Hillary_Flesh and Blood (36 page)

“
I wanna play now,
”
he complained, pouting.

“
You want Storm to come home?
”

Joshua nodded eagerly.

“
Then eat your food for Storm. Mom will go and get her if you finish eating quickly.
”

It looked as though Joshua was contemplating his options. After a brief pause, he picked up his chicken leg and began nibbling.

Kathy smiled and gave Hillary a thumbs-up. She had handled the situation perfectly, to Kathy
’
s satisfaction. The three of them finished their meal without any further stress or excitement. The mood was once again light and amicable. Kathy grabbed
the
package of baby wipes and began cleaning the mess off Joshua
’
s face and neck.

“
I
’ll change his clothes
,
”
Kathy informed Hillary as she lifted Josh
u
a,
“
can you clear the table and load the dishwasher?
”

“
No problem,
”
Hillary agreed as she stood and began stacking the plates and p
ili
ng the silverware.

Ten minutes later, Kathy and Joshua were back downstairs. It was already after one thirty. Kathy had wanted to leave by then but Joshua had thrown a full-blown temper tantrum upstairs over an outfit she had selected for him to wear. In the end, she just gave in to his demands
and allowed him to wear the faded red fire engine shirt
.

It always bothered
Kathy
that she had so little control
that even a t
oddler
could manipulate her. Michael had never helped the situation. If anything, he encouraged Joshua
’
s fits and would yell at her whenever she didn
’
t cater to his little
commander-in-
training. She might have stood her ground
now
if she had more time. Yet, she was running late and didn
’
t want Storm to end up at the pound.

“
Okay, Hillary,
”
she said with a slight sigh,
“
I
’
m ready to go.
”

“Okay, Mom. B
e careful driving.
”

“
Oh, let me make sure I have the checkbook,
”
she said, doubling back to the table in the foyer. She searched within the main compartment of her purse then nodded. She wondered just how much it was going to cost her. She hoped it wouldn
’
t be too steep...she and Michael didn
’
t have much in their savings account and she knew she would have to dip into those funds to support the household.

With a deep sigh, Kathy zipped her purse and grabbed her car keys.

“
Come give Mama a kiss,
”
Kathy called out to Joshua, who ran to her with open arms. She lifted him, spun him around, hugged him and kissed him on his neck as he giggled and squirmed in he
r
arms.

“
Be good for Hillary,
”
she said as she leaned over and placed him at her side.

“
He
’
ll be just fine,
”
Hillary said with a twinkle in her eyes,
“
right, Joshy?
”

Joshua nodded happily,
“
play hide and seek with Hillry,
”
he declared.

“
Thanks again, Hillary,
”
Kathy said, giving her daughter a quick hug and peck on her cheek.
“
I should be back in a couple of hours. Call my cell phone if you need anything.
”

Kathy opened the front door, stepped out a
nd snuck an unsettling backward glance
toward her children before quietly closing the door.

Hillary followed Joshua to the side window where he always waved to his mother when she left without him.

“
Say goodbye to Mommy,
”
Hillary whispered in his ear.

You
’
ll never see her again....

~15~

“
After I
’
m done chopping these veggies we can play, okay?
”
Hillary asked Joshua moments after their mother had driven off.

“
Ooo-kaaayyy,
”
Joshua agreed reluctantly.

Hillary
lifted him
up and set him down on the counter top next to her.

“
Look at the big knife, Joshy,
”
she said, holding the knife in front of his face for him to see.
“
Do you want to play with it?
”

Joshua sho
ok his head nervously as he shied
a
way from the knife. His mother had warned him many times never to touch knives.

“
Dain-drus,
”
he said.

“
Okay,
”
Hillary said,
“
I
’
ll chop and you put the veggies in the pot, okay?
”

Hillary placed a large pot, halfway full of water, beside Joshua. He smiled, excited to be a
“
big boy helper.
”
Hillary began chopping carrots and potatoes. Once Joshua overcame his fear of the loud whacking sound the knife made each time Hillary chopped, he scooped them into the pot with his chubby little hands.

