San Diego, California. Ten Months Earlier.
Kayla's life was perfect. She lived in a beautiful city. She had an amazing family and great friends. Her family was quite well off and there was nothing that she wanted that her parents wouldn't give her. But most importantly to Kayla, she had Claire.
Claire was stunning. She was blonde, beautiful, and she just happened to be Kayla's very best friend. The girls had practically grown up together. They spent almost every night at one another's houses. They shared clothes, secrets... everything. They had plans to go to college together later that year. Everything was perfect... and Kayla had no idea that by the end of the week, her entire world would be torn apart.
It began early on a Wednesday morning. Kayla had come home early from sleeping over at Claire's. She parked her V-Rod Muscle in the garage and began the short trek from the garage to the main house. As she approached, the back door banged open and a tall man dressed in a fine black suit strode purposefully outside and across the lawn. He climbed into the passenger seat of a black SUV across the street. The vehicle drove away.
Kayla was confused. Her father worked with a lot of powerful people and he often had visitors, but never so early in the morning. She continued into the house. She placed her keys on the hook near the door and made her way upstairs. She heard water running in the upstairs bathroom and paused, knowing that the only other person home that day would be her father.
She stuck her head through the door and found her father nursing a large gash in his left cheek. Kayla gasped and her dad practically jumped out of his skin.
"Daddy, what happened?!" Kayla exclaimed, rushing over to him. He waved her away.
"It's nothing, sweetheart, don't worry," he said dismissively.
"The hell it's nothing!" Kayla shouted. "Did... did that man do this to you?"
"It's nothing for you to get involved in," her father said. "Weren't you spending the night with Claire?"
"Yeah, I came home early." said Kayla. "And my dad's been beaten up. That makes it something for me to get involved in. Dad, what's going on? You can tell me."
He was caught and he knew he had to be truthful. He told Kayla everything. He explained that he and Kayla's mother had been having marital problems, a fact which Kayla was well aware of. He had, over the last several months, gambled away nearly all of the family's money. He owed money to dangerous people and had no way to pay it. He'd taken a second mortgage out on the house and it still wasn't enough. The man who had barged out of the back door had been working for his bookie. He had come to get the money, but of course, there had been no money to collect.
Kayla didn't know what to think. Her family was in trouble. The people her father had gotten involved with were clearly incredibly dangerous. If they weren’t paid… Kayla didn’t want to think about what might happen. She wanted to help, but she wasn’t working… she had never had to. There was only one way… and she sincerely hoped she wouldn’t have to do it.
Kayla had once been involved with a… seedier group of people. A former street gang that had moved up in the world over the course of several years. The gang’s leader, a towering, tree trunk of a man called Dwayne, had once been Kayla’s boyfriend. Once she had started to really see what kind of man he was, what he was capable of doing, she had called it quits. But she knew he had money, resources… he could help if she could convince him… and he was so often easily convinced.
Kayla told her father that she might be able to get the money from Dwayne, so long as he swore he could repay it quickly. It was a fatal mistake, but when her dad told her he was good for it, she believed him. Kayla got back on her bike and drove across town to where Dwayne tended to hang out. It was easy enough to get the money from him. The $250,000.00 was nothing to him and sex was a damn good motivator. Kayla hated herself for doing it, but it was this or risk her entire family falling apart. It was a small price to pay, she thought.
Kayla gave her father the money and he paid his debts. He promised that a big business deal would close within the next few days and he would be able to repay Dwayne. He told her not to worry and that he would handle it from there. To Kayla, everything was taken care of. Her world went back to normal.
It wasn’t until Friday that she discovered that things were not, in fact, back to normal. Kayla was preparing to go and spend the weekend at Claire’s. She had packed her things and was just getting ready to leave when her father appeared in her doorway. One look at his face told Kayla that he was about to deliver terrible news. The business deal had fallen through. There was no money coming. He would not be able to pay Dwayne.
Kayla got very angry. He had sworn he would have the money. She had told Dwayne it was a sure thing, that he wouldn’t have any problems being repaid. Kayla told her dad that it was his problem now. He owed the money and needed to go and talk to him. Dwayne, however, saw it differently. Kayla had come to him, had been the one borrowing the money so it was she who needed to find a way to pay him. Kayla, however, was unaware of any of this until late Saturday night while she was at Claire’s.
