Page 5 of Slaying for Santa
“Turn that shit off,” Bell snarls over her shoulder at me.
I want to tell her not to fucking order me around, but then I see the way Libi is tucked against the wall, rocking herself with her hands over her ears.
Shit. I should’ve known this would induce an episode.
I hurry to find the remote, but it’s nowhere in sight, so I step over more broken glass and flick off the power point, shutting the Christmas carols off instantly.
“Lights,” Bell says in a hushed tone, and I meet her gaze. “Can you dim them or turn them off?”
I nod, moving to the dimmer switch, and lower the brightness, my eyes finding hers until she nods.
With the soft glow settling over the room, I want to kick myself for not fucking acting sooner to help Libi. She preferslower lighting. Especially when she’s stressed. Same with loud noises.
Fuck it! My head isn’t in the right fucking place right now.
Fucking Rhonda!
“Hey, Libs.” Bell’s voice takes on a soft tone, unlike I’ve ever heard from her, and shit… does this woman who was voted Most Likely to Become a Serial Killer by her peers at school, actually have a soul?
Lowering to the floor next to my daughter, Bell positions herself similarly to Libi, gaining her attention, and my daughter slowly stops rocking, her tiny hands falling from her ears.
“Bell?”
Her voice is so fucking soft, her big blue eyes locking with Bell’s in wonder.
Fuck. They are so similar. Bell and Libi almost look like mother and daughter with the same dark hair, big eyes, although a different shade, and well, they have similar mannerisms. I’ve tried to ignore how similar they are in personality. The quirkiness. The bluntness. The like of all things dark and creepy.
Sometimes I think my daughter was born in a horror movie. Sure, she likes dolls, but only if they can wear black clothes with skulls on them.
Shit. That reminds me of why Rhonda flipped the fuck out.
The Christmas tree.
“Hi, Libi,” Bell coos quietly. “I thought I’d come and annoy your dad for Christmas. Is that okay with you?”
Libi giggles and nods. “Yes. You annoy him a lot.”
I stiffen, but not because of what Libi said. It’s because Bell’s lips kick up in a fucking smile. Not the quirk of the lipsshe gifted me at the front door before, but this smile… I’ve never seen her smile like that.
It’s broad, and she actually looks… happy.
“I know.” Bell bops Libi on the nose, and my little girl giggles again. “Annoying your dad is so much fun.”
Libi’s joy is short-lived as she glances over her shoulder at the Christmas tree strewn over on its side, her smile falling away.
“Hey, what’s the frown for?” Bell asks, drawing my daughter’s attention again, and her big eyes peer up at Bell with so much trust in them.
It may have been a few years since I’ve seen Bell, but it’s only been a few months since Libi has seen her. They usually catch up every time Tillie takes my daughter for a weekend so I can have a little break, but Bell and I deliberately avoid running into each other, so I haven’t seen her in… well… years.
On my part, it’s mainly so I don’t lose my shit in front of Libi since Bell knows how to push my fucking buttons. I assume Bell’s reason is the same.
We just don’t play well.
“The tree is ruined,” Libi says softly, tears welling in her beautiful blue eyes.
“We can fix it. Or get a new one,” Bell offers, and shit, Libi’s eyes go round in excitement despite the big fat tears popping from them.
“We can get a new one?” she asks before she looks excitedly around for me. “Can we, Daddy? Please, can we get the one I want? Pleeeease.”
