Page 36 of Little Psycho

Father

Holden Graham

Gunnar

Adam Moretti (Ash’s father)

David Blacksburg (Kill’s father)

Jackson Gray (Dom’s father)

State Senator Gallagher

Mayor Kyle Benjamin

City Councilman Marcus Rutherford

Judge Hayden Wilson

Brockton Chief of Police Robert Bailey

City Councilman Mr.Jose Brown

FOURTEEN

ECSTASY

CONSUME—CHASE ATLANTIC

KILLIAN

Iusually keep a clear head the night of a race.I avoid getting high, saving it for after the win that we usually take.But tonight’s story is oddly different.

I pace the worn-out carpet laid out across the living room floor, a nervous fucking wreck.Not only is Cali stuck on my mind, but my father—minutes away—is bringing company along with him, and unfortunately for me, that means a long night of sick games and unwanted advances I never want but always get.

I pop a tab of E and snort a line of coke, wiring my brain to the max so everything inside of me is numb.A knock at my door has my entire body trembling, and knowing Dom or Ash aren’t here just makes things ten times worse.It takes me a little while before I make it over to the door to open it, and looking at my father, I can tell that he isn’t happy that I kept him waiting.He doesn’t say anything when he walks in, a congressman behind him, but I know I’ll hear it sooner or later.

“Sit,” he says bluntly, flicking a lighter to light the cigar sticking out of his mouth, his eyes dark and tired.

High out of my mind, I sit on the couch and stare at him, ignoring the disturbing glances from the filthy man beside him.I can’t tell if it’s the drugs or what, but an eerie feeling infiltrates my body, stiffening all the baby hairs on my arms, legs, and back of my neck; it’s as if we’re being watched or some shit, but as I quickly glance out the wide open windows behind him, not a soul can be seen lurking in the darkness.

“Have you or your friends heard from or seen Calista?”My father asks, deliberately blowing stale smoke right in my face.

I shake my head, feeling detached from my body.“No, sir,” I slur, dragging out each letter.

“Fucking do better, Killian,” he scowls, bearing his top teeth like a feral dog.“I want her ass found before her parents fucking find her.Do I make myself clear?”

With heavy eyes and a racing heart, I mutter, “Yes, sir,” hating myself for turning into a weak little boy in front of him.

When you've been betrayed and abused by someone you trusted for so long, it does something to you.It turns you into a person you’re ashamed of—who you don’t recognize.And even though it’s already fucking shattered, they continue to break your spirit little by little, knowing exactly what they’re fucking doing.

The congressman drops a plain white envelope onto the dusty table, an impatient grunt slipping from his dry lips.“I don’t have all fucking night, David,” he tells my father while staring me down hungrily.

My father picks up the envelope and counts the crisp hundreds inside, flashing a devilish wink with a heavy puff on his cigar.Taking out five of the bills, he drops them on the table and shoves the remaining money into his breast pocket of his jacket.

“You know what to do, son,” he says smoothly, giving me a head nod as I sit frozen to the couch, afraid to move even an inch.

My mind is racing, my hands shaking as I watch them exchange a devious, knowing look.I feel sick to my stomach as I get to my feet, the drugs wearing off and leaving me feeling all kinds of emotions that I was trying to escape from.I keep shaking, the feeling of prying eyes burning a hole into my body from somewhere in the distance.But just as I’m about to drop to my knees in front of the eager congressman, the lights go out in my apartment, enveloping us in nothing but pitch black, thrusting us into the unknown.

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