Page 72 of Swamp Princess
“I don't feel so well.” I look up into her face and see that she's turned a little pale.
“Go outside and I'll start the clean-up, and go over to my house when you're done, and get some old sheets that are in my father's closet. His car is not there, so I'm guessing he's out somewhere which will be a lot easier for you to get in and out without having to talk to him, but we do need to hurry.”
Brinley nods her head and rushes back outside. It's not long before I hear her puking. I turn intent on getting everything cleaned up and her mother moved onto her stomach, so she doesn't have to look into her eyes anymore.
It's surreal that this is actually happening. I don't know who would have done this to her, but needless to say.Whoever did it must have had a personal issue with her. This was a close kill, and one right to the forehead. It only took one shot.
As I start cleaning, and the smell of bleach fills my nostrils, I start feeling better. I don’t know how I am going to dispose of the body yet, but to protect her, I will. Eventually, I will tell her about the little secret I have been holding onto, but this is not that time.
What she doesn’t need to know is the second contract her mother signed, one much worse than marriage to Vince. One that I don’t know how to get her out of.
I only found out because of all the digging I did. All the time I spent ruining my relationship with Brinley helped me keep her safe, and all I ever wanted to do was keep her safe and love her.
I can’t wait for the day that I can finally tell her everything. Finally tell her the secrets that I have been hiding.
* * *
Brinley
Dead… My mother is dead. I don’t know what to do, and I feel like I am moving on autopilot as I walk to Blaise’s front door. I don’t really think as I move through it and grab the extra ratty sheets and some garbage bags.
Eventually, someone will find my mother when they dispose of her, but the knowledge of the swamps is that they will half-heartedly look into it before closing it out and making it a cold case. She will be shelved with the other murders that really don’t mean anything.
I don’t know what is happening or why, but what seemed negative in my life recently, just said, hold my beer, and became much worse. I take what I found back to Blaise and the smell of bleach hits my nose. I watch as he takes it and starts to roll my very dead mother onto the sheets.
“Brinley, I need your help.” I move and try to help, but every time I do, the weight of my mother becomes too much, and knowing she is dead, fucks with my mind.
A car pulling up freaks me out and I run back to my room until I hear him talking. Damien! I hesitantly walk back out to them carrying my mother into the dying sunlight. The trailer feels empty and creepy. I don’t know what to do about it.
With how good Blaise did with the clean-up, it doesn’t even look like anything happened here. There is not a trace of blood, the only thing that is different now is the glaring fact that I am the only one currently breathing here.
My body is shaking and when Blaise and Damien come back in, I listen almost as if in a trance. They are telling me they are leaving and that they need to bury her. They want me to stay in the trailer with it locked for safety which has me laughing.
“There is no lock.” I point to the door and show them the broken lock to the door, and I laugh hysterically.
“Come with us then.” Blaise pleads.
“No.” I shake my head, I am so tired of all the shit. “If they want to kill me, then bring it on. I’m tired, Blaise, and I just want to be left alone.”
I sit on the sofa, wondering if my mother was sitting here before she died. I quickly check to make sure that there is no blood on the sofa. When I don’t find any, I lean back and close my eyes.
“Brin, just stay here, please,” Blaise whispers.
“I don’t have any plans to leave, Blaise. Fuck, I don’t know what I am even going to do. My entire fucking life imploded before me!” I snap at him.
“I will fix it, Brin, I promise. I just need time to fix it.”
I laugh again, keeping my eyes closed. I don’t know what to do and with the way things ended, I don’t know how I am going to move forward. I wait until they leave before my tears fall from my eyes. This is another feeling I have never experienced.
My mother was always here, whether she was coked out or not, I knew she was here. This empty feeling of knowing she was never coming back is worse than I ever imagined.
It doesn't take long before I fall asleep right there on the couch. I'm so worn out from all the drama today, and everything that happened, that my brain literally cannot function anymore. I'm hoping that with a few hours of sleep, I'll wake up and be more refreshed and have a better idea of what to do.
Not long after I fell asleep, I'm jerked awake by somebody opening the door. “Blaise?” When there is no response, I open my eyes and notice that there is a man standing in the doorway of my trailer.
“It's so nice to finally meet you. You don't know how long I've been waiting for this opportunity.” A smile doesn't quite reach his eyes, and it terrifies me. “You're prettier than the pictures I had seen.”
I shrink back against the couch as he moves forward, he pulls the trailer door closed behind him, making sure that it is tightly secured.
