Page 59 of Split You Open

I snort in amusement, being pulled from my dark thoughts.

“It’s a lot more than that. Some plants are more sensitive than others,” I explain.

Blair hums thoughtfully.

I tug her out of the room and stop by the basement door.

“There are a few bodies buried under the floor down here,” I admit with a conspiratorial wink. “Before The Hunt started, I managed to lure a few of my victims to my house. Not many—which meant a lot of traveling—but there were a few. It’s soundproofed so if we ever need the space, we can play here too.”

Blair giggles. “Your neighbors never noticed an extra car in the driveway?”

“Naw, I’d just take their clothes and pretend to be them when I went to get rid of their cars.”

I tug on her hand so we can keep moving.

Next, we head upstairs. We enter the room at the top of the stairs first. “This is my parents’ room.”

Flipping on the light, we step in.

“It smells nice in here,” Blair says, looking around.

“That’s my mom’s perfume combined with a hint of my dad’s cologne. Every morning, they got ready together. Even if Dad worked the early shift. It always smelled like this in here.”

Blair runs her hand over the paisley comforter and then studies the small family pictures on the dresser.

“How is it possible that it still smells like them if they’ve been gone for so long?” she asks softly, looking back at me.

My face heats as I look away from her around the space. “I, ah, continue to spray their scents in here. That way, it feels like they’ve only just left for a date or something.”

I reach up to rub the back of my neck as I avoid looking at her. As I look around, I note that the nightstands and pictures need to be dusted again soon. I make a mental note to come back in a few days to do that.

“Santi?”

Turning to face her, I find Blair giving me an odd look. “Why are you embarrassed right now?”

My face grows even warmer.

“I know it’s stupid and a waste of money to continue to buy their perfume and cologne after so many years—I just can’t help it.”

Blair steps closer to me, her brows pinched and her mouth turning down into a frown. She comes to a stop in front of me and tilts her head to study me. My face flames hotter.

“This is a way to feel connected to people you lost, there’s not anything to be embarrassed about, Santi. I think that’s really sweet,” she admits as her frown flips and she gives me a small but warm smile.

My throat constricts as my heart shudders under the intensity of emotions that fill me. Unable to help myself, I reach up and cup her face between my hands. The contact helps ground me.

“Thank you, cariño.” Trying to liven up the moment, I joke, “I guess this was the better option rather than having both of my parents taxidermied to make them feel like they’re around.”

Blair blinks before her eyes grow wide.

Then she snorts.

“I didn’t notice any good spots to put two corpses in the house, so good choice,” she deadpans.

“You know where the grandfather clock is? I could’ve put one there.”

“Yeah, but then you’d have to put your other parent somewhere else, and you shouldn’t separate them like that.”

I snicker. Then grimace at the mental picture, but then laugh at the absurdity of it all. My hands fall from her face as the swell of grief recedes.