LOGINZachili gestures something to me, which I interpret as: ‘I’m trying to not hit you, Tara. But a crude like me can hardly be a gentleman. I may snap.’“Hit me, then. See if you can. I had a good teacher, remember?” I rap again while flexing my stance, my hands stabled in front of my face to defend, while my fists are wrapped tightly to attack.But what weakens me is Zachili’s sudden smile. I don’t know what pit of hell it came from, but it looks good; better than the expressionless face.
Zeath just died.That’s what my scared and anxious mind makes me believe, not until I stop screaming and shut my mouth to realize the grim taste of blood on my tongue. Then I perceive a metallic odor, realizing that Chelsea is no longer in front of me.Oh, she is but a corpse lying next to my leg.My eyelashes feel like there’s something sticky on them. I know it’s blood, the same blood soaking some parts of my hair and shoul
I quickly shrug out of Zeath’s hold, and my brain wills to say something but my shuddering lips wouldn’t let the words out.However, even my brain retrieves the words when Chelsea raises a shotgun to Zeath’s direction as a triumphant smirk plays on her face. What the fuck is she doing?“C— Cross, I…” I try to say, but then I realize I can’t breathe anymore. My inhale of air seem to be hitching, my chest rising even as Zeath rubs my back.
The decision to look up or not keeps haunting me. I don’t want to look up for fear that I may jam gazes with Christopher, but I also want to see him for the last time. After all, in his words, we may not see for a very long time.I finally look up to see him running, and then that’s when I recognize the loud noise of his chopper. The bird’s coming from the direction of our house, flying by over my head and moving to Christopher’s direction in chase of its owner.It passes Christopher, anyway, probably to land at a clear spot, so now it’s the latter chasi
“The rain’s coming,” I say while looking away as the clouds rumble with the warning of an impending storm. “Hm.” Christopher nods. “That is the whole idea.”We step clear of the fields, reaching the tarred road and heading right toward the mountains. Along the road on this path are small bushes and a few lone houses. And I get it’s the reason Zeath’s still standing in the porch when I take a look at him one last time.“In truth, I wanted to have one final dance with you before I leave,” Christopher says to grab my attention. “I couldn’t resist the thought that we may not meet until a very long time. And I don’t know when that time will be.”“Why do you say that?” I turn away from Zeath, now focusing on the road before me, while Christopher sighs.“There’s just a lot going on,” he mumbles, “I don’t know where to start. Be careful, though. That’s all I have to say.” “Why careful? Is there something I don’t know about?” He hasn’t spoken about a thing to this extent before—I mean, the
“What’s she doing here?” I ask Zeath, but I want his mother to reply instead.And she does. “You may not know this since you’ve been busy two-timing my son with another man but there’s rumors spreading about the Lupins being cursed after my mother’s estate burned down to ashes with her inside. The board thought East wasn’t fit as Chairman and voted him out. Now he has gone MIA with his family.”“You still didn’t answer my question as to what you’re doing here.”
Everybody knows about House Fanning’s abstinence rule, which is why the internet always fusses big time on a Fanning woman’s marriage.People joked about the rule, creating memes to satisfy their bloody humor. If only they knew what really happened behind the formal facade. Anyways, it’s not as if
Reaching the beach, I hurry into my tent and zip it up immediately before sticking to an edge, drawing my knees to my chest, then wrapping my arms around it. The tent won’t stop the predator; he’ll come right in if he wants. Maybe it’s a mistake coming here. But I had no choice since there was no
“You know me?” I whisper, my voice breaking. “WE…” Chelsea glances back at her husband, “…know you.” So I wasn’t wrong. They were sent by someone who wants my head. These two are surely not friends of mine. I mean, they even pretended not to know me when we first met.“We’re actually from Countr
Calming down gradually, my mind goes blank. And I just stare at the floor through a glassy gaze as Chelsea keeps patting my hair.“I’m no different from you, Tara,” she says in a soft tone. “We’ve both walked through that moment in our life when we question our existence and identities.” I blow my