The girls had decided to rent a movie and sat on the couch in the sitting room to watch it, hands brushing occasionally as they reached for the popcorn. About halfway through the movie, a furious knocking came at the door. Frightened, both girls went to peek out of the window.
“Isn’t that Dwayne?” Claire whispered when she saw the large, burly man on her doorstep. “Your ex-boyfriend?” Kayla swore quietly.
“Don’t worry, Claire,” said Kayla gently. “I’ll handle this.” She went to the door, intending to go outside and talk Dwayne down, she always had been able to calm him before. But Dwayne was not to be soothed. The second Kayla opened the door, he barged inside.
“Your dad says he doesn’t have my money!” he shouted. “You said this was a guarantee!”
“I believe you got something for your money,” Kayla hissed. “You'll be paid, Dwayne. C'mon, you know I'm good for it. I just need a little more time..."
"The fuck you do," said Dwayne. "Bitch, you got twenty-four hours to get me my money."
"I can't come up with $250,000 in one day!" Kayla exclaimed, throwing up her hands.
"You better," Dwayne growled. "Cause it's all you got. My brother Marcus is gonna be waiting."
Kayla didn't know what to do. Dwayne was angry and he was serious. She had to come up with the money, but she knew she couldn't. She left Claire's house and returned home to confront her father. He had already gone when she got there and he'd taken most of his belongings with him. He'd abandoned her and her mother, leaving Kayla to figure everything out.
She was confused, devastated, and most of all she was scared. Dwayne was a dangerous man. He'd killed people who owed him money. While she didn't think he would actually kill her, she was worried about her mother. Technically, she wasn't even involved. She'd been staying with her parents for over a month and didn't have anything to do with it, but it bothered her.
There was nothing else for her to do. Dwayne would come for her and she would be ready for whatever he threw at her. She retrieved her father's pump shotgun and .45 caliber pistol from the safe upstairs and waited. She was ready for Dwayne if he tried anything, but he didn't come. Kayla had been right. He wouldn't kill her... he'd go straight for her only weakness.
The frantic call came just after midnight. Claire's panicked voice screaming that Dwayne's brother Marcus was trying to beat down her door. Kayla bolted to her friend's house, her heart racing, her mind a complete blur. She had never suspected, had never even imagined that Dwayne would go after Claire. He didn't even know Claire. It didn't make any sense.
The house was quiet by the time Kayla arrived. She approached the front door, which had been broken off its hinges and tossed into the darkened living room. Claire lay gasping on the floor, a pool of blood quickly spreading across the hardwood floor from a bullet wound in her stomach. Kayla rushed to her side, her eyes stinging, fogging over with her tears.
Kayla held the dying girl, whispering softly to her. Claire tried so hard to speak, to say something that to Kayla seemed so important. She never got to say it. Blood pooled in her mouth and she was gone. Kayla sat there for what seemed like hours. She was numb, unable to move, unable to think. But then a rage filled her. Not hatred, rage. An insatiable, uncontrollable rage took her over and she slowly and carefully lowered Claire’s body to the floor.
She tugged the .45 from the waistband of her jeans and checked the chamber. She didn’t care what happened to her. She didn’t care if she went to prison or even if she died. All she knew was that by the time the sun rose again, Marcus, Dwayne, and every motherfucker that got between her and them would be dead.
She drove to the house where Dwayne and Marcus stayed. It was still dark out but Kayla wasn’t remotely concerned about stealth. She wasn’t worried about who might see her or hear her. She walked straight up to the front door, placed the barrel of her father’s shotgun against the lock and pulled the trigger. The buckshot blew a ragged hole clean through the door and took the lock with it.
Kayla kicked the door open as she worked the shotgun’s action, pumping a fresh shell home. You have never felt true fear until you’ve heard the sound of someone hell bent on killing you, racking a 12 gauge shotgun. It is a sound from nightmares.
