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Chapter Twenty-two
After the house settled, Blake collected clean clothes and left. The girls finally settled in Kayla’s room. And, Charli lay in her bed, her suspense novel thrown aside. She couldn’t concentrate. All she could think about was the incident Blake described just before he’d said goodnight.
A black man executed three others. Could that be their killer? Could he have reached Fort Lauderdale because he knew Kayla was close? Should they move on somewhere else?
She’d asked Blake the same questions but he’d said to give it a couple of days. They were still hot on this killer’s trail, checking all the videos they could gather from around the isolated bar, interrogating their useless witness in case he’d missed something, and working the crime scene for any evidence.
Unsettled, she rose to do one last walk around the inside of the house, checked all the windows, tightened the latches and double-checked to be sure the security system was activated and the screens were clear.
Then she returned to her room, slid back into bed and turned on the baby monitor as per her nightly routine.
Settling under the covers, she suddenly remembered their visitor and reached to turn it off. Surely Kayla wouldn’t have bothered using it tonight. Then she realized the girl had forgotten… or had she? Hearing Angie’s words froze her hand in midair, and she listened. Any rights to privacy vanished after she heard the first few words.
“Look at this palace. Compared to you, I live in a shitty world, Kayla. I used to plan my death, like, you know, a celebration. Eat my last dinner of steak and ice cream. Then cut off all my hair and leave a note for the authorities to give it to some poor cancer victim. Ask them to pass on my body parts to those sick people who really want to live. And then take a handful of opioids, those fucking pills my mom gobbles down that turns her into a useless blob.”
Agitated, her voice full of tears, Kayla’s whimpers of pity tore Charli apart. Eyes full after hearing Angie’s heart-wrenching statement, she’d had to cover her mouth so her reaction wouldn’t tip off the girls that they had an eavesdropper. Completely mesmerized, she continued to listen.
“Angie, you can’t do that. Please, please don’t. We’re friends now, you’re not alone anymore.”
“Man, I still can’t believe how you stood up for me with those skanks at the school that day, and you being the new girl. Man, you sure had them mesmerized when you threatened to call your sister’s fiancé, a Major with the FLPD, and blab about the bullshit bullying that goes on in that dump and how the authorities turn a blind eye. You even made Vice Principle Miller back off and take our side. It was sweet. No one’s ever done that for me before.”
Charli made a grimace about the reference to her so-called fiancé but stayed glued to the conversation, a glow of pride igniting about Kayla taking a stand. The more time she spent with the teen, the more she became invested. The steel-enforced heart she only allowed air when she was with her gramps, had begun to beat in rhythm when she was with her protégé. Not sure how she felt about that, she stopped worrying and tuned in as the girls began talking again.
“Shitters, Angie, you looked so… oh crap, I don’t know, mean, scared, like you didn’t care what they did to you, but mostly, you looked… a-alone. You know? It really sucked.”
“Yeah.”
“That grabbed me. Maybe ‘cause I’ve been there. I know your life’s harsh right now, Angie, but you can make it better. Listen, an honest old lady once told me this a while back. Shocked the shit out of me, but her brutal words rang true.No one gives a fuck about you. Everyone’s too busy caring about their own shit. So, if you don’t give a fuck either, you’ll be lost, forgotten… end up a loser like so many others.” Covers rustling made Charli think that one of the girls moved. “Don’t you see? It’s up to us to work hard, make something of ourselves and escape these crap lives we’re in right now.”
“Crap lives? You’re talking crazy, dude. You have a sister you love, you live in a palace. Hold it! I’m not being a bitch, it’s true. You have Charli and Blake on your side. Any blind fool can see they care about you. You’re lucky. No one… and I mean no one… gives a flying fuck about me.”
“I do.” The sob in Kayla’s voice came through, adding a compassionate resonance that rang with sincerity. “I care,” she said in a soft, loving tone as if she needed the other girl to hear, to believe… to care, too.
“Oh God, Kayla. I prayed for help. Don’t ever tell anyone I said this, but I can’t take this shit any longer. I cut myself over and over, prayingHe’dsee me and do something.”
“I saw those marks on your thighs, Angie. They’re horrible. Stop it. They won’t help. Maybe God sent me to be your friend, to help you escape.”
“Escape? Are you fucking kidding me? That fat slob will never let me go. Besides, I have an issue that’s stopped me from running so many times. You want to hear something really pathetic? I’m terrified of the dark. I mean, I can’t breathe petrified. Last month, I did run and lasted three hours on the streets before I crawled back to the hellhole and got the shit beat outta me for getting home so late. I knew then, I was stuck. And things have gone way past the point where I can survive.”
“You’ve got to. We’ll make a plan. Charli will help you. I know she will. Just give it a bit more time.”
“I can’t. It’s so painful. What that bastard does when he comes to my room. I’ve tried to fight him off but he’s so much stronger. And the sick pervert forces me to do things I can’t even tell you about. I hate him, and I hate her for not stopping him. God, I’m so full of hate that I hate myself most of all. Oh, Kayla, I’m sorry. Look, stop crying. I’ll shut the fuck up. Stop it. You’re breaking my heart.”
Charli held her hand over her mouth and ran to the bathroom. Tears streaming, her heart in a mad mess from hearing those heartbreaking words, she barely made it behind the closed door before the reaction to Angie’s allegations took over.
Oh my God!
Sickened beyond her ability to cope, she let loose – cried, hurled and bashed her fist against the sink in disgust. It took some time before she could blow her nose and shed the soft-hearted feelings of compassion. Eventually, her tough FBI code of ethics took over. Then and there, she made herself, and Angie, a promise.
Vile pricks like that bastard needed payback.
And she was just the girl to do it.
She couldn’t wait.
