Page 106 of Roses and Skulls

“You’ve always had Brody and me… we are your family. It’s not too late. I promise, it’s not.” I reach for the gun, but she quickly pulls it away and places the barrel to her temple.

“Don’t,” I begin to beg.

Blood splatters across my body as Lanie’s head gets ripped apart by a bullet.

My ears are ringing when Draven and his mother rush into the bedroom.

“Oh, fuck me,” the woman says, slapping Draven over the back of the head. “Now look what you’ve done.”

Draven stares at Lanie’s body, she’s lying across the bottom of the bed, half of her skull missing.

I lean over, gagging.

“None of this is going as planned. Did you know that Jesse kicked all the girls and their clients out of Bells and then preceded to burn the building down?”

“What?” Draven asks, confusion all over his face.

“If you would have listened to me from the very beginning, her daughter would be a drooling crack head at Bell’s by now and Jesse would know what it feels like to lose everything. But you messed it up, just like your fucking father did.”

“Get rid of her and meet me in Vegas. We’re done. It’s over. Jesse will never stop now that you’ve touched her. We need to get across the border.” The woman gives me one last disgusted look before she walks out.

Draven stands beside me, both of us silent and then I begin to feel sick to my stomach again.

He grabs me by the arm and drags me out of the room, taking me into a bathroom. He lifts the lid on the toilet and holds my hair as I dry heave. While I’m busy retching, I feel a sharp stick in the crook of my arm as he pumps more drugs into my system.

“No,” I rasp, struggling to pull my arm away.

“It’s okay, baby. Everything is okay. I’ll take care of it.” He rubs his hand lightly over my back as my body trembles in shock. “I’m not getting rid of you. That was never my plan, don’t listen to her. The only thing I ever planned on was turning you into mine.”

When I’m done getting sick, he gently guides me to the floor.

“Just rest here.” He leaves but comes back with my clothes. “Get dressed while I make a few calls. Look at me.”

I raise my eyes to him.

“It’s okay,” he says, staring down at me. “She’s in a better place.”

Nodding, I rest my head on the toilet.

I know she is.

Anything has to be better than this.

When he closes the door, I manage to pull my pants on and then I open the door. I can hear him on the phone in the other room. Glancing around, I see we’re in a trailer. The door to the outside world is right there.

Without thought, I make my way to it and surprisingly it opens. The cool night air makes me gulp in a large breath. Oh god, I don’t even know where I’m at. I stumble down the steps, looks like a trailer park, but everything is dark and most of the other trailers have broken windows and look vacant.

So, I walk.

I’ve got no clue where I’m going.

I feel as though my brain is fracturing. It can’t really break, can it? My body feels nothing though. Just a numb sense of calm while my mind spins with the image of Lanie lying across the white sheets covered in bright red blood.

Time no longer exists as I wander farther and farther away.

My surroundings show me that I’m in a place somewhat resembling a town but not quite. Houses are scattered and most look like they’re about to fall in. There is an orange glow on the horizon.

My vision is blurry and my limbs so heavy. It takes extreme effort to put one foot in front of the other. Suddenly, I stop, tilting my head to the side. Is it a windchime or just the ringing in my ears? I make my way towards the sound as I empty my mind. I’m trying to compartmentalize everything and lock it away for safe keeping.

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