“Of course you do.” She chuckles and heads into the closet. “Do you also know I killed him?”
“Yes.” I answer honestly.
“But do you know why I did?” She steps back out completely naked, Brody’s branding shining a bright red against her olive skin.
“Because he killed your mother?” I think she's losing it here. Maybe this isn’t working as Brody promised it would.
“I was livid when I found that out, maybe even murderous, but no.” She pulls on a men’s shirt and I watch as it hits her thighs. “I killed him because he tried to kill Brody.” She ends on another chuckle.
He didn’t tell me that and I’m beginning to fear Brody is slipping in and out of his consciousness, unsure of what he’s doing half the time.
“I’m going to talk to him about letting you come home.”
“Aw,” she waves her hand dramatically. “Thank you for asking him to let me go.” Then she punctuates her sarcasm with a roll of her hazel eyes.
“When he told me the plan, it was to make you stronger and aware of everything that’s been going on, so you could be with us fully.” I try to explain.
“Oh, is that right?” She leans her head to the side. “You really thought Brody would share me with you guys? That him watching us was what? Him coming around?”
Her questions stir all the doubt I had free and I shuffle from foot to foot. “Yes, I thought he would come around. You seem to have that effect on us.”
“He never plans to let me go.” Her brow raises and she slowly walks towards me. “Maybe he’ll share me with you though.”
“Maybe.” I hear Brody’s dark voice coming from the doorway. “Maybe I could stand Zeke.”
“What’s wrong with her?” I turn on him and I feel Kailey’s hands encircle my waist from behind.
“I don’t know, I’ve been scrubbing blood all night.” He lifts his hands to show the pink stain.
Then he steps forward to wrench her hands off of me.
“Guess not.” She giggles behind me.
I turn and grab her chin in my hand to get a better look into her eyes. The glossed over irises and pinpoint pupils tells me she’s on something but what? And how much?
“Bebelle, what did you take?”
“Take?” Brody strides forward and roughly pushes me away from her. “What did you get yourself into Kails? Don't make me force you to vomit, we both know how much I’d enjoy that.”
“What does your mother have in here?” I ask him as I make my way into the bathroom.
“Fuck knows.” He answers.
Mrs. Landry is well-known for her love of prescription drugs and alcohol, it’s what helps her tune out her family.
I pull open the medicine cabinet and groan when I see the assortment of pill bottles in front of me.
“There’s no fucking way of knowing.” I yell out.
I hear a scuffle and turn to see Brody dragging a struggling Kailey into the bathroom.
“Guess we have to do a manual stomach pump.” He says as he brings her to the toilet.
“I didn’t take a lot.” She screams as she tries to pull her hair out of his hand. “I don’t want to die! I need to stay alive to watch you die!”
Brody stops and releases her hair, all the while his jaw is clenched and ticking.
“Watch me die?” He asks her.
“Yes!” She screams into his face. “I want you to die!”
I step between them because the look in Brody’s eye can only be described as death incarnate.
“Bebelle, go on back in the bedroom and sleep that shit off.”
I watch her hurry away and then turn to face Brody.
“Bro, you have to chill.” He has a hard time meeting my eyes and my stomach fills with dread. “You need to take the meds.”
“I can’t think clearly when I take them.” His hands grab onto his hair. “I need to be thinking clearly right now.”
“Your rage is too much.” I try to explain. “Without them you become unpredictable and angry. You carved your fucking initials into her chest.”
“She loved every second of that.” He grins at me. “I made her come afterward, too.”
I know Brody isn’t a liar and I would believe he could bring Kailey to her knees because of how she felt or still feels about him.
I follow him out of the bathroom and we find Bebelle standing by the window and looking up at the sky.
“Where did you burn him?” She asks quietly.
“On Landry land a few acres out.” I reply.
“What day is it?” She turns to look at me.
“December twenty-third.”
“I want to be with the others for Christmas.” She looks at Brody.
“Fine,” Brody relents but I see the evil gleam in his eyes. “Then I'll kill you on New Year’s Eve.”
“What?” I exclaim and Kailey just shuts her eyes in defeat.
“Those are my conditions.” Brody shrugs.
“Fucksakes.” I breathe and scrub my hand down my face.
“Zeke.” Kailey calls out to me. “I forgive you for your part in all of this.”
I don’t know why her words cause a chasm to split apart my heart and now I feel like the one bleeding out on Brody’s floor. Fuck Brody and fuck his possessiveness with our girl. I stalk towards her and take her face in my hands. This woman has always been the one meant to tear me down and rebuild me.
I sink my teeth into her bottom lip and then suck it into my mouth. I hear him growl from behind me but like I said, fuck him. I glide my tongue across her mouth and she opens up for me on a gasp. Then I'm tasting her, sinking into her pool of sweet honey, and nothing will ever taste this exquisite again.
Her hands grab onto my sides, her nails sinking in, and her body moving in closer. My fingers slide into her hair and I pull her head to the side, angling us so I can thoroughly devour her. She sucks my tongue into her mouth and I growl, wishing we were alone, wishing I could strip her clothes off.
“I hate to break this up but I’m feeling fucking murderous this morning.”
Kailey pulls away at Brody’s words and I groan at the loss. She turns back to look out of the window and I realize I’m dismissed. I turn and walk past Brody.
“Another mark on her and I’ll murder you myself.” I tell him.
“You keep taking away all my fun.” He mocks at my back but I don’t bite the bait.
He knows there’s four other guys that will kill for that girl and those odds aren’t in his favor.
The cuts on my chest sting every time I take a breath and the fabric moves across it. It also serves as a constant reminder to never let my guard down with Brody. This man that he’s become will rip my heart out of my chest and make me watch as he savors each bloody bite.
Today is Christmas eve morning and I haven’t left this room. Every time I close my eyes, I see that blade sink into Papa’s neck and I can still feel the warmth of his blood running down my hand. I can’t grieve because he doesn’t deserve it but I can’t stay angry either because I’ve become completely numb.