Tommy
Ipull up on Didi’s dark, creepy street and turn off the engine a block away.
Bax is beside me, staring out into the switchgrass and the darkness that surrounds the edge of town.
This is the type of place society forgets about.
Where it’s so isolated, it’s not even considered part of a town, and the stars don’t even seem to shine.
I get chills thinking about this house, or the fact that my girlfriend lives here with her psycho mama.
I’ve been musing on Remy’s words since our fight at the movie about finally letting me have Talia.
I can’t stop thinking about my father, re-reading that newspaper article I found in his office about his high school sweetheart.
Daniel Jenkins was Talia’s high school sweetheart, too, and we all know how that turned out.
After years of pining over Talia, Remy is now offering her to me, and I don’t know if I want her.
Didi needs me now.
My palms are still sweaty thinking about it, how it all suddenly makes sense. All the missing people in Kinsmen were someone’s sweetheart. All the missing people, every twenty years or so, when the next generation comes of age…and Shadowface makes his triumphant return.
I pause, silently staring down the dusty road toward the Old Sheffield Place, and consider my next move. I need to have a conversation with Didi’s mama and send her a clear message.
Didi belongs to us now.
Remy went to watch over Didi, keeping her distracted so she wouldn’t come home to this.
Since Remy told me he wanted her last night, it’s pointless to fight him.
I’ll share her if I must. He’s going to take her belt off, and I’m going to scare the shit out of her mama and make her give me the key.
She needs to fully understand that she is no longer in control of her daughter.
It’s the symbolism of the key that matters most.
“Dude,” Bax whispers. “This place gives me the creeps, man.”
“It will be fine,” I assure him.
My testosterone levels are raging today. I’ve been wound so tight, I could snap. Although, it may be because I’ve been snorting coke since Remy gave me some the other night.
Bax is watching me, his hair hanging loose. “Dude, are you sure about this? If you get caught and your dad finds out, you’re screwed.”
I take a bump of it now, then reach into the back seat and grab my bag of supplies, which includes my knife. The only thing I can focus on is freeing Didi from that belt—the thought of which has had my dick hard for days.
“I don’t give a shit what my old man thinks anymore. He’s been lying to me my entire life.”
Bax lifts his arms up in feigned innocence. “Okay. Okay,” he drawls. “This just seems like a lot of effort for some pussy, man.”
Glancing over at him, my jaw twitches. “Didi’s not just some pussy. I think I’m in love with her, man.”
He chuckles. “They are all just pussy, dude. Pussy number one, pussy number two…it don’t matter. They are all beautiful.”
“Dude, you need to quit the weed, man. Your thoughts are all jumbled.”
Fire flares in my peripheral.
“Nah,” he says, taking a huge toke, sucking it in deep before coughing out a plume of smoke. “Hippy till the day I die.” He hands it to me. “Want some weed, man? It makes everything better.”
I frown but grab it and take an even bigger hit before I put it out in my car ashtray. The weed goes right to my head, which hasn’t been right for weeks now.
I crack my knuckles and put on some leather gloves, not wanting to leave any skin exposed in case something unforeseeable happens. Not that I’m worried…my old man will just have to clean it up.
“Look, you don’t have to do this with me if you don’t want to.”
He shrugs. “I’ve got nothing better to do.” Bax hasn’t reacted to the news of our families. He was quiet and stoned during our conversation, and vowed silence. He knows Remy and I are vying for Didi, and he doesn’t want to get caught in the middle.
He’s helping me now because Remy’s involved in this, too.
I reach into my bag and pull out two burlap masks I stole from FreshMart a few minutes ago when we dropped Remy off.
Mrs. Holly has a lot of them sitting out the back of her market.
Kids used to put these masks over their faces and call themselves Shadowface.
I never thought in my wildest dreams that I’d eventually become him.
Earlier, I used my knife to cut two holes for my eyes and a hole for my mouth. I made one for Bax, too.
Bax gives me a quirky look as I hand it to him. “Aw, man…” he grumbles but puts it on anyway. “It’s itchy.”
“Quit your whining.”
He turns to me, and wow, he looks creepy. His long hair hangs down, making him look like a freak. It’s perfect. He just stares at me, and I stare back, completely stoned.
“Boo,” he says, and I jump out of my skin.
I punch him hard in the shoulder. “Dude, don’t do that.”
“Ouch…” he says, rubbing his shoulder. “You need to chill, man. You’re always so jumpy.”
At least the mask should scare the shit out of Didi’s mama.
