Chapter 19 #2
Wrapping her hand in mine, I transfer some of my strength into her.
I can see the embarrassment in her eyes before her head shoots to the floor.
I don’t point it out or ask her anything more.
I just hope she lets me guide her as I take another step.
She trusts me the whole way up, never once letting go of my hand.
“Fuck,” I pant when we finally reach our floor. “That was bullshit.” Bunny laughs in response, probably because she can’t catch her breath enough to speak; her bright face shines with a light sheen of sweat. But that laugh, I’d listen to it on an endless loop. It’s better than booze.
It’s better than blood.
“Which one?” Bunny scans the halls, silently mouthing every room number until she selects a random one in the middle.
“Hold on,” she mutters.
“What are you doing?” Chasing after her, I stop behind her back, her fist already knocking on the soft wooden door.
“Bunny!” I hiss, trying to draw her attention, but the door begins to open.
As a last-ditch effort to hide us away from unnecessary attention, I start to pull Bunny away, and then the door cracks open to reveal the smallest woman I’ve ever seen.
“Can I help you?” she asks, in a weak, fragile voice.
Bunny immediately softens. Had I met her like this, with a gentle smile and innocent eyes, I would have never believed that a killer lived inside her.
“Yeah, hi,” she grins. “There’s a delivery man here looking for Nathan McDermot. Do you know where I can direct him?" With a shaky hand, the old woman points down the hall. “Thank you, ma’am. Have a nice night.”
“You, too.” The door shuts with the softest click, leaving us alone in the hallway. For a moment, all you can hear is our breathing, and then Bunny snorts.
“Holy shit!”
“Holy shit!” I join in, breaking composure when my laugh becomes too much to control. Soon, the silent hallway is echoing with joy, our uncontained enthusiasm because why the fuck is this so easy?
When our joy simmers down and we’ve expended all our energy, Bunny and I lean against the wall, sagging slightly with little smiles on our lips. Once our breath begins to return, Bunny turns to me, grin still present, but fading. “Are you ready?”
I’m not ready to see it go just yet, so I take her—I bring her into me and lay the softest kiss on her lips, only stopping when I feel it return. “Are you?”
I’m met with the sound of swishing and clicking as the now-clean baton swings through the air.
Back at the cabin, it wasn’t a second thought to take this for her.
After all, she was so natural with it. I didn’t know how well she’d receive it as a gift, though, considering it came from one of the men who had caused her so much pain.
I initially planned on showing her the second we were safely locked behind the door of our room, but Bunny wanted to wash the memories off her.
I understood that, because I wanted to wash them off me, too.
When we were clean and comfortable in bed, I thought that was the perfect time, but Bunny fell asleep within seconds.
I took that moment to study her, to dissect the little fragments that made up such a perfect human.
I know I shouldn’t have, but I slipped that blanket off her body, taking in all the bare pieces as well.
At first, it’s impossible not to focus on the scars, the bruises—the wounds that refuse to heal.
They flash in our faces, demanding to be seen, because as long as we can see them, we’ll never heal—we’ll never forget all we’ve gone through.
What people never seem to realize, though, is that they don’t need to scar us to keep the memories alive.
They live within us. They’re burned into our bones.
We will never forget that we are what they did to us.
Bunny should be no different, but of course, she is.
Beneath all the damage, her skin still glows.
There’s so much life still beaming within her, refusing to dim.
Some people are just like that, undefeatable.
I used to think I was like that. I always thought more highly of myself than I should, but I can feel my light beginning to fade.
I’m not as strong as I thought I was.
Bunny, though… she’s the best of the two of us.
“You’re gonna make it, Bun,” I whispered against her sleeping lips. “You’re gonna make them regret it all.”
I knew it then, but it couldn’t have been clearer when I finally presented her with the stolen weapon.
It wasn’t when she woke up, and it wasn’t after I had bought her food with the money I had stolen from Lakens’ cabin earlier.
It probably was the worst time possible to give her a gift, but fuck, I felt like sharing.
“Fuuuuuck, Bun… Yeah… fuck!” My tip slams against the back of her throat one final time before bursting, my seed flowing like a rapid current down her jugular. While I collapse onto the bed, resting all my spent weight on my elbows, Bunny kneels between my legs, arms crossed over my knees.
