Hillary_Flesh and Blood (21 page)

“
It
’
s okay, I
’
ll take good care of him,
”
Hillary said with a big smile as she turned to leave the dining room.

“
No Hillary, please...don
’
t hurt him, he
’
s just a baby,
”
Mrs. Greyson yelled to Hillary as she struggled to keep up with her.

Joshua
’
s cries grew louder as Hillary approached. He looked over to his mother for help, reaching his arms out to her. Hillary s
c
ooped him up in her arms as he tried his best to wriggle free from her grasp.

“
Stop it, Joshy. D
on
’
t you wanna play with me? Let
’
s have some fun.
”

“
MOOOOOMMMMMM
,
”
he wailed hysterically, still twisting and writhing desperately within Hillary
’
s arms as Mrs. Greyson reached for him.

“
Give him to me, Hillary,
”
Mrs. Greyson demanded at first, then added,
“
please
”
in an unsteady voice.

“
Nope, we
’
re going to play for a while.
”

“
No, Hillary, I won
’
t let you hurt him.
”

“
Who said I was going to hurt him? We
’
re just going to play a nice game of hide and seek...doesn
’
t that sound like fun, Joshy?
”

Joshua loved playing hide and seek more than any other game. He began to calm down, though still reached for his mother.

“
You want Mommy?
”
Hillary asked benignly, smiling at Joshua.

She passed his small body over to their mother who grabbed him tightly and held him close to her chest. Kathy thought about running out of the house, leaving with Joshua, but where would she go? Maybe she was just over-reacting. Maybe Hillary was just playing a cruel joke on her. Maybe Michael and Caleigh would walk through the front door any
minute now. She knew Michael well. S
he had seen how strong he was. How could Hillary possibly hurt him?

Deep in a dark and hidden crevice of her mind, she knew that Hillary was telling the truth...she knew that Michael was abusing her. Sh
e would conceal this ugly truth…she would
take it to the grave with her. But knowing that it was true, perhaps what Hillary said about Michael and Caleigh was also true. Maybe he had just moved on. Still, her gut feeling warned her that something was terribly awry.

“
You don
’
t look so great, Mom,
”
Hillary said angelically.
“
Why don
’
t you go and rest and I
’
ll take care of dinner?
”

Kathy was so confused, so m
entally exhausted that
she could only nod slowly as her feet involuntarily obeyed Hillary
’
s suggestion. She carried Joshua up to her bedroom. At least he
’
d be safe with her.

“
Hillry hurt Storm,
”
Joshua said quiet
l
y to his mother as he clung to her.
“
Hillry hurt Joshy?
”

“
No, baby, Hillary won
’
t hurt you, Hillary loves you.
”

As she spoke the words, she wondered just how true they were.

~8~

The house was particularly quiet at dinnertime. Kathy was amazed at how much she missed all of the fussing and complaining that typically accompanied their meals. Even Joshua was unusually silent. He had fallen asleep on her bed and had just awakened when Hillary announced that dinner was ready. Kathy considered skipping dinner altogether, she just wanted to avoid Hillary.

Yet, there was
a
certain edge to her voice, a certain threat disguised as kindness. Kathy knew that it would be better for her to comply. She would play along with Hillary
’
s little game, at least for a short while, until she figured out what she was up to. What could Hillary possibly do to her? She was just a petite young girl, after all. She almost felt silly about feeling so afraid of her. Maybe having Michael gone would give her a chance to reconnect with the daughter she once knew and loved so dearly.

Yet,
her heart ached over Caleigh
’
s absence. She just wanted to know that her little girl was okay, that she was safe. She couldn
’
t bear to think of Michael hurting her the way he hurt Hillary. Hillary was always the tougher,
stronger one. Caleigh would never be able to cope.

“
You
’
re so quiet, Mom...what
’
s on your mind?
”

“
Just thinking about Library Board stuff,
”
she re
p
lied sof
t
ly, a forced smile stretching across her face.