Someone came out of the kitchen to her right. She didn’t even wait to see who it was. Man, woman, child… she didn’t care. She swung the shotgun around and put a blast of buckshot through their chest. The person was dead before they hit the ground. She chambered another shell and moved further into the house. A black mass came bounding down the stairs directly in front of her. The shotgun blast lit up the woman’s face and Kayla recognized her as Dwayne’s girlfriend for an instant before the shell meant to kill large animals dissolved her midsection.
She chambered another round. That was when she saw Marcus. He stumbled out of the living room, looking confused. He was clearly drunk. Kayla wanted to say something, some powerful statement about Claire and how she was here for her revenge. She just shot him. He fell to the ground, holding his stomach, pleading pathetically for her not to kill him.
“I’m not going to kill you, Marcus,” Kayla had found her voice. It was harsh and sounded nothing like her. She drew the .45 and knelt down beside him. “No, sweetie… I’m just gonna leave you here to bleed out, just like you left Claire.”
She pressed the handgun’s barrel into his groin and squeezed the trigger. He screamed in agony as the gun recoiled back into Kayla’s hand. She fired a few more times for good measure. She hoped he lived a damn long time. She wanted him to hurt. She stood up and readied the shotgun, knowing Dwayne must certainly be in the house somewhere.
Her suspicions were immediately confirmed when the door to the basement under the stairs burst open and Dwayne appeared, brandishing a handgun. His eyes fell on Kayla and the shock of seeing her standing over his dying brother gave her the instant she needed. She put a spread of buckshot into Dwayne’s legs. He shouted and fell to the floor. Kayla walked over and kicked the gun out of his hand.
“Why her?” Kayla demanded, pumping the shotgun again. “Why didn’t you come after me? Claire was innocent, she didn’t have anything to do with this!”
“Motivation, bitch…” Dwayne groaned. “Fucking motivation,”
“How’s this for motivation?” She kicked Dwayne onto his back and gestured toward the foot of the stairs where his girlfriend’s body lay.
“You fucking whore!” He shouted, trying desperately to crawl toward his girlfriend.
“All you had to do was wait,” said Kayla. “I would have found a way to repay you, somehow… and if you couldn’t wait, then fucking come after me. You fucked up. But it’s okay Dwayne. I’m not going to kill you. See, I want you to feel what I feel. Claire’s gone, but so is your girlfriend… and your brother’s gonna follow them both really soon. I want you to live with that. You’re gonna suffer, Dwayne… just like me.” She put the .45 to his left knee and fired, shattering the joint.
“Call the police,” she whispered. “You’ll have a hell of a time explaining this to them. You’ll have to explain Claire’s death too, after all. You can come after me yourself if you’re pissed enough. Shit… I look forward to it.” She stood and walked toward the door. Dwayne shouted curses after her, promising that he wouldn’t rest until he tortured her to death. She didn’t care. She returned to her bike and kicked the engine to life. Without a backwards glance at the house, she turned the bike around and rode off into the darkness, leaving San Diego far behind.
“So, that’s my story. The reason I freaked earlier was because I thought that man… well, he looked a lot like Dwayne.” Kayla finished somewhat lamely. It was a crappy line to end such a horrific tale with, but it was all that came to mind. Ariana was sitting on the far side of the table, her hand over her mouth, her eyes shining with tears. For a moment, Kayla was quite possibly more afraid than she ever had been before. Now she had to wait for Ariana to reply and she was sure she new what her response would be.
Kayla was a murderer. She had done positively evil things and to Ariana, sweet, innocent Ariana, it would be unforgivable.
Ariana stood up from the table and Kayla’s worst fears were confirmed. Ariana was furious with her, would never be able to forgive her. She would throw her out of the warehouse, tell her what an awful excuse for a human being she was, and never speak to her again. She found in that moment that the very thought of this, that by telling her the truth, she would lose the redhead forever hurt just as badly as Claire’s death had. It was a shocking realization and it scared her, even more so than the fear that she was falling for Ariana.
