Page 23 of Burn For Me

“You killed me,” she whispered, and my body stilled.

“I didn’t mean to…I didn’t know you were there.” I pulled back and cupped her beautiful face in my hands. “I’m so sorry.”

“What are you doing here,” she asked and looked around the old kitchen.

“I needed a place to stay.”

“No, I mean, why are you not avenging me? Did you not care about me at all?” She shook her head as she stepped further away.

“I’m working at it. I killed Jim, and I made sure he suffered.” I tried to take a step toward her, but she held up her hands to ward me off.

“It’s not enough. It’s their fault I died in that fire, and it’s the reason I’m not here with you right now.” Her eyes filled with tears, and I took another step wanting to hold her and offer any comfort I could. “No, I can’t be with you until you’ve made this right. They need to die. They all need to die.” Her beautiful blue eyes started to darken until they were black and pupilless. “Make it right,” she said and then disappeared.

“No, don’t go!” I jumped at her, trying to get her to stay for a little longer.

With a thud, I landed hard, face-first on the hard wood floor.

“Ugh, what the fuck?” Arms shaking, I pushed myself up and turned to sit on the living room floor, leaning against the old couch.

The sun was just starting to filter through the window, but I could tell I was alone even in the dim light. I ran my hand through my hair and stared around at the blue wallpaper that was peeling and water damaged. All was still the same as when I’d fallen asleep. It was all a dream.

Make it right.

I sat up straight and looked around as the cool breeze passed over my neck like a soft caress.

“I’ll make it right,” I said through gritted teeth as I rose to my feet. “They’ll all die.”

I promised Dora butter tarts for the use of her car, but it was well worth it over having to bike hours to get to all the spots I needed and pick up the supplies necessary to move forward.

Thanks to Jim and the unscrupulous pawn shop I found, I had more than enough money to purchase the items needed for tonight’s surprise, as well as a new fridge coil and Dora’s butter tarts. Definitely had to make good on my promise, or she may not let me use her car again. Then again, I could always burn her in the backyard with the lawn garbage, but I kinda liked the old woman. She didn’t treat me like a victim or a monster.

I’d figured out very quickly that Dora was the straightforward no-bullshit type. She had a dry wit that was funny, and the woman could cook. Before I left with her vehicle, I’d eaten half of a casserole she’d offered me and then managed to stuff a piece of key lime pie in somewhere.

Deciding to park a few blocks away from my target, I pulled into the mall parking lot that currently had no lights and one car.

Fucking perfect.

I liked this area of the city. Okay, so ‘like’ maybe too strong of a word, but it was the shit part of town where there were more criminals than hardworking everyday people. Drunks wandered the street like lost dogs looking for a meal, while junkies stared at walls as if the pissed-on bricks held the key to the universe. There was a constant supply of screaming and crashing inside the tiny shoebox homes and rundown apartments where fighting and beating one another was the rule and not the exception.

My home had been fake. It wasn’t like the homes in this area, where people expected abuse to happen because it was as common as taking a shit. Nope, my home had been smack in the middle of suburbia hell. We’d been the exception in our neighborhood, yet I quickly found out that those on my street had been just as willing to turn a blind eye to what went on inside our walls as those from this side of town. At one point, I thought maybe they didn’t know, but they did…they all did. I stared up at the small apartment building that was only four stories tall. Keeping my head down and hood up, I jogged up the steps to the front door.

I highly doubted the place had regular running water, let alone video cameras, but it was better to be safe. It had taken a bit of time to figure out the fancy new phone I’d taken from Jim, but once I had, I found a chat with Jim and two of the orderlies. They had been messaging back and forth.

Dave: This is bullshit that we got fired. This is your fault Jim. You promised no one would get in trouble.

Jason: How am I going to find a new job with rape on my record?

Jim: Relax, and stick to the story.

Rage swirled in my gut as I found the stairwell, the messages playing over in my mind. I heard a door open above me and kept my head down as a man passed, talking on his phone. I wasn’t positive, but he sounded like he was in a gang and getting ready to roll out for a hit by the way the man was talking. Not that I was up on my slang anymore, but I was pretty sure there would be two major news stories before the night was over. The question became which one would make the front page? This place was filled with human rats, an infestation of depravity that I was all too happy to exterminate. They were nothing more than a different version of the same useless bag of skin my mother had been.

I almost yanked the door off the shitty hinges as I reached my floor. My breathing evened out, and the walls narrowed in as I marched toward my target. Reaching the door, I smirked as I texted the man inside.

Derek Typing as Jim: I’m here. Open the fuck up.

I turned my back to the door, so Dave wouldn’t see my face and listened carefully. I could feel the heavy footfalls, and with each one, the anticipation in my body grew. Excitement flared in my chest as the click of the lock and chain on the door rattled behind me.

“It’s about time you showed up,” Dave growled.