Devious Revenge (6 page)

                                  Chapter 19

Tossing and turning, Lisa’s face seeps into my dreams. I try to shake it away, but there’s no use.

Sitting up, I flip on the small lamp next to my bed when I hear my mom crying in the next room.

As much as I want to go to her, she has made her own hell. She let the drinking and the drugs rule what life she had left and this is what it’s come down to.

Scrolling through my phone, I see three missed calls and a text from Jimmy. I roll my eyes before texting him back.

“Why haven’t you answered me?”

“I was asleep. Some of us do that ya know?”

“Why are you being a bitch?”

“What did you put in that shit the other night?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Really? I was completely fucked, Jimmy!”

“You didn’t die.”

Tossing the phone onto the bed, I sigh. Well at least I know where I stand with Jimmy.

“Little shit.” Mumbling to myself, I decide to text Drew. Sleeping clearly isn’t going to be an option.

“Did the dress work out?”

When I get no response, I lay back down. My eyes flutter but they never close. I didn’t think that killing Lisa would affect me the way it is.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t feel bad for it; I just didn’t plan on seeing her face in my sleep.

My phone dings with a new message before I grab it.

“We will see tomorrow. Why are you awake?”

“The demons that haunt my mind wanted to play.”

“Ah. I see. Darkness feeds the demons. When we close our eyes, they take that as a sign of weakness.”

Reading his words and then rereading them, it makes sense. When I’m awake I have no cares for what I’ve done. There is no remorse or sorrow but when I close my eyes, she’s there.

Watching and waiting, she’s there.

“Good thing I’m not that tired.”

“I am. Long day. You are the keeper of the darkness. Until morning light, goodnight.”

Tossing the phone back onto the table, I flip the light back out.

I don’t know how long I lay here before my mom’s cries ended. It seemed like it would go on forever.

Once her noise was gone, I was left to my own silence. A silence that will forever be there.

“Two more to go. They can haunt my dreams but I won’t let them own my life.”

                                 Chapter 20

A week has gone by. A week of Alan and Brian’s tear filled moments in the bar. A week of them mourning their sister’s death.

Who would have ever thought that crazy little bitch would overdose? I for one didn’t see that coming.

Giggling to myself, I wipe the bar counter as the sobbing duo sit in the back corner.

“I heard about what happened to Lisa.” Robby takes his usual seat at the end of the bar.

“Yeah, it’s sad. Drugs will do that though.” I try to force myself to sound at least a little caring. Hopefully, I’m doing a semi good job at it.

“Yeah, they will. Were you and her close?” Cutting my eyes at him, he laughs and raises his hands.

“She never liked me. I can in all honesty, say that the feeling was mutual.” Sliding another beer toward him, he grabs it and takes a long pull.

“Those two seem pretty wrecked by it.” Nodding my head, I look at the next of my victims. I plan to use Alan a little more than Brian.

I have to play him just right to get him to come to me.

“Yeah, they are taking it pretty hard.” Stop smiling, Hannah. I repeat this mantra in my head before I give myself away. I’ve come to far now just to lose it all.

“What are the cops saying?” Turning my attention back to Robby, I shrug.

“Overdose. He said there were no signs of foul play.” Taking a drink from my own beer, I set it in front of me on the counter.

Leaning down, I place my forearms beside it while I look at Robby.

“You know that girl she was here with the other night?” Watching him nod his head, I knew he would. Now let’s plant the seed.

“The girlfriend?” Nodding, I glance over at the guys before looking back at Robby.

“I heard she had a thing with this dealer outside of town. He’s pretty twisted when it comes to his drugs, laces it with other things.” Shrugging again, I let that settle in.

I know what I’m doing with Robby. He’s gullible and easy to play.

The look on his face says it all. He’s putting it together in his mind. What kind of dumb lawyer is he?

“Do
they
know that?” Nodding over his shoulder, I shake my head.

“I can’t lose this job. It’s all I have to take care of Janey and my mom. They wouldn’t believe me if I told them.” Robby’s eyes light up. And the seed I planted is growing.

“I’ll let things settle. I know the funeral took a toll on them. Let me see what I can get on the girlfriend.” With a smile, I knew he would take the bait.

As easy as it could be to sit back and watch my plan grow, I’ve decided to bump up my deadline.

                                     Chapter 21

Rolling my eyes, I follow Alan to the back like I was requested. I don’t know what he wants now and honestly, I don’t care. The only thing on my mind is getting out of this hell hole of a bar for the night.

