Short Stories Collection (dhampirzgal)

Messed Up

Messed Up

"Be honest, how many times have you snuck out of this house in the middle of the night just to join your bloody gang to kill someone for the fun of it?"

"I-"

"Did you really think that I would not notice that you'd sneak back into your room through the window in the middle of the night just when a murder was mentioned in the 6pm news?"

"No, I-"

"And here I thought I could finally place my trust into someone else rather than Marie..." her voice cracked at the name that was never to be mentioned again. Breeks slunk against the cold hard wall, her butt hitting the floor with a painfully loud thud. I cringed at the sound and how Breeks was bringing up the old past, causing my heart to squeeze tight enough for me to stop breathing for a second. I did not know how to pour out words of comfort, so I just stood there awkwardly, my hands in my pockets. My usual stance.

But Breeks seemed to take it the wrong way.

"You take me as a fool, don't you, Brooklyn. Bringing me on a ride with your fantasies and lies."

I tried to object to her but the distant sirens told me otherwise. Her mouth opened again to start another tirade of speech but I cut in before she could say anything.

"Breeks, just believe in me, please. I know that I have not done anything right in your eyes but just give me this one last chance, okay?" my words stumbled out of my mouth in an incoherent rush and I exited the tension in the room, heading up the stairs to my room to collect my stuff that I would need. The sirens were getting closer and closer. But I knew that Breeks would not say anything to the police. Or so I thought.

I heard the shuffling of feet. The sirens stopped. Time froze. I stood there towering over my get-away knapsack when I snapped back into reality. And then I heard Breeks's voice at the door.

"She's up there."

That was all that got me moving on my feet, my hands grabbing everything else that I might need from the shelves, stuffing them into my bag as I opened my grill-less window with one hand.

"I'm so sorry Breeks..." was all I could manage before jumping out of my window onto the tree beside it.

And then I was running away from the house with all my willpower even before I knew it. The shadows of the buildings in the starless night had me determined to make it back into the light and shelter of where I once grew up, the place where nobody would have thought I would return to. Memories of the abuse and taunts that plagued most of my childhood came rushing back into my mind at full force and I slowed down in my pace, panic rising in my throat, threatening to suffocate me.

What was I going to tell them? That I was running away from the police even though I was completely innocent and wanted their help in shelter and food? I doubted that there would be a positive response from the murderous couple on that one.

I may have had a painful and unforgettable past, but all that had dissipated when I met Breeks. But to think that she was the one who thought that I was responsible for all the killings and crimes that had been happening in the vicinity, it was naturally hard for me to accept.

Still, I gritted my teeth and strode up confidently to the large oak door of the home I had never wanted to return to, my knuckles tapping on the door without the allowance of a second thought.

The door creaked open, its old age not sparing a single thought for its occupants.

“Well hello there, child. Haven’t seen you around in a while...” the tone of his voice cut a gash into all pleasant memories I tried to recall during the time I spent with them, which was none. He oh-so-kindly gestured me into the house and I took the opportunity to scan my surroundings before he could force me to do anything against my will. Everything was still in the same place as when I had snuck out and left home.

“Brooky...” his sickening voice lashed out the sick nickname he created for me when I was at his mercy. “Come here, girl. Get me some coke, will ya?” First minute I’m home and he decides I’m the servant girl that goes around serving him drinks.

I spotted Kate, the maid who would tend to my wounds when I was whipped by the belt whenever he got drunk, standing in the corner staring at me with a sympathetic gaze. I slightly nodded at her to let her know I was fine and went off to the kitchen to grab the coke and made my way out to the fireplace where I knew that he would be. Nightmares of the times that he used me like I was just a ragged doll started to come back to me, the times when he abused his rights as my guardian and how I let him do it or I’d suffer more in silence.

As my palm came into contact with the water droplets on the ice-cold can of coke, I debated my next move of how I was going to explain my sudden appearance back here. I was sure he was going to have a blast while my presence in this house slowly dwindled away as I lay grappling for the last strands of my life to hold on while he flung me into wall after wall of iron and concrete. It had me wishing that I could go back to the house where the police are now, just for the feeling of safety and comfort in the company of my roommate.

Time literally froze when I stepped out of the kitchen, revising my speech in my head that would earn me a stay pass in this house, before I saw a scene that made me want to flee from this house once again.

The knife was plunged deep into his heart, leaving blood splattered all around his corpse in a radial fashion. His eyes had rolled upwards, only the whites of his eyeballs could be seen with the tiny lines of blood vessels scattering all across the white sphere. The gory scene left me standing at the doorway of the kitchen, my hold on the can of coke loosening until the fell onto the hard wooden floor, the sound that followed behind bounced across wall after wall, the resounding thud seemingly too loud for the silence in the room.

I heard whimpers from the corner of the room, whimpers that sounded strangely like Kate’s and I hesitantly made my way over to the source of the sound. She had a hand clasped over her mouth, the blood from her victim staining her white servant clothes. Her chest heaved with every sob. “Shh, it’s alright...” I muttered, attempting to recover from the shock of it all myself.

At that moment, I instinctively knew what I had to do. Numbness spread throughout my entire being, forcing me to no longer be able to feel the compassion I once had before the abuse. I gave Kate’s arm a hard tug and pushed her to the large oak door which I just came in from minutes ago. Tossing my black leather jacket to her, I stripped off my light brown shirt and dark pants to her to change into while I changed into her stained servant's outfit.

“Go, don’t mess your life up like I did mine.” and then I pushed her out of the doorway, closing the door behind me with a loud bang.

I leant against the oak door, planning out my next move while tears threatened to diminish my strong façade. It was a hard decision, with many lives at stake. Tears filled up my eyes but never fell; I had to be strong to be able to do what I was going to do next because this was what I had been forced to do my whole life.

It was ironic, because it was the exact thing I denied doing earlier.