Page 49 of Beneath Her Skin

TIANA

They’ve had their reprieve, but I’m too impatient to wait them out. With slow, deliberate steps, I make my way to where my mother stands peacefully with the bat dragging behind me. Bringing my face to her ear, my voice drops to a menacing whisper.

“You’re gonna die a slow, painful death. No one will hear you scream, and even if they do, no one is coming to save you. Are you ready to meet the monster you created?” Bianca’s brows furrow, head jerking as if she’s trying to throw the picture I painted out of her head.

They can hear everything I say while they sleep, even if they think it’s coming from their own mind. When I reach Elias, I want to swing the bat straight through his skull, but I settle for gripping his chin tightly before spewing venom in his ear.

“Youare a waste of space and you will never be good enough. You are nothing but a narcissistic fuck-up who deserves to rot.” My voice rises, laced with anger. “You are useless! No one will mourn your death, but I promise you, Iwillrelish in it.”

Elias twitches like he’s having a nightmare. Otherwise, nothing. Fucking wake up, damn it. In a split second, I ram mybat into the cement over his head. Almost instantly, he wakes with a start.

A feral grin steals over my face. “Good morning sunshine,” I whisper as he struggles to make sense of his surroundings.Your blood is mine.The thought turns me on and I can’t find it in me to care. “Let’s wake up Mommy dearest, shall we?”

“Huh? Tiana? What…what is going on?” Elias’ groggy voice follows me to Bianca.

A sharp slap silences his ramble. “Stand up,” I shout before slapping her again. Then twice more, despite knowing she’s awake.

“Stop! What the fuck? Tiana?” My mother is breathing like she just ran a marathon.

With an eye roll, I step back to look at them both. “Oh, great. You both remember my name,” I deadpan.

“Muchachita del diablo!Spawn of Satan! What do you think you’re doing? Release me. Now!” Bianca snaps.

Giving her a faux pout, I say, “If you escape, then however will I make you suffer?” The color drains from her face, but she remains stoic.

“Enough of this!” Elias shouts. “What’s gotten into you, babe? Whatever it is, we can talk about this like normal people. Stop acting fucking crazy and untie us.”

At the mention of acting crazy, a loud cackle escapes me. “I’m surprised you have so much energy after being knocked out for days in a row.” There are no windows down here to convince them otherwise, and they believe my lies so easily.

Maybe I am a little crazy. Why does that have to be a bad thing though?

Now, it’s Elias’ turn to appear ghostly. “Days? How…how long have we been down here?”

Bianca struggles against the ropes as I reply, “I don’t know. A week, maybe. I wasn’t counting.” I shine a big smile at him before heading to the table with my tools.

On a whim, I drag the table closer to them. Starting with a pair of scissors, the most seemingly harmless item on my belt, a flash of hope passes through Mama’s eyes. Hope I’ve wished for on countless nights. There’s a tender smile on my face as I caress her head once, feeling her relax a fraction. My fingers lock on a chunk of her hair, pulling her head as far to the right as I can before the scissors chop off thick, dark locks.

Dropping my face to stare into her eyes, I gasp in sync with her. Her dramatics are all predictable. “No, no! What did you do, stupid girl!” Bianca cries. The woman is so vain, her looks are the first thing I have to ruin if I want to break her down. With the same scissors, I stab deep into her cheek, only pulling back when I poke her tongue. Blood spurts and trickles down her neck as she stares frozen in shock.

“Shut your fucking mouth or I’ll shut it for you. My name is Tiana. Not stupid girl, not whore, Tiana! You should know it well since you gave it to me, so use it.” Shoving her face aside, I walk to Elias while running Bianca’s blood over the blade, never breaking eye contact.

“You’re awfully quiet, honey. Am I neglecting you?” I cock my head to the side.

Elias shakes his head furiously. “People are looking for me. My location is turned on, so somebody will find us. Stop before it’s too late,” he rushes out as I trail a finger up his stomach, to the top of his shirt.

“Zero, five, two, one. Your birthday, right?” While he stutters over his words, I slice his shirt open, down the middle with the scissors. Tossing them onto the table, I lift his phone in the air without turning. “Already taken care of. Everyone knows you’rein good hands.” I turn with a knife in one hand and my torch in the other.

“What are you…You can’t do this, Tiana. Please,” Elias begs.

“Ishouldn’tdo this, but I will. You shouldn’t have fucked mymother,in my own house, but you did.” Bianca cries harder in the background as my voice rises.

His eyes almost pop out of his head. “What? No, baby. I would never do that to you.” His eyes soften, but I know him well enough to know it’s another mask he puts on to get his way. My expression doesn’t change, staring at him bored. “Please. She’s…old.” Mama gasps, but he continues. “You’re the only one I want. She means nothing to me, you know that.”

“How dare you! You said you loved me,” Bianca shouts.

A blush spreads up Elias’ neck to his cheeks. “You can’t seriously believe her, Tiana. I love-”

“Drop the fucking act.” I interrupt him, stepping up to him. “If I have to listen to one more excuse from you, I will pluck out your eyeball with my bare hand and shove it down your throat.” His mouth zips shut at my menacing snarl, followed by an audible swallow.

---