The Beats In Rift

Chapter 26

Justin

I'M SHAKING AS I drive to the address Dad gave me. I can't believe how far he's gone. I always believed Jared and Meds embellished where my Father was concerned, until he came to me with the plan to mess with the DNA results, and yet I let him convince me. I just wanted to cling to something. I've always been left and abandoned, and I just wanted to give back some of the hurt I've felt over the years. I'm fucked up too. I've fallen so far.

My stomach rolls as I come to a stop outside a small house. The shutters are closed on all the windows and it's secluded compared to the other houses in the block. I turn off the engine and step from the car then take a deep breath and walk up the steps to the front door.

It opens when I get to the top and my Father is standing there looking tired. He has black circles under his eyes and his hair is a mess, like he's been running his hands through it.

He waves me in, holding a gun in his hand. I enter and the door clicks shut behind me. He marches me up the hall and opens a door. There's a bed with no bedding on it, just Meadow laid across it in her panties and a top. Her face is bruised and there's dried blood in her hair and down her face. Scratches and bruises mark her thighs, and I fight the bile rising in my throat. She's shivering and my head buzzes with hurt and anger that he has done this to her.

I look at him and he shakes his head. "I haven't touched her like that yet. I was waiting for you. She's my gift to you," he tells me, pleased with himself.

I struggle to believe he is the same man who raised me. I see him twitch his finger over the trigger and I step forward. "Where's her Mom?"

"She owed me," he states, fully believing his statement. He gestures to another door.

"I want to be alone with Meadow," I tell him and he smiles.

"Okay, but I get her when you're done. She wants me, too. She's always wanted me, Justin. That's why she toyed with you and your brother for all these years, to make me jealous, to drive me crazy."

He has gone so far off the deep end I'm scared of him.

"We can take what she offers up then we'll kill them both so they can't turn your girls into whores." He smiles and walks up the hallway.

I close the door to the bedroom and rush over to Meadow. She pulls her knees up to her chest and scurries away from me. "It's me, Meds. Fuck, did he touch you?"

Little sobs shake her body and I grab her to me. "No, no, no," she whimpers and my heart breaks. How could I not see how twisted he was? She was always afraid of him and I ignored the signs.

"Med, look at me. Can you walk?" I move some hair from her face.

"Justin, why?" she murmurs.

I hold her for a while until her body calms a little. She needs a hospital and I need to get the gun from him and get her to one. I lay her back down and go to the door. I hear him pacing. I open the door and step into the hallway. "I need some water."

He nods and points to the fridge. I open the door and pull out a bottle of spring water. I look him over, stopping at the gun in his hand. "You can put that down Dad," I tell him.

He shakes his head. "I need it. She's sin, Justin. She will try to trick me if I don't have it. She pretends she doesn't want me."

My grip tightens on the bottle. I hear the low hum of bikes approach and I feel relief for a fleeting moment. My Dad's eyes flare wide with hatred.

I rush past him to go to Meadow. As I enter the room and go towards her, a loud popping from a gunshot rings through the apartment. I turn and hear his footsteps stomp in our direction. Meadow jumps up from the bed and clings to my back. "What was that?"

My Dad's frame fills the doorway. "We need to end it now," he growls.

Meadow backs away from me and curls into herself, sliding down the wall behind me. My Dad steps into the room and raises the gun towards her; my heart thuds against my chest. It feels like time slows as I watch his finger twitch. I jump in front of Meadow as a spark flashes and I feel a burning sensation ignite through my chest.

***