“M-Mom,” I stutter, earning a surprised look since I haven’t called her that in years. “Be careful. Something doesn’t feel right.”
“Don’t be silly. I’ll get us out of this mess. You should be worried about yourself. I’m serious. I no longer want you in my house. I’m going to tell Roy that I was taking you to stay with my sister. He’ll believe me. Men are stupid when it suits them.” She smiles triumphantly, unlatching my grip from her wrist.
She doesn’t give me a chance to say anything else as she gets out of the car and sways her hips while sauntering over towards Roy’s truck. With bated breath, I watch her stroll up to him and stop at his side door window, relaxing her arms on the door’s frame as she tells him her version of events.
“Zoey, Gage, I want you to sit down on the floor,” I order without looking away from Mom and the pickup truck.
“What? Why? Gage retorts.
“Just do it,” I demand, unbuckling their seatbelts so they can crawl to the floorboards.
Zoey does as she’s told, looking awfully pale all of a sudden. It’s most likely due to blood loss. My gaze flickers back to the road, catching sight of my mother’s head falling back with laughter.
“I don’t want to,” Gage argues, pulling my attention back to him. “Zoey’s stinky throw up bag is in my way.”
Jesus H. Christ.
I’m about to grab the vomit bag when a loud, thunderous sound sends panic down my spine. It all happens so fast. One second my mom is all smiles, and the next she’s falling to the ground with a bullet in her head.
“Oh my God. Gage, hide! Now!” I yell, hurriedly crawling to the driver’s seat to get us out of here.
Although Mom never had any cash for me to take driving lessons, she’s had me driving around town on school runs, grocery trips, and anything else I could do since I was tall enough to reach the pedals and see over the dashboard. My entire body trembles as I try to start the car, hoping the crash didn’t fuck up the engine. Unfortunately, all I get are hiccups as the motor struggles.
“What was that sound? Why are you trying to start the car? Where did Mom go?” Gage questions rapidly.
With the crash, he must have suffered the same brain fog I did, and now he’s finally functioning. When Gage turns in his seat, he sees Roy getting out of his truck.
“Layla, it’s Dad. He came to help us,” he says excitedly, not smart enough to know there’s no way Roy is here to rescue us.
With our mom’s corpse concealed by high bushes, he doesn’t see that she’s dead, and to my horror, he shoves his door open and runs to his father.
“Gage! No!” I scream, but it’s too late.
The sound of Roy’s shotgun being reloaded is loud enough that it can be heard over my terror. I sit frozen in place, my heart in a vise as I shake profusely. Helplessly, I watch my little brother run to his father with open arms, only for the bastard to unload another shot right in the very center of his tiny chest.
“No!” I scream, my tears falling down my face until I taste the salt on my lips.
He killed him.
That son of a bitch killed him.
And he’s going to kill Zoey and me next.
Oh my God.
No. No. I can’t let that happen.
“Zoey? Zoey!” She lifts her head, the blood matting her golden locks to her temple. “Zoey, I need you to be my brave girl, okay? I need you to slide out of Gage’s door and hide in the field. Can you do that for me?” I beg, trying to hold it together when in reality all I want is to fall apart and lie on the floor in the fetal position until this nightmare is over.
The only thing that prevents me from doing just that is knowing that Zoey needs me.
I have to save my sister.
She shakes her head, her tears cascading down her pretty face.
“I know you’re scared, Zoey. I am too. But I need you to do this, okay? I need you to be brave and run as fast as you can down that field and onto the pig farm. There will be people there who can help you with your cut, but you have to promise not to make a sound. If you hear anyone behind you, I want you to hide. Can you do that for me, Zoey? Can you be my big girl and do this brave thing for me?”
With tears still streaking down her cheeks, she nods and makes her way to the other side of the car. The field is large enough that Roy won’t be able to find her, but I still can’t take that chance. I need to stall him long enough to make sure she has a good head start. I need to give her a fighting chance since I wasn’t able to give that to Gage.