#mister negative

June was late, she wasn’t going to deny it. Between the more than pleasant events in the elevator and her sprint to the women’s restroom to clean herself up, at least thirty minutes had passed. She had to clean the semen Peter had left inside her, wash her face, and redo her makeup. Her light white blouse was slightly damp with sweat under her black blazer, her tights had disappeared, taken away by Peter, and her skirt, already too short, now felt way too revealing to wear comfortably all day long.

She couldn’t go back home to change so she hid her misery with a little perfume and foundation over the marks on her neck. The hickeys he’d left on her stood out clearly against her brown skin. The good side of it all was that Peter now knew Ralph was the source of her stress, she no longer had to hide that disturbing part of her job. The jealous ex, the ex completely full of himself, no, she was going to tell Peter everything and hope he wouldn’t try to get revenge.

Even when she put lipstick on her lips, she could still feel the remains of his semen soaking her black thong. There was no blood, no need for a tampon, at least. It looked like he’d shocked her vagina enough for it to stop acting up anymore.

Her phone felt hot in her hand when she picked it up to check the time. There were two messages from Peter wishing her a good day and other things far less innocent. This twenty-four-year-old guy was definitely the death of her. She couldn’t help but smile while reading his texts.

How could someone be so cute and so fierce at the same time? She didn’t know.

She looked at herself in the large mirror one last time while adjusting her blazer, turning around to check her ass and damn, this skirt was definitely not corporate appropriate now that she wasn’t wearing her black tights anymore. She hoped for the best anyway, having a good day and waiting for her boyfriend to pick her up at the end of it. Her pack of birth control pills kept catching her eye inside her bag. It wasn’t exactly the time she usually took it, but she didn’t have a choice. June drank some tap water and swallowed the tiny pill.

Even if this thing messed up her hormones, she couldn’t just stop taking it. Having a child right now would only add more responsibilities while there were still sides of Peter she was discovering. Lately, he had been an emotional storm, going from unexplained anger to infinite softness. He had never been violent with her, but the way he yelled at her in the parking lot had scared her a little if she was being honest with herself. And his black eyes? What was that? Some kind of eye disease? Just weird.

June finished getting ready with one thought in mind, they needed to seriously talk about his absences, his lateness, and the disappearances he could never explain logically. Doing a PhD in biophysics and working independently as a photographer didn’t explain coming home in the middle of the night covered in bruises. Something was off. He listened to her, he was kind and respectful, and she reassured herself by thinking he would eventually tell her what was going on if she gently asked him tonight. A good idea would also be to kneel in front of him while doing it, he liked those kinds of submissive displays. A genuine act proving she was his and then maybe he would open up. She didn’t realize she had been staring at herself in the mirror for too long until a coworker opened the restroom door.

She grabbed her old crossbody bag and quickly walked between the desks to get to hers. The looks she received were strange. Some people lifted their heads above their computer screens just to watch her. Yet her heels made no sound against the gray carpet and she hurried along, greeting people here and there, but the atmosphere was unsettling, creeping her out. June swallowed down her fear as she sat in her office chair, turned on her computer, and started pretending to be busy organizing files. For a moment, she felt less nervous. Her actions slipped back into routine as she clicked her mouse and typed on her keyboard. Her phone lit up on her desk. With a glance, she saw it was Peter, but before she could read his message, a loud bang made her jump.

“So this is the hour you decided to come to work?” Ralph asked, his tongue pressing against the inside of his cheek. His white hair was perfectly styled in that polished English way, blue eyes sharp, clean-shaven. “See, I don’t pay you to walk in here like you’re in your fucking apartment. I pay you to do your job.”

June stared at the pile of files he had just thrown onto her desk, knocking over her pens and pencils in the process. He stood there with his arms crossed, searching for any reaction from her, but she remained calm.

“I’m sorry…”

“Excuse me, what was that?” He mimicked leaning in to hear better.

“I said I’m sorry,” she repeated sharply, facing his angry stare. He looked at her for a moment before cracking a smile she once found attractive. Now, she only felt resentment and regret. “There was traffic.”

