fiX - A ParaBnormal Fairy Tale Read online

  Cadence knelt in front of Juno and took her hands, rubbing them slowly and soothingly, her lashes batting slowly. “You’ll need to stay with us for the night. Your new home isn’t ready for you yet. David isn’t ready for it yet, either. But, after tonight, he will be. It’s still coming. It’s already come once today, and it will be coming again this evening. Late at night. You’ll be safe if you stay here.”

  As Cadence spoke, the right strap of her gown slid slightly off her shoulder, exposing what looked to be darkened skin between her spine and shoulder blade.

  “How do you mean?” Juno asked. “I don’t understand? How am I safe? What are you talking about? Is this a plan? How is this a good plan?” She took hold of Cadence’s arms and shook her. “And what? Don’t you worry about Davey. I’ve got him under control. I need to make sure Brent—I mean, my house—is okay.”

  Cadence’s voice came into David’s head. I can’t stop her from going home. Not without use of force. In the future, you must be more careful. Juno is beyond confused right now and you only transferred a small amount of your saliva to her indirectly. You must keep watch over her for the next seven minutes or so. And you must convince her to stay the night here. Be back before eleven twenty-six this evening. Promise me, please.

  I promise you, Melody, David said. I’ll take care of it.

  I mean no disrespect, but you have to take your eyes off my backside first, she said, growing more livid. Please stop analysing me with your eyes and your heart and your mind. It’s wrong on so many levels... And it’s clouding my thinking. It’s making me feel very strong emotion. It’s making it impossible for me to concentrate. And my name is not Melody.

  David apologised as Cadence’s blink rate went through the roof, her body flickered in and out of view, and she held Juno’s head, rubbing her temples. Barely keeping from crushing Juno’s skull as she asked her, in a whisper, if she would, please, desist from not wearing any underwear while alone with her men and to quit putting her smell on them.

  She’s not the problem, David said as Cadence relaxed and her blinking slowed. Why does Brent hit you where no one will see?

  “Okay,” Cadence said to Juno, ignoring David’s question but adjusting her nightgown. “You may go to your home to make sure Brent is all right, but you must promise to stay the night here with us. You must trust we will protect you. Do you promise?”

  “Sure,” Juno said, still fidgeting. “I have to hurry.” She rubbed her temples. “Jesus, do I have one mother fucker of a headache.”

  Cadence let go of Juno and she ran out the back patio door, yelling after Brent.

  “You should go,” Cadence said. “But, for the love of all that’s Holy, please, stop. I beg of you. Brent has never laid a hand on me. What you saw was... Look.” Her face grew darker. “If you keep looking over every inch of me like you’re my lover and you can’t release your memories—What you think you know of me—this will become very complicated. And you may not care for what that will mean.”

  “I’m sorry,” David replied, getting up to follow Juno.

  As he left the room and began to walk outside, David grabbed Cadence and spun her around. He placed one hand on her lower back and clamped the other one lightly, but firmly, around her neck.

  “What are you doing?” She flinched. “Please don’t hurt me. I never—”

  He breathed heavily and directly out through his nose across her lips, causing her features to reshape into an older version of his Melody. Then he took her head in his hands and kissed her. Fully. Deeply. Touching their physical tongues and feeling the surge of pleasure. She reciprocated vigorously, for longer than a moment, and then began pushing herself away.

  When their lips separated, she slapped him sharply across the face, looking angry and apologising for her violent outburst immediately.

  “I understand,” Cadence said as she composed herself. “I understand that you’re confused, and upset, but that doesn’t mean that you can do whatever you wish to me. It’s not... You can’t be—”

  “Was my mind telling me lies just now?” he asked as she looked down and away, confused and still fuming. “Was yours? Who’s playing games with who, Melody? Just run away. You’re good at that.”

  His feelings spoke to her and told her, maybe, giving him the power he needed to allow her to provide through him. Making him her equal. Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea. He was an addict. And the more he tasted her—the more he saw the girl he loved before he gave himself over to the brown poison, the darkness and the insane dictates of his now-absent uncle—the more hooked on her he was becoming.

