Take Me Instead

Daybreak pt. 2

A/N: Disturbing scenes to follow that include sexual assault and violence. Please be warned and aware of your triggers if you choose to proceed.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I could nearly feel my veins tightening as my heart forced blood to my limbs, pounding in my chest angrily. "What is she doing here?"

Lee shook his head. "I dunno, but I'm willing to bet she's just as thrilled to see you as you are her," he smirked as I grimaced.

"Tell me she's not staying," I begged.

"She's not staying," he repeated in a dull tone.

"Fuck." I preferred a searing, hot brand in my eyeballs than having to interact with the snake slithering on my porch.

"C'mon, she won't bite," Lee sighed as he got out of the truck.

"Yeah, maybe not you." I was sure if I needed to I could produce a mark on my body that was left by Beth from some time or another. I followed suit and staggered out of the truck, hoping maybe I could scrape by without being noticed.

"Well, don't you look official," she strolled to meet Lee in the driveway, hugging him briefly. "With that badge, I'm willing to bet you're a goddamn clone of him from the old days, aren't you?"

"Yeah, you look good too, Beth," he politely accepted her round-about compliment.

Just as she pulled away from his embrace she turned to me. I felt her cold eyes pierce my body, her smirk twitched in the corner of her mouth. "What, no hello for your big sister?"

When I didn't return her gaze or acknowledge her presence she continued.

"I knew you were a disappointment but I at least thought Daddy would've taught you some manners—"

"Beth," Lee scowled.

"He did," I started, nudging some rocks at my feet with my boot. "He also taught me how to properly kill a snake by cutting off its head," gritting my teeth I forced my eyes to meet hers. She barely looked different than she had the last time she graced us with her presence. Something looked colder than it used to as if more of her life had been drained away. Maybe it was the way her cheekbones cast shadows on her face, or the way her skin settled into the crevices of her neck. "What are you doing here?"

Her smirk appeared, filling the corner of her mouth. I would never be able to come up with an insult or threat that would actually scare her, not that I really tried to. It was more to keep her at bay, even the playing field just a bit so maybe she would get bored and go away. "Oh, don't you worry, if you get sick of me, you can always go to that scummy hotel you meet your Johns at—"

"Beth, that is enough," Lee almost growled at her, stepping between the two of us.

If anyone could keep Beth at bay it was Lee. Being the eldest, he stepped in when she went too far, which was always. She would never admit it even on her deathbed, but she had respect for him, just as she did for Daddy. He was untouchable. I would've killed for her to not touch me.

Her sneer lingered as she looked me up and down. "Grown-up into a woman yet she never grew out of being a child, did she?" she winked at me before striding across the driveway toward the barn. "You feel free to come find me whenever he's not around," she shouted over her shoulder.

My pride stung bitterly. I clenched my jaw, watching her walk off, no doubt looking for a hidden stash of booze that she kept when she was in high school. Fucking drunk.

"Don't mind her," Lee grabbed my elbow, guiding me to the porch.

"I don't mind her," I explained. "But I make it a hobby thinking of all the ways I could possibly kill her."