“Last time I checked, you don’t have a driver’s license.” June sighed in her chair, her back slightly slouched, a few curls falling along the side of her face as she pursed her lips. “Oh, I see. Your boyfriend was the delivery driver today.”

“That’s none of your concern, Ralph.”

“It is when you show up late at the office. You can’t always get away with special treatment.” He answered while leaning over her desk. “Life isn’t that easy.”

“Nothing is easy with you.”

“Lower your voice, June.” Ralph adjusted his jacket while glancing around the open space to see if anyone had heard them. He wasn’t sure how discreet their conversation was, but it was obvious people were watching. “I already started working. I’m not that late!”

“One fucking hour too late!” he growled, and she flinched.

“Don’t talk to me like that…”

“Did you say something? Care to repeat it?”

“I’ve had enough of-”

“In my office. Now!”

His voice practically shook the walls. Some of her coworkers stood from their chairs, curious to see what was happening. What June felt went far beyond embarrassment. She grabbed her phone from the desk and followed Ralph. He slammed the door behind her while she stood there, her palm pressed tightly against her phone screen.

Buildings stretched high beyond the glass windows, her heart pounding fast in the complete silence of his office. She turned around and watched him pull down the blinds facing the open space. He was isolating her the same way he used to during their relationship, ruining her friendship with Bea so he could become the only person she needed. She later realized how manipulative he truly was. He promised he would divorce, marry her, run the law firm together, only to crawl back to his wife while dumping all his frustration onto her.

“What the hell is wrong with you? Huh?”

“What’s wrong with me?” she repeated, frowning. He was getting closer, but she didn’t move. The anger washed over her fear. “You’re the one who’s been making my life miserable, making everyone hate me, and for what? Because you’re jealous I finally moved on? This is harassment at this point. Ralph, I tried, but this thing needs to end. I can’t focus when you’re always trying to tear down my work every chance you get.”

“You’ve been late and I’m the bad guy? You need therapy.” He laughed again, openly mocking her as if this were all some kind of game.

“I don’t- I understand today wasn’t- but-”

“Finish your fucking sentences!”

“Give me a minute!” she yelled back. Again, his tongue pressed under his cheek while he placed his hands on his hips. “I’m sorry for being late. It won’t happen again.”

“Little do you know, there are cameras in elevators.”

“What?” June felt her heart drop into her stomach.

“All four of them. Fifty bucks to maintenance and I could get a pretty good video of you getting fucked by this dickhead. Now I’m wondering what to do with it. Send it to his boss? His university?”

“Oh my god… Peter-” The room spun around her. Tears welled in her eyes. She felt dizzy, like she could pass out. She stepped back while tugging down her skirt, trying to cover herself from his predatory gaze. “Please don’t do that.”

“Funny how this guy fucked you hard and raw and when I did it you accused me of rape?!”

“You didn’t stop when I said no.” She shook her head, thoughts tangling together. She felt herself slipping apart and Ralph took advantage of it to grab her arm. Her tearful eyes widened, his blue gaze meeting her brown one. Her lips trembled as she felt herself falling apart because of his hand on her.

“Because deep down you like it. Pretty sure he does too.”

“It’s different… We have a safe word. He cares about me.”

“Lies. Lies. Last time with me should’ve taught you better. Believing anything just because someone gives you attention.”

She tried to pull away, but he tightened his grip.

“Delete it.”

“What do I get in return?”

“You’re fucking sick, Ralph,” she hissed through clenched teeth. “I’m not doing anything with you.” She finally managed to free herself and move past him. The second she grabbed the doorknob, he spoke again.

“The legal world is small, June. It won’t be hard to spread rumors about some lazy Black woman seducing me.”

“How dare you!?”

June turned around, furious. The slap she landed across Ralph’s face snapped his head to the side. He rubbed his reddened cheek. Silence stretched between them. She raised her hand to slap him again, but he caught her wrist and shoved it aside.

