Chapter Twenty-Nine #2
He smirks slightly at my demand, then leans back, settling into a more casual position.
“As you wish. It was on your thirteenth birthday that I finally discovered you weren’t mine for sure.
You’ve clearly inherited your terrible hiding skills from your mother.
Want to take a wild guess where I stumbled upon it?
” He pauses, letting the question hang in the air, but I just give him a withering glare.
“Fine. It was tucked under her side of the mattress. I’ll never forget the expression on her face when I barged into the bathroom.
I had already slipped the envelope into my pocket, and she could see the realization in my eyes.
And you know what I saw when I looked at her?
” He leans in closer, his grin turning mischievous. “Fear.”
I dig my nails into the palms of my hands, desperately trying to stay composed.
He casually picks at his fingertips, unfazed.
“Anyway, you know how the rest goes. I had it all planned out to strangle her in the bath she was drawing, but then Jesse Jr. swooped in and saved the day.” I hiss at his remark.
“Now, let’s fast forward to your sixteenth birthday, shall we?
” My heart races. My sixteenth birthday.
What is he about to reveal? “I had everything mapped out, three years of planning. I fully intended to take you and your mother out. But, as luck would have it, things turned out differently. I spent the entire day watching the house. I saw you leave with those twins of yours and kept an eye on your mother while you were gone. I slipped in through your bedroom window around 9:30 that night, found my knife, and waited. I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist coming back to your precious mommy for long.
” He clears his throat, and my heart feels like it’s about to burst. But I need to know.
I have to hear the words spill from his lips.
I can tell he’s getting a kick out of this, and has waited a very long time for this moment with me.
He continues. “At around 10:00, your mother got a phone call, and it was Jesse. I then found out that he was close to being there, and that you would be home by 11. Did you know that they were planning to sit you down and tell you the truth then? That was the whole reason Jesse was coming. They had it all planned out. I needed to act fast.” He pauses, running his fingertip along the sharp blade.
My heart sinks. That night they were going to tell me the truth about everything.
My lip trembles, but I quickly mask it. “Long story short. I waited until I heard your mother go into the bedroom. I snuck and strangled her just like I had always wanted to do, but instead of in the water, it was on the bedroom floor. I promise it was quick. As you know, she was a fighter, but her tiny little neck just couldn’t handle my large hands crushing her trachea. ”
I charge forward, gripping the knife I concealed. “You bastard!”
He quickly stands in a fighting position, holding the knife in front of him, pointed at me. “Shut the fuck up and let me finish.”
I slowly lower the knife and scowl at him.
He paces back and forth, never taking his eyes off me.
“Now, where were we? Oh, that’s right, I killed Esther, and then I used her as bait.
I hid in the bedroom, waiting for Jesse to arrive, and even hoped you would.
I knew the moment he walked in the door from the sounds of his boots on the floor.
He called out for Esther multiple times.
Eventually, he made his way into the bedroom, finding her dead on the floor.
He was hysterical. I even waited a moment longer, wanting to see how he reacted to her death.
I knew instantly that he loved more than he ever led on, which angered me even more.
I stabbed him multiple times with our family knife.
Now, don’t think Jesse didn’t put up a good fight, because he did.
” He pauses, facing toward me. “But see, Ezra, nothing can out-fight someone who carries a rage deep inside them. And from the look in his eyes, I think he knew he was going to die that night. I give him props for giving it his all. He was always too gentle, anyway.” He shrugs his shoulders at his own comment.
Steam swirls around my face, my heart pounding with rage as I glare at the man who shattered my life.
He laughs, a cold, mocking sound. “Everything went how it needed to. I arranged their bodies to give it a cinematic flair, holding each other as they burned together. Oh, and the sweetest fucking thing. Your mother had an envelope on the dresser that I hadn’t noticed before.
I opened it and read it. It was the sweetest letter she had written…
just for you.” He raises a finger, a smirk spreading across his face as he starts digging through his pockets.
For a swift moment, hope flickers within me that he has the letter.
But then he suddenly snaps his fingers and grins.
“Oh, that’s right, I used it to start the house fire.
I did at least leave behind my lighter for you to find.
Glad to know you’ve put it to good use.” In a flash, I rush at him, yanking the knife from the back of my pants and slicing it through the air.
He raises a hand, swatting it out of my grip.
The blade clatters against the floor and embeds itself in the wall, blood streaming down his hand and arm.
“You got me good, boy.” His expression goes cold as he comes at me, swinging the knife toward my stomach. I leap back, dodging it multiple times.
I swing with a right hook, catching him on the lower jaw.
He stumbles back slightly, but quickly regains his balance.
Before I can react, he brings the knife down, plunging it into my left shoulder.
Pain shoots through me, and I stagger back, clutching my wound.
He chuckles, watching the blood drip from the tip of the blade.
“Now, isn’t this family bonding at its finest?
So much of our blood has been spilled by this very knife, and now I get to kill you with it too.
” He lunges at me, aiming for my throat with the blade.
I quickly dart forward, ducking low to tackle him.
We crash to the ground with a grunt. I scramble for the knife, trying to seize it from his grasp as we roll on the floor.
I pound my fists into his side, desperate to make him loosen his hold.
He presses his thumb into my stab wound, making me tense with agony.
