Page 106 of Twisted Revelations

50

Beverly

Adjusting our positions, I placed two pillows behind my back to cushion me from the large leather headboard anchored to the wall. Luke’s face pinched with concern when I reached for him. I seated him between my legs and ensured his head rested against my chest. He was so tall his feet hung off the edge of the huge bed, but the smile on his face let me know he didn’t care.

“I take it that this is some story since you placed me in the most comfortable position there is,” he stated nudging his face into the cushions of my chest until his teeth raked across one of my nipples.

“If you keep doing that, we’ll have to save this story for another day,” I whispered, running my hands across his chiseled back and muscular arms. I’d never shared myself with anyone in this manner, never expected to experience such an amazing connection.

“I put you in this position,” I started, kissing his forehead, “so that I can hold you down if you get the urge to get up and run from me,” I finished, only half joking.

He glanced up at me. “You can tell me anything. I’m not going anywhere.”

His words were music to my ears because I believed him. I nodded as I gathered the strength I needed to start. The lump in my throat went down roughly, but Luke’s reassuring arms tightened around me and filled me with strength.

“I’m telling you this because I trust you like I trust Megan and Laura. I know that I don’t have to say this, but—”

“Whatever you say, it will always be between the two of us unless you tell me otherwise,” he reassured.

On a deep sigh, I started. “My father, Calvin Hudson, was everything to me. He didn’t treat me like I’d seen some of my friend’s parents treat them. Although we were poor, he did his best to give me everything I needed and some of the things I wanted. Like you, I never knew my mother. The rumors around the hood uncovered the story my father never could tell. Addicted to heroin, selling her body, you name it. She walked out on my father and me when I was seven months old. My father never talked about her and every time I asked, he’d get so sad that I stopped asking. He kept a few pictures of her, hidden, but I’d snooped enough to find them.”

My arms squeezed around Luke, siphoning more energy from him. He lifted his head and placed his lips against mine, making me smile before he settled his head back on my chest.

“My father worked at the Meat Market, less than a half mile from our small house. There wasn’t an official name for the market I was aware of. Everyone called it the Meat Market. I often left school and sat in the back while my dad worked. His boss had made him a manager, so he’d open and close and handle the money. Most evenings, the place was quiet, and it gave my father time to teach me about knives and basic combat skills since he’d spent time in the military. I learned where to stab a man if he attacked me and the best places to hide knives and blades.”

A quick pause allowed me to gather my thoughts.

“One night I was sitting behind the counter less than an arm’s reach from my father, doing my homework when an armed man came into the market demanding money. I sat on the footstool my father used to reach for the meats deep inside the display, low enough the man didn’t see me behind the counter. My father attempted to talk the man out of robbing him, but the man continued to yell, demanding money. I reached out and took my father’s hand. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I was about to stand, wanting to get closer to my father. He kept shaking his head and squeezing my hand. I guess to keep me out of sight. I think the robber took the gestures as a sign my father was telling him no, that he wasn’t going to give him the money.”

Luke’s grip tightened around me to ease my coiled tension. I fought to control my fast-blinking eyes that had started to burn with the sting of tears.

“The agitated man stopped yelling, and the sound of the gun blast came instantly. Our hands stayed connected, even after my father tumbled to the floor next to me. At the sight of my fallen father, I clamped my free hand over my mouth to stifle my screams. Loud hammering sounded above us. It was the robber hammering his gun against the cash register. It dinged open, and his arm reached out above me to grab the money. While I was staring up at the register, my father’s hand stopped moving, and all the blood in my body froze. I’d seen dead bodies before in our rough neighborhood, but seeing my father, with his head shot open, and me kneeling in a pool of his blood had reached in deep and ripped me apart.”

Luke remained silent, his tight hold not wavering one bit. My throat bobbed as I struggled to swallow the knot of sorrow that threatened to choke me.

“I don’t know why I did it. I don’t know what caused me to do it, but I stood at the sound of the man’s thumping feet as he ran from the market. The dull mirrors over the door gave a snapshot of the man’s face. After seeing the man, I snapped out of the trance I was in, ran to the back, and called 9-1-1. The police or anyone meant to help us were wary of coming into our neighborhood, and I waited two hours, crying, yelling for help, but it never came. I eventually ran next door to the pawnshop for help, but my father wasn’t picked up until four hours after he’d been shot. I was taken into custody and put into the system. Three weeks later, Ms. Violent Washington came and picked me up. She convinced the social worker that she was my aunt. She’d grown up with my father, and whenever my father needed to leave me with someone, he’d only trusted me to stay with her. So, to me, she was my aunt.”

Luke’s warm breath teased my chest. His breathing had sped and was the only sound until I decided to continue.

“I couldn’t eat or sleep for months. I probably needed therapy but ended up with something better—Laura. I’d met her during the brief time I’d been in the system. She and I became fast friends. The whole hood knew about my father getting gunned down, but none knew I’d witnessed the entire scene. After a while, I revealed to Laura what I’d seen and even as a preteen, Laura was a force. Why did I tell her I’d spotted the man who’d killed my father? Why at twelve-years-old did she believe we were grown enough to take revenge? It wasn’t until I started seeing the man who’d killed my father around our neighborhood I started considering Laura’s crazy revenge idea. I became obsessed, spying on him, following him to where he lived. When I overheard him bragging to his friends about the man he’d killed, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

Luke’s firm grip on me remained as he brushed his lips against my chest.

“It took over a year to build up to it, but I went from being an innocent girl to one who harbored vengeful intentions. Laura offered to help me get my revenge if I helped her with a problem she was having. For a long while, we made plans without acting until we met Megan. We assumed we had problems. The shit that girl was experiencing caused us to sit our problems aside as we attempted to help her cope.”

I glanced down at Luke, “You’re not ready to run yet?”

“Never,” he whispered.

“Good. Let me use the restroom, and I’ll tell you the rest when I return.”

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