☆☆☆ Chapter 27 ☆☆☆
A Lil' Secret
To try and lighten up the mood after lunch, Hilery's young, bright self called me a pirate, and made up a story of how Daniel and I got together: as a lonely (one-eyed) pirate sailing all 'round the world to search for treasure, I found myself on the shores of Florida, ready to loot the life out of the Fountain of Youth, when all of a sudden I noticed Daniel's shimmery golden locks and was completely smitten. After several days of swooning over each other, I apparently learned that no material form of treasure was as great as the love I had for Daniel (not even his hair or eternal youth), and we lived happily ever. The way she described him in her cute little story seemed to me as if he was a merman, and a merman Daniel didn't sound too bad for a pirate Ane, but the only problem was that I really loved eating seafood in her story, too, and wondered if the happily ever after she talked 'bout involved me making sushi out of him.
Daniel had rolled his eyes at the silly story and Joel cracked himself up with laughter, claiming that it wouldn't be so bad if the bland, tasteless Daniel-sushi at least had some seasoning on it. I couldn't tell if Joel was just messing around a little too much or throwing shade at his brother when he said that, but nevertheless it didn't change the mood.
By the end of the afternoon we watched TV together, played several card games, snacked on some of my potato chips, and basically bonded a bit. Because of all that, I did get to properly introduce myself to Joel, and learned a few things 'bout him as the day passed that the adorable Hilery also liked to do. They both liked collecting figurines, dressing up as movie characters, and spent most of their days together in their local arcade, constantly competing against each other. One of the several things only Joel liked to do, separate from the hobbies he shared with his sister, was collecting knives. He made it pretty clear that he loved doing it── he raved on and on 'bout it, and I gotta say it genuinely intrigued me too; I already had my trusty knife, so why not give it some friends?
Joel noticed my interest, too, and so, after showing off his extensive array of blades and as a gift for being his in-law, he gave me one of them: a practical but certainly simple one when compared to the sick stuff he had, with a sharp, serrated blade that could be sneaked anywhere with ease (including the tight space in between my melons, after folding it, of course). It was a packed, sexy black pocket knife with a deadly bite── just like me, which I was super grateful for. Heck, maybe I'll give it a name like Mini-Me, Mini-Ane, Mini-Imani, Ane Jr. or somethin' 'round those lines.
I even learned some trivia 'bout Daniel's family. According to Daniel, their entire paternal family lived in North Carolina for many generations 'til Fiona convinced Jordan to raise their kids here in Florida for a while, before coming back to Jordan's roots by the time Daniel started high school. Daniel, of course, eventually found his way back here and moved into their old residence, the one we're all crashing in right now (I'm more than just sure he did that 'cuz he missed both Roger and stalking me).
Occasionally, the Campbell kids visit their mom's side of the family in Spain, which they commented to always be a culture shock, but in a super good way. It was interesting to get to know more 'bout Daniel and how he was raised, but it made me wonder just what exactly went wrong with Jade if their childhood seemed like plenty of fun and adventure.
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Looking up at the ceiling of my room while spacing off, I heard my sister sipping on her usual helping of peach tea nearby, somewhere by the bathroom or 'round the dresser. I found myself asking her, after a little bit of peace and quiet: "Have you ever met or talked to Jade, that tall-ass pink-haired demon?"
She scoffed, knowing exactly who we could be dealing with. "No, and why would I── considering she hurt my little sister── unless I quote-on-quote talk some sense into her with a bit of her own medicine?"
"Huh, I guess you're right," I shrugged.
"Why would you ask me though?"
I collected my thoughts before responding to her. "I was wonderin' if she ever mentioned anythin' 'bout Uncle Jesse and Molly to you."
I heard her almost gag on her tea. "Why would you say that?"
I finally looked down from the ceiling, and found her sitting on one of my bean bags. "She mentioned 'em to me. I think she knows somethin' about them."
"How?"
"I don't know."
