Chapter 11 Broken
Broken
“What are you doing?” I dragged a pillow over my face.
“Turning your light on,” Ari said. “Don’t mind me. I’m looking for the shirt and jeans you so rudely took the other day.”
“They’re over there.” I pointed without looking.
“In your wall?” She laughed as I squinted. “Maybe open your eyes before you point next time. You’ve been asleep for like fourteen hours, by the way.”
“Really?” I pushed the covers aside and clumsily climbed out of bed. I glanced at the time to see she was right: I’d slept away a good chunk of the day.
“Let’s do something fun. I’m done with class for the day and my dad is leaving in a few minutes. He wants to talk to us before he goes.”
“About what?” I ruffled my hair and stared at the bed before deciding it didn’t need to be made.
“That’s so messy.” Ari frowned as I haphazardly threw the covers across it.
“Who cares? This isn’t a bed making competition. I’ll be back. Your clothes are over there.” I pointed to a section of my closet before leaving for the bathroom. When I came back, she was perched on a perfectly made bed. “Thanks for making my bed. Where’s your dad going?”
“I dunno.” She shrugged and stood. “It’s a business trip somewhere. They called this morning.”
“I wonder how long he’ll be gone this time.
” I followed her to the stairs, then hopped on the banister to slide down.
I only made it partway before she shoved me off—I nearly fell as she laughed maniacally.
She ran ahead but I pushed my way back in front, fighting off her attempts to overtake the lead.
“Morning girls.” Uncle Tom lowered his newspaper and coffee mug as we stampeded down the stairs.
“Good morning, Uncle Tom! I heard you’re going on another business trip. Where’re you going this time?” I flopped into an armchair while Ari sat beside him.
“Connecticut. I’ll be gone about five days. It shouldn’t be more than that.”
“That’s a long time,” Ari complained. “You never go for that long.”
“At least you have Emy to keep you company this time. It’s better than being alone, right?” He took a sip of coffee.
“Yeah, Ari. You have my awesome self to keep you company. You’re so lucky. I wish I could hang around myself all the time. Oh wait… I can!” I giggled as she rolled her eyes.
“You’re not gonna burn the house down, right?” Uncle Tom chortled as he looked between us.
“Of course not.”
“Why would you ask such a thing?”
“You girls are something else.” He finished his coffee before grabbing the newspaper.
“I wanna talk about these murders.” He gestured to its front page, which was dedicated to a possible serial killer.
“I doubt you care, Emy, but Ari can you please make sure she doesn’t do anything unsafe while I’m gone? ”
“I’ve been trying to, but she never wants to listen to anyone.”
“I listen to my favorite bands and cartoon characters all the time. I’ve learned not to go in dark places and to never split up. Actually, splitting up is how you find the bad guys, so splitting up might be good. You have to split up to set traps to catch the ghosts and ghouls—”
“You know what I mean,” Ari cut me off while Uncle Tom laughed.
“I just don’t want anything to happen to you, crazy as you are.
I have the same request: no going off with strangers.
” He lowered the newspaper to look at me.
I readily agreed this time—I didn’t want a repeat of last night.
“And no getting too drunk in unsafe environments.” He looked at Ari now, who nodded. “Promise me you’ll stick together?”
“Forever—”
“And always!” Ari and I exchanged grins at our childhood slogan.
“Good. Don’t forget about the taser I got you.
” He kissed her forehead and stood. “There’s no need to remind you about your blade, Emy.
I’m sure it’s always on you.” He chuckled and disappeared into the kitchen.
When he returned he was holding a large suitcase in one hand and a briefcase in the other.
“Why were those in the kitchen?” I asked.
“No reason, niecy.” He ruffled my hair and kissed my forehead, too. “Call if you need me. I’ll be back on Tuesday. I love you both. Be safe.”
“Love you too, and will do.” I smiled as he gave me a tight hug, then did the same with Ari. We walked him to the door and said our goodbyes.
“What do you wanna do today?” Ari turned to me once the door was locked.
I shrugged. “I’m gonna go shower.”
“I’ll figure something out. Something safe,” she said, getting the newspaper Uncle Tom had abandoned.
“Ugh, are we really doing that?” I was willing to not have one night stands for a while, but being safe all the time sounded so boring.
“Do you really wanna get almost kidnapped again?”
I thought about it for a few seconds before deciding, “Not really.”
“Exactly. Hurry up and get ready.”
