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“Yea, well, she should be happy I haven’t fucking killed her.”
“Don't say that. You're not killing her. No one else is dying around us. Fuck, Cole. Who are you?”
“Get off your high horse, Cal. You're not much better than me. Quit acting so righteous. Remember that I've seen you. The real you that you try so hard to suppress. Let him loose, little brother. We can have much more fun if you do.”
“No. You're wrong. I’m not the one raping and beating a girl in the basement. I want no part in this! I was content with my life. No drama, no trouble-”
He interrupts me, “Oh I’m sooo fucking sorry me getting out of prison ruined your happy little life. Just remember where you’d be if it weren't for me.” He once again reminds me of the sacrifice he made for me.
“You're just gonna keep holding that over my head, aren’t ya? If you regret saving my ass, then just fucking say it!” I shout.
“I don't regret it, Callum. I just… I wish you just understood,” he quietly says.
“This? This I can't understand. I won't. It’s fucked up on so many levels and I thought I was done with all the fucked-up shit in my life.”
Cole gives me one more hard look then stomps outside slamming the door behind him. I hear him get in his truck and take off.
“Fuck!” I yell out.
I run my hands through my hair then turn and put my fist through the wall.
I can't sleep, again. Am I ever going to get a good night's sleep again in my life? I’m picturing the girl in the basement bloody, bruised and alone. It's eating away at me. She didn't seem like she wanted my help so I just left her and now I'm regretting leaving her like that.
I go to the freezer, put some ice in a Ziploc bag and grab a sandwich from the fridge. I take a deep breath and walk downstairs to the girl. She sits up when she sees me coming. The left side of her face is already starting the early stages of a bruise.
“Hey, I brought you some ice and a sandwich in case you're hungry.” She looks like she wants to continue scolding me but then her features soften.
“Thank you.” She says. “I’m starving.”
I hand her the sandwich. She quickly unwraps it and starts eating.
“Do you mind if I ask your name?”
She doesn’t answer right away. Then softly says, “It’s Lana.”
“Lana.” I test her name on my lips. “It’s nice to meet you, Lana. Although, I wish it were under different circumstances.”
She huffs out a breath, “Yea. Me too.”
We sit in silence while she finishes her sandwich and then she says, “Why are you being nice to me?”
“You mean why aren't I forcing myself on you and acting like a complete savage?”
“Yea, I suppose that too.”
“Well first, I don’t get off on raping women and I don't know, maybe it's because I know what it's like to be broken and afraid. To feel small and disposable. Our dad wasn't a nice man. He put us through so much bullshit. I have scars to remind me of it all. Physical and emotional ones. Although, now it's clear the effect it had on Cole and I are very different. I see my dad in him more every day. I think he might be worse, which is a pretty scary thought considering our history with our father.”
“Where’s your dad now?” She asks.
“Dead.”
“Oh,” she whispers.
“I hope you're not about to say you're sorry for my loss. It was no loss. My mother’s death was a loss. His death…a necessity. Unfortunately though, Cole went to prison for fifteen years for his murder. And I think all that time there made the darkness he had inside him worse.”
“Wow. Both my parents are gone also, died in a car accident when I was ten. I don’t have a boyfriend or a job, so I guess you’ll be happy to hear that no one will be looking for me,” she says with defeat.
“I'm not happy about any of this, Lana. If I could go back and stop him from making this decision, I would in a heartbeat. Please believe that.”
