Page 107 of Atlas
“You looked it up?”
“Yes! Now fucking get her out of there and kill the bitch. You promised to make her suffer for what she did to me.”
The door shook, and I knew Niklavs was throwing his body against it.
A metallic taste spread in my mouth as I pushed myself into a small ball, preparing for the worst. How had I failed to see that Velna wasn’t a victim at all?
The two broomsticks that I’d used to barricade the door didn’t hold up long. Niklavs’ body smashing against the door broke them, and soon, I was pulled out, screaming and kicking.
It felt like large chunks of hair were pulled from my scalp when Niklavs flung me through the room.
I cried and pushed back to get away from him.
Niklavs held up the gun in two hands, pointing it at me, but he didn’t shoot. He had taken off his jacket and was in a long-sleeved gray t-shirt.
“You destroyed our family,” he accused.
“No.” I shook my head and held up both hands with tears springing from my eyes. “I understand now. I understand.”
He shifted his balance but kept pointing the gun at me.
“You were trying to protect Benjamin, weren’t you?”
“What?” His face was scrunched up.
“You never starved him. She did. Isn’t that right?”
Niklavs lowered his gun a tiny bit.
“You have a temper, but Velna knows how to push your buttons, doesn’t she?”
“Shut her up, right now!” Velna walked to stand next to him and pointed to me. “Kill her now.”
“You didn’t want Benjamin to starve. That was her way of punishing him, not yours. That’s why every time you could tell she was getting irritated, you stepped in and punished Benjamin before her, right? You figured a few blows weren’t half as bad as him not eating for days. You were trying to protect your son from her.”
Niklavs’ sunken eyes were like black holes, but his eyebrows betrayed his emotions when they pulled tightly together. “He was never going to be a strong boy without food.”
“And you wanted the best for Benjamin, didn’t you?”
“Yes. He’s my son.”
“Don’t you see that she plays you like a puppet? You never wanted to hurt Benjamin, and you don’t want to kill me either. It’s not too late to walk away. You can still leave, and I promise that I won’t tell anyone that you were here.”
“Shut up!” Velna stormed over and screamed at me. When her blows rained down over my head and shoulders, I curled up and shielded my face with my hands.
Hitting back was not an option as long as Niklavs was in the room. Velna’s attack was an escalation of the situation, and if I went along and fought back, it would activate his protective instincts as her husband.
Pulling back from me, she turned to him. “Give me the gun. I should have known you weren’t man enough to shoot her. I’ll have to do it myself.”
“No. I’ve made up my mind. We’re not going to prison for murder.” Niklavs shook his head and held the gun away from Velna as she grabbed for it. “We’ll go to Mexico like you said. We can disappear. Killing her won’t help anything.”
“I’m not going to Mexico. You’re weak!” There was pure disgust in Velna’s eyes. “Give me the gun, and I’ll finish this!”
“No.”
“Then shoot her!” Velna was like a small child throwing a tantrum. Her face was red, her eyes crazed, and her lips trembling. She kept pushing and shoving Niklavs, still reaching for the gun.
“No, I’m tired of you bossing me around. The shrink is right. I never wanted to hurt Benjamin, but you tortured him. Youtorturedour son!” There was raw pain in Niklavs’ accusation. “He was so little, and I could hear his stomach growl.”
