The Dollhouse

The Dollhouse Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Is he awake?" a voice states.

"Of course not. He's still under the anethestic. He just had major surgery."

One voice is Thorn. The other voice sounds familiar. I can't put my finger on who this other person is. I know the voice but I can't focus.I am barely awake. I can't open my eyes. Maybe it's the drugs that they have me on. Maybe it is something else entirely. All I know is that I just had my 2nd surgery in a week and this time I can hear voices.

The familiar voice,  the one who I can't put my finger on, sounds concerned.

"We can't fuck this up Thorn. We won't have a second chance."

"Everything will work well."

"It better.  Is he ready?"

"Not yet, but I'll make him perfect. I'll make him the perfect doll."

I fall asleep again. I don't know why I was able to even hear that much of the conversation. It must be some sort of freak accident with going under.

"How do you feel?"

This can't be legal. I signed no papers. Thorn took care of the bills. All the surgery takes place in a clinic that seems hidden to the world.  It's back alley.  It's something that shouldn't be happening.  Thoughts are running through my head.  I wonder if I get an infection.  I wonder if something bad will happen.

"I feel like shit."

"10 hours worth of surgery:  Rhinoplasty, chin augmentation, hair transplant surgery, pectoral implant surgery and otoplasty. You've had a lot of work done sir. You'll be feeling good in no time. We'll go ahead and get you taken back."

I am in and out of it on the entire ride back to the house. I'm not sure what I signed up for. I'm not sure why the hell I allowed myself to do this. It was too late now. The bandages are too tight. I feel hazy and groggy even during the ride back. The nurse with me continues to give me oxygen at random times. I feel sick, ready to vomit probably because of the anesthesia.

They give me pills and let me sleep.

When I wake up I immediately get out of the bed and start making my way to the kitchen.

My head is killing me.  What have I done to myself?

What the FUCK have I done to myself?

I'm surprised when I see Kordell there.  I'm so dazed that I don't even notice him at first.  His eyes follow me into the room.  He is bandaged up but not as much as me. He looks like he had his nose done or something. The only other thing that I notice is his hair looks a lot fuller than mine does. He's the only one I see at this moment.

"You look like a zombie," Kordell states laughing as he looks over at me.

"Well shit, I feel like the living dead," I state, taking one of the pain pills using water straight from the tap before turning back and muttering a groggy, "Are the others back yet?"

He shakes his head, "No you're the first one back after me. What did you get done?"

"What didn't I get done is the question," I respond, looking in the fridge.

"Our food is labeled," Kordell states.

I look over at Kordell. He isn't laughing. He isn't joking. I can't even eat what I want to eat after a 10 hour surgery.  The second time around is worst than the first surgery I had.  Sure enough when I open the fridge I realize that our meals are outlined. They are broken down by our names into specific portions. I have no doubt that Thorn has outlined our little recovery house with nothing but healthy food.

When I open mine I see that a salmon has been prepared. It seems like it's drenched in olive oil with a side of eggs and vitamin E rich almonds. I join Kordell at the table and realize his meal is steak.

"You want a piece?" he asks me.

I look down, "Thorn will kill me if I did probably. Especially after he spent all this money on these fake muscles."

I remember the discussion about the pectoral implant. My chest hurts like shit. It feels like it's going to cave in or something. I didn't get it. What was the point of spending all that time in the gym if I was just going to get a pectoral implant anyway.

"Welcome to that plastic life."

"You look pretty much the same," I notice at Kordell.

"I got a hair graft, got a lot of skin of dermatology work done and got these bad boys," he states flashing me a mouth full of perfect white veneers.

"Jealous. You don't know how much pain I'm in right now. I mean I should have known they didn't have to do a lot to you. You were already pretty perfect."

"You think so?"

The guy already had a nice body. He was already tall. He was already cute as hell. Sure now his skin looked like silk and his hair looked like he was a pedigreed horse but that just put a cherry on top of him. I can take a look at Kordell and already tell that he's a lot more comfortable then he was.