“I’m not a fantasy or a stereotype. I worked hard to achieve my goals and I earned this life with my own sweat and tears. I have power too, Ralph. I can sue you, make millions off what you did to me.”

“See? That’s why you’ll never become a lawyer. Where’s the proof? Maybe nothing happened.” He walked toward her with a satisfied smile that unsettled her. “Maybe it’s all in your head. Your reputation? I can ruin it like this.” He snapped his fingers. “Peter’s? His life will collapse like a house of cards. And you know what I’m capable of. I’m dying to watch him fall. Say the word and I ruin both your lives.”

“You have no right to-”

“I have every right! I own you since the day I made you bleed on my cock.”

June gasped and turned toward the door, but Ralph rushed forward and pressed himself against it.

“I- I have work to do…”

“You stay right fucking here, June.”

She discreetly pressed the button on her bracelet, the one Peter had given her, the one that would tell him she was in danger.

“What happened to us?” His falsely gentle voice made her grimace.

“Let me out.” She kept pressing the button. “We should go to court. Let’s stay professional and do what we used to do.”

“You used to be mine. You obeyed every order I gave you. You came so hard you cried.”

“I cried because I was confused. I wanted a caregiver, not a masochist.” She sniffled, wiped her tears against her cheeks, then looked away.

“You asked for it.”

“How? When did I-”

“You practically begged me. That’s on you, not me. Be honest with yourself.”

June started searching through her contacts to call Peter, then raised the phone to her ear while staring at Ralph with tears in her eyes. She was doing everything she could not to give him the satisfaction of watching her break down in front of him, but it was becoming impossible to hold back all the shame and pain hidden deep inside her. Her past with him had always been buried far enough for her own brain to black out the tragedy. But now he was digging it back up to make her fall for him again, and she felt helpless.

He ripped the phone from her hands and threw it near the steel trash can. From where she stood, she could see the call to Peter was going through, but he wasn’t answering. Her moment of distraction became an opportunity for Ralph. He stood so close she could feel his spit against her face.

“You wore this skirt to turn me on, didn’t you?”

“I have to summarize depositions and witness statements. Then prepare motions, subpoenas, affidavits, discovery requests.” She started listing the tasks she had to do, an avoidance technique to stop him from getting into her head. He laughed while listening to her.

“No. No.”

“Trial binders, e-filing, exhibits for the jury, writing interrogatories.”

“You look so sexy. Pretty sure the kid hasn’t fucked you in the ass yet.”

“This is my workplace, Ralph. I’ll report you to HR, okay? Stop this!” She shook her head while covering her ears.

“What’s wrong? Two men can’t fuck your pussy anymore? You used to be more open with me.”

“You forced me!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.

“No, you remember it wrong. You wanted to satisfy me and I wanted a cuckold. I didn’t expect you to cry that much. You liked it though, didn’t you?”

Her attempts to get past him were useless. He kept blocking her from reaching the door.

“Does Peter know? I wonder how he’ll react when he finds out three men took turns on you.”

The smell of vomit spread through the office. June was crouched in front of the trash can, throwing up her guts. The bile burned her throat and left a horrible taste in her mouth, but she couldn’t stop. Her phone was still on the call, Peter was on the other end of the line. She grabbed it and raised it to her ear while wiping her lips with her fingertips. Her eyes were empty. She felt like she was watching herself from above, like an experiment outside of her own body.

“Bunny? Princess? Listen to my voice.”

“You heard what he said…”

“I’m coming back, okay? June?”

“I’m so sorry.”

Peter hung up, and the first thing June thought was that he was probably disgusted by her. Ralph grabbed her by the arm, opened the door, and shoved her against her desk. Coworkers had gathered nearby.

“Is everything okay here? We heard yelling.”

“Everything’s fine. She got sick all of a sudden.”

“June?” one coworker called out to her, but she ignored her.

“We’re going to court. Get back to work, guys. There’s no drama to gossip about.”

He waved his hands around while laughing like nothing had happened. He was the boss, confident and seemingly in complete control of the situation. Almost nobody asked questions while June packed her belongings into her bag and gathered all the necessary documents into a cardboard box. Ralph grabbed his coat and handed June hers. She took it without arguing.

