Crimson Nights

Chapter 8 [SECRETS UNVEILED]

The Quiet Before the Storm

The city of Vesper was quiet that night, the kind of quiet that felt heavy, like the calm before a storm. Lennie sat in her apartment, staring at the rain pelting the window. The drops ran down the glass like tears, but Lennie didn’t cry. She never cried. Not anymore.

Isaac was on his way over. They had planned a quiet evening, just the two of them, away from the chaos of their tangled lives. But even in these moments of supposed peace, Lennie’s mind was a labyrinth of dark thoughts and hidden memories.

The Monster Within

As she waited, her thoughts drifted back to her childhood. The memories came unbidden, like ghosts clawing their way to the surface.

Dark...

Darkness...

Which remained.....

She was seven years old, hiding in a closet, her small body trembling. The screams from the other room were deafening. Her father’s drunken rage echoed through the house, and her mother’s cries for mercy were like nails on a chalkboard. Lennie knew what was coming. She had seen it too many times before.

Young Lennie: *(whispering to herself)* "Please, not again…"

But the plea was futile. The door slammed open, and Lennie’s father loomed over her. His face was twisted with anger, his breath reeking of alcohol. He dragged her out by her hair, throwing her to the floor. The beating that followed was brutal, but Lennie had learned not to scream. Screaming only made it worse.

The memory faded, but the pain lingered. Lennie clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms.

She had killed her father when she was just fifteen, stabbing him in the chest while he slept.

It was the first time she felt the thrill of taking a life, the power that came with it. She had never looked back.

In Lennie's mind, the thoughts swirled as she stared blankly at the wall where an old picture of her father still hung.

"Honestly, the bastard’s better off as a deadbeat, just a face stuck in a frame. He’s got no place in my life anymore, and that’s exactly where he belongs—nowhere. Just a pathetic reminder of what I survived, nothing more."

She smirked to herself, her electric blue eyes reflecting the bitterness she felt.

"At least now, he finally knows how to shut the hell up."

The Arrival

A knock at the door brought Lennie back to the present. She composed herself, pushing the memories down deep where they couldn’t hurt her. She opened the door to find Isaac standing there, his usual serious expression softening as he looked at her.

Isaac: "Hey, Lennie. You okay?"

Lennie smiled, a practiced smile that masked the storm raging inside her.

Lennie: "I’m fine, Isaac. Come in."

He stepped inside, his presence filling the room with a sense of calm that Lennie both craved and despised. She needed him to trust her, to love her, but she couldn’t allow herself to feel the same. Not truly. Not when she knew what she was capable of.