  “You spoilt little...” She growled as she flushed with frustration, balled up her fists and shook even harder, running to her room to hide away.

  David followed after Juno, seeing her run to the side of their home and stop underneath the front window, beside the open front door. She was trying to peek through the blinds to no avail, which was a bad thing and a good thing. Bad, because she didn’t want to go inside without knowing what was waiting for her. Good, because it gave her the comfort of knowing prying eyes couldn’t look in and see her any time they pleased.

  David came up beside her and announced himself softly to keep from startling her.

  “Is Brent inside?” she asked. “Where did he go?”

  “Let’s take a quick look.” He glanced in the doorway. He immediately moved back and away in shock, reaching out behind him to grab onto her.

  “What?” She walked under his fumbling arm and looked inside the house herself. “There’s nothing in here. No one, I don’t think.” She walked in the front door and crept toward the back bedroom. “But someone pulled the power cord for my television in my bedroom. And my phone is off the hook.” She was whispering, but not quite.

  He followed her inside, still unsure of what had happened or how they’d been spared death at the hands of the goons Richard and Paul had surely sent to cut them to pieces as soon as they got their tape. But that tape wasn’t in the house. It was still in his front jeans pocket. Perhaps, he wondered as he stepped inside, this would all be over already if he had left it there for the goons to find.

  He watched in wonder as Juno made her way toward the back bedroom, hanging up the kitchen phone as she went. Not noticing the fresh blood spatter on the walls, the chunks of what might have been human flesh and bone, or the off-colour fluid that pooled on the counter and dripped over the edge onto the floor beneath. But he could smell the violence that had taken place just moments before. He could see it all, as if it were a recent memory. Bodies being torn apart savagely. Screams of horror in no particular language. The sounds of flesh rending and smacking against the walls. Bones breaking. Lives being extinguished like matchstick flames. Simple. As if with one quick breath. One blow.

  The television came on loudly as he jumped and Juno let out a screech. He went into the bedroom to make sure she was okay, but she was just standing in front of the television, lowering the volume and pushing the power button to silence the set.

  “Thank Jesus.” She panted and looked around the room. “Maybe they just came and left? This is bizarre. I thought they were supposed to have come already. Isn’t that what...?” Her eyes went vacant. Wondering why she was so certain what Cadence told her was true. “And where’s Brent? Didn’t he come over here? Am I so jacked on adrenaline I can’t remember seven minutes ago?”

  “Maybe he’s out in the garage. He’s definitely not in here. No one’s in here. Although someone must have been.” He looked down, noticing the chest of drawers that had been moved to reach the wall’s power outlet was the one she had hidden the cash under. “What about the money?”

  She looked back at him and pulled out the bottom drawer of the dislodged chest. The briefcase was still there, but it was open. Seven bundles of one dollar bills were laying outside the briefcase and she scrambled to stuff them back in and snap the case shut. “Do you think Brent saw this?” she asked. “Do you think he took any of my money?”<
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  “I doubt it. Why would he? There wasn’t much in there. I don’t think any is missing.”

  She held her head in her hands. “Now they’re definitely hunting me. They’re not making too much of a mess. Barely even leaving any real signs they’ve been here. But they’ve come and they’re going to keep on coming. This was a bad plan, Davey. I fuckin’ told you it was stupid. Why did I trust you? You shouldn’t have done what you did. I had a... Well, it wasn’t a good life. But at least I wasn’t being hunted down like an animal. They’re going to mutilate me. There’s nothing I can do now but wait. And hope I don’t get the nicest people I’ve met in years killed because of you. Oh Christ.”

  “Maybe Brent’s out in the garage,” David said again. This time not waiting for her to acknowledge him before turning around and walking toward the front door.

  “What the fuck, Davey? Did you not listen to a word I said?”

