Page 7 of Deadly Web
“Come on, my little Quinn Reaper, don’t just stand there with your mouth hanging open. You’ll catch a fly. Let's go,” she says, and I feel her small, cool porcelain hand reach for mine.
Just as we go to walk out of the room, I glance back once more and hear the snap of fingers, and watch as the ice explodes, leaving no real trace of Lee’s body behind. Kai’s shadows wrap around me, and there’s the smell again. Like something is on fire. Maybe it’s his shadows.They're made of fire, perhaps?
Nothing makes sense anymore, and dammit, I’m ready for some fucking answers.
Chapter 7 - Quinn
Finally, we pull up at home. Turning the car off. I step out and walk up to my front door. It’s oddly quiet tonight, no screaming and fighting. It seems off.Then I remember it’s the middle of the night and I was dragged out of bed and made into a puppet.
Pushing the front door open, I step inside and see my mom sitting in the kitchen. She stands and marches over to me, more aggressively than I anticipated. She yanks me by my hair and drags me into the kitchen.
“Where have you been? You and your dad both keep sneaking off and I don’t understand. Is it me? Do I not love you enough? Did I not become the wife and mother he wanted me to be?” she spits, her tone laced with venom as she lets go of the fistful of my hair so I can look at her. She looks over me and I look down at myself and that’s when I see all the blood. “Also, why are you covered in blood?” She curls her nose at the sight of me.
“I was just out, Mom, not with anyone. I just went for a drive, and I’m not sure where Dad is. I’m not his keeper. I don’t really know how to explain the blood, I cut myself.” I shrug and huffout a breath, then cross my arms over my chest. I’m over this, and tonight is not the night I want to deal with her shit.
“You’re such a liar. Just like your father. I have been up all night waiting for him to show up, but it’s you who walks through the door,” she yells and then slaps me across the face hard enough that my head whips to the side. Reaching up, I grab my face in shock and look back at her, trying to rub the ache away. My eyes connect with Kai’s whose shadows are covering her, and I’ve never seen him out of spider or shadow form.
There he stands though, towering over all of us as he looks back at me, fire and smoke illuminating from his body. He has these huge horns protruding from his head, like stories you would hear about the demons from Hell. Most people would run scared, but I find myself in a trance, walking closer to him as his shadows dangle my mother in the air in front of him.
“That’s the last time you ever touch her,” he seethes, literal smoke bellowing from his nose.
“Why don’t you ask your mom about Savannah now, Quinn Reaper?” Sadie says, walking up to me and wrapping her arm around my leg. If my mother's eyes could pop out of her head, they probably would have just then. Fuck the demon with shadows holding her. No, that’s not what freaks her out. It’s the creepy porcelain doll that’s talking.
“Q-Quinn, what in the actual fuck is happening in this house right now?!” my mom asks, her voice cracking. I’m not sure if she’s panicking or just thinks maybe she’s completely lost it.
“Well, first things first. Savannah, the lady we always hear stories about, what really happened to her? I want the truth, because they know exactly what happened, and if you don’t tell me, they will,” I question, stepping right up to her as Kai drops her down to my level. She looks at me and all the color drains from her face.
“I-I’m not sure what you mean?” she says on a shaky exhale, looking from Kai to Sadie and back to me.
“Don’t fucking lie to me!” I scream, and she jumps back stunned.
“Fine, okay. You may want to sit for this, it’s a long story,” she replies and tries to give me a sad smile.
“No, I’m just fine standing, thanks,” I quip and tap my foot, waiting for her to begin.
“It all started on Homecoming night. Your dad took Savannah out to the tracks, and the rest of us met up with them there. I watched as the football team raped her. They each took their turn and used her like the doormat she was,” she taunts, and it already makes my stomach churn at how this story is going to go. “Each of them dumped their load into her and laughed about it, while the cheerleading squad and I held her down. All the while, some guys had her precious little Tripp down on his knees, making him watch,” she says in a too cocky tone, almost like she’s lost in the memory.
“This is exactly why Savannah created us, to get her revenge on your mother and father,”Sadie whispers in my head so only I can hear.
My mom continues her story. “The guys fucked her one right after the other, never giving her a break. They made her watch as some of them beat the shit out of Tripp. I let the rage take over, and the squad followed suit when we went to ripping her stomach to shreds, then the rest of her body.” She smirks, and the rage I feel towards my mother grows. I have never hated someone as much as I do right now.
“I’m not sure that I wanted her to die, but I know I wanted payback. Not only was I supposed to be her best friend, but I took her boyfriend. You see, it was always supposed to be me and Jeremy together. We were meant to live happily ever after and have kids, the nice house; you know, the white picket fencelife. It didn’t really turn into that, though. It all seems so fucked up now, and maybe we took it too far, but what happened, happened. Back then, it just seemed like that’s what we were supposed to do,” she breathes out, finishing her story, and I don’t know if she expects me to feel bad for her or not because what the fuck?! What kind of people were they? Not just my parents, but the whole group.
“So you watched as your best friend got raped? Then you gutted her basically and left her for dead? Oh, and let's not forget you took her boyfriend too, right?” I pop off at her. Who the fuck is this woman that is supposed to be my mom?
“Mmm well, when you say it like that.” I don’t let her finish. Bringing my hand up, I slap her across the face, the sound echoing around the room.
“You’re a real piece of shit. You and Dad both. Whatever Savannah has planned for you, it’s deserved. For both of you,” I spit and hear Sadie singing her lullaby next to me.
“The deadly little spider crept out of Sadie’s hair,
Spun a web of torment– and you never spoke again,
Shadows drowned the room, the final light was gone,
Pray you never see him. And if you do… don’t scream.”
Reaching down, I grab the knife from my ankle holder. Kai is still in his demon form, but I watch as his shadows wrap around her, as white liquid starts running through his veins and releases towards my mom. It almost looks like venom, but that’s insane.Right?I watch as her breathing picks up and her body shakes.
