Page 98 of Nemesync
Even if it hurts. Even ifshehurts. She felt better than emptiness.
I was mesmerized by her—her hair, her eyes, her face, the body she carried, the marks on it. I had been obsessed for years, wanting her to see pain, to feel it as much as I did. But the moment she sank into the warm water and faced me, I understood.
My heart was beating again after a long time, all because of the look she gave me. I recognized that look, the gold and brown in them. The last bit of color I saw before my world became red and black.
I was reading my book quietly in my room, wondering why my mother hadn’t returned from her weekend as my father had told me.
I miss her. And I miss her voice.
Then, I heard my father’s voice calling me downstairs to have dinner with him and my best friend, the son of his ally, Nikolai.
I descended, excited to see my friend, because my father had just picked up after his training. I loved Niko, he was so funny and so cool with me. We were discussing superheroes and video games when the sound of a car reached us.
My father said, “Get behind the door,” then he reached for his gun.
It wasn’t surprising; we had grown up in this world, where everyone had weapons, and in two years, I would begin firearms training.
A man entered our house. He looked both angry and so sad.
His eyes were dull and red, with tears still on his face. He held a gun pointed at my father. Should I react? I want to.
But Nikolai was looking at me with fear. He was a year younger than me, and I didn’t want him to be afraid, so I stayed calm.
The man pointing the gun at my father said, “How could you dare do that to her? Did you sell her out? You know damn well she’s already dead, you bastard!”
My father replied coldly, “How did you manage to come here? Did you pay my guards?”
“ANSWER ME!”
“Your wife was the one telling me about that. She should have stayed loyal. No one cheats on the Pakhan.”
The man shouted, throwing pictures at my father, “You sold her to the worst, look what they did to her, LOOK!” I ran from my hiding spot and grabbed the photos the man just threw at my father’s feet.
Why is my mom not smiling and naked in those pictures? Her long blonde hair covered her face.
Her eyes are closed too, and she has bruises everywhere.
I looked at my father and asked, “Dad, where is Mom?” But I received no response from him, only a look filled with disgust and sadness.
The other man fired a bullet straight into my father’s head.
Blood.
Blood everywhere.
I can feel some on my hands and face.
His body fell to the ground with a loud crash. A big hole in his forehead, I didn’t understand what happened.
I just went and took the gun he carried in his hand and turned it to the man that fired that bullet.
And I fired but I didn’t touch him.
I watched him walking towards his car as if nothing happened.
Before leaving, he turned around and said to me, “You’re just like him, a heartless monster,” and then he got into his car, like nothing happened.
In the back, a face lit up – a little girl with long black hair, a pale face, and big eyes. They look like two gold pearls.
