Blue Sacrifice (Blue Davison) (22 page)

“Not while we’re eating,” Beck said, grinning as
he dug into the food. “You did a fine job beginning the meal, Flynn.”

“And you did a fine job finishing it, Dad.”

They were almost too cute for words and I sensed the
deep comfort Flynn shared with his father. Once I’d shared such a bond with my
mom, but after the last week of listening to her hate me, she only inspired
fear now.

“You seem very close with the Zandi family,” Beck said.

“Lacey Zandi has been my best friend since I was
six and her family has always been good to me. Like a second family really.”

“They own quite a bit of the town.”

“Yes and the Affleck sisters own the rest.”

“What do you know of the sisters?”

Shrugging, I knew what everyone knew. “They have
red hair, hate the locals, and are rich. Because of them hating the locals, no
one has ever gotten any good dish on them.”

“Dad has a little dish, don’t you?”

Grinning, Beck poured himself more coffee then
returned to his seat. “Those ladies are some odd birds for sure. When I did my
pitch meeting for the Riser Art Center redo, I would suggest something like
maybe since the building is downtown, we might go with an urban design. Then
they would huddle and whisper, whisper, whisper. Finally Vesta, the ‘normal’
one,” Beck said, air quoting the word normal, “would nod. Then I’d say we could
go with stained concrete and they’d huddle and whisper, whisper, whisper. It
went on and on for over an hour. I don’t think they even spoke ten words, but I
got the job and that’s all that matters.”

“Do you know why they name everything Riser?” I
asked because this was the greatest mystery in Lily Falls. “Riser High School. Riser Performing Arts. Who is Riser?”

Beck and Flynn shared a smile. “Well I did ask
after we moved here and Vesta found her voice. She explained how Riser was
their great uncle. She described him as a glorious man. Brilliantly beautiful,
tall, and wide shouldered. Honorable and wise. A beauty taken from the world
too soon.”

The men shared another grin.

“Now I ask you, Blue, does this sound like a woman
describing her long dead uncle or does it sound like a woman describing her
long dead lover?”

“Wait, but whose lover? I mean which sister?”

“My theory is either he was a gigolo who seduced
all three or more likely a lowly worker who they all wanted. Either way, they
were clearly obsessed with him. Now whether their obsession is based on him
dying or what he did while alive, I don’t know. No matter the real story, their
obsession with him is rather disturbing. Of course they’re rather disturbing
women anyway.”

Like Flynn, who found the whole thing extremely
amusing, I smiled.

“I can’t believe half of the town is named after a
boy-toy they shared. Gross.”

“Love is a curious thing though. It makes no
sense, goes against a human’s will to survive, and can make us do obscenely
stupid and evil things. Yet it feels wonderful and everyone searches for it.”

Flynn’s smile softened at his father’s words.
While it made no sense for someone like Flynn to fall in love with me after
such a short time, he clearly believed he had. When he smiled at me like he was
and embraced me so fully, I found myself needing to love him back.

Returning home to the yellow bungalow, I found
Hans on the couch. He immediately jumped up when he saw me and I knew he was
angry. Though until he opened his mouth, I didn’t realize his rage was directed
at me.

“Where were you?”

“Out with my boyfriend,” I said, nervous under his
angry male glare.

“Well while you were running the streets with your
boyfriend, Gretchen was attacked.”

“Is she okay?”

Hans ran a hand through his fair blond hair and
sighed. “She will be. The guy banged her up, but nothing’s broken. Most of it
is psychological.”

“What happened?”

“Gretchen was at the grocery store when some
bastard grabbed her and…” Hans paused, looking distraught over saying the words
out loud. “The guy slapped her around and molested her. Luckily another
customer pulled the sick freak off of her and subdued him until the police
arrived. Gretchen is understandably upset.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, unsure why he was angry with
me.

“Look I know Gretchen isn’t a great parent, but
she deserves better than to worry over you while you run the streets and party with
your latest boyfriend.”

