Page 18 of Eternally Ginger

11

Ginger

My hands frantically dug through the boxes in Aunt Hadley’s garage as I prayed no one would see me. Ghoul and most of his brothers were following a tip they’d received, and I’d asked to use the van. It wasn’t my finest moment, taking the only means of transportation from Spider, but they borrowed Aunt Hadley’s car, so he wasn’t stranded.

None of that mattered right now. I had to get back and save my mom before her situation worsened. “Yes!” I shouted as my hand landed on a baseball bat. Thinking on my toes, I grabbed a long Philips head screwdriver and a hammer just in case. It wasn’t what I hoped to find, but it would have to do. I sighed. It looked like I was going to fix up a house and then go play baseball, not save my mom. With a shake of my head, I scooped up my “weapons” and ran to the vehicle, praying the Bastards wouldn’t catch me before I could rescue her. No matter how many times Ghoul said he was happy to have me here with him, he would never intentionally lead me into danger, or in this case, willingly let me drive myself to it.

* * *

Once the van was around fifty feet from the cabin, I killed the lights and hopped out. The rest of the way would have to be on foot. I refused to give the asshole keeping my mom any clue I was here. I had come too far to let my impatience ruin the whole thing for both Mom and me. As I ran down the road leading to her, I prayed my speed was enough. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that if Kenneth discovered me trying to help Mom escape, he would take me captive, too. It should scare me; every logical reason told me it was how I should feel, but I was tired of being afraid. It was such a stupid emotion that crippled people, and a lot of times kept them from doing the right thing in a situation.

There were fewer lights on this time, but they were still on. I took that as a good sign. If he had killed her, I doubted he would stick around, waiting for someone to catch him after performing the heinous act I might have to do myself. He hit her, although he didn’t know I saw it. When I thought my dad had been my protector all those years ago, I couldn’t have been further from the truth. It was my mom all along. Now, it was my turn to repay the favor, and I would do it no matter the cost.

I stepped onto my milk crate again and peered inside. Mom’s body was lying on the floor, and she wasn’t moving. Kenneth stood over her, his hand moving fervently back and forth over the length of his shaft. He really was a sick fuck.

Mom needed help, and she needed it now. Unfortunately for her, her daughter had stupidly taken it upon herself to make this a rogue mission. I had to be enough. I told myself I was enough. I could do this.

With each step, my legs shook with anticipation, or maybe it was terror. I didn’t know what I was feeling or how to process it anymore. I concealed the screwdriver inside the top of my boot and shoved the head of the hammer into my back pocket. Last was the baseball bat, my fingers twisted around its thickness, getting a comfortable yet firm grip as I crept around to the door.

Music blared from somewhere inside, and I hoped it was loud enough to mask what noises I made while opening the door the tiniest bit to sneak in without him noticing. The old wooden door whined as my fingertips pressed against its chipped green surface, and I froze in place. My heart quivered inside the confines of my ribcage, and its echoes bounced off my eardrums. This was it. We were both going to die, and it was my fault. Defeat sank into my porous bones and overtook the marrow with its poisonous corrosion. I waited for him, but when he didn’t come right away, I allowed myself to feel the tiniest bit of relief, although this was far from over. Quite the opposite, the nightmare had only just begun.

Again, my fingers flexed, but this time I was careful to not apply too much pressure. I was certain that I wouldn’t be as lucky the second time.

Kenneth’s back was to me, and he was too busy pleasuring himself to notice the interruption. I had to act fast. His breaths were shallow, indicating he was almost finished. Taking a moment, I lined up the bat and swung it as hard as I could, aiming for his head. The blow landed while a maddening smile pulled at my lips. His blood freckled onto my clenched knuckles and up my light forearm. It was oddly satisfying to see him bleed. Each red dot on my skin was like a tiny merit badge I’d earned for my mom. I didn’t know all of the sins that made up his guilt, but I had witnessed enough to know he wasn’t a good man.

“You sick fuck!” I screamed violently, and my throat ached from the force my words exerted.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” he managed to hiss as he stumbled forward, his hands cupping his face as blood streaked down his arms.

The bat cracked against his ribs, and he released his head to clutch his side with one hand and protectively cup his dick with the other.

“Her daughter.”

“You’re a stupid bitch just like her,” he sneered. “Should have sold you, too.”

I shook my head. “You don’t get to call either of us that,” I corrected him, tightening my grasp around the neck of the bat. “Swing batter, batter.” I laughed to myself and swung with all the strength my body had at his crotch.

“Fuck!” he yelled, dropping to the floor in a fetal position beside Mom.

“You don’t know, do you?” he growled in between breaths.

I didn’t know why, but I wanted to know what he had to say. Rage rushed through me like a steam engine, and I knew I wouldn’t stop when I’d seen what he was doing through the window. As soon as I came into this house, I was more than aware one of us would die.

“What is it, Kenneth? That you aren’t my uncle? That Kenneth is not your real name?” I probed, tossing the bat to the floor with a clatter and pulling the screwdriver out of my boot.

“Ha. You deserve a medal. You figured out part of it,” he forced through the pain and pushed up onto his knees.

“Don’t move,” I warned him, shoving the pointed edge toward his earlobe, and he flinched. Naturally, he tried to duck away from me, but he wasn’t getting away. I refused to let him. My brain kicked into overdrive, and my reflexes shocked me by how fast I reacted. My palm flattened against the other side of his head as my nails dug into his skin, jerking him back into place.

“She’s not your mom, and Jacob wasn’t your dad. Don’t you get it?” he snarled and gritted his teeth.

“Get what?”

“We were supposed to sell you, and she wouldn’t let us,” he spoke slowly, and I needed him to stop.

“No!” I cried and rammed the metal into his ear canal. I was certain he screamed based on the amount of blood gushing out of his ear and the wideness of his gaping mouth, but I didn’t hear any sound leaving his lips. My head moved from side to side slowly as I questioned if this was real. My thoughts went to Meghan once again. She swore Dad wasn’t who he said he was. When Ghoul told me of the horrific things my dad had done, I thought that was exactly what she was trying to tell me. I was wrong. I was so unbelievably fucking wrong.

His ear-piercing shrieks ripped me back into reality. This was really happening. I pulled the screwdriver out and stabbed his sides repeatedly until his body went limp and fell to the floor beside Mom, cringing when I thought of that maternal word. For all intents and purposes, she was my mother. She’d kept me safe when bad men were going to traffic me. I had no recollection of an abduction or even Mom and Dad arguing until the year before their divorce. I’d mostly come to terms with my dad being a disturbed man, but hearing this man’s claim that I didn’t belong to Mom gutted me.

---