Her hair is still damp and wild with curls from her shower earlier, and she looks at me with a smile that turns my insides to mush. “I, um,” I hesitate, suddenly feeling stupid and nervous as her grin stays fixed in place, “I got you something.”
“You got something…for me?”
Twisting, I lean over the bed, running my hand in the space beneath. “Yeah. I, um…” Found it. “I thought you’d like to have it.”
Swinging the baton over the mattress, I rise to set it in her hands. I try to hide the shakes, but I don’t think she notices anyway. Mouth slightly agape, she stares at the weapon, turmoil in her gaze. “Is that…”
“Yeah. Yeah. I thought you deserved it after…” We killed the fucker.
Stars replace turmoil, and the light she carries shines once again. With a solid grip on the stick, Bunny moves to swing it, but at the last second, I swipe it from her grip.
“Nope,” I chuckle, her enthusiasm making my chest swell. Dragging my thumb across the corner of her mouth, I clean the come off the side of her lip. “Swallow first, and then you can play.”
We spent the night practicing fake scenarios, opportunities that would allow her to fuck someone up. When she was exhausted, skin molten and sweaty, she sagged against the wall, practicing the moves half-heartedly. “How do you know all this?”
So, I shared some. Not a lot… I’m not ready for her to know how fucked up I am yet. She’s seen more of that than she deserved, but I let her in just enough to see me.
With a finger to her lips, Bunny eases the door open.
Immediately, our ears are assaulted by booming, deafening music, concealing our first steps into the room.
Pulling the blade from my pants with one free hand, I lift Bunny out of her crouched position with the other, keeping her close behind me.
Together, we creep through the vacant walkway, following the exaggerated moans cutting through the living room.
Sitting in a mess on a clear glass table, wine glasses and empty bottles lie discarded. Food waits on little white plates, completely untouched, reminding me of my endless hunger. I make a silent vow to come back and eat it all on our way to the bedroom.
The noise from the main room drowns out the slight creaking of the door. Though I doubt anything would’ve gotten their attention—not our arrival or the door closing. They don’t even feel us as we stand over them.
How irresponsible.
You would think, considering the line of work they’re in, they’d be a little more cautious. I mean, you never know who’s out to get you.
Silently communicating with Bunny, I raise my blade, pressing the edge against the soft parts of his neck. I feel his skin turn cold upon contact, a terrified chill breaking out across his flesh. Nathan’s panting comes in violent, short bursts. “P-Pl-Please. Please, no.”
A shrill voice cuts through the mix, Colette yelling, “What?”
When she begins to struggle underneath Nathan, Bunny springs into action, shouting “Enough!” before whipping the baton at her head. Like Nathan, the crying starts instantly, but it ends much quicker than his.
“I know you.” It’s her snarl that swallows my attention, and it’s aimed at Bunny, who returns it with malice.
“Tell me how.” But she’s met with nothing. Colette offers no response, not even a whisper of a breath. Bunny’s rage grows by the second, little tremors making the stick bob. “Tell me how!” She shouts, threatening to swing.
A hiccup escapes Colette now, a fearful, “I-I—”
The baton swishes through the air, a glass lamp flying. “Tell me!” Colette attempts to flee, but Bunny is on her in an instant, tearing chunks of hair from her head when forcing her against her chest. Bunny holds her still in the same position that I keep Nathan.
Their expressions are mirror-images of each other, oozing terror just like we did. I bet they didn’t think twice about the tears we shed.
Slicing the club across Colette’s cheek, Bunny snaps, “Enough of that. We just want to talk to you.” But neither of them is listening.
“Please!” Colette shrieks, Nathan chiming in, “I-I have money! You can have it all! Take anything you want!”
“Oh,” I chuckle, “I plan to.”
Without warning, I throw Nathan onto the floor, following quickly to crush his trachea beneath my foot.
From behind me, I listen to Colette struggle on the bed, her hoarse voice shouting at me, “Get off of him!” I dig my foot in a little deeper, an act of rebellion to let them know they will never control me again.