Ashby Holler (32 page)

Shapes swirled against the faint glow of stars. A person? Sasha tried to reach out, strained to kick, cry, move, but only a cold shell remained.

Her head rolled to the side without consent, and a set of bright teeth grinned behind chunks of flesh. The flaps of skin swayed, peeling. For a second, Sasha thought the skull was laughing at her, mocking her for meeting the fate she dished out to so many others. Then a swarm of maggots oozed through the cracks of rotted meat and spilled onto her face.

A blanket of white washed over Sasha’s numb body. In the blinding fog, she glimpsed bright green eyes. She couldn’t see a face. No sound penetrated this barrier of pure bliss, just soft arms lifting her into a tunnel of rainbow light.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Sasha clawed at the speck of white, which beamed through the cold blackness that surrounded her. A deep voice drove her, his voice. He spoke in tones of love, louder than ever before. This time, Sasha could trace it. The more she scratched at the dark, the clearer his words echoed. Vinny. His desperation fueled her fight, bringing a strength to her mind she’d long forgotten.

Fingers slid between her own, and she squeezed. Vinny called her name. His lips brushed her cheek, and warm breath sparked electric tingles along the back of her neck.

“Vinny,” Sasha mumbled, leaning toward his touch.

“I’m here,” Vinny said, gripping Sasha’s hand tightly. “Open your eyes! Come on, Sasha, I know you can do it.”

A rush of strange sounds filled Sasha’s ears. High-pitched beeps, the low static of a television, laughter in the distance, but most importantly, Vinny. Her eyelids fluttered. The sting of bright light burned her eyes, cutting straight into her brain, but she wouldn’t stop staring into the glare. Not until she glimpsed Vinny’s face.

“Vinny.” First, his eyes faded in then his smile. “Am I…?”

“You came back.” Vinny collapsed against Sasha’s chest, sprinkling her face with kisses laced in tears. “I knew you’d come back. They said it was impossible, but they don’t know you.”

“Who…? What…?” Sasha stuttered. Her throat seared with every word. She reached out, and her arm flopped back down to a soft mattress.

“Don’t try to speak,” Vinny said in a rush. “I’ll get a doctor.”

“No.” Sasha swatted at the air, snagging Vinny’s shirt. “Water.”

“Right! Hold up.”

Wires tangled around Sasha’s arm, and she looked over. An IV? She followed the tubes to a metal pole, sitting beside a blinking monitor. The hospital. She was in a hospital.

“You ready?”

Sasha rolled her head to the side, looking right into Vinny’s smile. It wasn’t a dream. He was there with her. The back of her mattress raised, and she pushed to keep herself upright. It wasn’t easy. Her arms were like jelly.

“Slow sips,” Vinny said. He lifted a cup to Sasha’s lips, and cold water rushed in, shocking her body with its chill. Her throat sealed shut, and she gagged, coughing water in a spray onto her lap.

“Oh fuck,” Vinny cried out, slamming down the cup and patting Sasha on the back. “Are you okay?”

“What happened?” Her voice came out so raspy she hardly recognized it. After clearing the lumps from her throat, she signaled for more water. This time, she managed to hold her own cup, a feat that seemed to amaze Vinny. “Where’s my mom?”

“What do you remember?” Vinny asked, sitting in the chair stationed beside the bed.

Sasha tried to think back, but memories jumbled in flashes. Dez’s arms, holding her tight. Her mother and Dante, creeping toward her in dark woods. The cellar.

“I fell into the cellar.” Sasha cringed. That was one memory she wished had never returned. She could still feel bones digging into her back, flesh of rotted skulls peeling beneath her fingernails.

Vinny kept one hand firmly planted on Sasha’s waist, leaning closer to brush stands of hair from her forehead. “What were you doing up there?”

It took Sasha a minute to sort through her thoughts, which streamed into her mind all at once and in no particular order. So many cruel glares had been flung her way, and she relived them now in a blur. The image of Candy’s sweet face bursting into bits of pink clumps stopped every other thought, forcing the horror story that was Sasha’s life back into her brain.

