Page 21 of Wicked Nasty

How can someone evoke such intense hatred and undeniable desire all at once?

It's twisted, nonsensical, and it drives me insane.

My heart races as I turn to my sister, eyes wide open. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah, of course.”

I hesitate, unsure of how to bring up the topic. “There’s this girl….”

She playfully arches her eyebrows. “Oooo.”

“No, no. It’s not like that. I, uh. I think she’s homeless.”

Del sits up, concern etched on her face. “Oh, fuck.”

“Yeah. I don’t know what to do.”

“I guess offer some help. So where is her family living?”

I take a joint out of my jacket and light it, taking a hit before passing it to my sister.

“That’s the thing, Del. It’s just her. She’s living in her car at a truck stop.”

She takes a hit and passes it to me; the smoke swirling around us in the dimly lit room. “Who is it?”

“Becca Carney.”

Del huffs and shakes her head with frustration. “Her mom has always been a cold-hearted bitch, so I’m not surprised, to be honest. But I am surprised her dad is letting this happen.”

I take another hit before passing it back to Del. “They sold their house. I kind of followed Becca today…”

“Ew, you creep.”

We both laugh as we take one last hit before extinguishing the joint.

“I miss her, Del.”

“Who? Becca?”

I half chuckle. “No. Daisy.”

“I do too. But she caused a lot of pain. And she had a lot of hurt inside of her. I just remind myself that she’s at peace now. There’s no more hurt.”

The sound of crunching leaves makes us both sit up in surprise. I stand in front of Del protectively and shine my phone light out into the darkness.

“Jeez, kid. Trying to blind me?” My dad chuckles as he looks up from the bottom of the ladder. “Got your mom to sleep. Pizza just got here if you two wanna come inside. It’s getting cold.”

We both head down and make our way inside with my dad. Sitting at the table, I can’t help but smile.

This is what I miss most. Normal family time. Laughing and picking on each other. Eating late night pizza together.

But as I look between my sister and dad, I also can't shake off the underlying sadness that lingers within our family. My mom is out cold, trapped in her own struggles. My sister feels suffocated in this house. My other sister is gone forever. My dad keeps secrets from my mom, and I feel like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode…

And Becca is homeless….

Chapter seven

Rebecca

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