  “No, I heard you.” He continued to walk to the door. “I understand you’re upset. But there’s nothing we can do to change the past. There’s only now. That’s what we have to deal with. We have to trust everything will be all right. Because everything will be all right.”

  “How is everything all right?” She whimpered as she followed him back out and stopped him in the kitchen. “How is everything going to be all right?”

  As he gazed behind her, at the aftermath of what looked to be the brutal execution of the first wave of muscle Paul and Richard had sent to kill them, he wasn’t sure what to tell her. He only knew she didn’t feel half the fear she would have if Cadence had allowed her to keep the gift she’d given them both, and kept her eyes open to the evidence of the carnage that was all around her. The blood that was staining the floor. Threatening to muddy her sneakers. She’d either be crawling the walls or paralysed with terror.

  “Look,” he said. “Cadence said we were safe now. She said we were protected. And Brent. You saw how he reacted when he got that news. He was relieved. Not worried in the slightest. We have to trust everything will be all right. However odd we may find our new neighbours, they’re helping us. Everything is going to be okay.”

  “Why?” She grabbed his arm and pulled him in to whisper. “Because of your new girlfriend? The frumpy little prude who walks around hanging her head in shame. Afraid of her own shadow. Because she says it’s okay?” He looked back at her and at his arm where her fingernails would normally be digging in. “Maybe she’s still got you confused. I know you can’t take your eyes off her flat ass for some fucked up reason. But just because she’s got a weird smell. Just because she secretes hormones faster and heavier than most people breathe out air. That doesn’t make her my saviour, okay, Davey? Just because you want to fuck something strange and ugly this week doesn’t qualify her to say whether or not this situation is going to turn out all right.”

  “Listen, Junie—” As he went to pull her closer, she pushed him away.

  “No. I’m not listening to you anymore. The last time I did, this is what happened. I ended up in the boonies with no one to help me and some very bad people who have all the time, and all the desire, in the world to see me ended. I’m trapped here. Like an animal. Admit it, Davey. Pretending it isn’t so isn’t going to make it not happen. And that stump-stupid skeleton of a woman may think calming down is going to magically fix everything, but that’s not how the real world works, you stupid fuckin’ piece of shit.”

  “Hey, watch your mouth.” He grabbed her arm again and pulled her beside him as she struggled to move away with all her might. Wondering at how weak her flesh felt in his grip. How it felt like her bones might snap if he lost his temper and gave her arm a good tug. “Cadence may not be conventional. But she’s been right so far. She’s saved our lives once today. What do we have to lose by trusting her again tonight? What?”

  “That pug-ugly little bitch really has you under her spell doesn’t she?” she asked. “She’s so lost and lonely. So full of shit with her ‘sheepish schoolgirl’ act. See-through as plastic wrap. And you’re eating it up. If it wasn’t for Brent, I’d go over there right now and teach her a lesson, but good.”

  “Well, what if I went out to the garage? Found Brent? Kept him busy? Made sure he couldn’t come between you and Cadence, no matter how loud and insane your confrontation became? Would you like that?”

  “As if you could.” She tried to free herself, but only felt his grip on her tighten. “Let go of me. You’re going to fuck up my arm, you fuckin’ idiot.”

  “No,” he said. “I’m getting sick of your constant complaining. You couldn’t possibly make a life as anything but a prostitute. Yet you managed to. You couldn’t ever kick. The smack was going to own you until it killed you. Never a doubt about that. Again, you managed to overcome the addiction. You could never love any one man, but you began dating me exclusively, because you found you could. Or at least I believed you when you told me you did.”

  She smacked him in the face, drawing back her throbbing hand quickly. “That’s not fair, you fucking bastard. I promised myself to you because I thought I saw something in you.”

  “And now there’s no way you’re ever going to be able to start a new life, or get away from Ricky and Paulie and their army of thugs. Though the past has proven the opposite of almost everything you’ve ever been sure of. Except our relationship.”

