by Hamel, B. B.
Jessa was never going to stop. I knew it. I’ve known it for a long, long time. She was never going to stay caged. If I stopped her here, kept her alive, she would’ve tried again. Next time, she might’ve succeeded.
And she would’ve killed. Probably more than my father ever did. She was careful, talented. She was far more capable than he ever was.
She would’ve been a terror on the world. I know I saved lives by killing her.
But fuck. My father, my sister. Dead, because of me.
I want to drop to my knees and cry, just like Fox. I want to let it all wash over me, but I don’t.
I walk over to Eden. I untie her, pulling the gag from her mouth. “Are you okay?” I ask her softly.
She’s crying, but she nods. That’s when I notice the cuts on her thighs. Nothing deep, nothing bleeding. Just superficial wounds, but numerous, shallow and even. Typical Jessamine, surgical and precise.
“Fuck,” I whisper. “She did this?”
“She says she… couldn’t just let me go,” she sobs. “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
I grab her and pull her close, hugging her tight. “I’m so fucking sorry,” I whisper in her ear.
I hold her tight as she cries. Fox sobs nearby. My sister lies still, dead like her victims.
I hold Eden and I hope I can forgive myself for this.
15
Eden
It’s like a dream. I watch Jessa and Case fight. I watch Fox come in the door and distract Jessa long enough for Case to stab her. I watch him stab her right in the heart.
I watch her die.
I can still feel the pain on my legs where Jessa ran the knife along my skin, cutting shallow welts. “Can’t leave you untouched now, can we?” she whispers, eyes sharp and smiling the whole time.
I cried, screamed, but she gagged me. I didn’t think anyone would come for me. I didn’t think Case would save me from his sister.
I was so afraid that I was just another victim of the Hammett darkness.
But now, in Case’s arms, I realize the truth.
There is no more darkness.
Jessa was the last of it, and Case killed her. He killed her for me.
The thought threatens to overwhelm me. I can barely breathe, barely think. He slowly stands me up, hugging me tight.
“Are you okay?” he asks after I manage to get myself under control.
I nod slightly. “I’m fine. Really.”
He sighs and looks into my eyes. “I’m so sorry, Eden. It’s over now. I promise.”
I nod again and tilt my chin up toward him. “I didn’t think you’d come.”
“Why not?”
“She’s your sister.”
“She wasn’t my sister,” he says quietly. “Or at least, she hasn’t been in a long time. The monster took control of her and there was nothing I could do.”
He sighs and I can see the sadness threatening him. I reach up and touch his cheek, willing him to come back. Willing him away from that darkness.
His eyes meet mine again. We kiss briefly, gently. It leaves my whole body alight and tingling, like I’ve suddenly come back to life.
He turns away from me then and looks over at Fox. “Stand up,” he says.
Fox looks over at him. “You didn’t have to—”
“Stand up, Fox.”
The man hesitates, but gets to his feet. He looks unsteady, pale, and I can suddenly see his age in his eyes. He’s been through this before. And it nearly killed him.
Now, he looks like he’s ready to give up.
Case walks over to Fox. I watch as Case stands in front of the older man and puts his hands on his shoulders.
“You did this for me once before,” he says softly. “You’ve helped me for a long time.”
“I thought… we could save her,” he whispers.
“I know, Fox. I did too.”
“I wanted to save her. Wanted to save everyone… to atone.”
“You tried,” he says. “We both tried, but it’s over now.”
Fox’s eyes move up slowly. “Over?”
“Done. Finished. You’re free, Fox.”
“Free?” He laughs bitterly. “I’ll never be free of this.”
“But you can try.” Case squeezes his shoulders. “After you do one more thing for me.”
Fox lowers his head, looking resigned. “I’ll bury her next to your mother,” Fox says. “She would’ve liked that.”
“I know she would’ve.”
“I loved your mother, you know. I wanted to save her daughter… for her.”
“I know you did.”
“But I failed her.”
“No, you didn’t. You gave her daughter as much time as you could, but Jessamine was sick.”
Fox nearly crumbles again, but Case keeps him standing. “I’m sorry, Master Case. For everything you’ve been through.”
“I know, Fox. You have one more task and then you can be free.”
Fox straightens and nods. “I won’t let you down.”
“I know you won’t.”
Fox glances over at Jessa one more time before leaving the room. Case sighs and walks back over.
“What now?” I ask him. “What’s he going to do?”
“He’ll take care of the body. If there’s one thing Fox is very good at, it’s taking care of bodies.”
A shiver runs down my spine. “That’s terrible.”
“I know.” Case takes my hand. “Come on. Let’s talk.”
I hesitate but I follow him from the room. I glance back at Jessamine’s body, all the blood flowing from her. There’s so much blood, it’s almost startling, and it’s mixing into the cracks in the wooden dance floor.
I never want to see that room again.
Case leads me down the hall and upstairs. He takes me back to his bedroom.
I sit in a chair as he lights a fire. I watch him move with such self-assurance. When he’s done, he pours two drinks and hands me one.
We sit in silence for a little while. I sip the whiskey and even though it’s not my favorite, I savor the burn. I need it right now. I need it to numb me.
