Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 129571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Benny laughed. “My dad lay on the ground, passed out probably. And then came the kicker. I wrapped my hands around his throat, only sixteen years old. No one stopped me. I choked him right there. I don’t know why they didn’t do anything. Maybe they were shocked. Or perhaps they wanted to see death as much as me. But I killed him right there. Mom stood by and just looked scared.”
A chilly quiet filled the car, then his words sliced the air. “I fled London. Scar helped.”
“You knew him back then?”
“Yes. We hit Italy, got into some foul things, and earned the attention of evil men, ones like Chase’s father.”
Just the mention of Chase caused a jolt of pain to burst through my heart.
Benny continued. “Sometimes I come home to visit London, and think to myself, ‘This is the time I’ll kill her. This is the trip when I take her alcohol-scented breath away.’ But then I don’t. For some reason, I always let her live. I’m just a pussy cat in that way.”
Yes. A rabid pussy cat with infected claws.
A cold shiver ran up my back. I had to shake the fear away, and even then I knew it remained inside of me.
Benny blew out a long breath and yelled, “God that feels good!”
I jumped and grabbed the door handle as if leaping out of a moving car would save me.
“I’m sorry for startling you,” he said. “It’s just been so hard to pretend. Do you understand?”
“Y-yes.”
“I’ve lied for years. No one really knows me, besides your mother, and even then I have to be guarded. She could’ve been a psychologist in her previous life. She has a way of dissecting a person’s head.”
“Mom?”
“Yes, your mom. She’s a killer in her own right.”
I slumped into the back of my seat. “Mom?”
“You two never got close. That’s always been a shame. Two strangers living in the same house.”
“It always felt like she was avoiding me.”
“She probably was. She never had a mother. That woman left one night, and never came back to deal with her or your aunts. They sort of raised themselves. People said she overdosed in an alley.”
I’d heard something similar, mumbled by my aunts. There was a neighbor lady that ended up taking care of them. That was the woman Troy and I referred to as Grandmother. “Why do you say Mom is a killer in her own right? We never got close, but she couldn’t have hid that from me.”
“This is the moment of truth, right?”
“As long as the truth doesn’t come with a dead body.”
“I won’t be dangling bodies around you anymore.”
“Is that promise?”
“It’s a strong wish.”
“I like clear promises.”
“I like everyone to do as I say and not fall out of line.”
Whatever that means.
“Anyway, back to Sophia. Maybe I’m using the word kill lightly. Your mother destroys things with her words. She’s never shot a gun or sliced through the top layer of skin, or hacked away at the plump fat and tight muscle of a crying man until he—”
“I get it.” My heart hammered in my head.
Could someone call this guy a doctor?
“Sorry,” he said. “What I’m trying to say is that your mother has never killed someone by her own hands, but she’s put many people into the path of death for many years. And even worse, she’s a prober. She probes with her words, rummaging through your secrets and labeling all of your weaknesses. You see what I mean?”
You’re crazy. And if I understood your point, I would be crazy, too.
I tossed him a skeptical look. “So what you’re saying is that she’s a manipulative bitch?”
“Basically.”
“I knew that, but being a manipulative bitch doesn’t make her a murderer.”
“Trust me. It does.”
“Benny, what is this all about?” I motioned at us in the car. “Why are you doing this? Why are Troy and Vivian even with you?”
“Listen. This is what the trip is about, getting you all together and really revealing who I am. Troy will accept me. Vivian will still need lies. I was too soft with her. But you,” he bobbed his head, “you understand pain. Every time you’re faced with the worst, you use your head.”
“I’m not as strong as you think.”
“You are. I’ve watched you from baby to woman. The shit you’ve seen ...” He shook his head. “London is about learning who I am and being less scared of me.”
“I think that I’ve learned enough about you this year. Maybe, you should wait till next year for the rest.”
He chuckled. “You’ve always been good for a good counter that had a funny jab. However, I wish I could wait till next year, but I can’t. No one’s promised next year.” He leaned back in the seat and went silent. “Who knows, we all could be dead next year.”