Uncle Jesse, Dad's baby brother, lived his life as a widower for as long as I had known him, but it didn't mean he was lonely. He had a daughter, Molly── the sweetest kid ever before tragedy hit. All she liked to do was take piano lessons with her dad, care for her pet bunny, and spend time with us at the park. One day, from a horrid freak accident, Uncle Jesse passed away. Molly moved in with us eventually, but after her dad passed she wasn't the same Molly we had known. Maybe Jade met her during the time Molly was grieving, 'cuz Molly was just as lost as Jade currently is... maybe a little less, actually, 'cuz Jade's eyes are mad, not sad or in pain. Molly was around when Teresa and I were attacked, too, and she did try to help us through our own pains, which showed us the old Molly we knew was still in there somewhere, but the main point is, after a while, we never saw her again. She ran off somewhere, and no matter how much we looked and the police searched around our area and further beyond, we never found her. My single hope for her is that she's moved on, alive and thriving somewhere, that someday she would be willing to meet us again, but every day I think of her it gets harder to continue hoping on that.
It's been several years since the last day Teresa and I have seen her.
"Dissing me 'bout something?" I felt shivers crawl all over my body, and from what I heard, so did my sister 'cuz her teacup hit the floor. We didn't have to be geniuses to know whose voice that was. "What's wrong, gals? Don't you wanna have some quality time with your in-law? Nice patch by the way, Ane."
As soon as Jade noticed me backing away she giggled, wobbling her way towards me. "Oh do not worry, I'm not going to even touch you today," she said, glaring right at me with a smile that made me want to vomit. Every moment my heart pumped blood, she was one step closer. "Y'know what, Ane? Fuck you. I fuckin' hate you, exposing me like that to my stupid old dipshit parents, puttin' the face of a stupid lil' victim and demanding the attention you don't deserve, you lil' shit."
Teresa found the courage to stand up. "Hold up, nobody says that to── "
"I'll tell ya both a lil' secret I've got── well, that not a lot of people know 'bout," Jade interrupted Teresa, placing a hand on my shoulder and squeezing it hard before I could realize it. Bending down and coming close to my ear, enough to feel her breathing, I heard her hiss loud and clear one of the most sickening things I've ever heard: "I've beaten, I've tortured, I've killed, and I've laughed── all in that order, and sometimes with none, many, many times." My heart was ready to burst. She lied; she was touching me. I felt the ends of her lips curve upwards from the tip of my ears. Her breath reeked of liquor. "Your pretty little uncle and your pretty little cousin were no exception, Mayflowers."
Teresa fell right to the ground behind me, on her knees, broken.
The packed black blade tucked in between my melons seared right through my breastbone, begging for my hands to grasp it, to squeeze their handle, to let her out and do her one job.
*Teresa's Point of View (POV)*
Blood, blood, blood. The wall, the ceiling, the bed, the dresser, the bean bags, my hair, my face, my chest, my arms, my sister, my sister, my sister... Jade.
It didn't stop... she didn't stop, her arms wouldn't stop, her mind couldn't stop, it felt instinctive and only I was able to shut her down, but I was afraid, more than just afraid. My sister── no, that demon, the one thrusting a blade in and out and in and out and in and out of the other sick demon, had a wild look in its one good eye, empty but so full of rage. No, that demon had not a single piece of my sister in it, yes? No! Yes? No── yes!
No, there were no demons there, none at all.
Two... people were hurting, and one of them risked everything to lash out at the other.
If I stood by for any longer I knew the other would be bound to meet Death before her time, but I was scared. I was frightened. I was afraid. I wanted to piss myself. I wanted to throw up, roll over, run away, scream, pluck my eyes out, blow my brains out, and not be right there, but no, I couldn't do anything I wanted to.
I only did what I had to.
Throwing myself onto my sister, I forced all the air out of her lungs, leaving her shocked on the ground. When she recovered, I noticed her good eye lock itself onto the body of the one she'd just stabbed, and within seconds, without even a stray yelp or wince, her lips quivered in fear. I followed her eye.
Witnessing Jade's insides struggle to live on the outside world with fresh, warm blood pumping out of her body from every single puncture through her skin at the same rate as her confused heartbeats, I was finally able to do one of the many things I wanted to do: scream.