Page 45 of Downfall

Spinning around, I’m met with my step-mother’s snarling face. If looks could kill, I’d be dead at her feet, and I have no idea what I did to piss her off.

“What are you doing here, Lydia?” I question, taking a step back toward the makeup counter. I know I left my phone there earlier, so maybe if I can stealthily make a call…

“You know exactly why I’m here! I don’t know how, but you did this to us!” she yells.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I didn’t do shit.”

“We’re broke! We have to sell our house!” Her voice has gone shrill, and I’m still so confused. How could they have lost everything?

My hand connects with my phone and I slide it behind me, hoping I’m hitting the right things on the screen to call Kolson.

“How could you possibly be broke?” I have to keep her talking before she tries something crazy. I wouldn’t put it past her to try to hurt me for just existing.

“Every stock your father had money invested in plummeted overnight. At the exact same time! That doesn’t just happen, Abby! But I’m not losing my life. You’re going to write me a check. I know your dad gave you money and that you haven’t spent any of it. You live in an apartment and still work here, for god’s sake. I want every penny back.” Her eyes are lit with fire, her lips pulled back over her teeth in a menacing snarl. Her finger is in my face, inches from my nose, and I fight my urge to grab it and snap it in two.

“I’m not giving you shit, you gold-digging cunt. You took my only family from me. Enjoy your karma.” I move toward the door, intending to push past her, but she grabs a fistful of my hair. I’m still wearing my platforms, so it’s hard to stay standing while being pulled out the dressing room door and down the hallway toward the back alley, but I put up as much of a fight as I can. Thrashing in her hold, I claw at her hands, but she’s determined enough to withstand the scratches and blows I manage to land from my awkward angle.

“Come on, you little bitch. Your checkbook is calling my name.”

The moment we’re through the door, I hear a loud crack and my hair is released. I take a few steps back, putting space between myself and Lydia, but it’s pointless because when I look up, Kolson is standing over her limp body laid out on the ground.

He runs to me, taking me in his arms and stroking my hair.

“Are you okay, baby? I got your call and thought maybe you wanted to come home early, then I raced here when I heard her voice. I’m so sorry.”

“What are you sorry for? She’s the crazy one.”

His eyes meet mine, a sheepish look on his face. “I may have gotten revenge for the way they treated you.”

A loud laugh bubbles out of me. “Oh my god, demon. You could have told me. But thank you.”

He smirks, his eyes still holding mine intently. “I love you, siren.”

“I love you, too. Take me home.”

Epilogue

Kolson

Acoolfallbreezeblows Abby’s hair around her face, making her giggle. Pulling her to the side of the sidewalk on the way to Samsara for brunch, I help her wrangle it, tucking the errant strands behind her ears before leaning in to kiss her. She smiles up at me, the golden specks in her chocolate eyes sparkling in the sunlight.

The past four months have been the best of my life. I wake up to the love of my life every morning, and make her scream every night. It’s heaven.

My siren never stops smiling. She’s back in school, and will graduate in seven months. Leaving the Fox Hole was hard for her at first, but she started teaching a few pole dancing classes a week at a small studio on the other side of the city. She’s learned a lot about teaching dance already, and running the business side. The owner is excited for Abby to open her own place here in Downtown, where there are a lot of women looking for great exercise studios.

Lydia was fine after the night she attacked Abby. Someone called the police when they found her, but the cameras in the alley didn’t have any footage of the person who knocked her out. And she didn’t say a word about why she was at the Fox Hole in the first place for obvious reasons.

Abby did wonder why her father never tried to contact her to ask her for money, but if she thinks I would let that happen, she’s insane. She’ll never see or hear from him or his wife again if I have anything to say about it.

Turning her around so she’s facing the empty store front we’re standing next to, she frowns. “Damn, I guess someone rented it. It was only a matter of time, I guess.” The ‘For Rent’ sign is gone, and the inside of the space is half-gutted.

“What if I told you that I took that sign down?” I ask, the corner of my lip quirked up.

“You rented it? Demon, you didn’t have to do that.”

“Actually, I bought it. The whole building. So I own the space Samsara is in now, too.”

Smacking my chest, she shakes her head but grins. “Oh my god! Kolson! Why am I not surprised?”

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