Hillary_Flesh and Blood (31 page)

Did she know that?

“
I love you too, Mom,
”
Hillary
replied with a smile. She felt pangs of sadness tug
at her heart as her mother hugged her close.

Get over it....

The voice was loud and menacing within her head. Hillary just needed a moment to herself. She pulled away from Kathy and began walking to the kitchen.

“
I
’
m so thirsty,
”
she said as she walked to the refrigerator,
“
do you want anything?
”

“No thanks.
I think I
’
m going to get some reading done before bed.
”

“
Goodnight Mom,
”
Hillary said as she poured herself a glass of juice.

“
Goodnight sweetie. Don
’
t stay up late...we have a big day tomorrow.
”

Hillary returned her mother
’
s smile then Kathy walked slowly up the stairs and to her bedroom.

Hillary
’
s smile widened. She had done it. Everything was good now. Everything was back on track with her plans. Her mother was none the wiser.

Yet up in her room, Kathy
’
s own nagging voice continued to warn her that things were not right...that Hillary was still hiding something. Her stomach knotted and she sat down with her head cradled within her hands. She would keep things peaceful and happy between them. Come Monday morning, she would pretend that she was going to work. She would call in sick. And while Hillary was at school, she would search her room
then search the basement
. She would get down to the bottom of this nightmare. She would find out what really happened to Michael and Caleigh.

She had a plan. She should have been relieved. Yet, she knew that discovering the truth wasn
’
t going to be easy. She would have to be brave, to brace herself for the worst case scenario. In other words, she was doomed.

~13~

Hillary slept on the couch once again but managed to turn off the television and creep upstairs about an hour before dawn. It was supposed to be a beautiful, sunny weekend. She was looking forward to the outing later, even if she would have preferred spending the time tormenting Caleigh
instead
. Yes, she did miss Lee Lee...missed torturing her.

As tired as she was, she knew she had to stay away and listen up for when her mother
’
s bedroom door opened. She felt confident that her mother believed her but
as usual,
didn
’
t want to take any chances. She was too close to completing her mission.

It helped that her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of all the things she planned to do to Caleigh. She had ignored her sister long enough. She would have to make up for her neglect. She had a few ideas as to what she could do to show Caleigh
just
how much she missed her.

Caleigh didn
’
t need to be tortured any further. Her life had been reduced to a pathetically helpless, hopeless waste of space. She had been so excited to learn that her mother was still alive. Now, after more than a full day of waiting and hoping in vain, she felt distraught and angry and despondent all over again. She was thirsty, hungry, achy, hot and sweaty, smelled like piss and shit and body odor and could do nothing about it but wish for someone to either save her or kill her. She felt like she was teetering on the verge of insanity, struggling to stay sane in the midst of the madness. Sometimes she felt so hopeless that it was just easier to let go, to give in to the madness and allow her mind to fester in the lunacy. It hurt too much to think, to pray, to hope for that elusive happy ending. Mostly she just tried to numb her pain through sleep. There was nothing else that she could do. Just sleep and wait. And wait. And wait.

Growing tired of waiting for her mother, Hillary walked to her dresser to gather some clothing. There was a fairly faint but pungent odor coming from her garbage can. It was the rancid piece of
her father’s
flesh. Hillary crinkled her nose as she passed it by and walked quietly to the bathroom to take a quick shower. She was out, dried and dressed in record time
—
just ten minutes. She cracked the door open to listen for her mother as she brushed her silken blonde hair. She smelled like apples. It was a smell she always loved.

Hillary was back in her room minutes later. The time on her digital alarm clock read 6:27. The sun was just starting to rise. Her mother was usually up by six-thirty, sometimes seven on the weekends. It wouldn
’
t be much longer now. She decided to go downstairs and surprise her mother with some breakfast. She had always enjoyed cooking. She couldn
’
t wait to prepare her special Mother
’
s Day meal.

Nearly seven-thirty, Kathy walked downstairs carrying Joshua in her arms. She smiled when she smelled coffee brewing and the unmistakable scent of cinnamon. She entered the kitchen and set Joshua down on his usual seat.

“
Mmmmm,
”
she moaned softly, then inhaled deeply.
“
That smells amazing.
”

“
Thanks, it
’
s my world-famous cinnamon waffles,
”
Hillary teased,
“
and I whipped up some cinnamon butter too.
”

“
How
’
d you learn to cook so well?
”
she asked, as she sat next to Joshua.

“You know…
that class I took.
”

“
Wow, remind me to thank that teacher!
”

Hillary giggled as she reached into one of the cabinets. She grabbed three plates and loaded them with waffles. She placed a butter knife into a small bowl of cinnamon butter and walked to the refrigerator to grab the maple syrup and container of orange juice. She carried two of the plates to the table and gave the one with only two waffles to Joshua. Her mother
’
s plate had twice as many.

“
Shall I pour you a cup of coffee, Madam?
”
she joked in a bad European accent.

“
Yes, please,
”
Kathy said.

Though it had taken her nearly two hours to fall asleep, once sleep had her in its comforting embrace, she slept soundly. When Joshua called out to her, waking her from her dream, it was already after seven. She had slept a full seven hours and it had done her a world of good. She felt refreshed. She didn
’
t think about her problems, only the day that awaited her. She just knew it was going to be a great day. She was looking forward to the picnic and spending some quality time with Hillary. She would revive her suspicions come Monday morning. For now, she would enjoy the weekend.

