Page 51 of Slaughtered Firefly
“How old were you when she died?” The doctor asked. He was nudging me to continue on, and I looked towards my reflection in the wall, staring at the observation area. It was wishful thinking trying to prepare myself for what needed tobe said. Scott was behind that glass wall, and I knew Dustin would be as well. I had given them both permission to view this examination, the horrors it might unfold, maybe one of them would have a strong enough stomach.
“Six,” the whisper left me as I continued to stare, hoping for any confirmation they were there.
Louis scribbled something down on the paper, and curiosity got the better of me, so I turned towards the short man. I studied his frame and realized this was going to be the fun part. Telling the stranger in front of me a story that would make him squeamish, that would make him wonder if his own daughters had experienced such trauma, and that would make them serial killers themselves made me giggle.
“What do you find funny?” Louis questioned once again.
“I was just thinking of the time in that place, when my life changed forever, it’s funny how weak and pathetic that little girl was, shall I tell you about it?” I couldn’t keep the smile from my face as I finished a drawing of a beetle setting it on the complete pile I had begun.
“Of course, anything you wish to share,” he coaxed.
“I’ve been to hell and it was drab,” I replied.
“What do you mean?” The doctor asked.
I began to recount the events of my life, the friends I had made and the ones I lost. By the end of it, my throat was raw and barely above a whisper. I swiped furiously at the tears.
My eyes met the reflection of the little girl in the mirror, and my feet moved before I had the chance, and together we sank to our knees sobbing and mumbling reassurance. I can’t be sure if I said more than I was already an emotional wreck.
I heard a door slam on the other side, and it snapped me back into reality.
Scott.
My feet were in front of the doctor. Like I blinked and was there, the emotional floodgates began to dam back up just as quick. “May I borrow your phone? My lawyer has disappeared so our session is over,” My palm stretched towards the doctor as he handed me his phone.
Ring Ring Ri?—
“Are you okay?” Cole’s panicked voice hit my ears through the line followed by some upbeat 90s pop song. “Fuck I’ve missed you. Where are you?” He breathed through the phone, muffling the song.
I didn’t have time to assess my thoughts about whether I was okay or not. “Scott. Now,” I hung up the phone and thanked the doctor, walking towards the exit door. With the drawings scattered on the table, the doctor stone-faced, as I reached for the handle, the door opened to me. Dustin was there with a stricken face but nodded as we left.
31
KILL
Present day
The only observation room was the children’s psych ward. I was annoyed but didn’t comment. She was so fragile in her sleep, her body was in a fitful state as she napped on the floor. They told me it was a part of the process, to see how she would react to being left waiting for direction.
I didn’t know anything about the process. I was just here to see what the results were. An insanity plea or a plea bargain would be best, but if she was cleared, I would need to think of a whole new strategy. Shit escalated quickly when Mia started that haunting tale. Mia always deflected. Why was today any different?
The realization hit when she kept talking, and the change in her demeanor. The unmistakable truth slapped me in the face. Special circumstances put Mia in my life. I knew she had trauma when she killed those men at my uncle’s but I didn’t — fuck I couldn’t even process. Distraught and unable to stop listening as she told the story, the way she sat on her knees almost hugging the two-way glass — it made my heart ache as I put a hand to the glass.
My fists were clenched, my jaw tightened, my face was hot. I kept thinking, what the fuck was wrong with her for not sharing basic human emotions towards me? I am such an asshole. Here I was worried about me and my feelings not being accepted, and yet I never considered — fuck.
That cold-hearted bastard! I will kill him!
She looked so broken, so abused. I’ve never seen this side of her. Fuck, I didn’t even know she’d been — by him. She never talked about Midas to me. Anytime I ever brought up the organization. She shut me down immediately.
A crooked lawyer supporting murderers and thieves was one thing, but to support a child rapist. My stomach turned over, the nausea overwhelming.
The door slammed as I walked briskly down the hall, my breathing heavy. As several nurses tried to stop me, I pushed, through finally making it to an elevator. Thank fuck for lonely elevators, as I smashed the button and sank to the floor I yelled in rage. Glass shattered as my phone was launched to the opposite side of the elevator. The taunting image of myself disappeared with the broken shards as whispers likekill himrang through my head. Blurs of people passed by as I made it to my car and threw it into gear. There was one place I knew Midas to be after a stint in prison, and that was where I was headed. I needed to kill Midas.
Adrenaline worked its way through my body like an old friend. I had almost forgotten this feeling, but I clung to it as I sped through the streets towards the warehouse. My car’s phone began to ring, and I cursed when ‘unknown’ displayed on the dash. I hit the ignore button, but it kept calling.
I had just smacked the button for the tenth — wham!
Red and blue flashed in my rearview as the driver of the other car came into focus.
