Hillary_Flesh and Blood (19 page)

She could f
eel
one of the bags full of her father
’
s body parts pressing firmly against her left cheek. Though the smell of death s
t
ill managed to invade her nasal cavities, she knew it would be much worse if her sinuses were clear. Still, being so close to the smell and knowing what was causing it re
volted
her greatly.

As Caleigh
’
s mind re-lived the horrors of her afternoon, she began wondering if and when she would run out of air. To her surprise, she found herself hoping that it would be soon. She had no desire left to live. She prayed that she would die before Hillary opened the closet door again. Fantasizing about death
’
s sweet escape, her eyes grew heavy and in no time at all, she fell asleep.

~7~

Within twenty minutes, Hillary had devised a plan to cover up Caleigh
’
s disappearance. Springing up from the couch, she darted up the stairs to her parents
’
bedroom. She knew that they kept their luggage set in the back of their closet. She went right to it, grabbing the largest suitcase. She threw it on her parents
’
bed, closed the closet door and began rummaging through the dresser drawers in search of her father
’
s clothing. She grabbed armfuls of clothes, dumping each pile sloppily into the suitcase, sneering especially at his briefs. How often had she seen him undress from them before ravaging her unwilling body?

Hillary dragged the heavy suitcase to the hall and left it by her bedroom door while she proceeded to walk to Caleigh
’
s bedroom. She
pulled
a duffel bag
out of
the
closet and
stuffed Caleigh’s
clothing and personal items
into it
. Placing the strap over her shoulder, Hillary walked to the hall and grabbed the suitcase. She knew she had to get rid of them but wasn
’
t sure how she
’
d accomplish that task. For now she figured she could stash them under her bed. Her mother had no reason to look under there. She would make sure her mother stayed clear of her bedroom altogether.

As Hillary pushed the suitcase under her bed, she listened closely for Caleigh. She hadn
’
t heard any sounds from her sister since she was cleaning the bloodied carpet. She hoped Caleigh didn
’
t die. It wasn
’
t time yet...the fun wasn
’
t supposed to end so soon.

Curiosity getting the best of her, Hillary crept slowly to the closet once she had finished hiding the suitcase and duffel bag under her bed. She placed her ear to door and listened intently. Nothing. It was completely silent. Hillary began to worry. She threw open the closet door quickly. Caleigh
’
s body shifted, slumping away from the bags into the open space. Her eyes were closed. Hillary thought for sure she was dead. The blood Hillary had smeared on her face had dried and turned a brownish color. There was brighter, fresher blood caked on her nose, all over the duct tape and down on her neck. Hillary could see that her nose had been badly ruptured. She couldn
’
t help but wince at the sight of it.

“
Shit,
”
Hillary mumbled under her breath as she stared at her sister
’
s lifeless body.

She let her body slump slowly to the floor beside her sister. She had felt so strong, so powerful just a short while ago and now she was filled with a mixture of emotions. Waves of doubt, regret, anger and even sadness all tugged at her, vying for her acceptance.

She never cared about you,
the voice asserted,
why should you care about her?

Hillary
’s
eyes began to mist as she thought about
the girl
she used to be and what she had
now
become. It was hard to believe that she had killed two people
—
two family members
—
two people she once loved. What would she do now? Even if her plan worked and she could fool her mother into believing that her father left with her sister, she would know the truth. Could she really live with herself, with what she had done?

Shut up,
the voice admonished her.
It
’s not your fault…
he caused all of this to happen...he deserved to die....

It was true. Hillary knew that it was entirely her father
’
s fault. He had destroyed her life. How could she be blamed for anything she did when she would never have done it in the first place if he had only kept his hands and other body parts to himself?

Stay strong...crying is a sign of weakness...you
’
re in control now....

The emotions battling within Hillary
’
s mind made her dizzy. She heard the voice loudly and clearly, but wasn
’
t quite ready to listen. She looked over at her sister and a single tear escaped from her eye.

She was prettier than you,
the voice taunted.

S
he was better than you,
it continued.

That
’
s why your father didn
’
t touch her, didn
’
t hurt her like he hurt you...she was more important than you.
...

“
Shut up!
”
Hillary screamed angrily.

You
’
re just a weak, spineless whore....

“
No!
”
Hillary screamed,
“
I
’
m
not
weak, I
’
m
not
a whore, I
’
m
not
—”

Hillary stopped shouting, startled by the sudden movement of Caleigh
’
s head. Caleigh
’
s eyes slowly flickered open. She began making a sound, which, even through the tape, was loud and desperate.