I pull my mask over my head and stare at my reflection in the window. Bax is right, this thing is itchy, and I look just as creepy as he does. I adjust it to make sure no part of my face is showing.
“Let’s go,” I whisper, and we quietly leave the car.
We stalk toward the house side by side. It’s pitch-black outside, even more so out of town, and especially in these parts.
I walk up to a small window, framed by worn curtains, and peer inside. Didi’s mama is in there, I can see movement inside. It looks like the house is lit by candlelight, and I wonder if there is any running water.
The house is an absolute shithole.
“Are you sure about this?” Bax asks. “I’m like, super stoned, man, and this place gives me the heebie-jeebies. What if your girl’s there?”
“She’s not. She’s with Remy. Remember, we dropped him off?”
“Oh. Yeah.” He grins to himself.
“Alright, here’s the plan. We’ll break down the door. You tie her up, then just leave everything else to me.” I stick my fist out. “Got it?”
He fist-bumps me back. “I got you, man, but remember, I’m more of a lover, not a fighter.”
“Just tie her up, Bax, please.”
Bax shakes his head and ties his long hair back and tucks it under the mask. “Alright. Tie the crazy broad up. Then what?”
“Then I’ll find what I’m looking for, and we leave.”
“What if she recognizes us? This town is small, man.”
I open my supply bag and dig through it. “She won’t.”
His eyes draw down to my hand as I grab my knife. “You’re not going to hurt her, are you?”
“I’m going to scare the Jesus out of her, that’s all.”
I reach out and tug on his mask and place my finger in front of my lips, gesturing for him to be quiet.
No. More. Questions.
Plus, I hear something.
I lean my head on the door and hear soft humming and weird babble. Peeking through the keyhole, I see a woman kneeling on the floor.
What the hell? This lady’s bat-shit crazy.
Bax looks around, frazzled. “What the hell is that? What is she doing?”
I grab the knife and motion for him to stay put and start the countdown with my fingers.
One. Two. Three…
Glass shatters everywhere as I smash the window by the door with the hilt of my knife. I reach around and kick the wooden door in and barge through it, causing it to crumble.
Didi’s mama is wearing a housecoat, sitting on her knees by an old sofa with a bunch of candles lit around her, praying.
She screams and her eyes go wide, her face pales, and she clutches a wooden cross.
I take a second to look at her, noticing the way the firelight catches her hair, the way she’s barely wearing anything under her robes.
Diana’s albinism is the only visible difference between her and Didi; otherwise, their resemblance is uncanny.
“Who are you? Get out of my house,” she demands.
Didi’s mama’s face is aged, but not gracefully. Deep lines rut between her brows, and her lips are pursed like Mrs. Holly’s. I was hoping they would look nothing alike, given Diana is the kindest and gentlest soul I’ve ever met. Her inner darkness marred what could’ve been beauty.
No wonder she’s trying to steal the light from her daughter, because she doesn’t have any.
Her fear manifests as a subtle movement in her throat. Otherwise, she looks pious and defiant, gripping her cross like a weapon, lifting it like it will protect her and God will strike me down.
She waves her hands. “Get away from me or I’ll call the authorities.”
Empty threats. She doesn’t even have a phone.
I take a menacing step forward, then another, saying nothing as I circle her, taking in the rest of her house.
The walls are bare, the wallpaper peeled, and dark stains mar the floor. This entire place is dilapidated. Empty of anything that’s holy. The stench of rotted death seeps through the walls. I want to laugh at her, mock her, and punish her just for existing.
Her eyes flick to Bax, and she shutters a breath. “What are you? Some sort of devil?” Bax moves behind me. His lanky arms are anything but menacing.
Her left eye flickers, and I spot the knife on the floor where she is kneeling. “Oh, hell no,” I growl, charging towards her and kicking the weapon aside. “I don’t think so.”
She freezes, her face turning white as she squeezes her eyes shut and mutters some gibberish. Bax hangs back by the door as I circle the couch where she kneels.
I jerk my head to Bax. “Tie her up.”
She gasps and opens one eye, then starts muttering again as Bax takes a hesitant step toward her.
Yeah, lady, you pray. Pray for your soul, you stupid evil bitch.
But prayers aren’t going to save her, not when I unleash what’s coming if I don’t get what I’m here for.
Bax, with the zip tie I gave him in his pocket, eyes me and approaches the trembling woman. “Please,” she pleads. “Don’t kill me.” She flails her arms and legs, scratching and kicking him.
“Damn, woman, I’m not going to kill you,” Bax mutters. “Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”