Page 20 of Slaughtered Firefly
Thirteen years ago
“Leave me the fuck alone Cole. I don’t need you to babysit me,” Summer angrily responded as she put a dish in the sink a bit too forcefully.
“I only suggested I drop you off, it’s not the end of the world,” I rationalized, coming to stand beside her at the sink. It was the end of my world, though. She was putting the mask back into place, and I could no longer reason with her.
I couldn’t imagine the war raging in her head as she killed off parts of herself with everyday forward, gone were her lush blonde locks chopped and dyed a honey brunette, her baby blue eyes replaced with startling green contact lenses and her appearance morphed into a person I never knew. This was not my Summer, no. This was Mia Williams.
“You cannot drop me off at school looking like–” she stammered, trying to find the right words.
“Like a thug?” I supplied, and her features softened for a fraction of a second.
“Exactly,” she confirmed.
I could tell her lies; she loved my tattoos and picked out several of them herself. So what if I looked like a thug? As long as I was her thug, it didn’t matter.
“What if we take the bike?” I pleaded.
I knew what today was, and I was struggling to remain calm. We had argued enough over the last two weeks about the reason we were both here. Midas wanted leverage, and that’s what Mia was going to be — the leverage against Obsidian. It was easier to see Mia than to admit it was my firefly being used in such a manner, like a disposable phone tossed at the end of the day. It made me sick. Turns out that this rich kid school Mia had been attending for the last two years was the perfect playground for the son of Obsidian’s don. He preferred innocent tastes.
“Fine, but you keep the helmet on, you drop me off at the gate and you will not pick me up this afternoon,” she rolled her eyes, and I smiled.
She grabbed her bag off the counter and threw a snack into it and marched into the hall to grab shoes. I followed behind, and as she opened the front door, I forced it closed.
“Cole, I don’t have time for your games let me out,” she glared at my hand on the door. It was too high for her to reach and knock it away, so she shoved her finger into my chest. “Seriously stop, I need to go,” she whined.
“Okay, but before you go,” I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out the box and held it in front of her.
“What is that?” She looked at me suspiciously, and I couldn’t blame her because we didn’t do gifts, especially ones we probably couldn’t keep.
“Happy birthday, I know it’s not until a few more weeks but I figured why wait…” I trailed off as she stared at the pendant.
She cried and swiped the tears away and sniffled. The pendant was a golden firefly engraved on one side, and on the other was a bronze chain with a single key.
“If you don’t like it I can take it back.” I sheepishly shrugged my shoulders.
“It’s beautiful,” she smiled at me, wiping her eyes. “Will you put it on me?” She kept swiping the tears away, probably trying not to smear her makeup, but I didn’t care.
She turned around, moving her hair out of the way for me to clasp it around her neck, and once I finished, her eyes were shining brightly even if they were that ugly shade of green. She hugged me tightly. There was the sunshine I had missed in these dreary days. I held her as long as I could, basking in the warmth of her embrace; it felt like home.
The apprehension I’d been feeling since I woke up faded, especially after giving her the pendant. Okay, a lot more aftergiving it to her. Midas told me to watch her closely, and that’s exactly what I planned to do. The pendant, while being a lovely little trinket, also held a tracker in it, and I hoped to hell she at least kept it in her bag if she didn’t wear it all day. It gave me some small peace of mind.
“Now let’s go so I am not late.” She walked out the door, and just like that, the mask was back in place.
12
YOU TRAINED FOR THIS…
Thirteen years ago
“Your Dad should be proud, you have excelled in every subject. Why don’t you take these and look them over with him? Let me know which schools you’ll want to apply to and I will get the applications started for you…” Principal Moore spoke in such an eager way as he reminisced about his days as a fresh high school grad, I had zoned out not paying the least bit of attention as I pretended to flip through the Ivy league school catalogs I was just handed.
Six months — that was all I had left of this shit hole town. Finishing an education under a name that wasn’t even my own, I wouldn’t even be attending a college. Not one in this country at least. I was the snake lying in wait, no real threat until the time was right. It was useless to continue the present conversation, but that was what Dad wanted. My face felt numb from holding the fake smile and nodding for way too long. I needed this to end quicker, but as I glanced at the clock; it was way too early to excuse myself only ten minutes in.
Stay for at least twenty minutes if the time slot is thirty, never leave before the fifteen-minute mark, and always excuse yourself to the bathroom in cases of strange looks. The bathroom was recovery and fabrication land. Always break down in the bathroom while someone is around, be prepared to mix a truth in any lie you can think of, best to be the popular girl with an overworked dad rather than the loner with a fucked up home-life. Above all else, show nothing except the role you’ve been rewarded.
“Mia, I would like you to meet with the recruiters that are going to be attending the football game this Friday night, would you be willing to let your Dad know so he can attend as well?” The question pulled me out of my thoughts as I looked up at Principal Moore’s waiting smile.
“Dad’s out of town until next week, business trip. I would really love to meet them but can we plan for before the biggame? Maybe Thursday instead? I promised the cheer team we would all celebrate the win and I’d hate to miss out on the few remaining games we have left,” I gave Principal Moore the biggest puppy dog eyes I could muster as I leaned closer to his desk, my blouse falling open just a hint too much, the pendant swung catching his gaze. I watched as his greedy eyes looked before he fixed his stare upon my face.
