Page 11 of Song of Tenebrae

I pull up Sky’s number and send her a text, telling her to get her ass back here. This place is old and I knew when I bought it that the security system was nonexistent. There’s a camera at the club’s entrance that works on a constant recording loop and it records over itself every twenty-four hours. There’s also an alarm on that door and on the far back door, but only on the main level. Up here on the second floor, there’s nothing. The old owner was nearing seventy and he lived here without an issue. But what I should’ve understood when I bought it, is that he and I are not the same.

I’m a stripper downstairs and I should’ve realized it only takes someone watching closely to see that I never leave. They don’t even have to be smart to realize there’s a second level. I need to call the locksmith and at least put a new double lock on the door, this one is as old as the man that used to live here.

“Tempest?!” Sky screams as she rushes inside.

“Here.” I call out to her as I hold the robe out in front of me, uncaring of how naked I am.

“Oh god,” she covers her mouth when she sees what’s on it.

“It’s pretty fresh,” I continue talking, my even voice a complete contrast to my quaking insides. “Like maybe he left right before we got here, hell, he could still be in here somewhere.”

“I’ll do a sweep.”

“I’m calling the locksmith and I need to install security.” I tell her as I grab my phone. “We should’ve known better.”

I hear her rustling about the house and a few hours later, Tiny comes home. She comes through the door and sees us sitting around the table looking melancholy.

“Did someone die?” she snorts as she opens the fridge. “Tonight was a slow one downstairs, but it’s a Monday.” When we don’t answer she turns and stares us down, “bitches, what the fuck is going on?”

“We had a break in,” Sky starts, “he left behind a bit of himself.” She looks at me.

“He came on my robe and left.”

“Oh, fuck no,” Tiny gasps, “that’s a dedicated fan. Did you call the cops?”

“There’s not much they’ll do,” I shrug, “I’m a stripper living over a strip club. They’ll tell me to do what I’ve already started. The locksmith will be here in four hours and the security company a few hours after that.”

“You look exhausted, Tiny.” Sky tells her, “Get some sleep, we’ll be staying up to wait for the locksmith.”

“Fuck it, let’s order pizza and wings and watch that scary movie on Netflix.” Tiny heads into her room, “I need a shower first to wash away all the leers and jeers.”

I watch as the security personnel teach Sky how to check the camera on both her phone and a channel hooked up to our TV. I’m too exhausted to absorb the info and the only one that stayed awake up until now. Both her and Tiny passed out during the movie and no matter how exhausted I was, I couldn’t close my eyes. All I had to do was picture my robe and I’d be wide awake once again.

“All set up.” The guy states as he comes back in the kitchen, once again giving me a longing look, “if you want, I can go over it with you as well.”

“I’m good.”

“Okay, well here’s my card,” he puts his business card on the table right next to my coffee cup, “if you need anything, just contact me.” I hear how his voice drops on the word anything and I fight with every ounce of energy I have left to keep my mouth shut.

This isn’t the time to flirt with me, I’ve had a break in, and yet this guy can only think with his fucking dick.

“Thanks, I got it from here.” Sky intervenes, probably sensing the impending explosion and shoos him out the door. “You should sleep now.” She brushes her hand down my hair like she usually does when I need to be soothed, but right now, I’m not needing to be soothed. What I need is to sink my blade that’s burning a hole in my pocket into the heart of the piece of shit that violated my personal space.

“I’m fine.”

“We all know how tough you are, Temp.” She snickers and it makes me realize that she doesn’t actuallyknowwhat made me the way I am.

“You know,” I sip my coffee before I begin, “I grew up in a trailer park in Arizona. The first time I saw my parents shoot up, I was six and remember being scared. I ate frozen peas from the bag as I sat in front of them and waited for them to wake up. My mother left not too long after that, my father told me she ran off with a man, and then later elaborated that it was their drug dealer. Charming, right? I was seven years old, stealing from grocery stores, and dumpster diving just to survive. Sometimes I went days without food until a neighbor noticed me watching them eat through the windows of their trailer. That became a common thing and eventually I was the park’s pass around at dinner time. Who has enough food for Tempest today?”

I sip my coffee again and Sky sits beside me, leaning her head on her hand. “I should’ve missed her, right? I should’ve felt a loss but I didn’t. I kept wishing she took my father with them. He was nasty when sober and absent when stoned, smacking me around until I could fight back. Thankfully, he was a smaller man and his smacks were fucking pathetic. He was diagnosed with cancer when I turned nineteen, it was in his lungs, and radiation didn’t do much to help him.” Another sip, “the hospital bills skyrocketed and no matter how much I worked, they were never completely covered. Insurance was nonexistent because once they found out he had cancer, I couldn’t afford the monthly payments. I was relieved when he finally died because I had made myself a promise to place a pillow over his face and end it myself.”

“I’m so sorry, Temp.” Sky grabs my hand.

“I’m not,” I squeeze her fingers before releasing them, “that’s wrong right? I should be sorry for wanting to kill him before cancer had the chance. I should be sorry that I was jealous it got the right in the end. I wanted that for myself, something to take with me when the bills threatened to drown me, and when the best memories were of him comatose on the couch.”

The room is quiet and I don’t chance a look at her in fear that she’ll see me as the monster I am. “I love you Tempest,” her voice cracks with emotion, “I only wish I knew you sooner. I could’ve been there long before you grew that hardened crust and maybe I could’ve shown you what unconditional love is. There may come a day when I disappoint you but I want you to know that I see you and everything I’ve done is for the woman I’ve grown to love like my own blood.”

I know she loves me, she left her mother behind, and followed me across the country. She knew what I was planning and the danger it entailed and yet, she stayed.

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