“
Are you having fun, Joshy?
”

Joshua nodded. He had
a shy
little
grin on his face.

“
We
’
re gonna have even more fun in just a few minutes,
”
Hillary promised.

She finished chopping the carrots and potatoes, quickly minced an onion then added three cubes of chicken broth. When everything was in the pot, she carried it over to the stove and turned on the burner.

“
Okay, Joshy,
”
she said, wiping her hands on a kitchen rag,
“
let
’
s have some fun!
”

Carrying the knife in her left hand, she led Joshua to the basement with her right hand in his.

“
I have a big surprise for you,
”
Hillary said excitedly.

“
Surprise for Joshy?
”

“
Yep!
”
Hillary exclaimed, pausing at the door to the basement. She leaned over to look Josh directly in his eyes.

“
You wanna see Lee Lee?
”

“
Lee Lee!
”
Josh
u
a giggled in anticipation. His little heart danced with joy. It was his lucky day, like his birthday. He was going to see Storm again
and
Lee Lee. After a few seconds, Joshua crinkled his little forehead.

“
Daddy too?
”

Hillary
’
s smile faded fast. Her face became serious, angry.

“
Not Daddy,
”
she said,
“
Daddy is dead.
”

Joshua looked confused. He didn
’
t know much about death and had just a vague idea that it was a bad thing.

“
It means that he
’
s gone, for good. He
’
s never, ever coming back.
”

Joshua
’
s lower lip began to quiver and his eyes misted. In an instant he was wailing loudly, calling out for his father.

“
Shhh,
”
Hillary said, crouching down to his level,
“
don
’
t worry, you
’
re going to see Daddy again real soon.
”

In hell.

Joshua quieted down but remained leery.
He was confused.

“
Okay, c
’
mon, let
’
s go see Lee Lee.
”

Joshua wiped his eyes and a narrow smile formed on his face. He nodded as Hillary stood up and clasped her hand over his. She opened the basement door and the two of them slowly descended the stairs.

“
Where
’
s Lee Lee?
”
he asked when they reached the last step.

Caleigh began making noise. Her cries were muffled but loud enough to be heard. Her desperate sounds startled Joshua. His eyes opened wide.

“
What
’
s that Hillry?
”
he asked nervously.

“
Oh, that
’
s just Lee Lee,
”
Hillary said, leading Joshua toward their sister.

Joshua inched forward slowly, lagging behind Hillary. He was never fond of the basement. He always thought the noises were scary.

“
C
’
mon, Joshy, Lee Lee can
’
t wait to see you!
”

“
Where
’
s Lee Lee?
”
he asked softly.

“
Right down there,
”
Hillary pointed with the knife in her left hand.

Innocent little Joshua was none the wiser. He didn
’
t question why Hillary was carrying a knife. Caleigh
’
s cries grew louder as they advanced toward her.

“
Where?
” Joshua asked impatiently. H
e couldn
’
t see behind the pile until Hillary positioned him to the side. He spotted Caleigh
’
s feet and familiar sneakers.

“
Hide and seek!
”
he said happily, clapping his hands.
“
Found you, Lee Lee!
”

Hillary moved some of the containers and boxes blocking Joshua
’
s sight. His face grew visibly worried as he saw the blood all over Caleigh
’
s body. Then he saw her face.
He frowned at first then
screamed. He turned to run away but Hillary grabbed him by his arm, yanking him back.

“
Come say hello to Lee Lee,
”
Hillary said.

“
Not Lee Lee!
”
Joshua cried, trying to wrench free from Caleigh
’
s grasp.

“
Yes, look.
”

Hillary ripped the tape off Caleigh
’
s face. Only the
useless
duct tape remained and dangled at the side of he
r
mouth.

“
Joshy!
”
Caleigh cried out
,
“W
here
’
s Mom? Where
’
s Mommy, Joshy?
”

Hillary laughed out loud.