Hillary reached over and pulled the duct tape free from Caleigh
’
s mouth with a quick
tug.
It made Caleigh grimace.

“
Hill...
”
she whispered laboriously, as if it took all her strength to try to utter her sister
’
s name.

Hillary didn
’
t know w
hat to feel. She eyed Caleigh
blankly.

“
Pleeeeassseee,
”
Caleigh moaned softly.

She
’
s better than you....

“
No...
”
Hillary whispered,
“
I
’
m
the better one.
”

“
Yes, yes,
”
Caleigh
agreed softly, hoping to pacify her sis
t
er.

She wants to play some more....

Hillary was ready to play some more too. She reached over and squeezed Caleigh
’
s bulbous nose. She could feel the crunching beneath her fingertips.

With strength she didn
’
t know she had left in her, Caleigh wailed in agonizing pain as she attempted to turn her head away from Hillary. Hillary finally released her nose when the blood began dripping down her hand.

“
Is that all you can feel? Your big, bloody nose?
”
Hillary asked sneeringly.
“
How about this?
”

Hillary pinched Caleigh
’
s chest, digging her nails in so deep that pieces of her sister
’
s flesh were dislodged and packed densely within her fingernails. Caleigh
’
s cries remained steady. It was apparent that she could not feel her chest.

“
What about this?
”
Hillary asked tersely as she pinched her right cheek the same way she had pinched her chest.

Caleigh responded with a loud, sharp yell as she pulled her head away from Hillary
’
s hand. Blood beaded on the surface of the deep scratches Hillary
’
s nails made on her face.

“
And this,
”
Hillary continued excitedly, pinching and bruising her sister
’
s arm.

Hillary was uncertain from Caleigh
’
s prolonged sobbing whether she could feel it.

“
Well? Is that a yes or a no?
”
she demanded, grabbing a hold of her sister
’
s meaty upper arm and squeezing it firmly, sinking all five of her nails within her sister
’
s soft flesh.

Caleigh nodded as her cries intensified.

“
No more,
”
she whimpered,
“
Pleeeaassse....
”

Hillary cackled as Caleigh stared into her rabid eyes, searching desperately for a glint of the sister she once knew.

“
Don
’
t bother begging...it doesn
’
t get you anywhere, believe me, I know.
”

“
Don
’
t hurt me....
”

“
Who stopped me from getting hurt? Where was my hero?
”

“
I don
’
t know,
”
Caleigh whimpered,
“
I don
’
t know.
”

“
You
don
’
t
know. You don
’
t know what I
’
ve been through. You don
’
t know the things I was forced to do.
”

“
What things?
”

“
It doesn
’
t matter now...no one will ever hurt me again.
”

“
Please let me go...I
’
ll help you.
”

Hillary laughed out loud.

“
How can you help me? You can
’
t even help yourself. You can barely move your head and every other part of you is useless.
”

Caleigh sobbed louder.

“
Maybe I just need to go to the hospital. Maybe a doctor can fix me.
”

“
Well we
’ll never know
will we
,
Lee Lee?
”

“
Hillary, please just let me go, I won
’
t tell anyone about...about...Daaaaddd....
”
Caleigh
’
s voice cracked as she became choked up.

“
I know you won
’
t tell,
‘
cause I won
’
t let you.
”

“
Are you...going to kill me?
”
Caleigh
’
s eyes held a mixture of terror and dread. She had felt like dying earlier, but now she just wanted to see her mother.

“
When we
’
re done having fun,
”
Hillary teased.

“
I didn
’
t even say goodbye to Mom,
”
Caleigh cried,
“
I was late for school. I didn
’
t even give her a kiss goodbye....
”

“
Awww,
”
Hillary mocked,
“
that
’
s so sad. I think I
’
m going to cry.
”

“
Please let me s
ee Mom again, Hillary, please,
please let me
—
”

“
Shut up!
”
Hillary yelled furiously.
“
Mom doesn
’
t give a damn anyway.
”

“
I have to,
”
Caleigh continued hysterically,
“
I have to see her...I have to see Mom...you have to let me see Mom, I have to, I have to....
”

Caleigh repeated herself frantically as Hillary walked over to her dresser where she had returned the duct tape. She tore
off a
long piece and rushed over to Caleigh whose incessant ranting sounded more and more like unintelligible screeching as fear and anxiety raised her voice several octaves. Hillary placed the tape over Caleigh
’
s mouth, pressing down upon it firmly to ensure that it was securely in place.