"You think so?"

"I know so," I respond.

"Well, honestly you were pretty damn good looking yourself."

Was he flirting? I smile at the thought that moment, "Well I'm glad you're the one I'm stuck in this house with first handsome."

I was flirting right back. I can tell almost immediately by his expression that I'm coming off a little strong. Here I was wrapped up like a fucking mummy in pain. Maybe it's the pain pills that have me being so forward. Who knows? I realize that he doesn't seem to be taking me all that serious though.

"Hopefully with the changes, my ex-girlfriend Ivy will regret she dumped me the way she did."

He puts emphasis on his ex-girlfriend. He's trying to let me know he's not into guys. He does it in a nice way though. I can tell Kordell is a nice guy. I'm shocked he even dated a girl like Ivy.  Ivy, the sweet doll.  Everyone thought Ivy was the sweetest girl you ever met.  Maybe it was her big eyes and innocent demeanor.  They were fucking wrong.  The sweet doll was a bitch.  I didn't know much about her except that she was Serena's shadow. Even being Serena's henchman qualified Ivy for a lifetime case of bitchiness though. I watch how he turns down his face. It's clear there is a lot more to the story but he seems reluctant to share.

We were all here for the same reasons.  We'd all been victims of the Dollhouse it seems like.  Then again, who at Lionsdale hadn't been?

Just when I am about to start prying I hear footsteps. Thorn walks into the room at that moment.

"You're back," Thorn states, "Come meet with me in my office Yogi."

"Office?"

You would think Thorn was some type of middle-aged businessman at that moment. Maybe it's how he's talking or maybe it's the slim suit he's wearing in a goddam house in the middle of the mountain. No one was fucking around. Why the fuck was he dressed like this?

"Yes, office. Oh and bring your food with you."

I do what he says. It's clear he wants me to keep eating. I guess I'm too skinny for him still. When I get into the office I realize there's no decorations or anything in this place. It's as cold as the rest of the recovery house. Thorn sits there in his chair and stares at me up and down. He can't even see the bandages. For a moment I think about asking him about the conversation I heard while I was knocked out. I wonder if I should though. Something is telling me I wasn't supposed to hear that conversation. The idea that it'd piss him off makes me shut up about it. Besides, I didn't know who Thorn was even talking about or what they were talking about. The context was about me but who knows what they meant by any of that.

After looking at me for a few seconds I just feel uncomfortable. My face is bandaged up. My body is bandaged up. The only things that aren't bandaged are my arms and legs. He keeps staring at me none-the-less as though hoping to see something he still has no idea he'd see.

"He's straight," he says out of nowhere.

"Who?"

"Kordell," he tells me.

It's a random thing to say. Maybe he picked up on me flirting with Kordell in the kitchen. He watches me as though trying to get my reaction to that.

I don't know what to say but give an awkward, "OK..."

"Now that we got that matter out of the way, let's talk about your surgery.  It'll take about a week for a lot of the swelling to go down," he tells me, "You'll need to start hitting the gym again. You have to be perfect for your debut."

"When's this debut?"

"Micah's party," he responds, "We want you to turn heads at that party."

"Don't think I'll ever turn heads."

"You already turned mine, the moment I met you."

It's a strange thing to say. Thorn squints at me right after saying it as though expecting me to respond. I'm not exactly sure what he wants to me to say. That's the weird thing with Thorn. You are never sure when he is complimenting you or insulting you. I've never met someone whose intentions are so hard to read.

"Are you being nice Thorn?" I ask.

I try to laugh. It hurts like shit and comes out as some weird awkward grunt through my swollen nose. It's muffled by the bandages. I just settle into the chair and take another bite of the salmon trying not to look like the biggest loser. Thorn is watching me the whole time. He's judging me. I can tell.

"I'm speaking facts. I found you very attractive. Even when I was...Matt."

