Chapter Forty
Mimi stared into Jackson’s eyes. The urge to call out to him swelled in her throat. Roland stood behind her. She prayed he didn’t see Jackson. She pushed off the grate and turned to face Roland.
“Kara will die without help!” she yelled, hoping Jackson would take the hint and go get help. “Roland, she’ll die.”
Roland gripped her arm and pulled her to her feet, propelling her away from the vent.
“She’ll die! She needs help!” she yelled.
“Shut up!” Roland spat.
Mimi stumbled away from him. “You’re not a killer, Roland. Let her go.”
“You don’t know nothin’ about me.”
Mimi walked backward toward the room where Kara lay on the floor. “I know you well enough, Roland. I know there’s something wrong with your mind that makes you obsess over your sister, but I never believed—”
“You believed it! You sent me away! You had them keep me from her.” He picked up the antifreeze and twisted off the cap.
“We had to. You were relentless.”
“I loved her.”
“You obsessed over her. You hurt her.”
“I never hurt her.”
“You did, Roland.” Mimi’s voice softened. Her shoulders dropped. “Roland,” she said quietly. “What you’re doing, it’s wrong. It’s not the right thing to do.”
“I want to be with her.”
“It’s wrong, Roland. You know that.”
“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be with family.”
“You took my family, Roland. You kept our family apart.” Mimi pleaded.
“No! You kept me from them. You sent my father after me, after you cast me away! I was just a kid. Do you know how much that hurt?” He clenched his teeth. “How much I missed her?” He looked at Marissa, her eyes staring up at the ceiling.
Mimi opened her mouth to answer, then closed it. She closed her eyes, and let out a breath. When she opened her eyes, Roland stood before her, fists clenched, the bottle of antifreeze open.
“Roland, no,” she pleaded. “Please. We can work this out.”
“Like the way you worked it out with my father? You made me kill him, too. He wouldn’t—”
Mimi shook her head. Al had died of a heart attack. Grant had kept track of him. He wasn’t murdered. “No, Roland, you didn’t kill him.”
Roland lifted the bottle of antifreeze. “I had to.” His face contorted. “He wouldn’t tell me where she was. But finally, he did. I made him.”
“Roland? What did you do?” Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her hand flew to her chest. She sucked in big gasps of air, backing toward the wall for support.
“I did what I had to do. I had to find Marissa. You can’t separate family.”
Mimi sunk to her knees. “You k…killed him?” She stared at him, shaking her head. “You…you killed your father?”
“He’s not my father!” Roland screamed.
Mimi covered her face with her hands. “Oh, Roland.” She wept, dropping her arms and crossing them over her middle. Her body trembled and shook. “Al was your father.”
Roland’s arm dropped, splashing antifreeze all over the floor. His eyes glazed over. He cocked his head. “Adoptive.”
Mimi shook her head. “You and Kara had been taken away by Social Services when your real mother was—when she was put away. You were just a little boy. After she was institutionalized, Al, your father, regained custody of you and Kara. Al was your real father.”
“Stop it!” Roland yelled. “You adopted me. I saw the records. Me and Marissa. You adopted us both.”
Mimi lifted her gaze, her eyes swollen and red. “Yes, Roland,” she whispered. “I adopted you. Al was your real father.”
Roland dropped the plastic bottle of antifreeze, splattering its content across the wall. As the bottle bounced off the floor, the liquid began to puddle and make its way toward Kara’s legs. The bottle spun to a slow stop.
Roland stumbled toward Mimi. “Wha—no!. You’re lying.”
Mimi shook her head.
Roland reached up and touched his scars. “You sent me away because of slippery fingers.”
Mimi shook her head. “No. No, Roland, I didn’t.” She looked away, her lips trembling, the fear in her eyes replaced with despair. “She burned you, your real mother.” She looked at Kara, whose eyes were glassy. She was lying still.
Roland pointed at Mimi, his arm shaking. “I remember.” Roland’s chest heaved with each breath. He gripped his head. “No,” he said, shaking his head. “It was you. You burned me. You slipped, not her.”
Mimi shook her head.
“You’re just trying to confuse me.” He crouched to the ground, rocking on his heels, holding his hands over his ears as if he could make the words disappear. “You did it, not her!”
Mimi stood. Her legs wobbled as she walked over to Roland’s side and crouched next to him. She had to build on his confusion, get him off track. She had to dispel his belief so that she could save Kara. “Your mother did it, Roland.”
He lifted his eyes, grit his teeth, and leaned toward her. “You’re lying!” he yelled.
Mimi stumbled backward, landing on her butt. “Your mother, she tried to hurt you when you were a baby. Al came home and found—”
“Liar!” Roland paced the room, punching his palm with his fist. “You did this to me!”
“Roland?” Kara’s voice was quiet, tender, and pained.
The room went silent. Kara sat propped against the wall, dark rings beneath her eyes, her sallow skin a harsh contrast to that of the healthy woman Roland had first brought to the dungeon-like room.
“Why kill me?” she asked without tears.
Roland picked up the now half-empty bottle of antifreeze. “It’s the only way,” he mumbled.
Mimi shook her head.
“They’ll never let us be together.” He walked toward Mimi.
Mimi backed away, her body shaking. “No, no Roland. You don’t want to do this.” She looked at Kara. Time was running out. She needed to get help. “We won’t press charges. You can leave—go!” she urged. “I’ll make sure you’re together, I promise!”
He stood in arm’s reach of Mimi, white knuckles around the handle of the antifreeze bottle.
“Roland,” Mimi pleaded.
In one swift movement, he grabbed the back of her head and pulled her hair back, craning her neck toward the ceiling.
“No!” Kara sobbed.
“Roland, please, please, no!” Mimi covered her mouth with her hands.
Roland lifted the antifreeze and poured it over her hands.
The sweet liquid seeped through Mimi’s fingers and onto her tongue. She held her breath, determined not to swallow.
Roland lifted the bottle higher, pouring until her chest and arms were drenched.
He held her head back until she had no choice but to swallow or choke.
She gagged, the sweet, cold liquid snaking its way down her throat.
He thrust her forward. Mimi fell to the floor at Kara’s feet, spitting and wiping her mouth with her arm.
He lifted the bottle to his lips and took a swig. “Born together, die together.”