  “What do you mean?” She trembled. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying you said you started seeing me because you thought you saw something in me. Past tense. Like you were wrong.”

  She frowned. “Score one for me, then. Because I was wrong. I was so wrong. You’re an idiot. And you’re dangerous to be around. More so—though it should be impossible—now that you’re straight and you’ve knocked off the ‘uncle’ nonsense.”

  The phone rang as Juno continued to rattle on and David picked it up immediately, much to her indignation.

  “Hello?” he asked. “What is it, Ricky?”

  “What?” Richard replied. “I mean, hey Davey. Looks like you got lucky this afternoon, you miserable cock sucker.”

  “Why?” he asked. “Because now you’re going to send more idiots down here to do your dirty work? Why don’t you just get it over with and bring your lame ass down here, so you can die today and we can stop with all this fucking nonsense. I’ve got enough bullshit to put up with, dealing with Junie.”

  “You mother fucker,” Richard roared. “You may think you’re safe out there, but let me tell you something—”

  David hung up the phone and picked it back up off the hook, making sure he heard a dial tone and threw the receiver on the counter.

  “What the fuck is your problem?” Juno cried. “You really don’t give a shit about—”

  “Shut up, Junie. Back on point.” David glared at her. “Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to go out to the garage. I’m going to find Brent, wherever he is. When I do, I’m going to give you the signal. Maybe he will too. He doesn’t know what you’re thinking.” He tightened his grip on her arm as she began to turn away. “Then you’re going to go over to the Strange household. You’re going to speak to my new girlfriend. The woman you, all of a sudden, feel nothing but contempt for. You’re going to tell her what you think of all her bullshit. You’re going to tell her how little her offer of assistance means to you. Then you’re going to lay her out. Give her a good smack and show her who’s boss. Put that little bitch, as you call her. Put her in her place and let her know who’s running the show and who’s calling the shots. You’re going to tell her we don’t need her precious help and you’re sick and tired of her ‘poor me’ routine, and you’re going to tell her, in no uncertain terms, you don’t want her coming anywhere near either of us ever again. Then you’re going to come back and we’re either going to face this problem alone, or we’ll run, or, maybe, we’ll try to work out some way to let our neighbours help us, while maintaining a tenuous and hostile relationship. Go.”

  He let go of her arm
and she looked at the imprints of his hand. They looked dark red now and would bruise in two or three hours. “You hurt me. You grabbed me too hard. Why?”

  “What difference does it make? You’re going to be dead before tomorrow comes anyway, right?” He moved away, hung up the phone properly and headed to the front of the house. “Go fuck everything up and have a word with my new girlfriend.”

  “What...” she said, not knowing how to finish her sentence. Not knowing, in that moment, how to express that all the words coming out of her mouth were just the product of frustration and overwhelming fear. Not knowing, though he wasn’t sure how, David could sense just that with certainty.

  Cadence’s voice came softly into his head. You’re doing well, David. She needs to be tired tonight. She needs to be asleep, in my beloved’s home, before eleven twenty-six tonight. So you can begin to provide. Perhaps, and I hate to ask you this, you could make sure the two of you have some alone time together before you return?

  No, he replied. Right now, she’s making me feel ill. However outwardly attractive she may be, I have no desire to sleep with her. Less and less every second.

  But she must be truly exhausted, and you can truly exhaust her at least one way. She’s extremely beautiful. It shouldn’t be hard to manage.

  Looks aren’t everything. You—however many faces you wear—should know that. She’s not making me feel anything but anger right now. And if it weren’t for your ‘gift’ I wouldn’t have ended up rolling around in the sack with her in our new home, at all.

  Not that you didn’t try when you first arrived, David. Remember who you’re talking to. Let it pass. Though it may be difficult, given how she’s well able to manipulate you with her words, it must be done. Or she will be lost. We’ll be lost. Both of us, now that we’re equal.

  What happened to your code? David asked. I thought you didn’t believe in violating other people’s privacy.