Page 36 of Burn For Me

“Is that your grandmother? She’s adorable and so sweet.” I looked out the window at Dora, who was stepping into the truck.

“Why would you think that?”

“The bags.” The girl pointed to the ones I’d sat off to the side. “Here’s your change.”

“Thanks.” I didn’t bother to wait for the receipt.

“Um, did you want to go out sometime?” She called after me, and I looked over my shoulder at her. This time I made sure she could see the scared side of my face. Her eyes went wide, her face paling as she looked away.

“Don’t worry, the answer is no,” I said, unable to keep the bitterness out of my voice. I stomped out to the truck and placed all the items in the bed of the truck before getting in.

“What happened,” Dora asked, her face concerned.

“Nothing. Why?”

“You mean other than the fact it looks like you just swallowed one of those lemons whole? Or the fact that you’re gripping the steering wheel so hard that I’m afraid you’re going to rip it right off.”

Taking a deep breath, I pushed down the anger and resentment. My father had been dead for nine years, but every day I wished I could bring him back so that I could kill him again for turning me into this hideous monster.

“I’ll be fine. It’s nothing that hasn’t happened a million times before.” The truck started up on the first try, and within moments we were cruising down the road toward the farm.

Dora put the window down, and I looked over at her as she unclipped her seatbelt and got up to lean out the window.

“What are you doing,” I asked, reaching for the back of her shirt in case the door opened.

“Woohoo! I love you, world!” She yelled like a lunatic as she hung out the window, the breeze blowing her hair back as she waved to random people.

“Have you lost your mind?” This question was ironic to me, considering it was me asking it.

“I love the beach and sweet tea. I love the sunset and little baby chicks. I loved my husband and life and feeling free,” Dora called out and earned a few whistles as she continued on with her crazy rant.

All she needed to do now was to lift her top and show her tits off to those passing by to complete her escapade. Panting, she slipped back into the truck and smiled wide.

Reaching out, she grabbed my shoulder, and I couldn’t help the concerned look from reaching my eyes.

“Boy, the first lesson you need to learn is to find the small joys in everything you do because the good Lord knows that this life is not fair, and it will push you to your limits and strip you of all your happiness if you let it.” I gave her a little smile as she flicked on the radio and sang to the latest Ed Sheeran song, completely off-key.

She was right, and a part of me knew it, but it seemed like an unscalable obstacle. Maybe once my plans were complete, I could try for a semblance of a normal life. But for now, my demons frolicked in every part of my brain, and their claws were deeply embedded in my soul.

I slowed to pull into Dora’s driveway. As soon as I could see the house I knew something was wrong. The front door was hanging open, and there were deeply grooved tire tracks in the driveway, the telltale sign that someone had peeled out of the place.

“Stay in the truck,” I said, putting it into park.

Hopping out, I stomped up the steps to the open door and stuck my head inside, listening. Whoever had been here was gone, but they’d done a lot of damage. Anger burned in my gut as I looked at the smashed vases that had sat in the window with little decorative flowers from Dora’s garden.

I did a quick search of the house to make sure that no one else was still lurking inside. By the time I got back to the front door, Dora was standing just inside on her welcome mat. It, too, was lying cockeyed. Her eyes, which had held so much happiness moments ago, were filled with tears as she stared around at the damage. It looked like a tornado had dropped inside the little home and had torn it apart.

Dora didn’t say anything as she sat the bags down and walked over to the mangled picture frames lying on the floor.

She stifled a sob as she slowly bent down, picked up her wedding photo, and dusted off the remaining shards of glass.

“Why would someone do this?” She looked over at me, and I didn’t have an answer for her. “I have nothing of worth. Why destroy my memories?”

“I’ll help you clean up.”

Dora shook her head no.

“I need to call the police. You better go home.” Holding the image to her chest, she made her way into the kitchen and paused when she reached my side. “Thank you for the lovely day and for….” She looked around again. “I shudder to think what they would’ve done if I’d been here.”