Staring at him, I said nothing. Hans had never
raised his voice with me before and I felt humiliated by his cruel words.
Shaking off my unhappiness, I figured he was projecting onto me his guilt at being
unable to act as Gretchen’s great savior.

I wasn’t sure what Hans saw in my expression or
read from my silence, but the anger in his eyes faded and the tightness around
his jaw eased.

“I’m sorry, Blue. It’s not your fault what
happened. I just worry about you being out there when everything’s going to
hell.”

“I wasn’t running the streets. I was with my
boyfriend and his dad,” I said then added with a hint of anger, “Not that it’s
any of your business what I do.”

“I know,” he said, all of the heat having left
him. He gestured for me to join him on the couch. “My anger was uncalled for
especially with you. Hell, you’re the best kid I know. You get good grades. You
keep your room clean without anyone asking. You help out around the house and
never get into trouble. You’re the perfect daughter and you do it without anyone
really watching out for you.”

I figured now he was overcompensating, but it was
preferable to being yelled at.

“I know Gretchen hasn’t really put any effort into
raising you for… years really. You take care of yourself and you take care of
her a lot too. I know you’re a good kid, but I worry because someone ought to
be worrying. Gretchen isn’t really even a mother and you have no family. Someone
ought to care and I want to care, but reaming you out for something you didn’t
do wasn’t right. I really am sorry.”

“Okay,” I said, ready to go to my room.

“This town is having a meltdown,” he said, rubbing
his eyes like he had a headache. “People just don’t care about anything.
They’re angry all of the time and attacking each other. I haven’t seen it this
bad since the summer when…”

Hans didn’t finish because we both knew the summer
he was speaking of and he didn’t want to remind me of how my mom was swept up
into the craziness.

“I get how you’re scared,” I said quietly, “but
you’re wrong about how no one cares. The guy who helped Gretchen cared. There
are good people here in Lily Falls. Just because it’s not a friendly place and
everyone’s always moving in and out doesn’t mean no one cares.”

“Yes, there are good people here. Like my neighbor
Arlo Singer who is a real local character and has those great Halloween
displays for the kids. People love him, but someone broke into his house and
cracked open his skull so they could steal his TV. He’s a good person like you
said, but this town is chewing up those good people and spitting them out. What
happens when cracking skulls and molesting women in grocery stores isn’t
enough? What happens when the violence escalates? How will we protect ourselves
when it seems like anyone could snap and turn on us?”

Under Hans’s edgy gaze, I felt like he was saying
I was responsible for Gretchen and Arlo and everyone else. As a lifelong resident
of Lily Falls, maybe he did know it was my fault. The Zandi family knew what I
was so it wasn’t impossible to believe Hans knew too. Was he asking me to die
so he and everyone else could live?

“I’ll be careful,” I told him, standing up. “I’m
sorry about Gretchen. Should I check on her?”

“No, she’s resting. Her therapist will visit later.”

Nodding, I backed away. “Be careful, Hans.”

“You too, Blue.”

Hurrying to my room, I shut the door and leaned
against it. My mother and her evil friends were waiting to torment me, but somehow
they were easier to deal with than Hans’s accusations. I guess it didn’t matter
if he wanted to play the daddy role because I wasn’t going to listen anyway. He
wasn’t my dad or a friend. His loyalty was to Gretchen and I was something he
could live without. Screw him for judging me for spending time with whoever I
chose.

Yet I thought to Arlo and Gretchen and all of the
people in Lily Falls. Years ago, Aunt Rory ran away and shirked her duty to the
town. Death ensued and her younger sisters picked up the slack. Now I had to
die at sixteen because of her cowardice. A little part of me wondered if being
so young was why, instead of embracing the path of my mother, I considered
chasing after the pipedream Rory reached for by running away.

Sitting in my room for the next hour, I did my
best to ignore my mother as she rambled on about Gretchen’s pills. How strong
they would be. How easy I would die.