In a heartbeat, he overpowers me, flipping us around and pinning me to the ground with his weight.
He drives the knife down, digging and twisting it into my side.
I groan loudly through clenched teeth as he slowly pulls it out, bringing the blade dangerously close to my neck.
He lifts his shirt, revealing the scar I left on him so many years ago.
“For fourteen years, this has been my constant reminder of you. Now, I get to watch you bleed out,” he whispers, leaning in close.
The knife hovers near my throat as he continues, “And the best part is that I barely had to lift a finger. You ruined yourself all on your own, making this exact moment so easy for me.”
I look down at pools of crimson covering my shirt and the floor around us.
I’m losing too much blood. I don’t have much time left to finish what needs to be done.
I won’t leave him behind to torment the twins or Raina.
I begin laughing hysterically, glaring at him as I choke out, “I’ve had scratches worse than that.
Thank fucking God I can die knowing that my real father wasn’t a little bitch like you.
” With that, I sling my head forward as hard as I can, head-butting him.
He grunts, tumbling back. I grab his shirt, twisting it around my fist, throwing him to the ground, and straddling him, pinning his arms under my knees.
I drill him in the throat, knocking the wind out of him.
He wheezes, and finally the knife drops from his hand.
I quickly grab it, sending it into his shoulder blade.
He cries out, hissing in pain. I twist the blade in circles, hearing the muscle and tendons rip and snap.
He tries his best to wiggle from my hold, but fails.
I press down hard on the blade, my weight bearing on it as his blood begins to pool around my grip.
I lean in closer, forcing him to see my face.
“How does it feel to realize you’re about to die…
all for nothing? The last thing you’ll witness is a face that embodies the very people you despised most. It’s downright tragic that you’ve lost a battle to someone as worn down as I am.
But I suppose it’s no surprise, is it? Because deep down, you, I, and my dead mother and father all know you’d never win a fair fight. ”
He grimaces at me as he strains to get from under me.
I pull the blade from his shoulder and stab it into the side of his neck.
He screams in agony as I bring my mouth to his ear.
“Now, I get to watch you drown in your own blood.” I rip the blade from his neck, and red liquid spews out everywhere.
He tries pulling his arms from beneath me to grab his neck, but I calmly keep them pinned, keeping my eyes locked with his.
He begins making a gurgling sound while choking on his own blood.
His head jerks back and forth as life leaves his body.
And I know the moment it does. He’s dead.
I look down at the man who shattered my entire life and took away those I love.
He has haunted my dreams and lingered in my thoughts for far too long.
After twenty-seven long years, I can finally find solace in knowing he is truly gone.
My head tilts back as I struggle to process everything that’s happened.
It’s as if my body knows I’ve done what I needed to do, and the pain rushes back in.
I gasp as I glance at my fresh wounds, blood oozing from them.
My body has endured so much in just twenty-four hours, but I’m grateful it brought me to this moment.
A sharp pain jolts through me, and I collapse onto the floor.
My teeth grind together as the agony courses through me, causing involuntary convulsions.
I double over, desperately shutting my eyes.
For a short moment, the pain subsides, leaving me almost numb, as if my mind is bracing me for a peaceful end.
Rolling onto my back, I struggle to catch my breath, gasping for air that feels so distant.
All I can think about are the twins. The good and bad memories we shared growing up together.
I remember the day we first met as kids and how, from that moment on, we became family.
Raina crosses my mind, stirring a different ache in my chest. My lip trembles as I reflect on the time we lost and wonder if things could have been different if I hadn’t been such a dick.
Now, I’ll never get the chance to make amends or tell her how I truly feel.
My eyes snap open, and I quickly start searching my pockets, wincing at every little movement I make.
I fish out my phone, struggling to hold it steady as my hands tremble.
As I tap the screen, I see it’s down to 2%.
I dive into my contacts and dial her number.
I need to leave a message. She has to hear this before I go.
It goes straight to voicemail, just as I knew it would.
I let out a whimper that escapes my lips when her voice sounds over her voicemail message.
I shut my eyes, savoring her sweet tone one last time before the beep interrupts.
I take a deep breath into the phone as my mind starts to drift away.
“Raina…I…I’ve needed to tell you this for a long time, and I’m really sorry it took us reaching this point for me to finally say it.
” A choked, gurgling sound escapes me. “I want you to know that I don’t regret a single moment we shared.
You made me want to be better…it just took me some time to understand that.
Most of my happiest memories are tied to you.
” I let out a shaky laugh. “That first time you walked into my bar, you had my attention. I tried to brush it off by acting like a complete jackass.” The phone nearly slips from my grip as I clutch my side wound, trying to stifle the sounds fighting to escape.
I know I need to hurry. I have to say it before it’s too late.
“I’m sorry…I’m so fucking sorry for everything I put you through.
” A sob catches in my throat. “I’m going to miss your voice, your little laugh, and those cute freckles.
” I close my eyes, recalling the morning I spent watching her sleep so peacefully.
“At least I got to count them…there are twenty in total…eight on your left cheek, seven on your right, and five on your nose.” I feel myself slipping away, the darkness creeping in.
I choke on my words, pushing to get them out.
“Raina…I… I…” The phone drops from my hand, as my body jerks uncontrollably, but then everything goes still.