Horror flashed through his eyes at the sight of the blood splatters on the floor. Oh no!
The veins in his neck popped out and strained against his skin and his face went red with rage. He pulled out his knife. This is it. She screamed and thrashed her arms and legs around trying to keep him away from her. “No, no, no! Please don’t. No, please.” Her eyes were wide, like a kid trying to prove her innocence. That wouldn’t help her. He never let any of them go.
Tears rolled down my face so quickly it felt like one long, never-ending tear. I knew what was coming next. He kicked her hard in the side, in the same place as before. She gagged and held her ribs. As she looked down, he plunged the knife into her stomach, retracted it, and stabbed her again. Blood pumped from the wounds. I heaved, fighting the overwhelming urge to throw up.
She choked and blood splattered on the floor from her mouth. Her body slumped to the floor, and she made a throaty scream that made my entire body tremble. With one last gasp for air, her body stilled. My lip trembled. Don’t think of it as a person, I told myself. I pictured a slab of meat on the floor, the remains of a slaughtered animal. I had to turn it off.
“Clean this. Now,” he barked and sprinted back up the stairs. Would he still kill if he were the one that had to close their eyes and mop up the blood? A pool of blood seeped out from under her body and trickled toward me. I watched it with morbid fascination. So much blood was inside the human body, bright red liquid swimming around in our veins. It didn’t even take losing much to fuck you up either.
“Lily,” Rose’s voice snapped me back to reality. “Come help, please?”
I nodded. “Okay.” Walking toward the body slowly, I crouched down. The smell of blood filled my lungs, and I gagged. My eyes watered, and I jumped to my feet. “I can’t, sorry,” I muttered and ran for the bathroom.
I threw up in the toilet. Tears flowed down my face as I leaned over the toilet. I gasped, trying to get my breath back. I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t clean up after his murders. “Lily?” Poppy called through the door. I squeezed my eyes closed. Just leave me alone!
Slumping against the wall, I gripped my head in my hands. I felt as if I were suffocating. I hated him, and I hated being down here. Poppy walked into the room and knelt down in front of me. “I can’t do this,” I said. The lump in my throat grew, and I started sobbing, chest heaving.
“Shh, it’s okay. You can, Lily. You have to.”
I shook my head. I didn’t have to at all. “N-No I don’t,” I replied, gasping for air.
“Don’t. You don’t think like that, okay? We’ll be fine. We will all be fine.” I curled up in a ball, hugging myself tight. I’d heard “It will be fine” so many times. When was it actually going to start being fine? When Lewis said it, it was true. When he held me, everything seemed to be all right, even if it was only for a while. He wasn’t here now, and I needed him more than ever.
My head pounded. It felt like someone was repeatedly bashing me in the skull with a hammer. I wiped my tears away with the back of my hand and took a deep, ragged breath. “I can’t help you do that.”
She stroked my hair. “I know, and you don’t have to. Stay in here, and I’ll come get you when it’s done. You clean yourself up for when he comes back.” She got up and left the room. I wanted to clean myself up, but not for him. I felt gross and could taste bile in my mouth still.
Pushing myself up, I turned the cold tap on and stuck my mouth under it. The cool water made me feel a little better. I pulled away and splashed my face. My eyes were red and puffy from crying. I looked awful. How was I going to make it another day? Especially when I didn’t have a clue when it would end—or even if it would end. I could be down here for years. If I knew how long, then I could make a decision. The one thing I didn’t ever want to happen was for me to grow to accept this. I would sooner die than be okay down here.
“Lily, we’re all finished. Can I come in?” Poppy said, tapping on the door. That was quick. Only ten minutes. If there were a world record for the quickest murder cleanup, they would get it. I opened the door and she smiled. “You look better.” Yes, looked. I didn’t feel better. She sighed. “Have your shower now. I’ll tell him you’re feeling unwell and having an early night.”
“Do you think that would be okay?”
“We can sleep when we want, Lily.” Well, when it didn’t conflict with his meal times!