Overdosing on pills had never been a successful
way for a Davison woman to die though. I wasn’t sure why, but I suspected no
one had ever used strong enough medication to do the trick. I knew enough of the
Narco Gretchen was taking would kill me, despite the former failures of my ancestors
at overdosing.

Hours later, after Hans and the therapist left and
Gretchen had gone to bed, I moved silently up the stairs. While I didn’t plan to
actually use the pills right away or maybe ever, I wanted them ready in case
death was necessary. After the attack on Gretchen, I worried someone else close
to me would be targeted.

Gretchen’s door was never locked because once the
smoke detectors had gone off and she panicked when the door didn’t open easily.
I found her crying in a corner, coughing over imaginary smoke. Pausing at the
doorway, I thought back to the two days Gretchen remained in the hospital for her
undiagnosed lung problems. There were moments when I wondered how she was ever
allowed to adopt an animal, let alone a child.

Entering the dark room, I spotted Gretchen covered
to her ears with blankets in bed. Her breathing was soft and comfortable. Clearly
doped up, I knew she wouldn’t wake from my careful movements. Yet I still took
my time because after the day she had suffered, she didn’t need more surprises.

Then out of literally nowhere, a dog broke into a
barking fit. Flinching and covering my mouth to prevent me from crying out, I
backed away from the unseen animal. Gretchen barely stirred, but the dog, who I
presumed was the missing mutt, growled before rushing into an earsplitting
howl. Freaked out as Pudgy slowly woke Gretchen from her deep sleep, I backed
out of the room and shut the door. The dog barked a little more before falling
silent.

Hand against the door, I listened for Gretchen. If
she woke startled, she would need someone to calm her. A few minutes passed as
I stood up in the hallway next to her door. Finally I accepted how she hadn’t
woken enough to be bothered.

Turning around, I found my mother glaring at me. “I
sat in the waiting room of the abortion clinic, feeling such a sense of relief.
I wanted my little cancer out of me,” she growled, coming towards me.

“I’m sorry, but I’m…”

Interrupting, my mother just kept moving at me as
I backed up towards the stairs.

“Your father begged me to let you live. He said
you were a gift. A little part of me that would live on once I was gone. He
gave you that ridiculous name too. Blue. Blue. Blue,” she whined. “Do you have
any idea how annoying it was to say your name every day for eight years? When
the time came, I hungered for death just to get away from you. Now here again I
have to look at your ugly little face.”

In a better mood, I might have pointed out how I
was the spitting image of her. Instead once I reached the stairs, I bolted away
from my mother. A few steps down, I felt her cold hands on my back as she
shoved me forward.

No time to even cry out, I tried to brace my fall
as I ricocheted down the stairs and came to a stop against Gretchen’s desk. Slamming
my head against the chair, I nearly blacked out. Yet the fear of being unconscious
around my vengeful mother pulled me back.

Seeing stars, I wobbled to my feet and stood with
my fists out, as if I could fight someone who was already dead. Down the stairs
Mom came, blood spilling before her, flooding the floors.

“Unfortunately there are rules, leech. That was
the name I wanted to give you. Has a sweet ring to it, don’t you think?” she asked,
circling me as the blood surged over my ankles. “If there weren’t rules, I
would have killed you a million times, leech.”

“Rules,” hissed Noah, one of the twins.

“No killing Blue,” growled the other twin Noel who
peeked out from around the couch.

“But we can make you wish you were dead,” my
mother said, wearing a bright smile. “I hope you got a good night’s sleep, leech,
because that won’t happen again.”

Glancing at the front door, I prepared to run for
it as the blood reached my knees.

“Maybe you can open the door, but maybe you’ll
never know you’ve opened it?” Mom said then smiled at Assad. “You can try
calling your friends, but you won’t know if they’ve answered. You’ll only know
what we show you. You’ll only leave if we say you can. Here’s a hint, leech.
Mommy lets you leave if you go to the bridge and jump. The police are gone and
it’s your preferred way to die, but you can only jump once we have a little
fun.”