“
Do you like the soup?
”

“
It
’
s really good, Hillary. I had no idea you had an interest in cooking.
”

“
I learned from my Home Economics class. It
’
s easy. Can I make dinner tomorrow night too?
”

“
Of course you can.
”

The mood was light.
It took an enormous effort
on Kathy
’
s part, but
she managed to keep things civil
. Kathy was grateful for the lack of tension and hostility.
There was so much on her mind. S
he couldn
’
t deal with
any
more outbursts or confrontations.

While Joshua
had
slept beside her, she
remained wide awake
star
ing
up at the ceiling
,
trying to
comprehend
what was going on. She would go back and forth between pitying Hillary and fearing her. She had always been such a wonderfully sweet and loving girl. After things had changed for her, however, she
had grown incredibly
bitter, angry and hateful. Kathy tried to be understanding, even within the confines of her steadfast denial. But when Hillary cut Storm
’
s tail off, Kathy discovered that she was far more like Michael than she wanted to believe. She had somehow inherited his madness, his evil streak. She was tainted and there was no way of knowing just how much
violence and
abomination she was capable of.

“
Where
’
s Daddy?
”
Joshua asked, his small voice squeaking like a mouse.

“
Eat your soup, honey,
”
Kathy responded softly, suppressing her anxieties.

“
Where
’
s Lee Lee?
”

“
Joshua, just eat!
”
she admonished, hurting the little boy
’
s feelings. His bottom lip stuck out in an exaggerated pout.

“
You
’
ll see Daddy and Lee Lee soon, Joshy,
”
Hillary assured him with a warm smile.

Joshua shifted in his chair as he turned to face her.

“
Hide and seek?
”
Joshua asked her cautiously.

“
It
’
s too late now, you have to finish your dinner and take a bath,
”
Kathy answered before Hillary could have the chance.

The smile stayed on Hillary
’
s face. Her eyes
spar
kled brightly like stars on a dark night. She was the perfect picture of beauty, grace and ki
n
dness.

“
Tomorrow, Joshy...tomorrow we
’
ll play together.
”

Joshua
returned her smile excitedly. H
is faith in his sister
was renewed by her
smile and promise to play his favorite game.

“
I
’
m not very hungry, may I be excused?
”

After a slight pause, Kathy replied,
“
yes, yes of course...thank you for cooking for us.
”

It was as if another version of Hillary had assumed her daughter
’
s body. She could get used to this one.

“
I
’
m going to plan tomorrow
’
s dinner,
”
Hillary said eagerly,
“
can you pick up some potatoes and carrots before you come home tomorrow?
”

Kathy nodded
then said,
“
I
’
ll be home early tomorrow, maybe I can give you a hand.
”

“
It
’
s okay, I
’
m planning a special meal and I want to do it all by myself.
”

“
Okay, sweetheart, thanks again for the soup...it was delicious.
”

Hillary smiled as she picked up her bowl and walked to the kitchen. She had a special meal in mind and she couldn
’
t wait to prepare it for her mother. She slowly walked up to her bedroom. Her music was the only sound she could hear. She wondered how Caleigh was doing. She turned the volume up a little higher then walked toward her closet. The smell had intensified in just hours. She didn
’
t know how Caleigh could stand being in there. It made her chuckle out loud as she opened the closet door.

Caleigh turned her head and began whimpering loudly. Hillary could hear her clearly from where she stood but she doubted that anyone else would be able to hear her over the music.

“
How
’
re ya doin
’
, Lee Lee?
”

Caleigh
’
s cries grew more frantic. Hillary wasn
’
t quite sure what she was begging for. To have the duct tape removed from over her mouth? To live? To die?

“
Mom
’
s home...she thinks you and Dad ran off together. She
’
s so mad at you for stealing her husband...she hates you, Caleigh....
”

Caleigh
’
s brows furrowed as she began shaking her head back and forth.