I'm shocked. He says it as though Fat Matt was a whole different entity then he is. I never noticed Matt looking at me in that way though. As far as I'd known the only person Matt found attractive was Serena.

"You gay?"

I don't want to be forward but after what just happened with Kordell I didn't want to embarrass myself either.  Thorn rolls his eyes when I ask that.  I couldn't be any more uncouth but just out and asking it.  I know I sounded fucking stupid and he looks sort of embarrassed I just came out and asked him that.

"You sound like a neanderthal asking that fucking question.  I don't do titles," Thorn states, "That being said, I don't find many men attractive. Not sexually at least. I did find you attractive."

"Sexually?"

"Sexually."

I study his face.  He's not fucking with me.  He's serious.  He says it so matter-of-fact like.  It turns me on how he goes from this super cool current teen to a businessman at the drop of a dime. Fuck this guy is sexy in his mysterious way. Who just comes out and says that? And why now.

"You had so many opportunities to come on to me in the past..." I state.

He sighs a little bit.

"You're not for me."

Strange thing to say.

"What do you mean by that?"

"You'll learn sooner or later," he responds, "You aren't ready. Not to be out in the world, my handsome doll. Once Serena finds out what we are trying to do things will get hot. Don't stand too close to the heat, my doll, plastic melts. The physical is just the first part of being perfect."

When he talked like this he lost me. It's so weird because he was so goddam serious. I can see it in his eyes. This boy meant business. It wasn't just about popularity. There was something more going on. It makes me think about the conversation I overheard when I was under the influence. Some shit was going down and I just couldn't help but wonder what it was.

But he was right.

Maybe I wasn't ready yet. Maybe I didn't need to know those things yet.

So I just nod and smile, "What am I ready for then?"

He puts something on the table. It's a book. It has to literally be one of the biggest books I've seen. It looks like a goddam text book. I pick up the textbook.

THE DOLLHOUSE

BY Patience Crane

"Who is Patience Crane?" I ask.

"She was the founder of it. The founder of all of it.  A young beauty.  She's in jail now though."

"This place?"

"Not quite.  We are a little...different, but the same teachings. The Dollhouse is bigger than you know, though. Micah, Serena, Adonis. Do you think they were born like that?"

"They've read this book?"

"They live that book.  If they didn't read it, their parents probably did. A secret left in the open. Think about your ideal woman. Think about the biggest star you've ever known. They probably have read this book."

It sounded like some goddam Illuminati shit. It was kind of scary.

"You making me want to read it now."

" From now on this book is your bible," he tells me, "You read everything from front to back. Twice. You memorize as much as you can. You don't let anyone who isn't one of us near that book."

"One of us?"

"The perfects, Yogi. Didn't you know?" he asks me.

The perfects. I swallow my spit at the word. Had I now become one of them?

I flip through the book too excited to even wait. I stop in a section at that moment. Seduction.

The quote in the book reads: Seduction is the art of corruption. It's the art of manipulation. It's the art of making your body into art. Seduction is not a tool you use on your lover. Seduction is a weapon you use on your enemies...

She goes to talk about how to kiss.

"I already know how to kiss," I laugh.

This was bullshit. I didn't need some lady giving me kissing tips. I didn't know this was some sort of self-starter guide or something like that for horny teens. The way he was talking about this I had thought this would have been the Da Vinci Code of our generation. But here it was talking about kissing.

"Show me," he states.

"Wait. You want me to kiss you?"

"Why not? Show me what you are so confident about you knowing."

I was jumping at the opportunity. I approach Thorn. He stands up when I do. I press my hands up against his body. His strong muscular athletic body. Then I lean forward and press my lips up against his. I press my tongue into his mouth. His warm tongue doesn't move. It lets me explore his mouth. He tastes so fucking good. I'm leaning into him trying to get everything out of this kiss. My mouth engulfs his.

I do it until he just pushes me off.