Finally, Case speaks. “I can’t stay here anymore,” he says.
I look at him. “What do you mean?”
“I can’t stay at Hammett’s End anymore. I have no reason to stay. I can’t… I can’t be in Pine Grove.” He squeezes his eyes shut.
I bite my lip. “What’ll happen to the mill?”
He looks at me. “I have an idea. But first, I need you to know something.”
He stands and places his glass down on the side table. He walks over to me and kneels down in front of me, hands on my thighs, gentle over the cuts.
“I need you to know that before you, I was lost,” he says softly. “I know that may seem dramatic, but it’s the truth. I’ve been alone in this house, working tirelessly, keeping my secrets for a long time. I drowned myself in women, never caring about anything at all, moving like a robot, constantly moving forward. Until you came into my life.”
I bite my lip. “Case,” I say softly.
“Just listen. I need you to hear this. You gave me a reason to keep going. You made me see that all the dark shit around me wasn’t my fault, or at least I didn’t have to be broken by it. You were a sliver of light in the dark, Eden.”
He leans forward, whispers in my ear. “I fell in love with you. I need you to know that. I love you, Eden.”
I turn to him, kiss his cheek. I put my hands on his face, kiss his lips. I can feel tears in my eyes.
“That’s what I came here to tell you,” I say back to him. “I came to tell you that I fell in love with you. That you’re not what your family tried to make you.”
We kiss, tight and hard. I can feel his taste flood me, and it feels like coming home.
I hold him like that before he stands. It’s like a frenzy as he undresses me, pulls off my shirt, my ripped jeans. His hand slides between my legs and finds me soaking wet already, dripping for hi
m.
I need his body so badly it almost hurts. I need it right now. Maybe it’s the trauma and the fear but all that seems to disappear as soon as he touches my body.
He replaces the fear and the hate with pleasure.
It blooms all across my skin. He kisses me, fingers on my clit, rolling and teasing like he always does. He slides them inside of me, fucking me with them, before he tugs off his own jeans.
I take his cock in both hands. He’s hard as hell, rock hard, and I stroke him wildly. He groans and pulls me down. He sits on the chair, pulling me into his lap.
I straddle him and feel his cock against my pussy. I slide back and let him pierce deep into my cunt. I gasp and bite his ear. His hands grip my back, my ass, my hips.
We’re not trying to make this last. It’s just a frenzy, pure and animalistic and intense. I ride his cock, legs pumping, back rolling, ass working up and down his huge length. He groans and spanks me, sending pleasure and pain all through my skin.
I grip his hair. I bite his lip. I’m angry and need him so badly it hurts.
He fucks me, spreading my ass open, thrusting up inside of me. He pinches a nipple between his teeth, licking it with his tongue before teasing the other the same way. I ride him faster, gasping, moaning, pleasure and pain, sweat and intense need. It’s all here in this moment.
I love this man. I love him so much it hurts. I ride his big cock and I know that no matter what, he’ll keep me safe. He saved me once, he’ll do it over and over if he has to.
I gasp. He slaps my ass again, thrusts into me. I roll my hips, riding him, gasping, groaning.
“Fucking hell, Eden,” he whispers. “I love this pussy. I love this tight little pussy. You’re such a good girl.”
“I know,” I gasp. “Oh, god, I know. I love your big dick. I love your hard body.”
He fucks me harder and we’re sweating together, writhing and fucking on the chair. Hours pass, seconds pass, years pass. I can’t tell and I don’t care.
“Sweet Eden, you’re my everything.”
I come on his big, fat cock. I come hard, letting it rip through me, letting it wash away any of the pain. There’s only him, his taste, his body, my need.
He comes moments later, gripping my ass tight. He comes in thick spurts, bursting into my pussy, groaning as he finishes.
I gasp and grind down. I let him fill me, flood me. I need it so badly I can barely think straight.
And when we’re done, I collapse against him. I feel his heart beating, feel his sweat on his skin mingling with my own. I notice some blood on him from the cuts on my thighs. I didn’t even feel them before, but now they’re aching slightly, a dull throb.
He doesn’t seem to mind and I don’t care, either.
“I need to ask you something,” he says, still out of breath. “Will you leave Pine Grove with me?”
I bite my lip. “My mom,” I say.
“I’ll take care of your mother. Hell, once we’re settled, we can bring her to live with us.”
I look up at him. “Really?”
“Of course. It’d be nice to have some normal family around.”
I laugh and kiss his lips. “Okay then. Okay. Let’s get the hell out of here.”
His face lights up. For the first time ever, it completely lights up.
“I love you, Eden,” he says.
“I love you too.”
He hugs me tight.
We’re leaving Pine Grove. We’re leaving this house, the bodies, the ghosts, the darkness.
We’re leaving it all behind and starting over.
I don’t know where we’ll go. I don’t really care.
All I know is, I want to be with him. I want to make a life with him. I want to see what we’re capable of together.
I think it’s a lot. I think it’s more than anyone can realize.
We kiss one more time and I can’t wait to get started.
16
Eden
Two Years Later
I stretch my legs out with a smile on my lips. I can hear the rain splattering the roof in little pings. Through the window I watch trees drip softly onto the green grass.
