it took.

She fluidly rose from
the floor, pulled her shirt lower and wrapped the towel around her waist, wiping his semen from her lower back in the process. Amelia glared into his bloated face with such pure venom he leaned away from her.

“
I just want you to know that I’m going to be famous and you’ll see my face everywhere. I also want you to know that one day I’m going to get revenge on you for raping me.”

Bil
l’s laughed mercilessly as he did up the black belt that secured the pants under his belly.

“
Every time you see my face, it will be a reminder of this moment and that I will destroy you, just as today you destroyed me.”

He
snorted. “Girly, I’m a TV Exec. Threats mean nothing to me, I hear them every day.”

“
Take note, Bill Gaffod, because this isn’t a threat.” Amelia took four steps until she was close enough to see the pores in his nose. She straightened her shoulders, making her taller than him and she stared down unnervingly. “It’s a promise.”

Amel
ia gathered her clothes and left, pulling on her undies and pants just outside the door, ignoring the wolf whistles from a passing car. Her bag was still thankfully beside Bill’s car.

Her first stop was to a police station
. They counselled her, took her statement, and sent her to a local hospital for a humiliating rape test kit that confirmed she’d recently had intercourse and was bleeding. Recounting the events of that night for the statement, when Amelia said she’d gone to the hotel with Bill, the cop sighed patronisingly. He spoke to her in a condescending manner for the rest of the interview whilst injecting hints about not dressing provocatively and staying out of hotel rooms.