But Ariana, as always, surprised her. The redhead stood and walked around the table. She slid into the chair next to Kayla and took the brunette’s hands in her own. She looked so heartbroken Kayla felt certain it should be a crime for anyone so sweet to be so sad. When she spoke, the normal happiness and general bubbliness was gone. Her voice was a reflection of the expression of deep sadness on her face.
“God, Kayla… I’m so sorry,” she said gently. “I’m so sorry that happened to you. It’s awful.” Ariana hugged her tightly. “Its okay, Kayla,” she whispered. “It’ll be okay, we’ll figure it out…” No, this was wrong. Ariana couldn’t do this, she couldn’t forgive her. She just couldn’t! Kayla pushed her away and stood up quickly.
“No, you… you don’t get to do that,” she said sharply “You don’t get to forgive me. You can’t tell me that it’s okay, you… you…”
“Why can’t I?” Ariana asked, staring up at her looking genuinely confused.
“Because… because you’re you!” Kayla exclaimed. “You’re soft, sweet, innocent little Ariana! I’m a monster! I’m a murderer!”
“You’re not a monster,” said Ariana. She spoke in an altogether different voice now. It was soft and filled with so much pain and sadness that Kayla actually felt her heart break. “You… you’re a good person, Kayla.” Tears were streaming down the redhead’s face now. “Before I met you, I… I was alone and scared and I didn’t… I was so alone and you… you’re the first person in my whole life that I know actually cares about me.
“Everyone else I've ever loved has either hurt me... or left me. You haven't. Maybe that's not enough to redeem you for murder, but... it's all I can judge you with. Kayla, you look in the mirror and see a monster because you did something bad once... but you've never been anything but a friend to me. You've helped me so much. I know I'm not... right. I know something's broken in me, but... but you never say anything mean or make fun of me. You're always nice to me.
"And right now I'm so afraid that I'm about to lose you. You're looking at me like you're about to do the noble thing and leave me. If Dwayne's after you, and I can only imagine that he must be because nothing else would scare you like this, I know you think you can protect me by running again. But Kayla, you... you're all I've got. You're the only real friend I've ever had and... And I can't lose you."
"You don't understand," said Kayla. She couldn't begin to respond to Ariana's outpouring of feelings and emotions. Not now. "You don't... you don't know what he'll do to you. He'll torture you, baby. He'll do things to you that you could never imagine... and he'll make me watch. I can't watch him hurt you. I can't watch you die. Claire's death broke me, Ariana... but you? It would destroy me." Ariana leaned closer, her hand reached out and she cupped Kayla's cheek.
"We’ll be okay,” she whispered, gently brushing her fingers through Kayla’s hair.
“We won’t,” said Kayla. “If I stay and you get hurt… then it’ll be my fault. Just like Claire’s death was my fault…”
“It wasn’t your fault,” said Ariana firmly. “You didn’t do it.”
“No, but I’m the reason it happened!” Kayla snapped. “I knew what kind of person Dwayne was! Hell, that’s why I left him! I knew what he was capable of, but I got the money from him anyway! If I hadn’t, Claire would still be alive. That’s on me, Ariana. That fault lies with me.”
“You couldn’t have known that Dwayne would go after Claire,” said Ariana. “It wasn’t your fault, and the people you killed… it sounds to me like they deserved what they got.”
“Dwayne’s girlfriend didn’t,” Kayla said quietly. “She was just… me… in another life.” Silence fell between them. Ariana had made her points and Kayla had made hers, but Kayla knew she had lost. Ariana had a look a fierce determination in her eyes. If she tried to run again, the damn girl would probably come after her and the thought of Ariana alone, searching the country for her was too painful to dwell on.
She would stay. Not only because Ariana so desperately wanted to, but because she herself wanted to. She knew Dwayne had been searching for her, had followed her for some time. But she had lost them months ago down in Dallas, she was sure of it.
If Dwayne knew where she was now, he wasn’t going to stalk her through a crowded mall. No, he’d come for her at the warehouse… and if he did that, well… she still had both of her father’s guns. She had killed before. Revenge had turned her into a monster. She wondered, as she looked across the table at Ariana, what she would turn into now that she had something worth fighting for.
“Do you regret it?” Ariana asked suddenly. Kayla was knocked out of her reverie and looked up.