"Trash," Thorn states.

It was more than a slap to the face. Thorn had drawn blood with his comment. I watch as he pushes the book into me.

He starts leaving the room, "The others will be back soon. When I come back I'll need you to prove to me what you've learned from that book. If you can do that I'll give you a gift. A gift that you definitely will  need."

"What kind of gift?"

"Prove you've learned something from Crane's work."

~

7 days have passed. Thorn hasn't returned to the house. Tonight was the night that he was returning. He'd called the house everyday to check on each one of us. He'd sit on the phone with us for an hour testing each of us about what we learned in Crane's book. The others have though. Right now we all are sitting in the main room...all of us except Marisol. She' still been somewhat anti-social. Richard and Kordell are sitting on the floor. They have been testing each other on notecards about things they've learned in the Dollhouse book.

Candice is sitting in a chair next to mine.

"Luck sometimes visits a fool, but it never sits down with him," Candice states.

"I don't get it," Richard states.

Candice is quoting the book. She has a lime green highlighter.   I've read the part that she was talking about.  It's a section in the book about ambition.

"It means you don't depend on luck. You make your own path. You set your OWN table," Candice explains.

Kordell smiles and says "Ah!" out loud.  Honestly, I don't think he fully gets it though.

Richard shakes his head, "I would have literally sold my little sister to just be friends with Braden in school.  I remember one time he made me do all his work in detention and he said he'd have lunch with me.  I remember walking over to him at lunch.  I remember feeling so happy when I saw he had cleared a seat for me.  He'd kept his promise.  So I sat there.  I sat in the seat and there was dog shit on the seat.  He put it there on purpose.  He said I couldn't have possibly expected him to sit with me when he set his own table.  I guess that's what he meant by it huh?

"Braden is a dickhead," I state.

I knew it first hand.  I try to cheer up Richard but he just shakes his head, "The worst part of the whole story is that I apologized to him and offered to help him out in detention the next day.   I was so fucking..."

"Desperate?" Kordell asks, "You have no idea.  I remember liking Natalie Hall freshman year."

"Natalie Hall with the big butt?" Candice asks.

Kordell nods, "Yeah.  Man.  I was obsessed with that girl.  My first love.  I remember it took me all summer to get the nerve to ask her out.  The first day of school, I was ready.  But the thing was Adonis liked her as well.  He asked me to talk to her for him because he noticed we were so close.   He'd never spoken to her.  I remember wanting to say no.  I remember how disappointed she was when I went over to her and got her number...only to give it to Adonis.  Two hours later she sucked his dick in the stairwell and three days later he dumped her..."

"That wasn't Adonis's fault.  Maybe he just wasn't into her," I state, "She did suck his dick after 2 hours of knowing someone?"

I'm trying to defend Adonis.  I don't know why.   Adonis didn't bully people.  Not like Braden or Serena.  Not even like Ivy.  He was above all that petty bullshit that they did.

"Yeah," Candice adds in, "This isn't on Adonis.  If he dumped her then you should have gotten what you wanted Kordell.  You're a man.  You should have gotten with her."

"I tried.  My coach made me dump her.  Said he didn't want to risk upsetting Adonis," Kordell shakes his head, "I tried to explain to him that Adonis didn't give two fucks about Natalie Hall but it didn't matter.  If I dated Natalie Hall I'd be off the team.  He needed to protect his golden boy at all costs."

Out of nowhere Candice just shouts out, "MAKE YOUR OWN TABLE!  Stop waiting around for your coach or someone else to make it for you.  That's what this means.  This book is a fucking boss! I love that quote. Definitely, something to live by."

Candice had us all beat as far as her enthusiasm. I've never felt her so confident. It feels good to see her like that but at the same time, she's just being a little extra, to say the least. Everything in this book she took as though it was the word of God. I guess she took what Thorn told me literally about making this our bible.

I laugh at the idea, "Girl that coffee is getting to you."

