Epilogue
Marissa
I tuck my hair behind my ears then knock on the door again. I’m feeling impatient.
Daddy told me that he wanted me to take the kids to The Antique Rose for my next shift, because they need to learn the value of hard work.
Personally, I just like to watch them eat a good meal every now and then, knowing that he’s not the best cook in the world. He tries though, I reason as I raise my fist to knock on the door again, then place my hands on my hips.
I peek into one of the side windows then sigh loudly when I see him lying on the couch. I get that he’s been sick lately, but he’s the one who taught me to be on time and take care of whatever Daddy tells you to do.
I’m hoping soon enough that he’ll be willing to show me how to love him. He’s been promising me that if I continue to follow his rules and make sure that there are no more loose ends to the family that he doesn’t know about, then he’ll keep up his end of the bargain.
Pressing my face against the window, I narrow my eyes to get a better look. That’s not him, that’s his jacket. So where in the world can he be then?
I scratch the side of my head, trying to figure it out. If he’s not home, he’s in town getting supplies, which he doesn’t do very often.
With a shrug, I head back down the stairs and decide to take a walk around the property. It’s pretty for a place that he usually doesn’t have much time to tend to.
The backyard is bigger than I thought it would be too.
“There you are,” I mumble under my breath as I see Skylar sitting in the grass. She’s got such a sad look on her face. Almost as if she has been crying for some time now.
“Hey, kiddo!” I call out as I approach.
She looks up at me, then sighs as her chin falls to her chest again. When I reach her, I lean down and put a hand on her shoulder,
“Are you okay, honey?”
What?
The rush of feeling someone crash into me takes me completely off guard as my body pitches forward and I lose my footing. I don’t have the chance to scream as I start falling headfirst into the darkness.
But before my body crashes into the bones below and the body holding them so tightly, I hear the act of betrayal that I never thought I would.
“She’s dead now. There’s just me and Skylar left, just like you wanted. Will you be nice to us now?”
Richter.
“We’ll see. First, I gotta teach you how to love your sister the right way.”