Chapter Thirty-Three
Kara and Mimi huddled together in the darkness of the familiar back room. Kara rubbed her eyes. The memory of her botched escape came back into focus. Roland had captured both her and her mother. Her mother had come to rescue her, and she’d ended up in hell with Kara instead.
“Mom? My eyes are blurry,” Kara said, just above a whisper.
Roland paced in his blood and sweat streaked clothes.
“You bastard. What did you do to her?” Mimi spat.
Roland ignored her.
“I’m sorry, Mom,” Kara cried.
“Shh, honey. This isn’t your fault.” She eyed Roland. “We have to get out of here. What did he do to you?” Mimi whispered.
“I don’t know,” Kara whispered. “He made me drink something.” Kara watched Mimi’s eyes slip over the shards of metal and glass, paper plates, and pieces of cake that were strewn about; they came to rest on an open bottle of antifreeze against the wall.
Mimi gasped. She grabbed hold of Kara’s hand and squeezed it tight. “Roland, what have you done?” she asked.
Roland followed her gaze, then said, matter-of-factly, “Getting back the sister who was taken away.”
Mimi turned angry eyes on him.
Kara lifted her head and looked at her mother. “What does he mean?”
Mimi shook her head, resting her hand on the back of Kara’s shoulder and pulling her close. “You poisoned her. She’s dying,” she said through tears of anger. “She needs help. Please!”
Roland eyed the bottles of alcohol. “Shut up! If it weren’t for you, we’d have been together all these years.” He paced.
Kara looked from Roland to Mimi. What the hell was going on?
“Roland, you know that’s not true,” Mimi hissed.
“Mom?” Kara whispered.
Roland walked toward her, his words filled with venom. “You kept us apart.” He pointed at Mimi. “You did it! You’re the reason!” Roland’s feet moved quickly as he spun, looking around the room. He turned back to Mimi. “What time is it?” Roland demanded as he grabbed Mimi’s arm.
“What did you do, Roland?” Mimi wrenched her arm from his grip and clung to Kara again. “What did you do?”
“Mom?” Kara clawed at her mother’s arms, her head buried in her chest. She cried like a tortured child. “I don’t want to die, Mom. Please, please help me.”
Mimi shushed her, stroking her hair, and glaring at Roland. She grit her teeth. “Roland Greer, you tell me what you did this instant.”
Kara pulled back from Mimi, her jaw gaping. “You…you know him?”
Roland pressed his lips together and turned away.
“Roland Marcus Greer, turn around,” Mimi ordered him. “Look at your sister.”
Sister? Kara watched in horror as Roland turned and stared at her. Her mother’s eyes set on him.
Mimi’s voice softened, as if she were speaking to a child. “Roland, what did you do to Marissa?”
Kara broke free from her mother’s grasp, wrapping her arms tight around her middle, trying to come to grips with the warped picture being painted before her. “Mom?” Marissa?
Mimi didn’t flinch—her eyes remained trained on Roland. “Roland, you tell me what you did. Now.”
Roland. Ro—My imaginary friend. You were real. Kara’s body began to quake and shiver. “He’s real,” she whispered. Her heart pounded in her chest like a running bull. She pulled at her memories. What else had she somehow hidden from herself—and why? Who the hell was this guy?
Roland squinted and pressed his lips together, as if he might cry. A crimson flush crept up his neck and cheeks. In a flash his eyes sprung open, and he yelled, “I…We’re going to be together.”
Kara pushed backward with her heels until her back was against the wall. She wrapped her arms around her knees. “Mom? How do you know him?”
“Not now, Kara,” her mother said in a strong, even tone.
“Mom?” Kara said in a thin voice, looking from Roland to Mimi and back again.
Was her mother playing the same game she had?
Appeasing Roland? Kara didn’t know what to believe, but this time, she had to trust her mother.
Mimi was displaying an unbridled confidence Kara didn’t know she possessed.
Kara took a deep breath, trusting that whatever Mimi was up to, she was doing it to protect her.
Mimi glared at her and shook her head.
Roland suddenly broke his gaze and stepped back, throwing his hands up in the air. “No! You did this to her. This is your fault!” He grabbed the sides of his head and let out a long groan, doubling over and retching onto the floor. The acidic smell of alcohol and vomit filled the small room.
Mimi rushed over to Kara, pulling her to her feet.
Kara clung to her mother’s arms. “How do you know him? What’s going on?”
“I said, not now, Kara. Get up!” Mimi wrapped her arms around Kara’s shoulders, supporting her weight.
Kara leaned into her.
Roland stomped over to the dark corner where they struggled. “Leave her alone,” he commanded.
Mimi looked from Kara to Roland, her body trembling. “She’s my daughter,” she spat.
“Not anymore, she’s not.” He took Kara by the arms and pulled her away.
Kara twisted and turned, but his grip was too strong. Her futile efforts went unnoticed. “What’s going on?” she cried. “Please? Mom? What’s he talking about?” She stared at her mother.
Mimi’s body trembled, frail and beaten, her face smattered with dried blood.
“Mom, please.” Kara covered her face with her hands. “Just tell me what’s going on.” She clawed at Roland’s fingers, trying to pry his vice grip from her shoulders. “Please, she’s my mother,” Kara pleaded. “Please, let me go to her.”
Roland held tight. “Marissa,” he said, turning his head and staring at Mimi.
“Please?” Kara whispered. “Please, Roland,” she pleaded through her tears.
Roland stroked her hair, then looked around the small room. The broken Barbie doll lay on the ground, one leg cocked backward, its smiling, cracked face staring into the darkness. He fingered the bottle of alcohol in his pocket.
Kara’s legs gave out and she crumbled to the floor. “I can’t do this,” she cried.
Mimi ran toward her. Roland quickly dropped to the floor next to Kara, snapping his arm up toward Mimi, a steadfast barrier between them.
A thunderous groan filled the small room. Kara covered her ears.
“What’s that?” Mimi shouted above the noise.
The ground beneath them shook, then stilled. The light faded to black. A second later, another rumble crawled along the floor as the backup generators came to life. The light bulb flickered, then dulled, casting a muted glow across the room.
“The plant shut down. The generators kicked in,” Kara answered mechanically. Then she turned her attention to Roland. “Roland, please,” she pleaded. “I’ll be Marissa…Please, I’ll do anything…just get me help. Don’t let me die.”