Page 5 of Sink With Me

“How has it been?”

I manage a low, negative sounding hum in response as I pull on my seatbelt.

“Just get some rest, sweetheart. We have a decent drive, anyway.”

My head jolts from falling forward when I hear her words. The corner of my mouth tugs, “You won’t fall asleep with me, right? I’d rather make it in one piece.”

Honestly, I’m just trying to keep myself awake with the stupid joke, but I know I’ll fail.

The rolling of the one-way divider cuts through, breaking our eye contact and leaving me by myself. I know she’s there, yet I can’t see or hear her. For once everything is quiet, besides the gentle, constant noise of the tires spinning and I lose my battle with sleep.

“You’re gonna swim so far, Sharkie. Exceed lengths and expectations.”

Rain droplets coat the double-pane window, yet light still filters through, creating rays as if angels were descending from the heavens.

“We will only be gone for a few weeks, but I promise you, it’ll all be worth it. A new world.”

My finger dips into the white icing as my mother slaps at my hand and my father laughs. Even over the freshly baked chocolate cake, I can smell my mother’s perfume and my father’s cologne mixing as if that’s what they were made to do.

“I know Dad, I’ll be fine. I’m eighteen now, anyway. An adult.” My chest puffs as I sing my words to him, the sparkle in his eye making me smile, showing all my teeth before the smooth icing is transferred to his nose.

We run through the house, everyone on the other’s heels.

Laughter.

My body flings forward and the seatbelt jolts my body back almost painfully.

“What the hell!” I snap, my breathing rapid and uneven as all my senses kick into overdrive, forcing me to shake out of the dream that I always find myself in.

I tap the divider impatiently until Rosalie rolls it down, her laugh growing the more she comes into view, her blonde graying curls bouncing with the shake of her nimble shoulders.

“Mornin’ sunshine. Sorry, did I wake you?”

I want to be mad, but the crinkles in her eyes make me soften. She reminds me of my mother, sweet and kind, yet she can give a look that makes you cower like a scorned dog with your tail tucked between your legs.

She’s safe.

Blowing out a breath of air, my hair pushes with it.

“Yeah, yeah, real funny.” I say, tilting my head to peer out the back window and up at the base. The towering height never ceases to amaze me.

It doesn’t look like home; it doesn’t feel like home either.

My superior decided it would be best to hide in plain view, using the money my parents left to create our headquarters. A single location that houses all our personnel; our men, women, techs, equipment specialists, you name it, it sits within this building. Since the purpose of our factions is so private, Depth can’t risk the public seeing their true intentions by raiding. It’s a bonus that its appearance mirrors your average business empire, so no one questions it'd purpose. It still looks out of place amongst the original buildings standing a quarter of its height with vibrant colors instead of cold steel gray.

I wish I was back across the sea getting my hands dirty, preferably not in blood though. Maybe one of those fun little cafés I like to go to, where everyone is blissfully unaware of the monster living next door.

This isn’t the life I originally planned for myself. Sometimes I can’t believe at one point I dreamed of a white picket fence, close enough to the ocean you could smell it but far enough that you felt secluded. I wanted a simple existence, with dogs and music playing through the house on rainy days. Maybe a husband and kids, just like my parents had, but unlike them, I’d see it through. Grow old with them.

Turns out the world spins in funny ways, taking us down paths we never imagined.

I yawn. “Thanks, Rosie. I’ll see you later.”

The smell of rubber and trash hit me like a freight train as I push open the extravagant car door. There are too many people walking around and too many cars driving by. You think of South Carolina, you think of green grass, sunshine, and small humble towns. You don’t think of said small humble town looking like it had rampant sex with New York and made some mutant baby city. It’s an eye-sore, to say the least. No matter how many years I wander the roads, I’ll never adjust to it. I’ll always compare it to what it once was before the world went sideways.

The lobby feels freezing as I step through the revolving doors. It stinks in here; it smells clean, but not like the lemon-scented Lysol that makes your nose tingle. It’s more like plastic. Synthetic. Most people when they arrive home after an extended trip eat, sleep, and shower, but of course, that’s not the case here. There’s no time for rest. My jaw tightens as I march across the lobby, to the point it makes my head hurt looking at my reflection in the metal sliding doors for the elevator.

It dings as I click the top floor button, smiling to myself as I fight the intrusive thought of dragging my hand down the numbers just to see them all light up. I harden my expression. Dutton always says that the part I play needs to be serious. Someone who kills the way I do shouldn’t be smiling all the time. I know that much, but the little silly thoughts remind me that people can still be good in their own twisted way. It reminds me that I’m still human.

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