Page 299 of Ominous: Part 1
I’m stunned enough to release her as she stands, backing away, dripping water all over the concrete. Her lips are still tinted blue, her hair is soaked, dripping onto her shirt, and her teeth chatter, but it doesn’t cool down her rage.
“Fuck you.” She’s pointing at me, her eyes narrowed, her face lined with anger. “You’re fucking sick, you know that?You are fucking sick.”
Slowly, I get to my feet. This is better. I like she’s yelling.This is better.I smile at her, and she takes another step back.
“It wasyouridea.”
“I hate you.” She steps closer this time, her movements frantic. It’s like… it’s like she’s another person entirely. Like all this darkness suddenly came over her without a sound. A sign. Just… this.“I. Fucking.Hate you!” She points her finger against my chest, then she’s shoving me, hard. There’s nothing careful. Nothing gentle.
I don’t know what to say. It’s almost beautiful, watching her lose her mind.
“Do you want to kill me?” Her voice is ragged, just like her breaths as she balls her hands into fists at her side. “Is that it?Do you want to fucking kill me, Eli?”
I reach down, buttoning my pants, because they’re about to fall off my hips, and it’s not exactly warm out here.
She glances down, then shakes her head. “You only think with your dick. You only care about getting off. What the fuck is wrong with you, huh?”
I still don’t speak.
Her eyes flash blue in the night. I don’t see any other color. It’s beautiful. It’s terrifying. It reminds me of someone else. It reminds me of another time.
“Didyou do anything with him today? Did you take him out? Did you let him swim? I mean, fuck, Arianna, what do youdoall day?”
I stop on the stairs, one hand curled against the railing.
My hair is damp from my shower, and it’s just sohotoutside this summer, I can never seem to take enough of them to stay clean enough for Mom.
“He doesn’tliketo do anything,” she snaps, her voice edged with anger.
All day, she’s done things. Picked weeds in the garden. Planted more flowers. Yoga outside, by the pool. I came to her mat, she snapped at me to get off. One single toe along it, an accident, and she hated me for it. I’m going to burn all of them tonight, rolled up and kept in the basement gym. Every. Fucking. One.
After that, she was on the phone. She paced the house. She wrote in her journal, and when I tried to ask her if she wanted to go on a walk, she said,“You’re ten. Go by yourself.”
“And what the fuck have you done, huh? I saw the photos you posted, you and Delilah.” Her voice is a sneer.
Delilah.I frown as I stand frozen on the stairs. It’s Dad’s secretary. Mom doesn’t like her, but I’m not sure why.
Dad sighs. “It was a work meeting. It wasn’t just her and I, we were with—”
“She had her hand on your arm.” Mom’s voice is rising. “She calls you in the middle of the fucking night—”
“About cases, Arianna, you listen to my phone calls, you’reright therein the bedroom when I take them—”
“She shouldn’t be calling you after work. She shouldn’t befucking calling you,Eric.” She swears in Greek, and something shatters.
I flinch on the stairs, my pulse jumping.
There’s a brief quiet. Then Dad asks, “Have you taken your medicine today?”
Mom laughs. It’s hysterical. It’s strange. It doesn’t feel right. “Have I taken mymedicine?”She parrots his words, like she’s making fun of him. “You think we’re both just insane, don’t you? You think we’re both defective? Do you ever think maybe something is wrong with you, too? Do you ever think maybe you’re why we’re this way, Eric? No, no, of course you don’t. Of course you never think you doanythingwrong—”
“Ari.” Dad is speaking low, trying to soothe her, I think.
“Don’t call me that. Do not call me that.”
Something loud clatters on the floor. I hear pacing.
“Stop throwing things.” Dad’s voice is calm. “Our son is here.”
