Page 63 of Sinful Addiction
“You’re a fucking liar.I saw her covered in blood.I saw you with the knife.You killed them and now you must pay the price,” I shout in rage.My temper has lost all rational control.I raise my gun and shoot.
Luckily for this asshole I need him alive.My sordid soul, however, is loving every second of his discomfort.
“Fuck you, asshole.I didn’t kill our sister, but you’ve already seen the articles.You choose not to believe me.Well, it’s the fucking truth,” he argues through gritted teeth.He pulls a handkerchief from his pocket to hold against the wound to help with the bleeding.Meanwhile I’m repeating his words in my head making sure I heard right.
None of my actions stop him from telling the tale I’m not ready to hear.
“I came home early and found the old man in her room.There was so much blood I knew I couldn’t save her.She was already dead.When Dad heard my reaction from the doorway, he hurried to put his pants back on and came up with excuse after fucking excuse.He tried to blame it all on her.”He takes a long-winded breath.I match his distress, but for a different reason.Reasons I don’t deserve forgiveness for.I wait for him to air Dad’s confession; the only reason this whole nightmare happened and the one reason we lost so much.
“He’d been raping her for a whole year, Tony.He was abusing the only good that came of this fucked-up family.She must have finally stuck up for herself, but she was too late.He’d had enough and stabbed her for speaking up.He was too jacked up on heroin and alcohol to notice he’d murdered his own daughter.All he cared for was he stopped her from stabbing him.She wasn’t strong enough to defend herself.”His rage fueled agony fills the room.
“While he was fumbling around, I took the knife from the bed, and I gave him the same fate he gave her.I stabbed him repeatedly until you walked in the room.I’d lost all sense of time and didn’t know you were due home.I didn’t want you walking in on that, and knew you wouldn’t believe me, so I made a split-second decision.I stood there and made myself look like a murderer knowing I was seventeen and would be tried in juvenile court.I was willing to take whatever punishment they gave me.I didn’t know then that I’d be tried in adult court which meant I’d get prosecuted as an adult.”He bows his head, shaking it side to side as if unbelieving of his stupidity back then.Either that or he’s unhinged and ready to display it.
“The only day Mom came to see me in prison, I told her if she ever let you back in the house that I’d expose her drug addictions as atonement to you and Leona.She overdosed sometime later.I knew you two planned on running away.All I wanted in that moment when you walked in on that hideousness was for you to get far away.I knew I’d been an asshole to you at the hand of our father.Seeing you fear-ridden while looking at Leona’s helpless body broke me.I knew there was no coming back from that.The people who helped me aren’t good people, but you won’t have any problems with them.They’re allies with Alexander after what he did to his father.They have no conflict with what I did in the past and me being here now.”
He sinks back in Drake’s chair and pulls out a cigarette.Lighting the end, the plume of smoke drifts toward me when he exhales.He points the packet toward me, and I accept.Smoking is a sight better than getting myself high.Especially after that whole admission, I don’t want to be anything likethem.
For the first time in our life, we have an understanding.Darius doesn’t touch what’s mine while I exterminate the threat to both of our lives with his help.Once the job is done, he disappears.
“This doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven you.It’s merely business.”
“Business,” he agrees.“What do you intend for me to do?You obviously have a plan.”He’s curious.I can see the mischief covering his smile.
“I still don’t know whether I trust you, Darius,” I admit.“I have an apprehensive restaurant owner and a feisty girlfriend who would be determined to cause bodily harm if given half the chance.”I stub the cigarette out and walk out of the office without another word.If he wants my trust or forgiveness, he can bloody well earn it.In the meantime, I need space to clear my head.
Darius doesn’t follow, rather, he stays to tend to his wounded shoulder.I walk back to the front of house with purpose, anyone who walks towards me keeps their heads down and doesn’t dare get in my way.
Tonight was unanticipated.Whoever said Darius would find me wasn’t wrong, I just wish I was better prepared for the onslaught of information he offloaded on me.
I reach the ladies bathroom to hear Lacey spouting off all kinds of threats to…
“You!”I seethe as I push through the door.
“Hello, Tony.How’s your shoulder?”The flirtatious smirk Jordannah gives me irks Lacey the wrong way.
“How does she know about your shoulder?”Lacey asks aghast.
“She was the one who gave me the second bullet.”I then turn to Jordannah.“It’s a damn site better than Darius’ right now.Had I known you were the one holding this little pixie hostage, I’d have saved it for you,” I remark with a patronizing sneer.“I suggest you both get out of this building before I have every one of Alexander’s men fuck you up for even thinking it’s okay to do what you did to me or Lacey.”
“Go!” I yell when she doesn’t get the picture.
As soon as she’s out of sight Lacey climbs me like a spider monkey and doesn’t let go.Her soft sobs vibrate through me as the adrenaline starts to wear off and her body begins to shake.
“Baby, shh, it’s okay.I’ve got you now,” I hum into her ear.“I think it’s time I take you home.”I ignore the details of my brother being upstairs and bleeding, also the part about how wrong I’ve been about what happened all those years ago.I’m certainly not ready to talk about the latter.
Slowly she lowers herself off me, but the hurt behind her eyes is a new blow to the heart.
“What did you do in Vegas that got you shot twice?Because I know about Xander’s, but you told me the other was business, not a smoking hot older woman.Why did you keep that from me?”she asks seriously.
“I’ll explain in the car on our way home.For now, we need to get out of here.”I take her hand in mine and quickly go back to our table to relieve Drake from his anxious duty.
“What the hell happened?”he asks with worry.
“You’re off the hook.Oh, and send a cleaner into your office before you go back in there,” I tell him “Things got a little heated for a moment.”I leave my statement in the open for him to decipher.
The moment we’re both inside my car Lacey turns to me with arms crossed over her chest.
“Care to bring me up to speed.Or are you going to be the broody asshole that I first met?”Lacey is pissed and picking a fight.But she’s not wrong; I’m holding on by a tether.