Page 10 of Till Death Do Us Part

“You’re bleeding so much… I can’t believe you were continuing like nothing happened.”

“Once you’ve spilled enough blood, you stop counting.”

She swallowed. “Can I touch you here?”

I let out a throaty laugh. “You don’t need to ask. I’m not a dainty flower.”

She put her hand on my shoulder, soft and delicate, as she took a warm, damp cloth and dabbed at it, wiping gently at the cut. I flinched a little at the sensation—the adrenaline wearing off now let me feel the cut more clearly, and it stung, but I relaxed my muscles and let Elaine help.

She had a strong but gentle touch, confidently wiping at the injury, taking from the first-aid kit to apply product, her blue eyes fixed intently on me. I could tell she wanted to say something. I wasn’t going to ask, my own mind wandering as she worked, her fingers grounding me as they held firmly onto my shoulder.

I couldn’t just buy the property from her. Inheritance was firm in that regard. But if I told her leave the property to us in the event of your death, she’d probably catch on.

There was a shortcut, though. Common convention.

“Can I ask you a question?” she said softly.

“Only if I get to ask you one too afterwards.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t already get the dossier,” she laughed quietly, and I laughed, too, pretending I hadn’t.

“Ask.”

“When did you… first…” She swallowed.

I knew what she was asking. But I wasn’t going to let her back down. “Don’t be shy.”

She winced. “I shouldn’t even ask.”

“Well, now you’ve started. I don’t like things left undone.”

“When did you first… kill someone?”

“I was fifteen.”

“Jesus,” she whispered, her eyes wide even as she kept working on my cut.

“It’s fine. I’d been training since I was eight.”

“To… to kill someone?”

“For general ops. Including gun training. We used realistic targets. Desensitization training. They told me one of these times, they’d swap in a real person for one of the targets without telling me. When it came time to point at a real person and shoot…” I held my other hand out like a gun, mimicking the motion. “I didn’t even hesitate. It was like stomping an ant.”

Her face crumpled, tears shimmering in the corners. I got a sick feeling in my stomach. Normally it put people away from me when I talked like that.

I’d been trying to avoid… Elaine starting to think nice things about me.

Not a problem I usually had to worry about.

“I can’t imagine… what kind of person would put a child through that.” Her voice cracked.

“I’m not the only one. Some people fall through the cracks. Some people live in the darkness.”

“No one should have to. Every single one is a tragedy, Vera. I work with kids. I’m a librarian. I organize community events for kids just around that age… and to think about doing something like that with a child…” She squeezed her fist on my shoulder, closing her eyes, as she sucked in a shaky breath. “I’m sorry.”

Ugh… look at her. A little beacon of goodness. I felt like I might as well have been planning to kill that kitten, she was so soft and sweet. This wasn’t what I needed. “Don’t be. I’ve never known anything else.”

Her fingertips caressed my skin as she worked diligently on my cut, clearly just focusing on the motions to avoid dwelling on anything. “Weren’t your parents… didn’t they care?”