They crossed the open space while she kept her head down the entire time. Her body felt weak, as if she were dead inside. Images from the night he trapped her into having sex with his friends haunted her. She had worked so hard to forget, and now every memory was eating her alive from the inside out.

In the distance, she could hear Ralph’s voice, talking again and again. She sat in the passenger seat without blinking once. Her nails dug into her crossbody bag, all she could hear was the pounding sound of her heart. The concrete walls of the parking garage were replaced by passing streets. She could swear she heard Peter’s voice reassuring her, but it was just another trick her anxious brain played on her. Nothing could stop her from being here. Peter probably hated her, she thought. Otherwise, why would he hang up on her like that? He had never done that before. The only explanation was that he was ashamed of her. Anyone would be, right? It was her fault.

“You lie to yourself saying you’re a victim. But you never say no to me.” She didn’t reply, staring blankly ahead. “You’re going to quit, aren’t you?” Her right leg started bouncing nervously. She pressed the button on her bracelet again without even realizing it. “After all I did for you? Money? Time?”

Police sirens made her blink. She followed the white car with flashing lights until it passed them, then gasped when she realized she was inside Ralph’s car and he was driving her God knows where.

“Stop the car.”

Ralph accelerated, his jaw tightening.

“Say you miss me.

"Stop the car, Ralph!"

"No. What are you gonna do? Jump out?” he laughed, but then noticed the idea had sparked inside her head. Before she could try opening the door, he locked it. “Congratulations, you got your tongue back. Say you miss me.”

“I never wanted to be used like that.” She panicked, all her buried emotions fighting to break free. “I never said no because I didn’t know what my value in this world was. I wanted to be loved, to feel protected and- I thought if I did whatever you wanted, you’d see I was worthy of you and give me that. I was naive, lost, and you took advantage of it. Don’t pretend you did nothing to me because we both know you did.” She breathed hard. “That video of me and Peter, if you leak it, I’ll tell your wife. Everybody.”

“Blah blah blah. Say you miss me.” He ran the red light and almost hit a child.

“You’re insane! Stop the car! Please.”

“Say it!” he roared back, pressing harder on the accelerator. His car swerved between the others, honking fading behind his reckless driving. “Say it or we die together.”

“Never!” She covered her ears, the sounds around her growing louder.

“Hey June.” She opened her eyes. “You forgot to put your seatbelt on.”

She looked at the road cleared of snow and covered in salt, traffic jammed across the highway. The car in front of them was getting dangerously close, and at the last second he slammed the brakes at a hundred and sixty miles an hour. The force of the stop sent smoke around the wheels. His airbag exploded against his face. June flew through the windshield. Her coat softened the impact. Pieces of glass floated around her while her body was thrown against the concrete road. Time stretched as she flew through the air. Her heels gone, her curly hair flying around her face, hands open, her eyes closed as her mind saw Peter one last time.

A web caught her before she could crash. She bounced above the cars lined up bumper to bumper, at least thirty feet above the ground. They were on the Brooklyn Bridge. She could see the ocean and even the boats on the water from how high she was suspended by the chest. She turned her head and saw something red and blue flying through the air, hanging from a web he held with one hand. Her body was snatched again, but by someone. Spider-Man. It felt like something was chasing him, she could hear gunshots behind them. Her bare feet touched the concrete ground just in front of Ralph’s wrecked sedan. Large white lenses looked at her while her head spun. A spider printed across his superhero suit, strong arms holding her close against him, and she could feel his heartbeat under her palms. Fast and loud. A military vehicle forced its way between the two lines of stopped cars, smashing through the sides of them.

