West Seven #2
Us not immediately agreeing had her pleading, “How can Dale and I save ourselves when we are distracted by trying to save you?” She waited, adding, “You not hiding away will literally get us killed.”
Sarah gasped.
Harmony nodded, slowly. “Let that sink in. And let us be the adults of this home.”
Rubbing faces, backs of necks, and upset bellies, we each made a promise that we hoped we’d never have to keep.
We all sat in the quiet room that felt so heavy I could barely breathe.
Finally, Dale lifted a finger in the air. “One more question.”
We all groaned.
“Chocolate or vanilla?”
With a forming smile, Harmony slammed her hands on the table. “Yes! I may not have had whiskey in my tea, but I could sure go for some ice cream!”
Damn, I love these parents.
Their actions showed, on the daily, how much they cared for us.
I hate that I fucked it all up. I hate that I started sneaking out that very night to start learning the pastor’s routine.
But life comes in waves. Some roll up on the shore gently, leaving behind beautiful shells from the sea.
Some waves slam into the sand, altering the shoreline altogether.
That is what the pastor was to me. A non-relenting wave that kept pounding, knocking me off my feet.
His every plea to the public, all in the name of ‘justice’, made my blood boil and sanity slip away.
When he stared into the camera, I swore he was staring at me.
Taunting me. Daring me to do something about his crime.
So, I accepted his challenge, ignorant of the cult this man was creating.
Ignorant of how far his reach went. Unaware of how some religious people can be when led by a perverted madman.
The pastor wasn’t only a pedophile. He believed himself to be a prophet and had convinced his disciples it was true.
Religious or not, when someone believes they are righteous, their actions to defend their beliefs can become… deadly. That made both the pastor and me anchored to our horrific storm.
Within a couple of weeks, the media wasn’t covering Blue’s murder as often, but that didn’t stop the pastor’s taunts.
Playing basketball in the driveway, the guys couldn’t believe their eyes when a certain pissed-on Mercedes rolled past our home. It did a U-turn at the end of our street, then slowly drove by again. The pastor was behind the steering wheel and smiling at me.
Oh, do you know I’ve been spying on you?
Had I been older and wiser, I would’ve been able to see the pastor hated me because I had dared to touch what he considered his.
I had dared to make Blue fall in love with me.
I had dared to convince her she was smart and courageous.
That she didn’t deserve to be touched when she didn’t want to be.
I had dared to treat Blue with the utmost respect, just as she deserved.
I, without knowing it, had been a part of teaching Blue to say… no.
In the end, that stance got Blue killed. But I knew her angel wings soared with pride for finally understanding her worth. Her lesson to learn in this lifetime had been cemented to her beautiful soul.
Back on earth was a young man who would walk a line that screamed nothing but trouble and revenge.
“It’s not the first time,” Finn informed us outside the gazebo.
Gawking, the rest of us stared at him.
He watched the ball as he dribbled it back up the driveway. Making a shot, he said, “That’s why I got a gun.”
The proper reaction would’ve been, “Are you nuts? Guns are dangerous!” Since I was far from proper, instead, I growled, “No. Fucking. Way. We agreed a bullet was too nice. His death is to be slow and painful.”
Gage ran his hands down his face. “This is so bad.”
Ethan asked Finn, “Bro, how the fuck did you get a pew-pew?”
Finn dribbled the ball, then made another shot. “Cashed in a favor.”
Gage took the ball from him. “A favor? That sounds like a trail that can lead back to us, dumbass.”
I insisted, “It don’t matter. I ain’t shooting him. I’m gutting him alive.”
Ethan told me, “You say that like we have a place to get bloody and not get caught.”
Rolling my neck, I seethed. “I’ll do it in the field where she was found.” Blood for blood.
Finn grabbed the ball back from Gage while telling me, “Gather your torture tools, Jeffrey Dahmer. You and I start spying in one week.”
I studied him. He was being too willing. What are you up to? Wait, only you and me?
Ethan bitched, “Better be including me in this fiasco.”
With force, Finn shot the ball at his chest. “What about Sarah?”
Ethan shot the ball back at him. “Not to be involved.”
The ball flew again. “No shit. But what if you get caught? Where does that leave her?”
The ball soared and hit the house. “I don’t know!”
I stood there, wishing I felt bad for his inner torture, but his girl was still alive. Mine was gone.
When the front door swung open and Sarah came out, asking, “Everything okay?” Ethan got to hold her. Rock her in his arms.
I. Will. Never. Get. That. Chance. Again.
That’s why I ran, as fast as I could, down the road the pastor had just driven along. No one called my name. The Misfits understood I needed space. That’s why they didn’t follow too closely. Gage and Finn’s footfalls were a comfort, and another sign they were going to follow me straight to Hell.
If one of them didn’t get there first.
That night, it was about 12:30 AM when I caught Finn sneaking down the hallway. Seeing me, he stopped, his shoulders caving.
I knew you were up to something! I shook my head. Then I pointed to my chest, mouthing, My kill.
Finn was doing me a solid, trying to take the fall for the pastor’s murder, but too much had already been taken from me. He had to let me have this one.
That’s why he conceded and went back to his room.
And from that moment on, my fate was sealed.