by Morgan Black
With that he extended his hand toward her and, like a magnet, she pulled him toward her once again. It was just the distraction I had been waiting for. I ran at him with the poker held like a spear. But I didn’t have enough momentum. I fell on top of him and I struck him with it, but I couldn’t get it through his body. His rib cage acted like a shield of armor. I hit him repeatedly with it, but he grabbed my wrists and the weapon dropped from my hands as he fought me back. We rolled on the floor until I was on the bottom, and his hand was once again on my throat.
I made gurgling sounds as he choked the life out of me. I was gasping for breath and the room was starting to go dark along the edges. I was losing too much oxygen. All the while my sister slept on the couch, I was going to die. My hands wrapped around his, trying to pry them off. I was going to fail; I knew it.
And that’s when I heard the shot go off. Oliver’s lifeless body fell on top of mine and I struggled for air as I attempted to push him off. Suddenly he was being lifted away and I scrambled to sit up, pulling myself against the back wall of the living room. I was next to a dresser with an old glass lamp on top. I looked into the light. It was the only thing I could see. I didn’t want to see the body. There was blood all over my hands. My face. I was covered in it.
But where had the shot came from? And who had pulled him off of me?
“Are you okay?” Ellis kneeled down in front of me with his hand on my shoulder. He was inspecting me for any injuries. He wouldn’t find any physical ones except a few bruises from the scuffle, but the emotional ones? They would last much longer.
I couldn’t get the words out; my throat felt like it was on fire. I just nodded and I pointed toward Leia on the couch. He pulled out his cell phone and called what I assumed was 911 while he checked her pulse.
“She’s alive. Hello, I’d like to report an assault.”
I could hardly understand him. I was sure that he mentioned the address and that we needed help, and any other pertinent details. All I wanted to do was sleep. I closed my eyes and rested my head on my knees, trying to block out the world around me. I just needed this to be over; I needed it all to be over.
TWENTY FIVE
SKYE
My sister and I were placed into a hospital pretty close to where my grandfather was receiving hospice care. We were only about a half an hour away. So instead of us going to see him, he came to see us. I was discharged only a day and a half later, with clear instructions to see a therapist on a regular basis. But Leia was in much worse shape. Whatever drugs Oliver had given her had really messed up her mind. She didn’t remember her own name most of the time, let alone any other details about our family. I watched as they rolled her body into the emergency room in front of me. My parents stood behind the glass wall, waving to both of us and crying tears of happiness that they never thought they would feel. I found my sister. We had survived.
Apparently, as soon as Ellis realized I had gone missing, he ran back into the bar and informed Detective Aldridge. They put out a statewide BOLO for the van, since they’d caught it on the security camera from the bar. Leia’s roommate said that she had seen the van hanging around quite a lot lately. He was waiting for me like a lion for its prey.
Hiding behind normal Oliver Wilkins had turned out to be a complete sociopath. Not only had he killed the three girls while he was trying to get me, but apparently he had killed his first wife, also a previous patient. He’d become completely obsessed with her and locked her in the house, forcing her to do wifely duties for him most of the day. But, once when she went to the market, she asked a woman for help, and she was gone longer than her typical routine. He figured it out and ended her. But they found her body, still lying in his bed. He hadn’t disposed of her; he just couldn’t let her go. I assumed that’s what he wanted to do for Leia and me. He would’ve kept us until what he considered was the end of our time.
Ellis had walked through the house with the police as they were taking us in the ambulance. He had to give a statement about how he shot Oliver, and they took him in for questioning. I watched as they put handcuffs around his wrists and loaded him into the back of a police car. But they found it was self-defense, especially after finding the body of Oliver's wife. He hadn’t been careful with her; his fingerprints were all over the crime scene, not to mention all the drugs that were found in his bathroom, things he shouldn’t have access to outside of the hospital. He’d been injecting Leia the entire time she was there. The doctors were astounded that Leia had even survived. They said that most of the drugs that he had mixed as a cocktail could’ve killed her. But somehow she found the strength. Her body fought back, even though her mind couldn’t. I was proud of her for that.
When Grandpa finally came to see us, he was looking thinner than he had even a couple of days ago. I knew the end was near. The pretty nurse from hospice care rolled him into my room and I sat on the edge of the bed waiting for him. He had an IV and a morphine drip attached to the chair. They were trying to make him as comfortable as possible. An old afghan that my grandmother had made was lying over his lap. He had told the nurses he was cold. I knew what that meant.
“You found her,” was all that he said in a raspy voice.
“I did.”
He put my hands between his own. His skin was papery thin. How had I been this close to death in just a few days? Someone had died on top of me just a couple nights ago, and here was Grandpa walking the edge of life.
“I’m so proud of you. And I’m so glad that you’re okay. Had I known…”
“You didn’t know! None of us did. I found her, that’s all that matters. And a very bad man is dead. As he should be.”
