Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 102929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
I couldn’t shield her anymore.
Not from demons.
Her truths.
Her future with us.
The failure she was.
“Julius, I…” she whispered, crying deeply. “My only job was to protect you, but I failed you both.”
“Enough with the sob story! You didn’t even try!”
I heard the front door open. In seconds, Kraven walked into the kitchen with Isla behind him.
“What the hell is going on?” he asked, looking back and forth between us.
You could feel the tension in the air. It was heavy, thick, suffocating.
“What is she doing here?”
“Kraven, I—” She saw Isla standing against the frame, her arms folded over her chest.
She looked like she’d been crying all night, making me feel worse for leaving. I couldn’t see her cry again.
Not for Melody.
“I’m so sorry, Isla,” she expressed, trying to walk over to her. “I didn’t mean to—”
“Enough!” I ordered, grabbing her arm and holding her in place.
She wasn’t going to get anywhere near Isla.
* * *
Not now and not ever again.
Chapter
Forty-Three
Julius
“You stay away from her!”
“Julius—”
“Isla,” I interrupted. “Stay out of it! I’m done listening to you when it comes to her. This ends now!” I turned my madness back to the woman who deserved it. Unable to bite my tongue, I lost all sense of reason, invading her personal space.
“If you come back here, Melody… if you make any contact with Kraven or me or Isla, I swear to God, I’ll do everything in my power to make sure it’s the last time you’re near any of us.”
“Julius, please, just let me explain. I promise—”
“Your promises mean nothing! You mean nothing! You’re a worthless piece of shit. Actually, shit is better than you because at least you know what you’re getting with it. You’re a snake in the grass, and the only reason you’re back right now is to clear your conscience, but the second you hurt Isla, you crossed the line I never gave you. I don’t want you here. I never did. I did it for her.” I pointed at Isla.
“That’s all, it’s as simple as that. I don’t want you. I don’t need you. I fucking hate you! I hate you for all the drugs, all the police rides, all the foster homes, the drug dealers, the strangers you left us with, our dog you sold for your next fix, all the men you fucked behind Joe’s back as revenge. And I especially hate you for every second you’re making me stand here and say this to you to make you understand why I can’t see you, be near you, or have you in my life. You cause destruction everywhere you go, and I refuse to let you take us down with you again, not when we’ve made it this far already without one second of your help.”
She wept big, ugly tears.
“You’re not a mother. You’re barely a human. To us, you’re a stranger. I hate you for every time you didn’t show up for me at school, for forgetting me at pickup, for forgetting my events, for forgetting anything that ever mattered to me! To us! For all the times you were high and didn’t care about anything but yourself. You’re a selfish nobody, and you’re going to die alone. Do you hear me? Alone, Melody, because your kids fucking hate you and would rather pretend you’re dead than see your face again.”
“Julius, please,” Melody bellowed, pleading, “No more.”
“You know what?” I taunted, cocking my head to the side. “I wish that were true, I wish you were dead because even that… wouldn’t hurt nearly as much for what you’ve put us through all our lives.”
She broke down, trying to hug me, to kiss me, to hold me close. I threw her off, noticing Isla was crying as well, while Kraven looked like he was somewhere in the middle.
“You don’t mean that…” she wept. “I know you don’t mean that…”
I grabbed her shirt, yanking her to my face. “I’ve never meant anything more in my life, Melody.”
“Julius,” Isla spoke up, tears cascading down her beautiful face.
I let her go, stepping back and away. “When I get back here, you'd better be gone, or I’m calling the cops. I’ll make up whatever I need to, to make sure you can’t hurt us again.”
I took one last look at her, wanting to remember her just like this. With all her truths bleeding out of her as I held the butcher knife in my hand.
It was slow.
Deliberate.
In one slice, I slit her throat.
“Remember me like this,” I sneered. “This is who you made.”
With that, I spun and left.
Praying with everything inside me that this would be the last time I’d have to see her.
Isla
“Julius!” Kraven shouted as he walked out of the garage door. “I’m going to go after him.”
He went to follow him, and at the last second, Melody announced, “I’m so sorry, Kraven. I didn’t mean to—”