“
No? What, you don
’
t believe me? It
’
s true. She
’
s going to throw all your stuff away, she
’
ll probably burn it.
”

Caleigh was trying to yell something. Hillary was tempted to pull the tape off but didn
’
t want to take any chances. If she screamed at the to
p
of her lungs, even the music wouldn
’
t insulate the sound. Her mother would be in her room in record time.

“
Caleigh, Caleigh,
”
Hillary said tauntingly,
“
Are you afraid to die?
”

Tears flooded Caleigh
’
s eyes as she nodded anxiously. Her loud cries became subdued, replaced by a steady moaning.

“
You should be afraid, Caleigh...it
’
s going to hurt...a lot. I think even the parts of your body that can
’
t feel anything will feel the pain I
’
m going to cause you. You
’
re going to suffer worse than I suffered.
”

Caleigh
’
s widened eyes
were terror-
struck. She shook her head, begging Hillary not to hurt her.

“
No one helped me...and no one
’
s going to help you either.
”

It sounded like Caleigh was desperately trying to say something to Hillary, but her muffled words were unintelligible, just a series of loud grunts and groans.

“
You might want to live now, but by the time I
’
m done, you
’
re going to see that it
’
s better that you die. Life sucks, Caleigh. I
’
m only trying to help you. If you live, someone will hurt you. Even people who are supposed to love you and take care of you end up hurting you. It
’
s better this way, really.
”

All the crying had left Caleigh congested. She blew her nose to clear her passages. Blood and mucous ran down to her chin.

“
Eeewwww, that was pretty gross, Lee Lee...all that blood and snot dripping down your face. Imagine if Andy were here to see you...what would he think?
”

Caleigh blew her nose again. At the moment, she wasn
’
t concerned with what her crush, Andy, would think.

“
Oh, that
’
s just
nasty, all that blood. I know…
I
’
ll take a picture!
”

Hillary excitedly walked to her computer desk,
opened the drawer on the bottom left and
pulled out a small digital camera. She turned it on and walked back to the closet.

“
Say cheese,
”
she said mockingly.

As Caleigh whimpered, Hillary took several pictures of her anguished sister. She slipped her hand through the strap on the camera and allowed it to dangle down her arm as she leaned forward and searched one of the bags for her father
’
s head. She pulled it out, wincing. It was oddly bloated and ghastly. The smell was still putrid and rank but had subtle hints of a more pungent, floral aroma. It was quite a sickening contrast.

Hillary placed her father
’
s repugnant head over Caleigh
’
s chest, repositioning her sister
’
s arm to keep it in place. Caleigh thrashed her head about madly as her muffled protests increased. Hillary thought she would break her neck if she didn
’
t calm down. Still, she couldn
’
t help but laugh at Caleigh
’
s reaction.

Hillary pulled her camera free from her wrist and snapped a few shots of her terrified sister cradling her father
’
s gruesome head. Hillary laughed aloud, enjoying every second of tormenting Caleigh. She moved the head higher, closer to Caleigh
’
s face. She was just about to take the picture when Caleigh
’
s frenzied movement sent the head rolling down to the floor. It struck the floor with a dull thud.

“
Look what you did!
”
Hillary shouted at Caleigh, only realizing afterward how loud she was and making an effort to lower her voice.
“
You ruined my picture,
”
she said angrily, in a hushed voice.

Hillary tempestuously grabbed the hideous orb that once sat upon her father
’
s neck and shoved it violently to her sister
’
s face.

“
Wanna give Daddy a kiss?
”
she whispered callously, pressing the head against Caleigh
’
s.

Caleigh wailed in protest, turning her face away and shutting her eyes so that she wouldn
’
t have to see the dead, bloodied flesh covering her father
’
s decapitated head. It was bad enough she ha
d to smell it. It was the worst
thing she had ever smelled in her life.