Of course, growing up in a house under the ironclad and tyrannical rule of Adam and Evil can numb the senses of any seemingly normal person.
“Did he scream?” he asks as he stops in front of me, looking down into my eyes.
My eyes close as I begin to relieve the carnage.
“He tried.”
We sat on Charlie’s chest, remember? When he opened his mouth to scream, you pulled his tongue out and bit down on it as hard as you could.
“Did he bleed?”
There was so much blood. The taste of copper hasn’t really gone away yet has it? Remember how it ran down our chin and landed on his body? How excited we felt?
“More than I ever did when Mama and Papa would beat me.”
“Why did you keep him?”
Nailing him to the bed was the only way to keep him from running away. I think we could have done something else, but it’s a nice fuck you to Mom and Dad, don’t you think?
“To show Grace.”
Our beautiful, damaged sister. All alone in the world somewhere with no one to guide her.
“Why?”
She’ll love what we’ve done.
“Because I want her to see how much I love her. I carved our names into his body as he lay dying.”
Jack places a hand on the side of my face and it takes everything in me not to jerk away from his touch.
“But if he’s been here this entire time, why were you looking for him?”
We forgot. Or did we? We never could stand to see what we did after it was done, have we? Always running away like a scared little girl and hoping that we’d have the chance to start all over again.
“I forgot.”
“Do you know where she is?” he asks me softly.
“No.”
“Want some help?”
Before I have a chance to answer him, he leans down and presses his lips gently against mine.
Why did he do that?
“Why did you do that?”
“I’m sorry. I guess I shouldn’t have without your permission. The thing is, I’ve been haunted by the sight of you running away from me when we were kids for as long as I can remember. When I would lie in bed at night, I would think of you—your naked body covered in old bruises, how fragile you looked, and the fear in your eyes when they met mine. I … I uh …”
He looks nervous, but I want answers.
“Fuck, Karolina. I used to touch myself to the memory. A lot. I was always careful that Mom and Pop never found out, though. You know how they were about pre-marital anything,” he confesses with an eye roll. “But don’t be afraid of me, okay? I won’t kiss you again unless you want me to.”
I press the lantern against his body, and he chuckles as he presses his forehead against mine.
“Back to my original question. Say yes.”
I turn my face away from him for a moment, but he keeps his hand gently placed against my skin.
“I want you to look at him first.”
“Okay,” Jack agrees as he lets go of me briefly. He walks around the table and I glance at him over my shoulder, watching him carefully as he inspects the decomposing body in the center of my bed.
When he runs his fingers over Charlie’s arm, I turn my eyes away again.
Is he touching Haight or is he touching Grace?
Why is he touching you at all?
I close my eyes tightly wishing that she would leave me the fuck alone for once when I decide to give him an answer.
“Yes.”
Jack walks back over to me and wraps his arms around me and pulls me close to him.
“I’ll take care of both of you, Karolina. I think I might remember roughly where our parents took Grace. Let’s go see if she’s still there.”
Epilogue
I’m standing in front of a seemingly abandoned building, my hand in Jack’s as he knocks on the door again and sighs.
“I don’t think anyone is here.”
“What did that sign say?” I ask him quietly.
“Huh? Oh, the one in the front? Our Lady of Heavenly Hope.”
I inhale sharply and pull my hand out of his grip. I begin to use my body as a battering ram, shoving it violently against the door, until it finally gives way, ignoring his orders to stop before I hurt myself.
This is where she is. You’ve found her.
“Grace!” I shout out into the darkness.
When she doesn’t answer me right away, I begin to run through the hallways, pushing in every door I can find, followed by the sound of Jack’s footsteps racing behind me.
He’s calling out for me to slow down, to wait for him because he doesn’t want me to get lost, but this place …
“Karolina!”
“What?” I hiss back at him as I stop long enough in an attempt to steady my breathing.
“There’s a door over here.”
I begin moving immediately toward the sound of his voice and when I reach him, he leans down and grabs my hand, giving it a tight squeeze.
“Stop running away from me. I’m getting sick of watching you leave,” he snaps in a hurt and somewhat angry tone. “Especially now that I can do something about it.”
“Open the door,” I beg him excitedly and he shakes his head.
“Promise me that you’ll stop running away from me.”
Do it; it’s the only way to get inside.
“I know. I promise.”
My words are rushed, two answers for the price of one breath, but it’s good enough for Jack, and he forces the door open.
I let him lead the way down the dark steps into an abyss that I’m unfamiliar with. But in the air hangs a familiar scent. It’s smells something like blood, but also something else that I’ve missed for so fucking long … or rather someone.
“She’s here,” I whisper as errant tears begin to roll down my cheeks.
Jack begins to push the doors open slowly, peering inside each one before we move onto the next. There’s a chapel with a smashed mirror on the wall, a room with
