ROT WITH ME

i - deception

CHAPTER ONE
THREE YEARS LATER...

June unraveled intricate knots of bitter memories hidden deep in her mind as her finger dragged along a long, scaly body. Aaron, her ivory snake hissed, it's tongue flicking out as it slowly cowered back into its nest of coconut fiber.

"Leave Aaron alone," demanded Alara, her little sister.

"First of all, he's my pet," June scoffed, shutting the cage before facing the spitting image of both her mother and father.

"Yet I'm the one who takes care of him," snapped back Alara, shaking her head as she advanced towards the glass confinement to observe the serpent. Avoiding eye contact with her older sister.

June bit into the bottom of her lip, sighing. "Touché," was her generic response before she crossed the room for her keys on the vanity. The note he had left her years ago, laying there limply. Proof he was real. Holding onto the memory of him. Her eyes of blue flitted up, unconsciously catching her own gaze. As she checked herself in the mirror, her own depravity staring back at her tauntingly.

Eyeliner drawn across the tight line of her lid and then softly on her waterline. Cherry Dior lip oil smeared on her mouth, giving it a natural pink shine. But her gaze held no depth, no emotion. She looked like a blank canvas, absent.

Was she really here?

She forced her eyes away, swallowing once and grabbing her tote bag and stuffing her over-annotated copy of 'The Secret History' by Donna Tartt which she had in all likelihood read around six times over a span of two years.

"You're okay with being alone, right?" She inquired, gazing at the back of Alara's head.

"I'm eighteen," mumbled Alara, still not facing her. But June knew she wasn't looking at their snake anymore. Things seemed to always be tense between them. Maybe it was because she was unfeeling and couldn't give her little sister what she deserved. She knew she had changed but why was the difference in her behavior treated like a problem?

"I'll be back by nine or so," articulated June, her sister didn't even spare her a glance and trudged into her room. Slamming the door.

June frowned.

***

June arrived to the address Juliette had sent pretty quickly. It was only a couple blocks down from her apartment complex. And her American blood screamed at her not to attempt to drive on the left side of the road. She still hadn't gotten used to it.

But the moment her eyes found the sign nailed into the upper half of the pub, she wanted to vomit. She entered the bar without allowing herself to think it through, knowing she'd most likely turn the other way if she gave herself a choice.

The last time she had gone to this sort of place had been when she was at her lowest. When she yearned for clarity and would do anything to get just that. Mortification tore her soul apart, wincing at the memory of what had went down that night. How far she'd went because of the longing in her heart that cried for validation.

An arm was thrown over her shoulders when the thought began to wrap its hands around her throat. Music strumming through her veins as the noise of faint chattering, drums and guitar flowed into her ears.