“Alright! Everyone, calm down. Ma’am? If you wouldn’t mind, I’ll handle this from here.” Tony puts his hands on his belt, like it actually makes him look more intimidating. I think it makes him look like a damn boy scout.
“Excuse me?”Ah, shit.Diane mimics his stance by putting her hands in the same position and pops a hip out. “You’re going to tell me to leave?”
“Mama D…” I walk up to her and gently wrap her arm in mine. Whenever my mom is upset, we walk around her neighborhood like this, and that always seems to work with her. “Can you wait outside for me? I have a feeling things are about to get ugly, and I don’t want to do that in front of a sweet woman like you. I’llcome out and update you once we’re done,” I say as sweetly as I can and sport my best puppy eyes. She pats my arm and smiles at me, telling me that I’ve won.
“Oh alright, sugar. I’ll wait outside the shop.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I lead her out the door and lock it once she starts to walk back across the parking lot. My lungs release a relieved breath, and I make sure the door is locked again. Just in case. “Jesus Christ.”
“Yeah, that lady needs God.”
I snap my head around to glare at Gerald.
“You need to shut the fuck up! She’s a sweet lady,” I yell back at him.
“Yeah. A real peach,” Gerald says sarcastically, and Tony turns to me, sighing like an over-spoiled dog.
“What am I doing here, Zeke?”
“I need to see his security tapes from the night D went missing.” I walk back up to him, and when he raises a brow, I tilt my head—practically daring him to argue with me. “It’s not too late to get Diane back in here,” I threaten. He turns back to Gerald and reaches up to his vest.
“Sir, would you be so kind as to allow us to see your security footage?” He lays his Sheriff’s badge on the table. With a defeated huff, Gerald then rolls his eyes and opens the door for us to follow him to the back.
Chapter 41
Damien
‘The Other Side’ - Ruelle
Sinful…
I’m back in the God-forsaken chair. The restraints continue to bite into my wrists, and I’m almost positive they’re bleeding again, but I can only feel the slow drip that occasionally lands on my fingertips. Everything is so bland. The walls and floor are grey. My skin is colorless. Even the chair looks cloudy. My life is missing its pigment. Eyes that only search for the love of my life have gone too long without their sight, and everything has gloomed around me.
Corrupt…
My mind is a wasteland. They haven’t dosed me today, and I think I’m going through withdrawals. I shake with such force that the chair creaks, and I’ve never heard it do that before. I’m constantly moving between dimensions, and I can’t tell what’s real anymore. When I first started to see them, it was only fora matter of minutes, I think. The first time I felt her, it didn’t last long enough. Now, she’s barely here at all. Only my ghosts accompany me now.
Foul…
They creep through the fog in my mind, and I can feel them staring at me. Each word is spoken with unmoving lips. There’s no source for the noise. They just faintly coat the air around my ears so no one else can hear them. My father, my sister, my friend, the woman, the children. Over and over, they speak.
Unholy…
I can feel her fighting to break through them. My one light in this life. She’s the only reason I continue to breathe. I can feel the need to have her consume me. I’m holding onto every ounce of my sanity just to catch a glimpse of her—even just a whisp of her scent. I can faintly feel her nails rake against my scalp, and my spine quivers. A ghost of a touch grazes my lips, and I reach for her, leaning as far forward as the chair will let me.
“Make it stop…” I beg, hoping that if I speak into the void that she’ll be able to hear me. “I need to feel you. I need to hear you. Make them go away, little wolf…” I swallow the blade in my throat, willing to plead with her until they slice right through my vocal cords. “Sing for me? Touch me? Just once, please… Just one more time…”
Unworthy…
They’re right. I don’t deserve her.
Dishonorable…
I’m sorry.
Murderer…
I didn’t want to.