I headed upstairs to do just that, letting my mind wander. Staying safe and abstaining from going out with strangers for a while was doable. At least he hadn’t requested we skip going to the bar or parties, because that would not be doable.
At the same time, Dennis, Sean, and Mateo could still be considered strangers. Sort of… but maybe not? Ari and I were already getting pretty damn familiar with them. Especially Dennis and Sean. They didn’t feel safe, though. Just familiar.
“Seriously?”
I glanced at the doorway while shimmying into a skirt. “What?”
“How much easier access could you give?” Ari came and tugged the zippers down on each side.
“Trust me, a lot more.” I undid each zipper a fourth of the way, back to how they’d been before. “Think of it as an emergency exit.”
“More like an emergency entrance.”
“Exactly.” I laughed at her expression and slipped into a black tank top.
“At least your boobs are in this time.”
“You’re right.” I pulled the shirt off and grabbed a low-cut one instead. She sighed and left the room. “When in doubt, boobies out!” I called after her. I laced up my boots and added jewelry before joining her downstairs.
“I want brownies.” Her eyes scanned my outfit in disapproval, but she didn’t comment.
“And I want ice cream. Let’s get junk food and have a movie marathon. Yeah?”
“Yeah, but nothing scary. I’m still freaked out from last night. Can we walk to Miller’s? I don’t feel like driving and I’m never riding with you again.”
“Sure, why not.” I grabbed my keys and led the way out. “You’re gonna have to ride with me again sometime, y’know.” I locked the door before we set off for the small market.
We talked about different movies on the walk. The traumatic night before, me falling asleep with Dennis in the room. She told me all about being bound to Sean—nothing felt different so far—and eventually we were all snacked up and heading back home. Daylight had faded and it was nearing dusk.
“Do you think we’ll have any of this left tomorrow?” Ari swung the grocery bag right before a speeding car came screeching to a halt. She yelped and fell backward, but I didn’t move.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I was glaring at the driver, whose bumper had nearly reached our legs. They’d come careening around the corner like a maniac.
“Emy, c’mon. Let’s just—”
A blaring horn sounded over Ari’s sentence. The driver laid it on for several seconds while the car slowly rolled forward. This time it was inches from hitting my thigh.
“You have a stop sign, bitch!” I kicked the closest tire on pure impulse, then kicked it again when the driver’s door opened. “I swear, nobody in this town knows how to drive!” I was ready to go off until I saw how physically intimidating this woman was. “Oh, shit.”
I could probably handle her, but I wasn’t in the mood today. Ari grabbed my hand and we took off running, cackling the entire way. The woman’s stream of profanity was left behind as we rounded a corner and darted into the mouth of an alley.
“Did you see that lady’s muscles?” Ari gasped, barely able to speak.
“How could I not?” I grasped my side in an attempt to control my breathing. They were the most impressive muscles I’d ever seen. “You still have the ice cream and brownie mix, right?”
“Is that all you care about?” She laughed and held the bag up. “Yes, I have them.”
“Perfect.”
“Shut up.” She grabbed my arm and ducked, yanking me down.
“Is it the angry lady?” I peered out as a black car cruised by. Ari nodded and fell into another fit of giggles. “I must’ve really pissed her off.”
“You called her a bitch and kicked her tire, dipshit. Of course she’s pissed.” We peeked out once the car had passed. “I think it’s safe to leave now.” Ari made to exit the alley, but I placed a hand on her arm.
“Did you hear that?”
“What?” she asked. I gestured further down. There it was again: a slight whimper, followed by heavy breathing. We jumped at the sound of something hitting the ground. “We should go.” She tugged my arm but I calmly resisted.
“What if someone needs help? We should go check.”
“No, we should call the police. Emery!” she whispered my name as I very carefully, very quietly, crept down the alley toward the noise.
“You don’t have to come. I’ll be back.”
“Of course I have to come. I’m not gonna leave you.” She caught up and took my hand. “I’m scared.”
“Don’t be. What if someone had a heart attack or something? I’m just being a good person.” I tripped over something and glanced down before staggering back.
“What?” Ari asked.
I shakily pointed to the ground. She shrieked and crashed into me, trying to get away from the body.
My eyes were on the living body past the dead one.
He stood further down the alley, shirt smeared with blood, and somehow hadn’t noticed us yet.
He was casually observing the limp, disembodied hand that lay near his feet.
I bit back a scream when his clouded grey eyes looked up and straight at me.
Ari fell forward and I instinctively caught her—she was out cold.