“I saw a light, heard voices. My mom and Dante were by the cellar, arguing. The door was open. Dante said…” Sasha squeezed her lips closed. What Dante said to her on that mountain, how he was there to lock her up and steal her baby at her mother’s request, would never leave her mouth. Ever. “I don’t know. Dante said some shit, and my mom grabbed the gun from my hand. I think I tripped and fell into the cellar.”

Sasha sat up, pushing Vinny’s hand off her cheek. “Where’s my mom? Dez?” She gripped onto her stomach. It felt different. Empty. “My baby.”

“Sasha.” Vinny took her hand, holding so tight Sasha couldn’t jerk away. She didn’t want to hear what was about to flow from Vinny’s mouth. His face said it all.

“Your mother didn’t make it. I’m so sorry.”

“No.” Sasha finally twisted her wrist free, sagging down. Her spine tingled, shooting prickles into her toes. It would’ve been the worst pain she ever experienced, but her splintered heart dulled it to a petty ache. Her mother was dead. That was why the world looked so dark, why a hollow void carved a hole through the center of her chest. Her mother’s light wasn’t around to fill the cracks of Sasha’s soul with warmth. She could never be warm again.

“How?” was the only word Sasha could force from her mouth.

“Ellen took three bullets. By the time we got there, she was dead and you were in the cellar. Dez jumped in, broke his fuckin’ ankle, but we hoisted you out.”

“Am I broken?” Sasha flung the blanket aside and wiggled her toes, sighing as they waved in what might be the most beautiful sight of her life.

“No,” Vinny said, sounding just as surprised as Sasha felt. “Nothing permanent, now that you’re awake.”

Vinny said the last part like it was a miracle. In fact, he looked at her as if she’d risen from the dead.

“I lost my baby.” Sasha wrapped her arms around her stomach, as though she could hug the lost child she’d failed to protect. She’d been able to keep from breaking down, barely, but tears were pushing for release.

“The baby’s fine,” Vinny said, his voice raised as if to pose a question. “He’s, umm—”

Sasha leaned away from Vinny’s nervous stare, her side hitting the bed’s metal rail. “He’s?”

Again, Vinny went straight for Sasha’s hand. The situation was turning creepy and starting to piss her off.

“This is gonna be really weird,” Vinny said, nearly crushing Sasha’s hand with his tight grip. “So just try to stay cool.”

“Dude, you’re about to get really punched if you don’t start making sense.”

Vinny snickered, his fingers shaking against the back of Sasha’s hand. A glaze coated his eyes. It was the way he looked before he kissed her or cried.

“You were asleep for a long time, Sasha, but the baby kept growing inside you.”

“What?” Sasha pulled up her gown, gasping at the sight of a wide scar running across her stomach. It was grotesque and fitting. Her outsides finally reflected the ugliness within.

“A few months after they cut him out, the doctors took you off life support, but you kept fighting.”

Sasha ran her finger along the puffy line that mutilated her smooth skin. It couldn’t be real. She would be able to feel something if a baby had grown inside her, some kind of connection. This had to be a nightmare. Sasha covered her eyes, but the beep of a heart monitor, the scratchy sheets beneath her didn’t go away. A flood of tears snuck loose, pooling in her palm, and she dropped her arms to her sides.

“How long has it been?” Sasha asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

Vinny’s hands left Sasha’s skin for the first time since she woke up.

“Four years,” he said in a near whisper that hurled shivers beneath Sasha’s flesh. “I’ve been here every day. Dez comes by when he can, but it’s hard with running the club and chasing Tyler.”

“Tyler?”

“Your son! I have a picture in my wallet.”

Vinny reached for his pocket, and Sasha shook her head. She didn’t want to see that picture, the creature they cooked inside her then carved out. The pinnacle of this hellish reality. Sasha squirmed back as Vinny shoved a photo in her face. It was just a baby. Curly brown hair, a dark stare, and a goofy smile. Another cute kid. Not hers, though. The baby she knew died in the cellar, along with Sasha Ashby.

“Here,” Vinny said, waving the picture in front of Sasha’s eyes. “You can have it. I got lots more.”

“I don’t—”

Before Sasha could utter another word, Vinny shoved the picture in her hand. A strong pull drew her gaze to the photo and that kid’s smile. She turned the picture over, looking away. That damn kid haunted her with his deep eyes, Dante’s eyes.

