You take a long breath and let it out slowly, waiting for Gail to make any signal that she was actually joking and doesn’t want to hear it. You watch for a moment as her bare feet come to a stop, directly between you and the table, and twist around as she turns back to face you.

“Well? Do we have a deal or what?”

You stare at her right in the eyes for a moment. She doesn’t look away and instead gently raises her eyebrows and lightly puckers her lips. It’s not completely convincing, but it’s close enough.

Slowly, you begin.

“It was... I was in the woods. It’s the same dream that I have all the time. I’m back by the Colt Dam, clearing off that mining sludge and I just sort of, wander away from the rest of the crew. I don’t really know what I’m looking for, but something makes me walk further and further into the trees. Eventually I see the river coming up but that’s when—” “You get attacked by the big bad Witch, right?”

You shake your head while Gail mocks you. She lifts her hands up by her face and makes them into claws.

“Yeah, something like that.”

You look away as she drops her hands and disappointedly tips her head to the side.

“But you know it’s all bullshit. That’s not what happened at all.”

“Oh yeah? What happened, then?”

“Fuck if I know, but that probably sounded better than admitting that you got piss-drunk and thought you saw the Wolf-Face.”

“There ain’t no fuckin’ Wolf-Face."

“Yeah, no shit. And there ain’t no Witch either but making up that story probably saved you a couple of years off the sentence you would have gotten if they caught you drunk.”

“Look, I don’t care what you believe. There wasn’t any alcohol there. Nobody was drinking. I wasn’t drunk and I know what I saw.”

“Yeah, whatever you say.”

Gail spins herself back toward the table in the room and begins reaching for the boxes stacked in front of her. You look back and admire the smooth skin that curves across her bare shoulders and the slight indentation of her spine as it passes beneath the towel tied around her waist.

“Why don’t you believe me?” You ask, adding an extra punch to your voice. Immediately, you feel the corner of your mouth begin to tighten. “I was in no hurry to leave that place before that night. Hell, knowing that I was coming back here only made me want to stay up there longer.”

“Oh, really?” she quips. “Living here, with all of this, is worse than cleaning shit out of the river for the rest of your life?”

“No, but it was better company.”

You pause as Gail turns around just enough for you to take another glimpse of her chest.

“Your family thinks they own me like I’m some kind of dog.”

“Maybe that’s because you are.”

“Or maybe it’s just you.” You pause and take an extra breath. You can feel your fists wrapping around the sheets.

“You were the reason I got sent up there in the first place.”

There’s a long pause in the room. Gail looks back at the table and her hand floats in the air an inch from reaching your shorts. You can feel your lips twitching. You know your teeth are showing as you wait to pounce upon her response.

“You mean...” she begins and lowers her arm. “After you raped me?”

Her head pivots toward you and she looks back at you with a sharp, but playful grin. It drives through your mind like a knife just pulled from a fire. Your mouth falls slack as she cuts straight through your anger and sends your thoughts scurrying into the dark.

“But—” she answers your question before you even ask it.

“I forgive you. I mean, hell, back then I could hardly keep my hands off myself.”

Continue here.

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