"It's not coffee," she states, "It's diet tea. I'm not allowed to drink coffee."

It's ridiculous but I don't say it. She's had a tummy tuck, one that I don't think she needs. She's so much slimmer than she was before. She's so much smaller. Everyone was changing. Everyone was becoming different. I almost didn't recognize myself let alone Candice. The swelling was still going down though. It was still taking forever to completely heal but at least we all had the Dollhouse book to keep us company.

Day and night we drowned ourselves in the mythology. Day and night nothing else mattered but what was in this book.

"Just be healthy about it girl," I state.

"Don't I look healthy?" she asks.

She stands up at that moment and twirls. She shows off her new body. Her body did look good. I have to admit. She was slim like she was some Baywatch girl or something. She'd gotten a boob job as well.

"Damn. You look hot," Kordell states, "Damn..."

Kordell licks his lips. He's definitely attracted to Candice. I watch how Candice smiles. She wasn't used to this sort of attention and that was clear.

"Is no one worried about how Thorn got all the money to pay for all of this?" Richard asks.

I look over at Richard, "I mean he attends Lionsdale Prep."

"I heard his family wasn't super rich though," Richard states, "That was just gossip though."

"Does it matter?" Candice asks Richard.

Richard isn't expecting it, "I was just..."

"You were just nothing," Candice states, "Shut your fucking mouth and be thankful. Look at you. You have some sort of facial structure right now. You might not die a virgin, after all. Thorn did that for you. Why don't you fucking be grateful?"

Candice storms off at that moment. I kind of feel bad. Richard was looking good actually. He had become the most muscular out of all of us. He hit the gym none stop. His facial reconstruction was coming along well. He had changed so much. But at the same time, he wasn't a slave to Thorn. I don't know what Candice was really expecting here.

"What's her problem?" Richard asks.

"I'll go check on her," Kordell states, getting up and going after Candice.

Richard and I sit there and look at each other. It was all definitely weird.

"Thank God Kordell is matched with her and not me," Richard states.

"Matched?"

"Didn't Thorn tell you? When we go back to school I'm supposed to be dating Marisol. And Kordell is going to be dating Candice," he states, "I was wondering who you'd be matched to. You were sort of like the fifth wheel or something."

Weird. What was Thorn doing? Playing matchmaker or something?

"I'm not interested in any of that," I state.

~

It's late that night when I'm in my room and the door opens. I'm surprised, to say the least as I jump up. I can smell him before I know he's there. Thorn has a smell to him. Maybe it's the cologne that he wears. It has natural tones to it. Like chocolate. He smells sweet when he walks into the room.

"Don't turn the light on," he states.

"You're back. Don't you want to see the work you paid for?" I ask.

"I don't want to see you in the light until you're perfect," he explains, "Have you finished the Dollhouse?"

"Almost."

There is a pause. He is staring at me through the darkness. He can still make out my face. I'm sure, even if it's not in the light. He can still see my face because the moonlight is peaking through the blinds. He looks at me for a long time. It's almost as though he's studying.

Out of nowhere he says, "There is a section in there about oral...pleasure..."

"Giving head?" I state, "Yeah I read it. In...detail..."

More awkward pause.

"Show me."

My heart beats. Was this really happening?  I had to pinch myself.  Yeah, I was up.  This was really happening.  I take a deep sigh.   I swallow my spit.  Damn. My dick jumps almost immediately at the thought. I slide to the end of the bed. I don't hesitate. I can see him standing there. He has on a track jacket.

I grab onto his crotch at that moment but as soon as I touch it he pushes me back.

"Not on me," he states, "On him."

Out of nowhere Kordell walks into the room. I'm a little confused at that moment. Kordell is naked. His long dick flops between his legs. I look at Thorn wondering what kind of game he was attempting to play here. Was this really happening? Yes. I wasn't dreaming.

"He's straight...," I state.