“He’s got your eyes,” Vinny said through a grin.

“No, he doesn’t,” Sasha snapped, flinching at her own nasty tone.

“It’s a really old picture. Wait ‘til you see him now. He’s so big.” Vinny jumped to his feet, nearly choking on his wide smile. “I gotta call the guys, get a doctor in here.” He leaned over, kissing Sasha on the forehead. “Try to relax. I’ll be right back.”

The notion of relaxation was too funny to laugh at. She couldn’t slow the pound of her heart. Nothing could be done about the room that spun around her, growing smaller with each whirl. Her mother died, taking the only world Sasha knew with her, and she was supposed to relax?

Somewhere outside this hospital room, a new life had her name on it, a bizarre life where Dez ran the club and a strange child waited. That life didn’t belong to her. It belonged to her ghost.

Sasha had to get away before this new life came to claim her, run as fast as her weak legs would carry her, except her stupid legs wouldn’t move. No matter how hard she strained, only twitches stirred her feet.

“Fuck!” Sasha cried out, crashing her fist against the bed’s hard rail.

“What on earth?” A nurse strolled inside the room, stopping short. “Oh my! You’re awake. I’ll get the doctor.”

“Wait!” Sasha reached out, wobbling on the edge of the bed.

The nurse ran to Sasha’s side, pushing her back onto the pillows. “Try to be still, sweetie. Your limbs have been out of commission for some time. You don’t want to pull one of those tender muscles.”

Soft fingertips glided to Sasha’s wrist then to her neck. She peered at the nurse beside her, gazing into playful brown eyes. Her stare drifted down a silky neck, to the overflowing cleavage beside a nametag. It took a few seconds, but Sasha glanced over to scan the name.

“Nurse Baker,” Sasha said, grabbing onto the woman’s hand.

“Ginger,” the nurse said, adjusting Sasha’s IV. “I can’t believe you pulled out of it. Must be all those fine-looking men. Give you something to wake up for, huh?”

“Listen.” Sasha opened the flap of her hospital gown, pulling wires off her chest. “I’ll give you five thousand dollars if you get me out of here right now.”

“Out of here!” The nurse clicked off the heart monitor, silencing its screech, then tried to stop Sasha from ripping out the IV. “Sweetie, you’re going to need months of physical therapy before your arms and legs cooperate properly.”

“Okay. I’ll give you another five g’s if you get my shit working again.” Sasha grabbed the woman by the arm, holding as tight as she could. “That’s ten grand, cash.” It was so close. The woman’s eyes lit up then dropped. “Please, Miss.”

“Ten grand, really?”

The woman’s question made Sasha’s pulse race. She’d pay anything, kill whoever, to get out of this mess. “I swear to fucking God.”

After a grin then a frown, the nurse said, “I’ll do it. Let me go get a wheelchair.”

The nurse walked away, her heels clacking, and Sasha ripped the needle from her arm, wiping a stream of blood on her blanket. The picture flipped over, its glossy surface drawing her stare. She lifted the tiny portrait, holding her breath. Those chubby cheeks, strong jaw. It reminded her of Dez and fractured her will.

Sasha slapped the picture on the nightstand, pushing it away. One more glimpse would crumble her resolve, drive her back into Dez’s web of lies and lust.

“All right.” The nurse breezed back into the room, pushing a wheelchair. “Your cute friend was coming back, so I sent him on a goose chase for the doctor. You sure you want to do this?”

Five times Sasha asked herself this very question, and five times she came back with the same answer.

“Hell yeah.” Sasha shoved her dead legs over the side of the bed, waving the nurse closer. Her body slumped into the wheelchair, and she pulled the blanket over her, tucking it around her bare feet. A jitter spawned in her chest, creeping up to chatter her teeth. The wheelchair squeaked as the nurse pushed Sasha across the room, toward a brightly lit hall.

“You need anything before we go?” the nurse asked, slowing in the doorway. “There’s a leather jacket hanging in the closet.”

“No. I’m good.” Sasha didn’t look back. There was nothing behind her except agony, misery, and shame. Her eyes stayed ahead, eager to glimpse the next chapter of her new life as Sasha Lazzari.

The End