“We need to inventory all the cases that came in again. I’ve been hearing some shit about Lisa’s little girlfriend, Laura.” Watching Alan as he moves around the back room placing case after case on the floor in front of him, I smile.

“Why? What happened?” He swallows hard before looking up at me. A new sadness and rage, replace the mourning.

“None of your fucking business.” Looking as though he wanted to say something, he doesn’t.

I don’t press my luck either. I move toward him and start helping with the piles of cases that litter the room.

It doesn’t take us long when there are two of us. This isn’t usually my place though.

“Hey, Alan. I really am sorry about Lisa.” Placing my hand on his arm, he stops moving. The muscles in his arm tense beneath my touch before his eyes come to lock with mine.

“She wasn’t a good person. None of us are.” His words slam into me like a lead brick. Did he just admit to that? The one thing that I’ve known about them for years just left his lips.

“We’ve all done things we’re ashamed of.” Alan stands up straight before moving toward me.

“That we have, some worse than others.” His arms snake around my waist before he pulls me roughly against him.

Thinking this is a win on my part, I let him touch me.

“I never wanted to do it, you know. Brian. He always thought you were stuck up.” Shaking his head, my heart begins to pound in my chest.

I try to step back out of his grip but he just holds me tighter.

“What do you
mean
?” I try to contemplate if I really want the answer to that question. He can’t change the plans on me
now
.

“I didn’t want to hurt you, Hannah. I wanted you. I knew you wouldn’t want me, though.” The back door flies open when Brian steps inside.

Alan quickly releases me before wiping at the tears that fill his eyes.

My stomach knots up at the glare in Brian’s eyes. He looks down right evil. Just as evil as the day he raped me.

“What in the hell is this shit?” Looking between the two of us, I quickly move back to the cases that are next to me.

“We were talking. It was nothing.” Alan dismisses everything that just happened while I let that simmer. Playing the brothers against each other might just turn into something easier than I thought.

I always thought I could play the two of them. They always seemed so different, yet the same at heart. Maybe this little chat Alan and I just had can work to my advantage.

Stepping back and looking at the two of them talking, I know this is going to work.

                                   Chapter 22

I yawn as I walk across town. I don’t know where I’m going, but home didn’t seem like the right option.

Sometimes, I want a break from my life but the reality of it all is this. This is my life. The nothing I’ve become.

The emptiness that has settled within me is all I know.

“It’s late. Why is it I always find you when it’s dark?” Drew’s voice booms behind me. Spinning around, I take in his bare chest covered in sweat.

“The darkness calls to me. What are you doing?” Those mysterious eyes of his singe my soul.

“Same. I like the darkness too. Walk with me?” As if that was even a question, I nod.

Drew walks next to me in a silence that would be eerie for others, but it’s soothing to me.

“I want to show you something.” Grabbing my hand in his, I get lost in his touch, so fierce but with the right amount of heart.

Drew walks us up a steep hill, luckily for me I’ve been working out.

“Is this what you do to get all that?” Pointing at his abs, he smiles. A genuine, gorgeous smile.

“It keeps me motivated.” Once we’re on top of the hill, I gaze at him.

The way the light of the moon hugs his beautiful frame makes my mouth go dry.

He’s like an angel, a dark angel.

“What do you see when you look up?” My eyes jerk to his and a new seriousness has taken a hold.

Moving my eyes to look into the night sky, I see the stars twinkling high above.

“I see stars. They were meant for some but not others. I see the darkness that surrounds them. That’s where people like me belong.” Drew’s hand tightens around mine before I look back over at him.

“What do you see?” A dark cloud covers his face. Something deep is going on within him, I know how that feels.

“I see death, and despair. I see loss, and torment. I was in the marines for six years. The things that you see and are forced to do there stay with you. It made me look at the world differently. The way people walk around like this life will go on forever, when it won’t.”  Drew’s eyes come to meet mine and a flurry of emotions erupts inside of me, emotions that have long since been hidden from the world.

Drew watches my face before releasing my hand. His hands move to cup my cheeks before he speaks again.

“I see myself in you. I didn’t expect to see me, when I looked at you again. That first night, I thought I’d scare you away. I thought who I was, and things I needed, would make you run. I haven’t taken you to the next level of my insanity yet.” Pushing up, I brush my lips over his.

I can feel the power behind his words. He doesn’t need to speak, just feel. It’s the strangest, yet most exciting feeling I’ve ever had.

If there’s something deeper, and darker to him, I want it.