Page 26 of Sour
I stood in horror, watching Ziggy beat Erek, knowing just how much pent up anger and rage he must’ve had stored deep inside him. I wasn’t the only one Erek was abusing in that trailer. The only difference was Erek had been abusing Ziggy his whole life. Seeing Erek raping me was merely the tipping point to a lifetime of resentment Ziggy had collected. It was the straw that broke him.
“Ten!” Ziggy bent down and picked up his father’s gun. He held it tight and aimed it directly at Erek with a steady hand. My stepfather sat on the floor, bleeding and crying as he leaned against the kitchen counter. “I warned you,” Ziggy whispered.
I rushed between them and raised my arms. “Wait!” His face twisted in confusion. “You—you can’t do this,” I breathed. My entire body ached from being beat, but I knew I had to stop this.
Ziggy made a face. “Get out of the way, Koven. He doesn’t deserve to live. Not after what he’s done to you.”
I nodded. “I know, Happy. I do.” Erek continued to cry on the floor while I focused on Ziggy. “But, if you do this, then you’re no better than him.” His eyes locked with mine. “You can’t kill him, Ziggy. If you do, there’s—there’s no coming back. Please,” I begged him. “Please, let him go.” Ziggy’s eyes reddened, and I knew he was feeling the turmoil of a lifetime of trauma rising to the surface. Tears flowed down my beaten cheeks as I triedto calm him. “I know you’re hurting, but killing him won’t make that pain go away.”
Ziggy rubbed his eyes and groaned. “I don’t care how much he’s hurt me. My pain means nothing to me, Koven. Nothing! You are the only thing that matters. You. And knowing thatfuckerhurt you,” he shouted down at Erek as his face burned with rage, while the man cowered in fear. “That he touched you…again and again…it makes me boil with hatred.” Ziggy cocked Erek’s gun. “I can live with my pain. But I won’t let you live with yours. This islongoverdue, Skittles. Now, step aside.”
“Ziggy, wait?—”
As Ziggy prepared to fire the gun, Erek grabbed my arm and yanked me to the floor with him. He squeezed my body close, holding a kitchen knife to my throat. “Put the gun down, boy,” he hissed. “Or I’ll kill her, just like her momma.” Ziggy glared at his father. I panicked, trying to wriggle free, but Erek only squeezed me tighter. He leaned close to my ear, his alcohol-soaked breath hitting my face as he spoke. “Keep moving and I bleed you dry right here, you fucking whore!” He pressed the knife against my throat, slightly cutting my skin. I cried out, screaming for Ziggy to put the gun down.
Erek breathed heavily. “You better listen to her.” He licked his lips. His bloody nose dripped all down the side of my face, staining my bruised and beaten skin. Ziggy didn’t move. “See, I told you,” Erek whispered against my face. “He doesn’t care for anyone but himself. Not even you.”
“Ziggy,” I sobbed. “Please.” My nails clawed Erek’s arm, desperately trying to peel him off of me, but he didn’t move. He just sat there, holding me hostage on the floor.
“Let her go,” Ziggy growled. His arm was trembling and shaking.
Erek chuckled and coughed. “Not until you put the gun down, son.”
Ziggy smiled and pulled the trigger. “No!” I shouted as I clenched my eyes shut in anticipation. But nothing happened. No loud bang or sound of the gun firing. Nothing.
Thunder rolled above and Erek ruptured into laughter. I opened my eyes to see Ziggy standing there, confused and staring at the gun. Erek wobbled as he laughed, nicking my throat with the knife. “You fucking idiot!” He wheezed and coughed. “Everyone knows there’s a safety trigger. You can’t just aim and shoot!” He lifted the blade and waved it around in the air while insulting Ziggy further. “You’re such a fucking idiot, boy! Can’t even shoot a gun properly?—”
Ziggy clicked the safety as I rolled away and he shot Erek in the thigh.
My ears rang, and I clutched my skull, the sound of my heartbeat racing in my chest. I looked over at Erek, bleeding out on the kitchen floor. His mouth was moving, his face bright and stained in his blood. From the way the veins bulged from his fat neck, I knew he must’ve been yelling, but I heard nothing but that loud, piercing ring.
“Ziggy,” I mouthed. I didn’t hear my voice, even though I felt my lips moving. “Ziggy!” My hands trembled as I noticed some of Erek’s blood on my body. “Ziggy!” Just like that, all sound crashed into my ears and returned to normal. I cried out and fell over, covering my ears from the intensity.
“You fucking psycho!” Erek shouted up at Ziggy. “I’m going to kill you! I’m going to fucking kill you!”
Ziggy stepped over his father’s body and raised his arm, aiming the gun at the man’s chest. Erek’s face quivered in fear and his eyes widened. He begged Ziggy to let him go, fumbling over his words and sobs, but Ziggy didn’t care. He simply tilted his head and smiled. “Not if I kill you first.” And just like that, he fired again, the bullet landing in Erek’s chest.
What the fuck?
Erek fell onto his back and didn’t move.
I covered my mouth and cried into my hands, trembling at what I had just witnessed. “Oh my god,” I sobbed. “Is…is he—dead?” The trembled question whispered from my lips. I crawled onto my hands and knees and slowly inched closer.
Ziggy didn’t look at me. Instead, simply raised his foot and kicked Erek’s torso as he groaned faintly. “Nope.” Ziggy crouched over his father’s body and brushed his hair back. He sighed, then tapped the barrel of the gun against Erek’s face. “Rise and shine, you fat bastard.” Erek groaned some more. Ziggy slapped him, the sound making me jump. “Yeah, there he is.” Erek opened his eyes and stared up at Ziggy in horror. “You didn’t think I’d let you die so easily now, did you?” He grinned.
“P–p–please,” Erek begged. “I’m s–s–sorry.”
Ziggy turned and looked at me over his shoulder. “He’s sorry,” he mocked. “Pathetic.” He shook his head and turned back to Erek. “Sorry is just a word. It means nothing and is as hollow as your weak little heart.” He pressed the tip of the gun barrel into the gunshot wound on Erek’s chest.
“Ahh, please! I am! I am!” my stepfather shouted as blood spat from his mouth.
Ziggy tsked. “You’re not sorry for what you did, or any of what you’ve done. Not really.” He pressed harder, Erek’s wound squelching as blood began to pool around him. “You’re just sorry you got caught. But I’m not.” He pushed even harder. “I just wish I would’ve caught you sooner.” Ziggy spat on his father’s face. “Pig.”
Ziggy looked around the kitchen, his eyes falling to the knife Erek had held to my throat. “Hey Skittles.” He looked back at me and motioned with his head. “Come join me.”
I shook my head.
Ziggy leaned close to Erek’s face. “You see that?” He pushed the gun into his cheek, forcing the man’s face to rotate in my direction. “She’s petrified of me.”
