Pierce and Scarlett are two unique fragments who cross pathways in a low-end motel. He is running away from his haunted past, while she is trying to build a future from broken pieces. As the pair collides in a series of trying events, they must figu...
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16 | The Accident
The doors blur as I race down the hallway, and my heart thuds to the beat of my feet hitting the ground. No matter how fast I run, I feel like I'll never make it to the end.
"Get away from me," Scarlett screeches.
"You owe me fucking money and I want it now," he yells.
I clamber to the top of the stairs and gaze down. My feet become frozen to the hideous carpet and my hand's rattle. Now is not the time to be afraid.
The man has Scarlett backed against the desk, his hand tugging on her hair to hold Scarlett in place. His wrist curls to the side, wrapping more of Scarlett's red hair around his wrist. She whimpers in pain and a tear trickles down her cheek.
"Get your fucking hands off her," I shout.
My words ring through the room, but it doesn't faze him.
"You are nothing but a worthless whore. You should be thanking me that you're alive." He raises his hand, then sharply thwacks it across her porcelain skin. The echo rattles through the room, piercing my gut. Her milky skin is stained with blotches of red.
I descend the stairs in great speed, which leaves me tripping on the last step. I fall to my knees, but my eyes stay locked on Scarlett's crumbling figure.
"Is this what you want?" He spits. "Do you want me to hit you?"
I push myself off the ground and move across the room, like a bull racing towards a target. I intent on shattering his poor pathetic excuse of a human being into the ground. The idea of his face shattering to pieces is exhilarating. For once, I'd show him what it feels like to be coloured purple.
Before I make it across the room, someone grabs my shoulder and tugs me back. I all a couple of steps, but manages to quickly regain my composure.
Ricky's stocky body lunges at Scarlett's father. He clips the side of his jaw, then reaches for Scarlett. Her father is dazed from the hit, which gives Ricky a spare moment to untangle her hair from his grip.
Once she's free, Scarlett is pushed in my direction. I catch her body and tightly hug Scarlett to my chest. Her ragged breath fans across my cheek before Scarlett buries her face into the material of my jumper.
Ricky grabs the collar of his dark blue shirt and pulls him closer. Their foreheads touch as Ricky's eyes bore into her father.
"Get the fuck out of my motel and don't come back," he shouts.
He shoves Scarlett's father away with an exuberant amount of force. The man trips over his feet and falls backward. His arms flail through the air in an attempt to regain his balance, but gravity pulls him down.
With a loud bang, his head hits the corner of the desk. Like a rock skipping across a lake, he falls to his side, then rests on the ground. The three of us wait in anticipation for his next move, but it doesn't come.
Red blood pools on the floor, creating yet another stain on the dirty carpet. However, this time, the stain couldn't be removed no matter the amount of cleaning product applied. It would be burned into our minds.
He's dead.
"Shit," Ricky hisses, "I wasn't supposed to kill him."
"Check to see if he has a pulse," I say.
Ricky looms over the body to check his pulse. With two fingers pressed against the man's neck, we wait in silence. Scarlett's arms are tightly wrapped around my body which makes it hard to breathe.
His face is grim with regret.
"Crap," Scarlett mutters.
"Please tell me what happens next doesn't involve a knife and a bucket of acid," I comment. Blood makes me wheezy, especially large amounts.
"We hide the body," she says. "It can't be that hard, can it?"
Scarlett has a point. Perhaps living on this edge of town has an advantage. The police wouldn't blink at the discovery of another dead body lying amongst the trash.
Ricky fancies the dead bolt on the door before moving towards the body. He kicks the man's side which only disturbs the blood flowing from the head injury. I expect the man to regain consciousness and land an attack on Ricky, but it doesn't happen.
He really is dead.
"Shit, Ricky, your leg is badly bleeding." Scarlett rushes towards him. There's a small patch of blood soaking the material at the top of his thigh.
"I'm fine." He brushes her comment off. "Let's focus on the body first."
"Where are we going to dump it?" Scarlett question.
"In the ally?" I offer. "Nobody would suspect it because of his history."
"I'll be in my room if you need me," Ricky comments.
"I should look at your leg first." She anxiously bites her lip.
"Thank you, but I'll be fine. I just need this dead body out of my lobby. It'll scare away my customers." His light joke makes me internally laugh.
Ricky limps to his bedroom while I turn to look at the body. Thankfully, it looks light.
"Where is the back door?" I ask.
"It's in the kitchen," she utters.
For the first time, I really look at Scarlett. Her hands are shaking and she's frozen on the spot.
"Are you okay?" I ask.
"Aren't you supposed to be freaking out?" she asks.
"No." I shake my head. "I've seen people die before."
"Right," she mutters.
"As Ricky best puts it, we need to get rid of this body and then we can deal with our feelings," I say.
"Okay." She nods. "I can do that."
Scarlett takes a deep breath before rolling up her green sleeves. She grabs his feet and I take his hands. We pull him away from the lobby and towards the back door located in the kitchen area.
If I wasn't stupid before. I am now.
I can't help but feel that some risks are worth the fall, especially when Scarlett is involved.
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