Spider-Man shielded June from the gunfire while the military vehicle drove past. A tank followed behind, and inside, a dark-haired man with a beard was shooting at them. People screamed, ran away, and hid so they wouldn’t catch a stray bullet. June saw the man’s face, he looked like The Punisher, a vigilante who made his own laws without caring about the consequences, an antihero Spider-Man had in his sights. It wasn’t normal that he wasn’t chasing them, that he held her so tightly against him like she was everything to him, and June felt something was wrong, but she also felt grateful to finally be safe. Away from Ralph, her trauma, her past. There was something soft in the way Spider-Man’s arms wrapped around her, the way his mask clung to the sweat on her skin. His scent felt strangely familiar, almost like the detergent Peter and she used at home. The pounding of her heart slowly calmed, her mind found peace, and warmth spread through her body. Even when several police sirens followed behind them, even when people whispered around them, Spider-Man still held her tight.

“What are you doing!? Call an ambulance…” Ralph stood on the smoking hood of his car, barely able to walk straight.

June’s mood shifted the same moment Spider-Man’s did. He breathed heavily behind his mask while staring at Ralph. He gently pushed her behind him. The white of his large lenses narrowed as he walked toward him. Ralph staggered forward when Spider-Man punched him straight in the face. Teeth flew out of his mouth while his whole body slammed hard against the concrete. The sharp sound she heard could only have been bones breaking. Ralph was knocked unconscious with a single hit. And soon Spider-Man started kicking him. Every time he struck his stomach, Ralph’s body slid several feet farther away. People were horrified, screaming while watching their beloved hero beat a man already lying on the ground.

“Stop!” June yelled at him, but he kept punching him. The cracking sounds were horrific. “You’re going to kill him.” She ran to grab Spider-Man’s arm, pulling him toward her. He was out of control, consumed by a rage she couldn’t explain. “Please, stop! People are filming! Wait! No!”

He was too strong, even his arm felt like it weighed a ton. It was impossible to hold him back. She fell backward and Spider-Man caught her by the waist. A flashback of Peter stopping her from falling into the snow during their first date crossed her mind.

Spider-Man caressed her face, smoothing her curly hair behind her ears.

“I’m fine,” she said. He acted worried. His nod confirmed it. “You should go before the police get here.”

Suddenly, he lifted her by the thighs and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Her coat hid the way her skirt had ridden up. Judging by the number of camera flashes around them, she was relieved her ass wouldn’t end up all over the news. He started running and she held onto him for dear life. He jumped with inhuman agility onto a crushed car, shot a web, and flew into the air with June in his arms.

She didn’t dare open her eyes because heights and swinging between buildings made her nauseous. The wind roared in her ears, being that high up felt strangely peaceful. The sounds of the city only lasted for a second before he shot another web somewhere else. He swung through the air with her and not once did she feel herself slipping. It reminded her of Peter again. Why? She didn’t know. Maybe it was the feeling of safety, because otherwise it made no sense.

They landed on top of a building that looked familiar. Old dirty snow soaked her feet. She hissed at the cold, a chill running down her spine.

“Oh my god, it’s freezing. Fuck.”

Spider-Man pointed toward the half-open red exit door. June looked around her and recognized the neighborhood, it was her apartment building. How could he know where she lived? She tried finding an explanation, anything. Maybe he had followed her to make sure she was okay after the night Bea and she had been attacked. There had to be a plausible reason. While she stared at his red mask and his large white lenses stared back at her, Spider-Man brushed her cheek in a way that felt a little too intimate.

“Thank you… How did you find me?” He didn’t answer, just adjusted her coat around her and buttoned the first few buttons while she held onto her old crossbody bag.

A huge explosion echoed in the distance, pulling his attention away. There seemed to be an attack downtown. Spider-Man knew it had to be people corrupted by Mister Negative, walking around like zombies and spreading chaos. The gang war was only beginning. Spider-Man started running toward the edge of the building. June ignored the pain of the cold against her feet and ran after him.

“Wait, Spider-Man?” He stopped but didn’t turn around. “Why do you never talk to me? Why are you always coming to save me? Are you following me or something? I mean, we don’t know each other, right?” He tilted his head slightly. “Do we… actually know each other?”

He turned to face her, toned legs, fists clenched, his red and blue suit shining brightly under the sunlight.

“I’m really thankful for saving my life- again- but… I- I have a boyfriend.”