“Leash the dog. We’ll take her with us.” Annabelle points to the hook where Bubbles’ coat and leash wait. “Getting out of this place will make you feel better.”
God, I hope so.
CHAPTER 69
Dollie—present day
Annabelle was wrong, being out didn’t help. But I couldn’t face coming home straight away. So, she, Bubbles, and I spent the afternoon in a secluded area of the park, freezing our asses off because neither of us was smart enough to take a jacket. She talked, and I didn’t listen. My mind was constantly on my parents and how they’d visit the same place we sat, each Sunday, when we first moved here. All of us would walk around the lake, feed the ducks, and have a picnic, where I’d object to most of the sandwiches.
Children shrieking in the distance interrupted my thoughts and heightened my anxiety. I couldn’t help but look around for clowns who might be chasing them, encouraging them into the thicket of dark trees with the offer of a balloon or party. Every barking dog, including my own, raised my stress levels, and it didn’t matter that I actually saw no clowns, I still trembled.
So, we headed back as the sun lowered down to the gloomy mountains in the distance.
When we returned, the front of my home was painted a perfect shade of pink, with black accents on each window and turret. The letters S L U T are long gone. Nyx had worked magic.I was almost sure he’d had help from one of my spell books because the house looks that good. He’s having some people come tomorrow to help him finish up the rest of the house and make a start on the back yard.
If I could pull my mind from the gutter, I’d have smiled over the beauty of this place.
But my mood drags everything—including my facial expressions—down to the depths of despair.
It’s been worse since Annabelle left after we got back. My head has been so much louder. She wasn’t quite ready to go, having promised Ambrose she’d hang around until he got home, on one of the dozens of texts he’d sent her today. Each message was about me—Was I okay? Had I eaten?
No, and no.
She was planning to stay and force-feed me, but when we stepped inside and a noise drew our eyes to the second floor, we saw Shane standing there.
“I can stay,” she’d whispered.
“It’s fine,” I’d told her.
Because in truth, Shane and I needed to talk. Privately.
I’d let Bubbles off her leash to go and devour some kibble in the kitchen as Shane called down, telling me he’d done something amazing for me because I’d been ill. That was when Annabelle stepped back outside and left with Nyx, against her better judgment.
“What did you do?” I ask, my tone flat and my shoulders slumping as I stand in the foyer looking up.
A flash of a bloody hallway appears in my mind, and the memory is so vivid that I feel Ambrose’s hand in mine. Our parents’ blood sticking us together as I glance down at our joined hands. Flicking my eyes back to Ambrose’s face, there’s so much desperation in his gaze for me to leave behind the lifeless, paling bodies and get out of this house.
His touch changes, his skin and grip rougher on my hand. I blink, finding Shane attached to me.
“Come, see.”
I let him guide me, ready to get this part of the conversation over with, so we can chat about what we really need to—ending the relationship, once and for all.
This man has lied and cheated for years. I should just ask him to leave because he doesn’t deserve any more of my time, but all words stall beyond my lips.
Hand in hand, we make it to the top, and something inside me swirls uncomfortably.
I freeze at the top of the stairs, the bloody carpet gone. The memories haven’t left with it.
Mom and Dad lie on the floor in front of their door, Dad squirming but failing to get closer to his wife as she struggles to breathe.
I blink out a tear, and they disappear.
The weight on my shoulders, which hurts me a little more with each step, doesn’t fade away. All my joints are screaming out as we take another step.
I’ve ached all damn day.
Perhaps it’s the stress brought on by realization. Maybe it’s one of my least favorite side effects of having Ulcerative Colitis. The swollen tummy I still get, despite the bag for life, will always take the top spot.