"That's the point," Thorne states, "If you can please a straight man then you've learned. If not...then you don't get your gift."

I look over at Kordell.

"Is it...OK?" I ask.

Kordell looks back at me, "I don't know. I think...I don't think I have a choice here. I think it's part of the process I guess."

He seems unsure but he isn't telling me no. I get over to him. I get to my knees. It's part of the book. You want to get on your knees. You want the man to think he is in control but in the back of your mind, you have to know you have all the power.

I'm staring down at the soft penis, knowing that in a few seconds it's going to be in my mouth. I gently hold the base of his dick with my hand then use my tongue to slowly lick it from the base right to the tip. I lick from the dip down to the base of the dick too backward immediately after. I begin to move my tongue from side-to-side as I repeat from the base to the tip. My tongue begins to wildly twirl and swirl around his penis out of nowhere completely catching him off balance. I go from slobbering up the whole shaft to just focusing on the tip.

"Oh FUCK!" he moans.

It's Kordell's first time moaning when I focus on the head of his penis. He thrusts his hips forward sending his dick deeper into my mouth as I tease him. I grab him by the testicles stopping him from taking control and face fucking me. I give them a tight squeeze letting him know who is really in control of this motion. He stops moving letting me do my thing as I focus on the head once again as punishment for him trying to shove his whole cock in my mouth.

"Damn, you playing with me," he says.

He's right. I'm teasing him. I can see him pulsating a little bit. He wants so badly to cum in my mouth and sends his warm seed out of his chocolate cock to the back of my throat.

Thorn watches us the whole time. He watches how Kordell's dick goes from an uncomfortable soft to rock hard in my mouth. I feel the pulsating veins on my taste buds.

"How does it feel?" Thorn asks him.

"This is the best head I've ever gotten," Kordell states, tossing his head back, "Damn baby..."

I don't think either Thorn or I expect Kordell to say that.

"Ok enough," Thorn interrupts.

"Don't stop," Kordell ignores him.

Even when I try to pull my mouth away he leans forward pressing his dick into the back of my throat and moaning loudly. He grasps the back of my neck. I can feel his body tensing up. He's close to cumming. I know it.

"ENOUGH!"

"Wait...one more..."

Thorne isn't having it. I am shocked when Thorn grabs Kordell up. He slams Kordell into the nearest wall behind us so hard that Kordell falls to the ground when he lets him go. Thorn has this violent look in his eyes as though he's about to beat the hell out of Kordell. It literally takes me to run up to Thorn and stop him at that moment for Thorn not to follow up after pushing Kordell.

"Get the FUCK out!" he barks at Kordell.

Kordell doesn't hesitate. He gets up, with a dick still rock hard and leaves the room without saying another word.

I look over at Thorn.

"What was that about?"

"Nothing. You did...well. It's time you got your gift."

He's trying to distract from the weird ass behavior that just went down. The crazy part about it is that it works.

"Now?"

"Now."

He leaves the room and when he returns he has a present for me.

I look at it.

"What is it?" I ask.

"It's a part of your past. A part of your family's history that you don't know about. A part that I discovered. A part that lets you know exactly why it's so important we take down Serena."

"I don't get it."

I start unwrapping the gift. I might as well see it.

"A long time ago a girl loved a guy. That guy was your father. She wasn't supposed to love him. Her parents forbade it. But she was willing to give up everything for him. Including her inheritance. It's a beautiful story really.."

"I know that story," I state, "I know the story between my mother and my father."

"I never said that woman was your mother."

I look at the picture at that moment. It's my father; Tony Luthor. This woman is looking at him longingly. It was a romantic photo.  It looks like it was taken without them knowing.  It looks like it was taken in secrecy.  But they were definitely in love.  DEFINITELY in love.

Only thing is this woman wasn't my mother.  My mother's name was really Yara O'Neil.  She'd kept her maiden name even when she got married.

This wasn't Yara.

It was Aunt Caroline.

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