Chapter 6 Avery
AVERY
Everything hurts. My body aches in ways words will never describe.
I may have been hallucinating, but through it all, I swear I heard her voice.
My AllieCat. Begging me to stay. To keep fighting even as the darkness creeps ever closer.
“Fight, Avery. I need you to fight. Come back to me so we can drown everyone in this creepy shithole town together. Let them all choke on their sins while we find happiness in their tears.” Her whispered words echo around my mind, over and over again.
Lending me the strength I desperately need.
I knew there would be consequences for skipping that dinner. I knew. But I didn’t care.
I'd be damned if I ever let a man tell me what to do or who to marry. Knowing my own father tried to sell me off like cattle to the highest bidder was just another reminder of the type of person he is. Who he’s always been.
I felt no shame as I beat the living shit out of the presumptuous asshole who came to ‘collect me’ the next day, either.
He was just like all the rest of them, trying to touch what they had no right to.
Well, jokes on you, buddy – have fun trying to touch someone with no working hands.
I crushed every single bone in both of his hands.
One by one. Just to make sure he couldn’t hurt anyone else with them.
Then, I used my handy boot knife to sever the nerves just for good measure.
By the time he was picked up and taken to the hospital, not only would he have a hard time ever abusing a woman again…
. He would also have a tough time ever being aroused by one.
However, it’s okay, though; some people genuinely don’t need to procreate.
The way I see it, I just did women everywhere – hell, the entire human race – a favor.
One less sexual predator is a win in my book.
I also knew, however, that dear old dad wouldn’t be too thrilled about all the blood on his lovely marble floors.
Or the hideous ornate entryway table that was “accidentally” smashed during the disagreement.
Again, I knew… but didn’t care. Though I was not exactly looking forward to whatever punishment he would see fit to dole out.
He could be a creative bastard sometimes.
So, I did what I always do when I want to attempt to feel some semblance of peace…
or happiness…or anything really. I go to the lake.
Sitting by the water reminds me of my mom.
Sometimes I still talk to her. It gives me something to focus on while I try to pull at emotions or coax them back into existence.
Usually, there's nothing. Occasionally, a whisper or a flicker of something just out of reach.
But it dissolves like mist before I can ever catch hold.
That time was different.
Allie was there.
Sensing her watching me from the woods was merely an unexpected benefit.
Something about Allie calls to me. Reaches out, somehow always finding a way to pull us together.
When she’s nearby, there are times when I swear I can actually feel things.
I don’t understand it just yet, these feelings.
Or how she invokes them. But I swear, I will unravel every last delicious secret she has.
I let her linger in the woods for a while.
Thinking she was hidden so well behind a tree.
But next time…. Next time, I’ll make her run.
My insides begin to feel heavy, and my mind starts to feel fuzzy.
I know I'm losing the battle, slipping away. I’m sorry, my AllieCat, I tried to hold on.
But he's never beaten me quite this badly. I really think he meant to kill me this time…. And he may have succeeded. At least I’ll be with my mom soon.
The lullaby she used to sing to me hums in my delirium.
I can almost hear her singing to me. “Row, row, row your boat. Gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily. Life is but a dream.” The verse continues, playing over and over again in my mind until the ache in my bones starts to recede and the light reenters my eyes.
Blinking, I reach up to rub my face, surprised when no pain follows. My confusion continues when I take in the sight before me. Allie is sitting next to me. In my room. With my old doll?