Punctured, Bruised, and Barely Tattooed(53)

Kory took a breath and then said, “So…this is unbelievable, but Stone used to be in the band Spawn. Have you heard of them before?”

Tina scoffed. “Well, yeah. I might not listen to the music you do, but I’d have to be living under a rock to not have heard of Spawn. They’re local boys, after all.”

“Yeah. I listen to alternate, and I know who they are, but the question is why the hell didn’t you? You’re the big fan, Kory, and you didn’t know who he was?”

Kory smiled and hung her head. “I asked myself the same question. I mean…when he told me who he was, then I couldn’t unsee it. It was like a veil was removed from my eyes. But he used to wear a shitload of makeup onstage…and he was younger and skinnier.” She took a sip of her tea and realized her friends still looked disbelieving. “And his hair was longer too.”

“Still, Kory…”

Tina said, “I think I remember hearing something about a hard rock drummer giving up the touring life and moving back home. We were in middle school then. Yeah…I remember the paper making a huge deal about him coming home and buying half a tattoo studio.”

Lacey nodded. “The Iron Maiden.”

“You could have told me.”

“I didn’t remember that till you said something.” Lacey half-frowned, half-smiled. “You should have known!”

Kory looked them in the eyes, her voice soft. “He said he came back to Winchester about seven years ago. You know what was happening back then, don’t you?” Tina’s face paled but Lacey, who hadn’t known Kory back then, shook her head. Kory took in a deep breath. “I told you about my mom’s boyfriend and all that shit that happened way back when, right?” Lacey nodded and Kory could see the realization flood over her face. “Seven years ago, I was in some pretty intensive therapy and the child protective people were having a hell of a time finding a good home for me. They’d tried reaching out to relatives, and that didn’t work…so they were trying to find other places for me.”

Tina grinned. “But you hadn’t heard anything since? I mean, seriously, girl. You’re a huge metal fan and you didn’t know? Not all the fucking times you stalked him?”

Kory shrugged, a smile plastered on her face. “Maybe that’s why I liked him so much. Maybe my subconscious knew it when I met him two years ago.” The waitress came by with food, but Kory kept talking. “In all fairness, how was I to know? I mean…his tattoos, for one thing. Malevolent Disorder didn’t have finger tattoos. I swear…he looks totally different. Like I said, I see him now and I can totally see it…but I had no idea before. And people talk all the time about when Riley or J.C. come home, but you never hear about any of the other guys.” She laughed. “Cut me some slack.”

Lacey smirked. “We’ll give you a pass this time, girl, but the next one’ll cost ya.”

Kory grinned. If she had any say in the matter, there wouldn’t be a next time.



Stone came by Kory’s apartment early evening. She stepped out the door and started walking with him to his truck. “I thought you were coming by after work.”

“I made arrangements to get out of there early.” She looked over at him before getting in the cab. “You think I forgot today was your birthday?”

She couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face. Kory hadn’t celebrated a birthday since leaving her foster parents’ home. Well, no, that wasn’t entirely true. Tina and Lacey made her acknowledge it, and they usually took her out for ice cream, but none of them could afford gifts and didn’t exchange them. It was typically a low-key reminder that she was one year older, farther away from her past, and now she felt like she was learning to handle it rather than run away from it. Stone had helped with that. When he was in the truck too, she said, “No, I just hadn’t thought about it.”

“So you almost forgot your own birthday?”

“No.” She smiled. “I just don’t celebrate it.”

“Well, sorry, but this year you’re going to.”

As he turned the ignition, she said, “Bossy.”

“Damn straight.” He began driving toward the downtown area and said, “Since you’re twenty-one today, I’m going to take you to a bar. We’re not going to get lousy drunk, but—”

She interrupted. “Just because I wasn’t twenty-one doesn’t mean I’ve never had a drink.”

“I know that. Been there myself. But have you ever had a drink in a bar?”