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Momma reaches for the nearby kitchen counter and grabs a knife. Her hands are shaking, but she holds it out at Uncle Jimmy. "Stay away from us!" she warns, her voice trembling like my body.
But Uncle Jimmy's face twists with rage, and he moves faster than I thought possible. He hits Momma hard across the face again, making her drop the knife, which clatters to the floor. My heart sinks to my stomach, and I wish I could find the strength to run to her and protect her.
"You think you can fight back?" he snarls. His eyes look so evil. "You're nothing without me, you hear? You're just a worthless piece of trash, and your daughter is no different. You're both mine to do with as I please."
I can't bear to hear the mean words, but I can't block them out of my ears. Momma is trying so hard to protect me, to keep me safe, and all I can do is stand here and watch. I feel so small and weak, like a tiny leaf being tossed around in a storm.
I feel anger, fear, and sadness inside me as I watch my Momma being hurt by this monster. I want to run to her, to stand between her and any harm, but my body still won't cooperate. My voice and my feet are stuck.
Momma tries to stand tall, even though she's in pain, I can see it in her face. She wipes the blood from her lip with the back of her hand, and her eyes meet mine again. It's like she's trying to reassure me, to let me know that she's strong and brave, that she won't let anything happen to us.
Tears blur my vision, but I can still see Momma trying to fight back.
She charges at Uncle Jimmy again, but he steps to the side, and I watch in horror as he raises his hand, clutching something shiny and sharp. The knife in his hand goes into Momma’s side, and she gasps in pain. My heart feels like it's being ripped apart as I watch the redness staining her clothes, her hand pressed against where the knife hit, trying to stop the blood.
He does it again and again. I don’t want to watch, but I can’t look away. I’m curled up on the ground and I don’t know how I got there, but all I can see is Momma laying on the ground. And there is blood all over her pretty dress, it's on the floor moving like water. Like when I overflowed the bath, but this is so red.
Uncle Jimmy leans over Momma and grabs her necklace. He pulls it hard until it snaps. I want to scream at him to give it back to her, it's her necklace, not his, but he just leaves the apartment.
He needs to get help. Momma is hurt!
Time stands still as I crawl to her side, my tears falling onto her face. "Momma, Momma, please, get up. We need to go before he comes back. Please get up Momma," I sob, shaking her arm.
She looks at me and all I can see is the love and strength in her eyes, her voice is so soft as she whispers, "I love you, my darling girl. Be brave, be strong, and remember that I will always be with you."
I can't bear to hear her weak voice, and I cling to her hand tightly, feeling so helpless. "Please, Momma! I need you. Please, get up. We have to go," I plead, my voice cracking.
But Momma’s arm feels limp and she isn’t moving. Her eyes are closing. Why is she going to sleep now? We need to run away.
Please, Momma, wake up.
Chapter 39
Alex
“That’sit,breathewithme. In and out.” The voice is soft and directly in my ear.
I’m not sure when I started crying, but I can feel the tears on my face and the tremble shaking my body. I can also feel Derek’s arms wrapped around me, grounding me as he whispers in my ear. He keeps murmuring to me, but my mind is now focused on the man in front of me.
I remember. I hadn’t before now. At some point, after the ambulance and police came to the apartment, I completely blocked it all out and forced myself to forget everything. Including the boys who had been my best friends.
I barely even remembered my own name. The only memory I ever really held onto was her necklace, and even then it was just a concept and not an actual image, and now I knew why.
No one listened to me when I tried to tell them who killed her. They just said that my mother didn’t have any siblings called Jimmy. But I knew now, he wasn’t her sibling at all.
She worked for him. The 8 year old me hadn’t understood what she did for him, but I did. The man that I came to know as James Bennett was nothing but a monster who killed my mother.
He currently has his cold, hard eyes fixed on me and his lips pressing together in a thin line. Tristan has a hand gripping his salt and pepper hair while his knife stays steady at his throat. The extra blood now there is a testament to one or both of them moving while I was lost in the fog of my memories.
His voice is sharp when he finally breaks his silence. “Alexandra? I don’t know what lies they are telling you but you need to listen to me right now.”
Derek has a knife in his hand and is pointing it straight at James a moment later. “Do. Not. Fucking. Speak. To. Her.”
The movement of the knife draws his attention and his eyes narrow on it. “So you're the ones killing my employees?”
I cling tightly to Derek, feeling the weight of the memories crashing over me. My mind is reeling, trying to process the truth I buried deep inside for so long. I finally remember everything – the darkness of my past, the horrors I witnessed, and the man who took my mother away from me.
Tristan's grip tightens on James, and I can see the anger in his eyes. "Your employees?" Tristan scoffs. "They were criminals and monsters, just like you. They hurt innocent people and destroyed innocent lives!"