He looked up at me, the creases around his eyes more pronounced. A single small tear fell down his weathered cheek. “I never wanted you to get hurt. I wanted both of you to be safe.”
“We are. She’s going to be fine. She’s going to move back in with Mom and Dad. They’ll take care of her. You don’t need to worry anymore.”
He closed his eyes but a small smile played on his lips. “I want to see her.”
I nodded. “Come with me.”
His nurse was waiting right outside the door, and I signaled to her so she pushed him as he followed me down the hall to Leia’s room. There was a police presence outside her door. I’d mentioned hearing multiple voices, but Oliver was the only one in the house when the police searched it. I figured most of the time he was probably talking to himself, but the cops wanted to play it safe. I nodded to the officers I walked by. The officer gave me an understanding look.
We walked into the hospital room where Leia was sitting up and reading a book. It was some type of pre-teen adventure, but it seemed to make her laugh. And that was all that mattered anymore, making her comfortable and keeping her happy. She had seen enough hurt in her young life. Now my parents would try their best to remedy her sad situation for the rest of their lives. And I was leaving that up to them. I had found her, I had done my part. And while our relationship would never be the same, she and I could be friends. One day, we could be.
“Leia, there is someone here to see you.”
She closed the book and put it on her nightstand as she looked down at the man in a wheelchair. “Grandpa,” she said with a sad smile.
“You know him?”
She nodded to me but spoke directly to him. “I went to the cabin. I stayed there for a while, thanks to you. I should’ve stayed there,” she said as she started to tremble.
The nurse pushed Grandpa right up next her bed. “But you’re safe now,” he said.
She nodded slowly. “I’m safe now.”
TWENTY SIX
SKYE
My grandfather’s services were held two weeks later. It was a beautiful funeral, and he asked us to spread his ashes up at the old cabin. That’s also where my grandmother had been laid to rest. We brought daisies. He would have liked to see them. We decided as a family to fix up the place and start spending more time there. For Grandpa,
and for us.
I looked out over the water and I felt someone walk up behind me. Ellis intertwined his fingers with my own and laid a sweet kiss on my cheek.
“You okay?”
I glanced at him before looking back out over the ripples. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be okay.”
He nodded. “I get that.”
“How do you feel? I mean, you’re the one who killed him.”
“Yeah I did. And you know what it felt like? Retribution. My mother shouldn’t have killed my father, I should have. I should’ve protected us. And killing Oliver was revenge against all the men that have ever hurt women. At least that’s what it felt like to me.”
“Do you think about it?”
He shook his head, “Not really. After I gave my statement that night when you and Leia went to the hospital, I haven’t really thought about it since.”
“Where did you get the gun?”
“I had it in the Jeep. I always carry a gun. I don’t have a license, so that’s the only part the cops weren’t really happy about. But I just have to pay a fine.”
“You have to pay a fine for killing someone?”
“If you want to think about it that way. Then sure.”
We stood in silence for a moment. The only thing connecting us was our hands.
“I thought I lost you. I thought I hadn’t paid close enough attention and that’s why he was taking you. That it was my fault.”
I turned to him. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“If I hadn’t taken so long to pay my tab, I would’ve seen you, and I would’ve stopped him.”
“He would have killed you. He wanted me. And I couldn’t live with myself if he’d hurt you too. Dealing with Leia, and whatever long-term effects this is going to have on her, is enough. You saved me.”
“I tried.”
“How did you find us?”
“The roommate. She recognized the van. And while Detective Aldridge and I were shouting back and forth in the bar about it, a couple of locals said that they knew where it was. I left right away, but the detective called for backup. I don’t think he expected me to get there before him. And I certainly don’t think he thought I was going to shoot anybody. He didn’t even know I had a weapon.”
“I wanted to kill him. I tried.”
He lifted my chin up so that our eyes met. “You don’t want that on your conscience.”
He let go and I turned away with a sigh. “You’re probably right.” I’d had enough going on in my brain as it was. Flashbacks of that dark basement, and Leia not knowing who I was. It was all too real still. Too close.
“You know the Sheriff went missing. He was supposed to respond to the call for you and Leia, but he never showed up.”
“Jerry?” I inquired.
“Yeah. It’s weird. They put out an APB, they’ll find him. And whatever he was involved in.”
“Right,” I agreed. Two voices through the dark planks above me…I tried to push it out of my mind. I needed to.
“So where do we go from here?” I asked him.
He kissed me, soft and subtle, nothing like the first time we were here.
“You tell me.”
“I say we try. We try to forget the bad, and we try to move forward with the good. Even if that’s dangerous.”
“I like a little danger,” he said as he put his hands around my cheeks and pulled me in to kiss him again.
From Skye
The therapist said I should write down my feelings about what happened. If he only knew that journals just like this one had been clues to locating my sister.
I can’t believe I finally found her. I can’t believe I survived almost being killed by a madman. And I can’t believe this all started because Leia fell apart.