Hillary prepared a cup of coffee for Kathy and placed it on the table in front of her.

“
Thanks, Hillary...this is such a great surprise, like an early Mother
’
s Day gift.
”

“
Don
’
t forget, I
’
m making dinner for you tomorrow.
”

“
I can
’
t wait.
”

“
Me neither!
”
Hillary said, giggling, as she walked back to get the cinnamon butter, maple syrup and juice.

Hillary set everything down on the table them walked back to the counter to grab her plate. Her stomach rumbled loudly on the way and she laughed out loud.

“
I didn
’
t realize how hungry I was,
”
she said as she placed her dish full of waffles on the table and sat across from her mother.

“
W
ell you know that I always say
breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
”

Hillary smiled back at her mother as she smeared cinnamon butter on her waffles then poured the syrup over them.

“
Don
’
t play with your food, Joshy,
”
she chided her brother, who was using his finger to paint syrup on his waffle,
“
there are people who are starving and would kill for a bite of that waffle.
”

She thought about Caleigh again and smiled as she stuffed a dripping piece of waffle into her mouth.

The morning hours seemed to drag on but soon it was time to go to Charlie
’
s Deli.

“
All set?
”
her mother asked, Joshua standing by her side all dressed and ready to go.

“
Act
u
ally, I think I overdid it with the waffles,
”
Hillary said softly,
“
my stomach really hurts.
”

“
Oh no,
” her mother exclaimed.
“M
aybe we
’
d better skip the picnic idea.
”

“
No, I
’
ll feel better by then...I
’
ve really been looking forward to it.
”

Joshua start
ed
chanting
“
picnic, picnic, picnic
,”
repeatedly as he moved his arms up and down
in sync with his melody
.

“
Me too,
”
Kathy
agreed
,
“
but I don
’
t want you to be miserable.
”

“
I
’
ll try using the bathroom and taking a quick nap. I bet that
’
ll do the trick.
”

“
Are you sure? I was planning to run into Sperry
’
s for a few things.
”

“
Take your time, I
’
ll be okay.
”

“
Well, okay. I guess if you
’
re not feeling better this afternoon we
’
ll just have to postpone it.
”

“
I
’
ll be fine, I just over-ate.
”

“
All right, then, I guess we
’
ll see you later.
”

“
Can you pick up some of those bottled cream sodas?
”

“
I guess...it might be too heavy for your stomach.
”

“
Mom, I
’
ll be fine by then, you
’
ll see.
”

“
Okay, call my cell phone if you need me. I hope you feel better soon.
”

“
I
’
m starting to feel better already,
”
Hillary said with a smile as she hugged her mother then patted Joshua on his head.

“
Hide and seek?
”

“
Soon, Joshy,
I promise,”
she replied and waved goodbye to them.

She was giddy with anticipation and could hardly contain her excitement. She ran to the window and waited to watch the car back out of the driveway and head down the long, winding road. She felt as if she were vibrating, buzzing with exhilaration. She couldn
’
t wait another second.

Hillary raced down to the basement, flicked on the light and bounded straight to Caleigh. The rank, musty stench hit
her instantly. It smelled horrible
. Hillary squeezed herself into the cram
p
ed opening and pulled back the quilt to reveal Caleigh
’
s damp, sweaty, limp body. She could see the shallow movement of her chest
with each shallow breath
. She could hear a snorting sound from
Caleigh’s stuffy nose whenever she in
haled and a high-pitched whistling sound whenever she exhaled. It was disgusting and annoying, but still, she was alive. She appeared to be sleeping.

“
Rise and shine, Lee Lee, it
’
s a new day!
”
Hillary said chee
r
fully.

If Caleigh heard her, she gave no such indication. Her labored breathing pattern remained steady. Hilary reached forward and firmly squeezed her nose shut. She could feel the grinding of bone beneath her fingers. Thick blood-tinged mucus ran down Caleigh
’
s covered mouth as she awoke frightfully and thrashed her head about, freeing her nose from Hillary
’
s grip.

Caleigh struggled to breathe through her mangled nose. It hurt worse than ever. She blew out feebly in an attempt to clear her nasal passages. Hillary cackled in delight at the sight of her distressed sister.
She would never let that broken nose heal.

“
Did you miss me?
”
she asked mischievously.

She wanted to hear what her sister was saying but didn
’
t want to touch the nasty, snotty tape over her mouth.
Caleigh
was making all sorts of interesting sounds from her nose and mouth. Finally, Hillary couldn
’
t resist. Using the tips of her thumb and index finger, she pried off the tape, letting it dangle as she had done before. She wiped her fingers off on her shorts in disgust as Caleigh moaned loudly in pain.

“
I had a stack of delicious waffles for breakfast,
”
Hillary taunted,
“
and I washed it down with delicious, cold and refreshing juice. Doesn
’
t that sound good to you?
”

As hungry as Caleigh was, the thought of food did not appeal to her. She just wanted water. She was so, so thirsty. Her mouth was uncomfortably dry. Her lips were chapped and cracked. They bled a little when the tape was lifted off.

“
Not talking to me, Lee Lee? Did I say something to upset you?
”

Caleigh remained silent as she continued the arduous task of breathing.

“
How
‘
bout some water?
”
Hillary teased,
“
I
’
ll get you some...just say the word.
”