“Regret what?” Kayla asked.
“Killing those people,” said Ariana. “Do you regret that you killed them?” Kayla didn’t even need to think about it. She looked straight into Ariana’s blue eyes and said;
“No,” Ariana nodded slowly, seeming to come to grips with something incredibly painful within herself. Kayla couldn’t begin to guess what it was, and she wasn’t going to ask. Instead, she just took Ariana’s hand and stood up from the table.
“C’mon, kiddo,” she said wearily. “Let’s go home.”
They called Cooper to help them transport all the things they’d bought back to the warehouse. They waited outside the front doors, bundled up against the bracing cold for Cooper to arrive. He pulled up not too long later in his Ford F-350 pickup and climbed out of the cab. He approached them with a look a extreme disbelief on his face.
“How much crap did you two buy?” he asked by way of greeting. “Is there anything left in that place?” Ariana, as usual, ran over to hug him. He glanced over her shoulder at Kayla and grinned.
“Hey, Kayla,” he called.
“Hi, Coop,” said Kayla. He chuckled.
“Coop, huh? So, we’re friends now?” Kayla rolled her eyes. “I’ll take that as a yes, then.” He looked down at Ariana. “How you doing, Cupcake? You look like you’ve been crying?”
“I’m fine,” she gestured toward Kayla. “It’s… girl stuff.” Cooper’s eyes widened.
“Oh, well… cool. I learned a long time ago to stop asking questions at 'girl stuff'. Let’s get this stuff loaded, shall we?" He glanced at the cart loaded with their purchases. "Geez, it's worse than I thought!"
"I wanted to get a tiara for Fluffers, but the pet store didn't have any," Ariana told him.
"Well, you ought to go to a jewelry store," Cooper suggested. Ariana's eyes widened and she looked hopefully at Kayla.
"We'll come back, sweetie," she said gently. Cooper didn’t take long to load the truck; lifting heavy boxes of books in the bookshop had made him rather strong. They returned to the warehouse and Cooper and Kayla stood outside the cargo doors while Ariana scurried up the fire escape to let them in.
“So, I guess you two had fun,” said Cooper, trying to start a conversation.
“Yeah, we did,” said Kayla. It was true. She really had enjoyed herself up until the point she’d had to air all of her dirty laundry. “Ariana really enjoyed it.”
“Good,” said Cooper. “She needs to get out more. She spends all of her time locked up in there. Maybe you could start taking her out places more often… get her out in the real world.”
“I thought you didn’t want her exposed to the real world,” Kayla reminded him smugly. "Or me... for that matter," Cooper opened his mouth, clearly working up a angry rebuttal. Kayla held up her hands. "I'm joking, Coop."
"I knew that," Cooper said hastily. "But seriously, Kayla. I'm glad you're here for her." Kayla shrugged. If he knew what she really was, he'd never say that. Hell, he'd probably put her on the first thing smoking back to California if he ever found out what she'd done.
Ariana opened the cargo door a moment later. Cooper and Kayla drove their vehicles into the warehouse. Cooper helped the girls unload their purchases and then he bade them goodbye. He climbed into his truck and drove away. Kayla watched Ariana as she walked up the staircase to the apartment. So much had changed in their relationship that evening and Kayla hadn't even begun to categorize it all.
Now Ariana knew everything. She knew all the dark secrets, secrets that she had been certain would drive her away. And yet here they were, still together, still friends. It didn't make any sense. She had even warned Ariana the fate that might await her if they stayed together, but she hadn't asked her to leave. She briefly wondered if Ariana had understood the danger she was in. She knew the redhead understood. She understood far more than Kayla gave her credit for... hell, Kayla was beginning to suspect that Ariana might just be the smartest person she knew.
She looked out of the cargo door as darkness settled around the warehouse. It was a terrifying reality she now lived in, one in which nothing was stable... nothing was a known quantity. She feared the future, of what might happen. Still, she reasoned as she pressed the button to close the cargo door, what was life without a little uncertainty? Besides, if Dwayne did find her, if he even dared harm Ariana, she would be damn sure he lived to regret it.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXJ5EQ3fydv
