Page 98 of Just Like the Brontë Sisters

I found her woolen baby snuggly but I didn’t want to take the time to zip her noodlely arms and legs into it. I just wrapped it around her, patted my jean pocket to make sure I had my car keys, swiped Gavin’s notebook, and quietly slipped out through the front door.

Gavin and Mitch were arguing and they didn’t notice me leave, at least not at first.

“You tried to kill me, you sonofabitch!”

“Prove it.”

“Stay away from my daughter. Stay away from Skylar, or I will kill you.”

Their yells turned to grunts as their conflict morphed from verbal to physical. I ran past them, hoping they’d be too consumed with each other to notice my presence, but no such luck. I was about twenty feet away when I heard Gavin yell.

“Skylar!”

I ran faster, hugging Bijou to my chest. Athlete that I am, I got pretty far, pretty fast, but Gavin’s legs were longer than mine. He didn’t have a bad knee and he wasn’t carrying a baby. Too soon he caught up, tugged on my arm, and spun me around.

“You almost made me drop Bijou!” I yelled.

Gavin’s face was beet red. “Where are you going?”

“Home! I’m taking Bijou home with me, where she belongs. Don’t call me and don’t come over. You and I are through.”

His breathing quickened and his panicked eyes darted all over the place, until they settled on his notebook, which was jutting out of my jacket pocket. He tightened his grip on my arm.

“Why do you have my notebook?”

His obvious panic convinced me that I held incriminating evidence. My anger boiled over. “Because it’s proof that you wanted to kill my sister! Why? Why would you want Jo Beth dead?”

His whole face seemed to grow a size, as confusion and shock settled into his features and his mouth hung open for a couple of seconds before he spoke. “I did it for you, Sky. You needed to escape the control she had over you. It was an act of love.”

“Oh yeah?” I murmured, softly, like I understood. He relaxed his grip on my arm ever so slightly. “That’s the most fucked up thing I’ve ever heard. Go to hell!” I simultaneously kneed him in the balls and yanked my arm free. After that, I made a run for it.

I got about two inches away.

Gavin reached for my bad knee and yanked it in exactly the right direction, so it would give me the maximum amount of debilitating pain. I yelled in agony and fell to the ground, my arms tightening around Bijou, protecting her at all costs.

Gavin stood over me. In less than a second he’d picked up a rock and now he swung it back, aiming for my temple.

“You’re a whore!” He yelled. “I gave you everything. I would have done anything for you!”

I’d have killed him if could. Just like Mary, the fictional character I’d created, if I’d had a knife right then, I would have stabbed Gavin in the heart and I would never have looked back.

“Skylar!”

This time, the yell didn’t come from Gavin. It came from Mitch, who would never get to me in time. But suddenly Gavin faltered and then he winced, for there was a loud cracking sound: the sound of stressed out snow.

None of the signs were there. The temperature had been steady all day and the snow wasn’t fresh. There was maybe three inches of thick, melting slush on the ground. Yet somehow, a torrent was released, and it tumbled towards us in an icy, angry ball. It was an avalanche and it was headed straight for Gavin, Bijou, and me.

“Move, Skylar, move!” Mitch yelled.

I scooted away from Gavin. And then I witnessed the most incomprehensible thing ever. I could almost see Jo Beth in the middle of the frosty, piercing force that rolled furiously like a tumbleweed. Even crazier, it was as if the avalanche knew its intended victim and had a purpose and aim as the snow claimed Gavin, swallowing him whole.

He barely had time to scream before he was swept away.

Afterwards, the earth stood still, exhausted from such tremendous activity. But Mitch kept moving until he caught up to Bijou and me.

“Sorry,” he said, breathless. “I couldn’t run very fast. I’m still struggling from this morning.”

“What the hell just happened?” I asked.

Mitch just gazed innocently down at me, as I sat with his daughter in the snow. “It was a force of nature, Sky.”