Suffocate

Chapter 11

Rona squeals and jumps at me right when I enter the front door of our house. Wide-eyed, shocked, and full of panic, I pick her up into my arms, trying to, again, forget about the throbbing pain I'm in.

I can't disappoint this bundle of joy.

"Brycie!" Rona cheers. She wraps her arms around my neck and squeezes me tight. I hug her back, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

"Hey, Rona," I say, my voice raspy all of a sudden. The stress on my body is probably what's affecting me. Man, this sucks.

Rona nuzzles into my neck and hugs me tighter. It occurs to me that she might've missed me. I have been trying to avoid any major contact with the girls, because for the past week, I didn't want them to see me look like complete shit. Not everything has faded away yet: I still have red splotches on various parts of my body; especially my right eye, neck, and arms—the most visible parts of my body, so far.

"I made another drawing today," Rona says. I smile, raising my brows at her.

"You did? What of?" I ask her. Rona grins at me.

"I drew a festival! With all of these rides and the far-farri—the wheel!" she says, stumbling on her words. I chuckle at her, amused.

"Ferris Wheel?" Rona nods her head.

"Yeah! That one!" Her face swiftly forms into the most adorable pout, with her pink bottom lip puffing out. "Why is that so hard to say?" she asks. I laugh.

"Don't worry, little one. You'll get there." I tap her on her little heinie before setting her down on the floor. Rona grins up at me then struts into the kitchen. I glance over at the other part of the room with agony filling in the pit of my stomach.

A hand rubs across my back tenderly, making me aware that Sapphire is here. I forgot for a quick minute.

"Hey, Baby," I say softly, my voice nearly above a whisper.

She leans into me, kissing my lips. Saph nods towards the kitchen. "He's in there?" she whispers. I nod.

"Most likely. It's nearly six."

When we entered the house, the smell of something noticeably good filled the air.

I hope whoever's cooking didn't poison the food.

Latching my hand onto Saph's, I squeeze her. I'm uncertain whether or not it was supposed to be a comforting gesture for me or her, but I bet neither of us are stoked to be here, in this situation, at the very least. "You can go upstairs. Chill with the girls, if you want."

Saph looks at me as if she'd rather do anything but that. Not because she doesn't want to hang around my sisters, but because she doesn't want to leave me down here, alone. So far, Rona seems to still be in the kitchen, so technically, I'm not alone.

I squeeze her hand again and Saph reluctantly nods her head, her red hair falling over her shoulders.

Sapphire makes her way past me, quietly going for the stairs. I suck in a deep breath of air, letting it out slowly.

Walking into the kitchen, I expect my dad to be seated at our island.

"Brycie, look! Daddy's cooking!" Verona exclaims excitedly.

Yeah. I see that. He definitely poisoned the food. Fuck.

"Yeah. What a surprise." I say in mock shock. It is a surprise, but anything surprising my father does is not something to get excited about.