I inhaled deeply, staring at my phone. This was not the plan. I was supposed to have more time in order to situate myself and take apart the family piece by piece, poison them to death slowly; that was my order. How was this not going to backfire if I did as they ordered now? My first night here?
“Bruntum fulmen.” Senseless thunderbolt, I replied, holding my breath. It took a lot to answer, but at least there was a reply.
Which was akin to very well.
Exhaling, I put down the phone, not wanting to reach the edge of this cliff so quickly. I stared into my own gray eyes and did not see me.
“A monster is always born to other monsters.” Ethan’s voice echoed in my mind. How right he was. I remembered the monster who had created me clearly.
CALLIOPE—AGE 6
“It was Calliope!” My sister, Bellarose (everyone called her Rosie) pointed her finger at me, even though she was the one standing closer to mommy’s jewelry box.
It was broken now. All the pretty stones she told us never to touch were all over the floor. I stared at her finger; it was pointed at me, shaking, her eyes filling with tears, her bottom lip trembling.
Liar.
“No, Mommy—” I tried to tell her Rosie was lying. But her hand hit my face, and I fell on my back and then onto my side. “Mommy, no!”
“How many times did I tell you not to touch it?”
Smack.
“Why don’t you ever listen to me?” Smack.
I held my hands to my head and curled into a ball. But she pulled my shirt.
“Why do you always force me to do this?”
Smack.
“You always cause trouble!”
Smack.
“Mommy!” I screamed, and she threw me back onto the ground. “I’m sorry, Mommy! I’m sorry!”
Smack. I let go of my head; her hands were at my throat. Everything was so blurry.
“You ruin everything! You are—”
“Camilla!”
I heard his voice. I couldn’t see, but I could get air again and turned over once she had let go, coughing, snot and tears kept coming out of my face.
“Rosie, take your sister and go. Take her!”
Rosie’s arms hooked under my armpits, trying to drag me with her.
“Callie, come on!” she yelled at me, but my legs didn’t move. So, she just pulled me, tugging me to the door. It was then that I noticed my sock. One of my shoes had come off. I saw it. It was next to our mom and dad. She was crying and screaming while he held onto her.
Don’t be sad, Mommy.
I wanted to tell her my neck hurt, and Bellarose was pulling too fast.
We were in our room, and when Avena saw us, she got out of bed, and came over to me with a box of tissues.
“What happened?” she asked Bellarose, trying to clean my nose.