Roots

Bleeding Heart

Bleeding Heart

Pebbles leans on the house with his arms crossed. I chuckle as I pocket my keys and wander over. His body tenses as I flash a bright grin. He pushes his fingers through his black hair and sighs.

"Hello Tikera." He nods.

"Isn't today beautiful?" I glance at the blue sky and grin.

"I suppose it is." He shakes his head and sighs.

"It's amazing." I swoosh my hair over my shoulder.

"You were the last person I called to cover this shift."

"Hm, I bet I was your first and last call." I wink. "Now we've established that, what's wrong? You didn't seem to need my help last time we talked about the harvest shift."

He raises an eyebrow and shakes his head. "No facts have been established."

"How come Austin isn't here? What about the other things? I should know what's happening before I enter the lion's den."

"You're not walking into a lion's den. Now get to work."

"Hm." I shake my head.

The Boss points and I glare as I wander around the corner.

I slide down the ladder and my footsteps echo as I wander to the cabinet. The door clinks open and I groan. There's nothing to see. But he wouldn't be an evil mastermind if he left secrets out in the open.

"Damn it!" I grumble.

The door opens and three workers climb down. They gather around the table and unpack the equipment from the box. I might as well interrogate the walls for answers.

Why can't he just tell me? Who am I going to tell? Nobody, that's who.

One man crops the bud from the plant and places it on the table, the second cops, and the third bags and weighs it. The bags accumulate on the table which is good.

Someone's taking it from the table, but who are they giving it to and why? Austin isn't intelligent enough to be the ring leader since he's blaming it on me and it was happening before I got here.

What if they thought I was one of them?

I wander to the table and force a smile. How does Pebbles appear like he's in control? I straighten my posture and point my nose in the air. Is this working? I push a bag towards the leader and grin.

"Take it." My voice is low but stable.

The other two look at the leader but he doesn't look away from the scales.

"Make it double."

I take another bag and stack it on the one beside the leader. He vacuum seals another bag and places it on the stack. I inhale a deep breath and place my hands on the table.

This can't be an epic fail! How does one assert their dominance? I can't pee to mark my territory.

"Are you deaf, dumb or just fucking stupid?" I raise an eyebrow.

He grabs another bag and places it on the scales.

"You will do as I say, unless you want our boss to be angry?"

The leader's body tenses and his hands freeze on the bag.

"I don't take orders from you."

"Keep him waiting and see what happens."

He seals the bag and moves to the next one. I clench the table and glare.

The leader tosses the bag at the second one and frowns.

"There's too much."

He takes a stem out of the bag and chops it. I yank the scissors from his hand and slam them on the table. The man cowers into his seat while the leader shifts his gaze to me.

"I told you, we don't take orders from you."

"You'll do whatever the fuck I tell you to do."

He stands up and stares me down.

"I do not take orders from you."

Even though he towers over me, I stand my ground.

"Sit down and do as you're told."

His eyes darken as he stalks towards me.

"No."

I shove his chest but he doesn't move.

"You will do as I say." My throat burns as the words echo.

"No, I won't." Humour dances in his brown eyes.

I slump with defeat and he chuckles. The leader takes a seat and places a bag on the scales. I swipe the scissors from the table and take his arm. My fingers curl around the cold metal and my heart races.

"You will obey me."

His eyes widen as I slam the scissors down.

A toe-curling scream rips through the air as the metal plunges into his hand.

"What are you going to do?"

His entire body tenses, but he glares and it sends a bolt of anger through me. I press harder and he cries out. His wails send a surge of power coursing through me.

"I'll obey."

I press hard and raise an eyebrow.

"Louder because I can't hear you."

"I'll obey," he shouts.

My grip tightens as I rip the scissors out and slam them on the table. He clutches his bleeding hand to his chest and sinks into the chair.

"Take the two bags to our boss this afternoon. He's growing tired of waiting on Austin, so he sent me to sort things out."

"I'll do it, boss."

"They call me the bleeding heart." I wink.

I turn around and take a deep breath, but I can't shake the image of the scissors embedded in his hand. My stomach churns as I head to the ladder. I climb the ladder and tumble onto the ground.

Vomit rises in my throat, so I lurch to the garden and hurl the contents of my stomach behind the lavender.

Hot bile seeps over my lips and I cough. Tears prickle at the corner of my eyes and I brush them away.

Whoever that person was down there, it wasn't me, it's can't be.

I look at my shaking hand as tears trickle down my cheeks.

"Please forgive me."

No matter how many times I wash my hands or beg for forgiveness, there's nothing I can do to remove this sin from my conscience. 

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