No one tells me anymore that it’s my fault. Nobody even brings up the fact that she was in Connecticut Psychiatric for three years. She doesn’t remember any of it anyway. The drugs have killed any memory she had. It’s probably better that way. She doesn’t need to remember the dark times. I don’t want her to.
Now we spend our days putting our silly tattoos together making the fish kiss. I spend almost every day with Ellis that I can, walking Chester in the woods, and eating at the restaurant. I gave up my apartment. I didn’t want to live alone anymore. Leia moved back in with my parents, since after her ordeal she couldn’t be left alone either. But she’s going to bartending school, and wants to get her certifications to make more money. She’ll be okay someday. She’ll make it. She’s strong.
She’s stronger than she was the night my parents found her hanging by the noose in her closet. She had been so weak before that. It was almost too easy to take the pillow and put it over her face. She passed out in under a minute, her flailing limbs stopped fighting against me. And then I dragged her body and put it in the noose that I had built with her belt. So simple. She was practically weightless, but I guessed that was just my adrenaline pumping. I pulled her up while I stood on a chair and I put her head through the hole. She told me a million times she wanted to die, how she wanted to kill herself and end it all, but she wasn’t strong enough. She was too weak to do it. She couldn’t pull the trigger. So I did it for her. I was tired of listening to her being sad all the time. All that attention. It was too much.
No one blames me anymore, because no one knows the truth.
My sister didn’t try to commit suicide.
She was the victim of an attempted murder.
I won’t ever tell. Will you?
I hoped you enjoyed Caustic.
Please, if you choose to leave a review, do not give spoilers to your fellow readers.
We don’t want them to know the truth about Skye.
-M
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Turn the page for a look at the other standalone in the Darker Desires Series,
One Last Fight.
ONE
JORDAN
“Jordan, you’re up!”
I looked down at my bloodied hands and wrapped them tighter with the fabric that was once white. I’d busted through at least three knuckles on my left hand and one on my right. I couldn’t understand why they had wanted me to fight again. I’d already been in the ring today. I didn’t need any more practice.
“Leo, I’m good. I don’t want to bust my shoulder again before the fight tonight.”
Leo put his calloused hands on either of my bare shoulders. His thumb just brushed against my newest tattoo, a quote about fighting. It was all about freedom, that’s what it said. And to me, that’s exactly what getting torn up in the ring was about. “You need all the practice you can get, kid. The guy that you’re going up against tomorrow night, we don’t know much about him. All that I know is that he’s got some underground experience, and you know how those fuckers play. He’ll go right for your face. And by the time you realize what happened, you’ll be flat on your back and he’ll have won all our money.”
I shook my head. “You know I won’t let that happen. Besides those Mexican gangbanger fighters, they’ve got nothing on us real pros. I know what I’m doing and I rank better than anybody else you have in this gym. And when I say I’ve had enough, I’ve had enough.”
Leo pulled his hands off me and put them up in surrender. He might’ve been three times my age, but the old man did know what he was talking about. He had been a boxer first and then learned MMA. He had been my coach my entire life. But he also knew that I wasn’t just some little kid anymore. I was starting to get interest from sponsors and other investors. If I didn’t want to fight today because I knew it wouldn’t make me ready for tomorrow, then I wasn’t going to do
it. After my shoulder injury two years ago I thought it was going to be completely done with fighting. But it was my passion, my life. I had done enough rehabilitation for five guys just to get myself back in the ring. And finally after another two years, I was in the prime of my fighting career. There was no way I was going to let some gangbanger fighter beat the hell out of me on my turf.
“Fine. But I want you hitting the bag for at least another hour. And then definitely take some time to do some stretching this evening. Your kick’s a little weak. Especially your left.”
I nodded and walked away. I made a stop at the locker room to grab my water and stretch out my shoulder in private. I didn’t like for other guys to see when I was in pain.
I put my hands on either side of the sink and looked into the mirror. My shaved head was new, but I liked the look it gave me. Menacing. I had the look of a guy that said, “You don’t even want to begin to fuck with me. I’ll kill you.”
I pulled my mouth guard out and spat blood into the sink from where one of the rookies had gotten an easy punch on me. I looked away at Leo for just a moment and the kid came at me. Like he had something to prove. I ended him—might’ve broken a couple of his ribs in the process. That way he’d learn that you don’t mess with Jordan Jackson.
I walked over to my locker and opened it up, pulled out a gallon of water, and started sucking it down. I pulled a towel out and wiped off my sweaty face. There wasn’t much in my locker besides those two things. I liked it that way. Clean. Everything had a place and was a necessity if it was in there. But when I reached to put my towel back, my hand brushed against something I forgot I had left here. I considered pulling it out, just to look at it. Just to make me feel little bit better, stronger, but I didn’t. I let my hand linger there just a moment too long then I pulled it back like I’d been bitten by a snake.
