Perfect (Rewrite)

Chapter Thirty Five

    Chloe joined Melanie in the kitchen and took the crying Collin out of her arms. He instantaneously stopped his screaming and wasted his precious time playing with her hair. She grabbed a container of baby food and then fed him as Melanie pushed the few bites of cereal around in her bowl. The two of them met each other's gazes a couple of times, but they didn't throw any words in each other's directions.

    "You're not perfect enough," He warned into her ear.

    "I'm trying my best," Chloe answered aloud; Melanie gave her a you're crazy look before going back to her own business of carelessly playing with her food.

    "It's not good enough," He responded, and then Chloe reached up to her ear and pulled the piece off. Melanie gasped and then shook her head violently.

    "Put it back on," She cried out. "Please, put it back on."

    Chloe didn't answer with words, instead she finished feeding Collin, then carried him up the stairs and shut her bedroom door. She cradled him in her arms until he fell asleep and then she placed him on the middle of the bed, placing her two pillows on either side of him to keep him from rolling off the edge.

    She grabbed the key from the desk drawer and swung her closet door open. Then Chloe searched the small room top to bottom before looking through her entire bedroom. They key couldn't only be for the rooms, it couldn't. It would've been a cruel gesture. Chloe sank onto the comfort of her bed. It was cruel, and it was true. The key was nothing more than a gimmick to keep her running around like a lab rat, chasing after something that didn't even exist.

    It hit her like a wrecking ball and then he tears fell out like a faucet, nothing matter anymore. Her ear piece couldn't save her now, nothing could. Chloe sat up and turned to Collin before sitting crisscrossed and staring down at him. It wasn't fair to him; he didn't deserve to live through this.

    Chloe placed her hands around the baby's neck and then he rubbed his chin against her soft skin. He looked up to her and yawned, then tried to roll over, but she didn't let him. Collin didn't scream or cry as usual; he just closed his eyes and again, tried to fall asleep. She gripped his soft skin with her fingers and held his throat tight.

    "I'm sorry," Chloe cried softly to herself. "This is going to hurt, but it will all be over with shortly." Then Collin's eyes lit up as he started to scream out in pain. It only shortened his breaths, her fingers blocked his airway.

    Jacob barged into the room and looked to the bed before removing Chloe's hands from the baby's neck and then taking him in his own arms. He backed away towards the door, and Chloe jumped up onto her bed on all fours. "Give him back."

    "Not if you're going to hurt him."

    "I'm just trying to help," She told him; then Chloe slowly made her way over to the two boys. Jacob knew better, instead of letting her get close enough to harm him or Collin, he turned around and took off running through the house. He flew down the stairs and stopped once he was on the other side of the couch. Chloe reached the bottom of the staircase and tilted her head, glaring at him, hating him for ruining Collin's salvation.

    David walked into the living room from the kitchen and stood in between Chloe and the couch. He threw his arms up and shouted, "What in the hell is going on?" Collin finally stopped screaming, but it was clear that streaks of tears were still rolling down his face. This sight broke Chloe's heart; she couldn't even remember why she had done what she had.

    She fell to her knees and then her own tears worked down her cheeks. Melanie ran to her aid after placing Chloe's earpiece back into its designated place. The object, once again, felt foreign to the side of her head, even though it had only been a short time since the last time she had worn it.

    What had she done? Become nothing more than a monster like the man who was pulling the strings? It felt right at the time, but now it felt undeniably wrong.

    Chloe sunk to the floor and closed her eyes. Melanie rocked her back and forth, but it didn't help. It didn't cure her thoughts; it didn't change what she had almost done.

    Margaret stumbled down the stairs and then the group fell silent. Chloe looked up and found her lying on the floor only a few feet away; she pulled herself towards her and checked the girl's pulse. Still breathing, still alive.

    She shared a look with David before saying, "I'm going to get us out of here," He questioned her with a raise of his eyebrows. Jacob's expression showed recognition; he knew exactly what Chloe was planning, and by the looks of it, he wasn't too happy with her idea.