From my hand.
“You would never hurt someone. You’re too good.”
Okay.
Why deny something that needs no confirmation?
But Theodore should know better. This is no ordinary romance. How could it be when we’re bonded by blood?
The night is different, everything is, but no one can know.
After sending him a message on my new phone, I throw on my comfiest clothes and head downstairs.
My father’s voice rings through the halls. Never in my life have I felt such anger toward him, but that’s all I feel now. I almost wish he stayed at work longer so I wouldn’t have to see his face, but that would do me no good. Still, a rage that devours all logic and, in its place, a carnal desire to protect what’s mine. My dad will not get Theodore. I’ll set the world on fire before I let that happen.
“Hi, Daddy,” I say sweetly, coating my fury in molten sugar. Hugging me tightly, he mistakes my seething vibrations for shivers, telling me to grab a sweater and warm up before sitting down for dinner.
“Oh, I’m okay. I’m more interested in why you were at my school today.” I get right into it, snapping off the end of my bread while pinning him down with the same vicious stare he fixed in me.
Utterly oblivious to the intensity behind my eyes, he nods his head, enjoying the warm dinner his wife laid out, all while planning to put my love in prison.
“You know I can’t talk about an ongoing case, sweetie.”
“Oh, come on!” I snap, reining back my tone. “You’ve done it before. I won’t tell… you can trust me.”
My dad is no different than any other man. A few moments of batting lashes and a smile that oozes innocent curiosity, and I have him in the palm of my hand, spilling every last detail of his case and what he has on Theodore before he even takes a bite.
My mom listens intently. Food forgotten, she asks, “Who is it? One of Scarlett’s teachers?”
Her horror overshadows my interest, but my question gets answered either way.
“His name is Theodore Ellis. We don’t have much on him yet, but something tells me we will soon.”
No, you fucking won’t.
“Ellis? Don’t you have him, honey? He walked you out of class that day?”Shut up, Mom. Shut up, shut up, shut up!“The charming one.”
Dad’s stare turns to me, spoon halfway to his mouth when he asks, “Charming? In what way?”
“Not in the negative what you’re thinking,” I challenge, fighting back the bite in my tone. “He’s just a good teacher, really kind… fair. He wants all of us to succeed and does whatever he can to help us get there.”
Setting down his utensils, dad begins the interrogation, “You’re smart, Scarlett, and I’ve taught you almost everything I know about reading people. Has he ever given you any red flags? Anything to cause concern about his behavior. What do you think, sweetheart? What kind of man does he seem like to you?”
A freed one, because he finally killed the demon shackling him to hell. He’s better off now, flourishing under my love instead of the false one Beth trapped him under.
Theodore is different from the man I met months ago, and I couldn’t love him any more for it. It makes me feel even better knowing it was me who helped him get there. Like he needed me, just as I did him.
“A good one, Daddy. Mr. Ellis is a good man.”
“Hmm… Well, I guess we’ll see about that.”
I excused myself shortly after dinner ended, using the reason of lots of homework as a cover to lock myself in my room. For the rest of the night, I lay in bed, going over all my options of how to get Beth out of my loft.
The idea of cutting her into a million tiny pieces crosses my mind every now and then, but I have to remind myself that it isn’t a good idea. Too messy. And I’m not certain I have the physical strength to perform such a task. I would ask Theodore to do it, but I can’t risk them finding her DNA on him.
I could drive her body onto a cliff and throw her over the edge, hoping the sharks feast on her rotten flesh before the ocean tears her into bits. Maybe the jagged stones will slice her open, but there’s no guarantee the saltwater will wash away any remaining DNA if she’s caught on the rocks.
Perhaps I’ll feed her to the pigs I saw along the coast when we were first driving up here. They looked hungry. But again, that would involve cutting her into pieces.
