Page 42 of Twisted Obsession

We ate on the patio under a canopy of stars. Nightlife tittered around us, filling what little silence we had with their nocturnal chatter. The air was thick with the scent of sunbaked dirt and grass, the smell of summer and freedom. I remembered missing the mundane nothingness that came with normal living when I was sharing a concrete shoebox with a carjacker named Mike. He’d been a good guy, and I made a mental note to check up on him once I got back to the apartment.

I didn’t consider him a friend, but he hadn’t been a dick. He kept to himself, kept his area clean and didn’t talk too much. I really couldn’t have asked for more.

“But the whole thing doesn’t make sense,” Kas broke in loudly, startling me out of my thoughts. “If hurting your parents is a sin, then we are all guilty of that the day we were pushed into this world by our mothers.”

“C-section baby,” Sasha volunteered, raising the hand wielding her fork.

Kas rolled her eyes. “My point is, if everything is a sin, then nothing is.”

“I don’t think that’s what the bible meant,” Kami piped in. “I think it’s more like if you intentionally hurt your parents. Getting born isn’t your fault.”

“Are you planning to kill your parents, Kas?” Lavena asked, only partially kidding.

“Of course not!” Kas dropped back into her seat with a huff. “I’m talking about the unfairness of society. From the minute you’re born, you’re immediately stuffed into this box. You’re raised to be a specific way, conditioned to believe whatever the people around you believe because it’s the only side you know. Then, those people get pissed when you realize, wait, there’s more to this story and I don’t believe everything I was told.”

There was a moment of silence as the other three women shared a glance.

“You okay, Kas?” Sasha asked, lowering her fork to her plate, and turning her whole attention to her friend.

Kas shrugged and gave a shake of her head. “It’s just not fair. That’s all I’m saying. Look at us for example. We could get out. We don’t have to be in the family business, but we all know what that means if we do — we lose our families, and I don’t know about you guys, but I happen to love my family. The thought of losing them kills me. So, I might not have the same expectations placed on me as you and Sasha do, but what if I wanted to just be a regular environmental lawyer? What if I didn’t want to go into criminal law? What if Sasha wants to be a vet and not a contract killer?”

Sasha winced as if the wordkillerhad the power to slap her. “Cleaner.”

Kas grimaced and immediately turned to her friend, hand extended. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”

Sasha smiled and accepted the offered fingers with a squeeze.

“I get what you’re saying,” Lavena cut in. “I’ve never wanted to be anything else—”

“Because being a Medlock is all you’ve ever known or because you legitimately never considered a different life?” Kas interjected.

To my sister’s credit, she gave the question a lengthy thought before answering. “I’ve thought about it. I remember when we first started hanging out with Kami, I wondered what my life would have been like if my parents were something normal like dentists, but I love my life. I love all the good my family does for the city. I love that I could walk down a dark alley at night protected in the knowledge that I am the scariest thing there. I’m a fucking Medlock and I’m proud of that.”

“Do you not want to be a criminal lawyer?” Kami asked Kas when Lavena fell silent.

Kas shook her head. “I do. I actually enjoy the whole thing and I’m good at it. I’m just ranting I guess.”

“I hate what my family does,” Sasha blurted a little too loudly and immediately mashed her lips together when all eyes went to her.

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Lavena murmured gently. “You have the hardest job amongst us.”

Encouraged by the nods from the others, Sasha sucked in a deep breath and continued. “I don’t mind the paperwork. I don’t mind setting up the hits. I hate the follow through. I hate the cleanup…” she broke off to rub both hands over her face. “I hate the stress of wondering if I forgot something. I wake up at night in a cold sweat just thinking about being the first member of my family to get caught in nine generations. Nine!” Her head came up, eyes wide with panic. “Nine generations. Can you even…?” She blew out a breath that bordered on a sob. “I’m supposed to be calm and methodical, and organized but … I can’t … I can feel my brain shutting down. I forget everything. What if I’m on a job and—?”

“Hey.” Kas placed a gentle hand on her arm, stilling the spill of words crashing through the silence. “Deep breath.” Obediently, Sasha sucked in a breath. “Another.” Kas walked her through several more breaths before offering her a comfortingsmile. “I will not let you get caught, understand? I swear. They could find a selfie of you with the corpse, and I’ll still get you off, okay?”

As if to seal the promise, Kas held up her pinky finger the way I’d seen them do a million times as children.

“I will take it as a personal insult if you don’t call us to help you melt your first body,” Kami added, extending her arm across the table, pinky out.

“Seriously!” Lavena agreed. “What kind of friend are you if you don’t include us?”

That got a shaky chuckle from Sasha as she hooked her pinky through each of theirs at the same time. She wiped the corner of her eye with her free hand.

“What would I do without you guys?”

“Apparently, hog all the fun for yourself,” Lavena muttered, extracting herself and sitting back in her seat.

“I have never melted a body,” I muttered around a nibble of chicken. “But I will help you carry it wherever you need.”

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