I love the rain. I wasn’t sure I would. I mean, it rained in Pine Grove, but Seattle is totally different. Case told me it’d be great, and it turns out he was totally right.
It helps that we found an amazing house. It’s nothing like Hammett’s End. It’s modern, clean, brand new, and huge, of course. But there’s no history here, no ghosts to haunt us.
No serial killers lurking around the corner.
That’s always a plus in any home, the total lack of serial killers.
I smile and put my hands on my swollen belly. I never pictured myself pregnant, not in a million years. But I’m so big now and tired all the time and my ankles are swollen and my boobs are huge. I’m basically ready to pop at any second.
Little Alexa is going to be born into a world totally different from the one we left behind.
I pick up my single cup of coffee, my only coffee allotment for the day. I like to drink it out on the porch and watch the rain when I can. I know when the baby comes, these little luxuries are going to be a little harder to come by for a while.
I hear a phone ringing in the other room. I frown to myself. I know I should get up and see who it is, but I don’t want to break this moment. It’s a perfect time, a calm before the storm type time. It’s one of my last days before I become a mother.
I can’t wait to have my baby. I can’t wait to start a family.
But I’m also savoring the last bit of privacy I’ll have for the next few years.
“Eden!”
I sigh and sip my coffee. I knew I couldn’t escape reality for long.
“Eden, sweetie!”
“Yeah, Mom,” I call back, slowly getting to my feet, which is getting harder and harder these days. “Coming.”
I walk back into the house. My mom’s standing over by the house phone, one hand over the receiver.
“It’s Dean,” she says.
“Another crisis, I’m sure.” I hold my hand out. “Thanks, Mom.”
She smiles and walks away. Not limps, not hobbles, but walks.
Mom is doing great out here in Seattle. She exercises regularly, and although she’s still tired and battling her disease, the move has been incredible. I never thought I’d see her so happy again.
I hold the phone up to my ear. “Hey, Dean,” I say.
Dean Fish sighs heavily. “Do you know what I’m dealing with over here?” he asks me.
“Nope,” I say. “Can’t be worse than carrying a baby to term.”
“I don’t know. You only have to give birth once. I’m practically squeezing shit from my vag every single fucking day.”
I frown. “Poetic. What’s up now?”
“Same old shit. City Council giving us crap for the new land deal, mill guys grumbling about mandatory sexual harassment classes, union guys bitching about pay and hours, all that.”
“So what can I do to help?”
“I need cash to pay off the mayor.”
I can’t help but smile. Typical Pine Grove.
“I’ll have Case wire it over.”
“Thanks, Eden.” Dean sighs heavily. “How are you feeling anyway? You’re due any second, right?”
“Right,” I say. “You should see me. I look like a watermelon.”
“A perfect, beautiful watermelon.”
I can’t help but laugh. “Tell your dad I said hello.”
“Will do. Thanks, Eden.”
“Bye.”
We hang up and I lean against the wall. When we left Pine Grove, we put Dean and his family in charge of everything back in town. Case still owns it all, but the Fish family is our eyes and ears. They facilitate everything, tell Case what needs to get done, and Case listens.
So far, they’re doing a good job.
All that awfulness with Dean is water under the bridge. I told Case about that Dean said in the bar
and that seemed to help. Plus, Case is pretty forgiving of bad decisions, as it turns out. You’d think stabbing someone would make an enemy, but that’s not the kind of man Case is. He forgave Dean, and now they’re friends.
It also helps that we’re paying Dean and his father a lot of money.
I smile and join my mom in the kitchen. “What’s for breakfast?”
“Pancakes,” she says.
I laugh. “It’s always pancakes.”
“I know, why’d you ask?”
I shake my head. “I’m going to go wake my lazy husband up.”
“Good. Tell him pancakes are almost done.”
I laugh and walk over to the stairs. Case and I got married after a year of living together. He figured we shouldn’t wait, and I agreed.
Why bother when this is so clearly forever?
I open the door to our bedroom. He’s still in bed, sprawled in the middle, the sheets a tangle around him.
“Hey, you,” I say, curling up against him.
“Hey,” he says, his voice low and muffled with sleep. He leans over and kisses me softly. “What time is it?”
“Nearly nine,” I say. “Dean already called for money and the pancakes are almost ready.”
“Another typical day.” He smiles and rolls around to face me. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m good,” I say. “How’s one of the last mornings you get to sleep in going?”
“Better now.” He grins and kisses me.
“Yeah, yeah,” I say, kissing him back.
We lay like that for a little while. We need to get up and go to meetings, but we’re in no rush.
I love that he’s sleeping in now. He never used to, not right after it all happened. He barely slept two years ago, barely did anything. But he’s such a different man now. It’s like all his best qualities are slowly overtaking all of his worst.
He’s lighter now. I like to think I have a lot to do with that.
And he brings out the best in me. Together, we’re doing some amazing things.
Case and I started the Jessamine Foundation out here in Seattle as soon as we got settled. Our goal is so help young, troubled teens with mental issues find the help they need before it consumes them. He likes to joke that it’s a serial killer prevention program.