“
You think he can help you?
”
she cackled,
“
he
’
s about to p
ee
his pants!
”

Joshua was crying hysterically. He recognized his sister
’
s voice, but not her face. He didn
’
t want to look at her face. She looked like Halloween. She looked like a monster.

“
Joshy, where
’
s Mommy?
”
Caleigh repeated desperately.

Joshua tried to peek at Caleigh but she was too scary. He screamed and turned his head away. The worst part of her was her eyes. The
y
bulged out like the ones he had once seen in a movie with zombies that his father was watching. It had given him nightmares for nearly a full week. Joshua thought Caleigh might be a zombie now. It made him cry even louder.

Even Hillary had been taken aback by the hideous sight Caleigh had become. Her eyes, from the lack of moisture, had dried out and gathered dirt and dust particles. There was a cloudy film over her corneas and a yellowish discharge at the corners of her eyes.

Caleigh, in addition to being unable to feel her body, was now unable to see properly. But at the moment, she was more concerned about Joshua.

“
Run, Joshy,
”
she screamed,
“
go get Mom!
”

Joshua tried to run, he wanted to get far away from scary zombie Caleigh, but Hillary held him firmly in place.

“
Watch, Caleigh,
”
Hillary said,
“
I
’
ll show you what happened to Dad.
”

Hillary yanked Joshua closer and pulled down his shorts and underwear. The little boy trembled as he cried hysterically. He gagged
on his own saliva
and started coughing. Hillary ignored him.

“
So Dad came into my room. He put his dirty
thing
in my mouth and made me suck it....
”

Hillary
flicked
Joshua
’
s small penis with her index finger.

“
Of course, his was a lot bigger. Do you know what I did then?
”

Hillary grinned diabolically as she dropped to her knees, cupped Joshua
’
s rear end and shoved his crotch to her face. She opened wide, taking his little caterpillar-like member into her mouth. Smiling at her wide-eyed, horrified sister, she chomped down on his tiny genitalia, severing it completely from his body. She chewed on it like gum,
smiling
proudly.

Caleigh
turned her head away
. She could not stand to see little Joshua bleeding so badly. Joshua shrieked in agonizing pain as he grabbed the blood-gushing hole where his little
“
pee pee
”
used to be. He was crying so hard that his little body wracked with sobs, heaving uncontrollably. It hurt Caleigh
’
s heart more than it hurt her ears to hear his blood-curdling screams.

Hillary spit the chewed-up, flattened, misshapen remains of her brother
’
s penis at her sister
’
s face. It bounced off her cheekbone and landed on the floor in front of her.

“
Just like that!
”
Hillary exclaimed, licking her lips,
“
that
’
s what I did to Dad.
”

She had stopped the cycle. Her brother would never have the chance to defile an innocent child the way their father had. He no longer possessed the instrument to inflict such cruelty.

“
But that
’
s not all I did...
”
she added impishly.

Joshua dropped to the ground and curled up in a fetal position. His shrill cries died down to low-tone moans and quiet whimpering.

Hillary dropped the knife. Her brother looked so small and pale. He had smeared his blood all over his face from wiping away his tears. Now he had blood
y prints
all over his
shirt as well
. Blood was everywhere on the floor where he lay still. Hillary kneeled down and lifted his little body up. His head lolled over her arm. A weak mewling sound escaped his quivering lips.

Hillary stood up
and
cradl
ed
her brother
’
s little body in her arms.

“
Lullaby and goodnight,
”
she sang softly, gently rocking his body,
“
go to sleep little baby, when you wake, you will find, Dad will be right by your side....
”

She hummed to Joshua as she rocked him until his eyes slowly closed and his whimpering stopped completely. She knew
the second
he had died in her arms. She stared down at her little brother, the brother she once loved so much. He was a chubby, bleeding cherub. She fought waves of sadness and suppressed her urge to cry. She swallowed hard as she gently placed his body on the floo
r
beside Caleigh.