Page 42 of Yours To Keep
“Gonna be here. She’s gonna be here. Better fucking hurry.” He says, whispering to himself, wildly looking out the window, up and down the beach.
“Aaron, I -” I try to say, but he swings around on me, pointing the gun directly at my face.
“Shut up, bitch. You got us into this mess. None of this would have happened if you had just done what you were told.” He seethes, and I snap my jaw shut.
I stare down the barrel of the gun, neither of us moving a single muscle. Finally, after an eternity locked in this stand-off, he turns back around and begins scanning the beach again.
They say when you’re face to face with death, your life flashes before your eyes. But I disagree. My mind is playing a slow motion recount of every important moment in my life. The first time I paddled out into the waves with my dad, playing hide and seek in our massive house with my sisters and Greta as a child, the first time my dad surprised me with a kindle because he was tired of buying new bookshelves. The day I met Kelsea replays with perfect clarity. I may never be able to thank her for bringing my friends into my life, and I wish I had taken the time to tell them all how much they mean to me. I can practically smell Dalton’s cologne from the first time I ever saw him. The feel of his skin against mine the first time we kissed will forever be burned into my soul. A mantra of all the greatest memories of my life plays out as if I’m watching a movie.
There’s not enough time. A lifetime with Dalton still won’t be enough time. The thought of never seeing him again stokes a fire inside me, and I feel my spine stiffen. I won’t let Aaron and my mother take any more of this life away from me. There may not be any way for me to get out of this mess unharmed, but I won’t go down without a hell of a fight.
“You’re right,” I say, knowing there’s only one way to turn this around.
“What did you say?” He sneers, turning so quick he nearly trips.
“You’re right, Aaron. This is all my fault. I should’ve just done as I was told and married you.” I say, softening the anger in my eyes.
“You’re not going to trick me, bitch. I’ve heard enough bullshit from your mother. I should be immune to it all by now. Fucking liars, all women are fucking liars.” He snaps, striding across the empty room and backhanding me across the cheek again. Instantly, I taste the metallic tang of blood on my tongue, but I don’t show him any fear.
“It’s not…I could never trick a man like you, Aaron.” I say, making myself as small as possible. I’ve had a lifetime of practice doing that, so it’s not hard.
“You’re damn right. You think you’d have learned after all these years that you’ll never outsmart me, Magnolia. Never.” He spits, crouching next to me, and I nod. I don’t dare to look him in the eyes. He’s always been the type that feels strongest when he’s making others feel weak.
“I know. I should’ve known better, should’ve listened to you in the first place,” I tell him, tasting the bitterness of the lies on my tongue, even though I know they’re necessary.
“Yeah, you should’ve, Moo. Then none of us would be in this fucking mess. Hey, you might have even gotten a little pleasure out of it,” he says, his face so close to mine I can feel the air move as he speaks.
His eyes drag over me and my skin crawls under his attention. He inches closer, his lips only a breath away from touching my skin. I want to scream, to claw his face off and never be this close to such evil again. He drags the barrel of his pistol across my cheek and down the side of my neck. I can’t suppress the shiver that racks my body.
“Is this how you like em’, Magnolia? A little crazy?” He asks and I stare straight ahead, not wanting to fuel his advances even the slightest bit. He pushes the gun harder into my cheek and I wince. “I asked you a question.”
“I don’t…I don’t know what you want me to say, Aaron. I know I made a mistake. What can I do?” I ask, and he scoffs.
“Theres nothing you can do or say anymore, Magnolia. You had the chance, and you fucked that up.” He says, finally retreating from my space and standing to walk back towards the windows.
Light sweeps in through the window on the front door, headlights shining into the living room. I wish I could believe it was my friends coming to my rescue, but I’m not that naïve.
“Oh goodie, now the fun can really begin.” He says, giving me the same crazed smile.
The front door opens and closes, the sound of heels clicking on the marble floor echoing closer and closer. My mother comes into view, flicking on the light from the living room chandelier and confirming every vile thing I’ve come to believe about her. She's a monster and there’s nothing that will ever change my mind now. She looks down at me, my face tear streaked and puffy, and sneers.
“Disgusting,” she scoffs, and the tiny piece of my heart, still wishing my mother actually cared, dies right here and now. She's not my mother. She's never been worthy of the title. And I make myself a promise that if I live beyond tonight and have my own children, they will never have to wonder if their mother loves them. I will show them every second of every day how much they mean to me, how much I wanted them from the very beginning.
“Patricia, what now? I mean…we can’t just leave a fucking body a few doors down from your house and expect to get away with it. I did what I could, but someone could’ve seen us leave together.” Aaron questions, his first rational thought of the night.
“They will find me. The thing about those criminals is that they will never stop, mother. And they don’t give a shit if either of you comes out of this alive,” I say, holding my head up higher.
Aaron moves towards me, pointing the gun at me again. But this time I don’t back down. If I die here tonight, I know they will pay for what they’ve done. My friends will make sure of that. But before he can get any closer, my mother places a hand on his arm.
“Now, now, Aaron. Let’s not get testy. We all know you’ve never had the kind of confidence you’re trying to fake now, Magnolia. You think just because you spread your legs for some disgusting cut-throat that means you have all this power now? You’re still the same weak little girl you’ve always been, Magnolia.” My mother chides, and for the first time in my life, I let her words roll off of me. Not a single word sinks in this time.
A lifetime spent in a constant state of healing from the hurt she's caused has left me with the thickest skin. If I die here tonight, I want to go with my spine straight and my confidence intact. She cannot break me down this time, because she's nothing to me anymore. She has no power over me.
They huddle together on the opposite side of the room, whispering heatedly to each other. I’m sure this isn’t the plan they really intended on going with, but they’re in it now. I can hear them throwing insults back and forth, both blaming the other for the situation we’re all in now.
A thought occurs to me, seemingly out of nowhere. All this time, I’ve been sitting here thinking it’s just a matter of time before they kill me. Thinking back on every story my friends have told me about all the chaos they’ve endured together, it occurs to me they would never let that happen without a hell of a fight. I know everything Dalton did to help our friends when Ember was being stalked by her college boyfriend. I know the lengths they went to when Rory was kidnapped. Dalton loves me, and I know he will raze this world to rubble and dirt to find me. He loves with every fiber of his being, and he won’t stop until we’re together again.
A smirk graces my lips. I want to make a smart ass comment, but I know I’ll probably just get slapped. So I keep my mouth shut and my eyes down, and wait for my man to find me.
