Page 81 of Roses and Skulls

I’m so wrapped up in my own thoughts and post orgasmic bliss that I don’t think about the fact the lights are on in the kitchen as I open the back door.

My parents both pause as I step inside.

“Oh!” I jump back, startled by their presence. “Are you guys…” I scratch my head, “mopping?”

My mom has a mop in her hand and my dad is following behind her with a bucket. I glance at the clock on the wall.

“Yeah, couldn’t sleep with the thought of waking up to a dirty floor,” my mom replies, going back to running it over the tile.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I wrinkle my nose at them. “Were you waiting up for me?”

My dad doesn’t lie. He may omit but rarely does he tell even the tiniest of fibs. A man like him doesn’t need to. “You think we can just shut that shit off overnight? It’s going to take a while, baby girl.” Then, his eyebrow slowly climbs its way up towards his hairline. “Where’s your shadow?” he asks, his eyes raking up and down my body as if he’s trying to read exactly what I’ve been up to.

“Her shadow?” My mother’s mouth falls open. “Please tell me you didn’t?” she snaps.

Dad leans back against the counter. “Hey, your dad assigned me to be the stink on your shit, and you didn’t have a problem with it. No different, Elijah is now her,” he turns to me, “shadow.”

Now that I think about it, it’s not like this is something new. I’ve always had a shadow. Dan, Raffe, Jackson, JD… the list goes on and on.

“Dirk.” My mother’s face turns red as she glares at him. “We’re just getting her back,” she seethes.

“It’s okay, mom, I don’t mind. In fact, it’s been kinda fun.” I walk over and grab an apple out of the basket and rub it over my shirt before taking a big bite.

Both their heads swivel my way. “Wait. What?” my dad stammers.

Just then, Elijah comes barreling in from the other door, not realizing the floor is wet because why would it be at two a.m. He throws his arms out to steady himself.

Was he just trying to “catch” me?

His wide eyes go from my parents to me.

This is the most fun I’ve had in forever. I smile at him sweetly, grabbing another apple off the counter and tossing it to him. “Beat you to the apples,” I tease. He owes me for this.

He catches it with one hand, his eyes alight with mischief. “Damn, you’re faster than I thought. I’ll have to remember that next time.” He scratches under his nose with two fingers. Asshole.

I can feel the flush run up my neck, so I turn my attention back to my apple, biting it a little too aggressively.

My parents watch our entire interaction with a look of confusion and something else that I can’t put my finger on.

Elijah shifts his focus to my dad. “Mission accomplished, sir. The princess has been safely returned to the castle for the night.” He salutes my dad and hightails it out of there.

Gee, thanks for leaving me with them.

“Welp, I’ll leave you two to your mopping,” I say, pushing myself away from the counter.

As I walk past them, dad stops me. He plucks something out of the back of my hair, and then my mother reaches over, joining him.

Leaves, several of them, are stuck in my hair. Shit.

“Thanks. Um, we were looking at the stars,” I say, not turning around to look at them. It’s not a lie. Not only was I looking at the stars, but I was also floating amongst them. My feet move forward, and I pray that they don’t ask me anything else. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, sweetie,” my mom says. My dad grunts but doesn’t say anything.

I breathe a sigh of relief as I jog up the stairs. Once in my room, I throw myself on my bed and let my head fall to the sunset my mother painted on my wall. I think I finally found something that makes me feel as good as that mural.

Chapter Twenty-One

Billie Rose ~ five years old

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