Page 1 of Dread’s Beloved

Chapter One

Kitty 6 years old

“Five more minutes.”

“How many?”

“Dis many.” I hold up my fist and count as I release each finger.

“All right. Five minutes, but then you’ve got to get your butt to bed.”

I nod and spin around the living room in my Hello Kitty nightgown until I get dizzy and fall onto the couch, knocking a bowl of popcorn onto the carpet.

“Silly goose.” Mellie bends down to clean up the mess I made. She’s the best babysitter in the whole world. She always plays games with me and braids my hair. She lets me pick a movie, and we have pajama dance parties with my stuffies.

I wiggle my fingers, looking at my dark purple fake fingernails she helped me glue on.

“I’m firsty.”

Mellie smiles at me, tucking a curl behind her ear as she shoves up off the floor with the bowl of popcorn. “You can have a sip of chocolate milk, but then you’ve gotta brush your teeth.”

I nod. “Will you tuck me in?”

“Of course.”

I follow her to the kitchen, dragging my favorite stuffed narwhal behind me. Mellie fixes me a cup of milk. I take my time drinking it, but she doesn’t yell at me. She never does. Not ever.

“All right, kiddo. Go brush your teeth, and I’ll be right there to tuck you in.”

“O’tay.”

I trudge down the hall and climb up on the stepstool in front of the sink, then set my timer. I have to brush my teeth good or they will rot out. That’s what my mom tells me, anyway.

I brush and brush, then rinse.

I go to my room and climb into bed and wait for Mellie to come tuck me in like my mommy does each night. She’s at a party with my dad. They said I couldn’t come. My brother is at his friend’s house. He’s too old for a babysitter.

I hug my stuffie and wait.

Mellie doesn’t come.

I can hear her talking to someone. Probably her best friend, Tracie. She’s all the time calling her and talking about how stupid her boyfriend is. Boys are yucky and smelly. My brother always smells like dirt and sunshine. He’s started getting hair under his armpits and his shoes stink up the front closet. He wipes his sweat off his forehead and rubs it on my arm to make me cry. Then Dad gets mad and yells at him and makes him play dolls with me.

“You can't be here.”

“Did you think I wouldn’t find you?”

“I can pay you back.”

“Naw. You fucked me over.”

“I can pay you back, I swear. Please.”

“Time’s up.”

“What are you doing?”

Bang.