It was worse than an explosion.
Vic's wide eyes, filling up with tears.
How he got out the car to punch a wall.
His split knuckles, welling up and bleeding.
The anger.
The desperation.
I tried to stop him but he wouldn't listen; he just kept swinging.
Then came the warm brown eyes, rolling to the back of his skull.
His breathing laboured, too sharp and shallow to fill his lungs.
He hit the gravel with a thud and then he didn't move.
When I saw the text, I couldn't blame him.
***
I drove Vic back to Artie's cabin, running just over the speed limit. I glanced up into the rear view mirror. Vic was still passed out, lying over the back seat. I'd never seen him like that before. He just... went off. I thought back to when I first met him, when he was sharp, businesslike, emotionless. I remember wondering how anyone could truly be that way. But I guess, in the end, he wasn't. He was just like the rest of us.
I had to be the strong one, now. Ashley, of course, still swam in my thoughts. My chest ached when I thought of what he was doing to her and to Lily, and it was made worse when I remembered that this was our fault. He wasn't after them. He only wanted them so he could destroy us, and when I looked into the backseat, I knew he'd succeeded. But I wouldn't give him the satisfaction. I couldn't. Even if they were both dead, I wouldn't let him win.
I clenched my fists around the steering wheel, determination in my veins. I leaned over to turn the radio up. I needed something to drown out the silence.
"Local girl, Jean Pickhaver, was found today unharmed at a friend's house," the radio said. "Parents, Lauren and Michael Pickhaver, have been allowed to take Jean home after hospital exams. In other news, the death of Dana Moore has been ruled a suicide by local police after a month-long investigation over the 33 year old woman, who was found shot to death in her home near five weeks ago."
Dana.
My ears prickled at the name.
No, there were lots of Dana's in the world. Surely it couldn't be.
"Police believe the suicide was caused by financial distress after a series of ATM scams across Adelaide has left many in debt. The culprit was caught, but many are demanding a harsher punishment for the seventeen-year-old delinquent. Dana Moore is scheduled to be buried this Thursday at eight a.m."
I froze.
Suicide over an ATM spree, made by a seventeen-year-old delinquent. I gulped.
No.
It couldn't be.
© A.G. Travers 2015
YOU ARE READING
Charade
General FictionDo you think good people are capable of bad things? Vic and Benjamin think so... Victor Langley loves his daughter with all his heart, so when she's diagnosed with cancer, he knows he has to do everything to save her. He makes a deal with a rogue do...
