Carver Pike - Scalp

His therapist told him every woman he hooked up with was his mother. That’s why he didn’t care about any of them. He’d laughed about it at the time, but now, he thought she was probably right. It could be why he only dated blondes too. His mother was blonde. Maybe treating all these women like shit was his own way of getting back at her. Whatever it was, he liked doing it, and he’d continue to do so.

Tonight, he’d fuck the shit out of tight little Becky, and then tomorrow he’d drop her off and never see her again. He’d see her, as in bump into her at work and the high school football games, but he wouldn’t give her the time of day. At some point, she’d beg him to fuck her again. They always did, but he never went back for seconds unless he was super high or ridiculously drunk.

“It’s cold out here,” Becky complained as she reached the beach.

This dumb bitch was going to get fully dressed to take a piss, wasn’t she? This aggravated Lenny because he knew if she got dressed, she probably wasn’t going to come back into the water, and he wasn’t ready to get out yet. He liked it in here.

You know what? Fuck it. I’ll stay in with or without her. She’ll either come back in to be with me or she’ll have to wait out there until I feel like getting out.

Lenny was underwater when Becky crouched down to take a piss in the bushes. Her shorts were around her ankles, because like he’d expected, she’d gotten dressed before going to take a piss. This was the position she was in when the dog approached.

With his head underwater, Lenny couldn’t hear her scream. He didn’t hear anything , and when he finally popped his head up after holding his breath for a full minute – maybe less since he kind of sped up his counting as he struggled to hold his breath – he didn’t see anyone on the beach.

“Becky!” he yelled.

He wouldn’t have been able to hear her reply even if she did respond. That damn music coming from Kip’s tent was so loud. Who had sex to Metallica? Lenny had always liked either slow country music or R&B. Hard rock didn’t do it for him in the bedroom. He reserved that shit for when he was working out or punching the heavy bag.

Surely Becky hadn’t finally gotten so pissed off at him that she’d left. Besides, they’d parked pretty far away, and he’d driven her out here. Kip was the only other person with his car nearby.

Nah, she’s probably taking a shit.

Thinking of the pretty blonde squatting and pinching one off turned his stomach. Of course, everyone had to crap, but he didn’t want to think of his girl doing it. For a second, he imagined her behind a bush, her shorts around her ankles, wincing as she forced it out.

Ah, that’s fucking nasty.

“Becky!” he tried again.

Now, his thoughts turned to her trying to finish while standing up tall enough to yell out, “I’ll be there in a minute.”

Her answer never came, and he refused to get out of the water. She was either going to come back in or he’d stay out here all by his damn self. Lenny floated on his back, looking down at his own body and thinking his dick looked like a submarine periscope. He pretended his body was a massive underwater ship and tiny people were preparing to man their battle stations. The water was a bit cool, so he was suffering shrinkage, keeping the little guys’ viewing port right at the lake’s surface. He needed Becky to hurry back so he could expand his periscope.

“Where the fuck are you, man?” he asked aloud, smacking the water with both hands as he finally gave up waiting for her and waded toward the beach. “You really are out here taking a shit or something, ain’tcha?”

The damn music blasted, filling the air with James Hetfield’s vocals followed by a guitar riff. His first order of business would be to tell his friends in the tent to turn the damn radio down.

“Kip!” he shouted. “Turn down the fuckin’ music, man. You tryin’ to wake up all the animals?”

He imagined pissed off raccoons, bears, and even snakes making their way to their camp to smash that radio. His mind was an immature, completely random place.

He’d just stepped out of the water when Becky moved out of the woods and stood between him and Kip’s tent. The campfire had died down, leaving her mostly in the shadows.

“I knew you didn’t leave,” Lenny said.

She didn’t reply, and Lenny didn’t like the way she was standing. She was slumped over slightly, her arms dangling at her sides.

“Wore yourself out with that shit, did ya?” he joked.

Apparently, Becky didn’t find it funny. She wasn’t in the mood for his bullshit tonight. Even he had to admit he was being a bit of an asshole. Maybe he should tone it down if he hoped to get some tonight. So far, she’d been a pushover, but he’d overheard the girls talking earlier this evening, and he was pretty sure Rachel was telling Becky to have more respect for herself.

“I was only kidding,” Lenny finally said.

He’d stopped walking and stood across the way from her, the dying fire between them.

“You wanna get back in the water with me, baby? It’s cold out here.” He looked down at his shriveled dick and added, “As you can clearly see.”

She refused to answer him. He’d really pissed her off. He thought back to what he’d said throughout the night and couldn’t come up with anything that would have made her this angry with him. He’d said worse, he was sure of it.

It was Becky who moved forward next, and as she did, Lenny got a closer look at her. He still couldn’t see her very clearly in the dark, but her head was tilted at an odd angle and it seemed like she had rivers of black ooze coming down from the top of her head. He backed up a couple of steps and felt his heels touch water. The lake was at his back.

Becky raised her arms and held them out to him, perfectly straight, like a deranged Barbie doll asking for a hug.

Behind her, Kip and Rachel stepped out of the tent.

“Guys, I think something’s wrong with Becky!” he yelled.

They didn’t answer, and he realized they too were standing weird. Their arms hung at their sides. It occurred to him that this was probably some kind of dumb joke. Kip was always watching horror movies. He could have told the rest of them to play along while they pranked him.

“Are you fucking with me?” he asked.

This would have been the perfect moment for Kip to start laughing hysterically while yelling out, “Gotcha!” But he didn’t, and Becky continued to step forward.

Lenny was busy looking past her, at his other two friends, when her fingers reached his chest. The shock of feeling her sudden touch caused him to step backward too quickly, hit the water, and fall in. Lenny’s ass splashed down, and he landed on a rock. His mouth shot open and a howl erupted from him, letting lake water pour through his lips and down his throat.

“Becky!” he yelled, through a mouth filled with water. “Get the fuck away from me!”

He kicked his legs and swam away from her. She fell forward onto her hands and knees and crawled into the lake that way, like a rabid animal desperate to catch its prey. Lenny was only a few feet away, swinging his arms, trying to gain distance on her, but she was closing in on him quickly. In all his panic, he’d nearly forgotten how to swim.

Finally, he latched onto reality and remembered he needed to turn and flee from her into the water. Lenny spun around, kicked out his feet, and swam. Becky was right behind him. He could hear her splashing through the water and growling at him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw her rise up onto two feet and then pitch forward, still coming after him. Her head ducked underwater this time, and as it did, he saw a puddle-like substance, frothy and bubbling, leave her head and move toward him.