Her neck was so damn itchy. Whenever she tried to scratch it, Lucas reached for the remote in his pocket. He always forced her to be near him, like now as he worked on the computer, sending emails and reports to the 'Fuckin' Company' (who she wished would hurry the fuck up and give her the cure). For not being angry the other night, he sure as hell tightened security around her. She couldn't be by herself; always made to wear a leash whether she was showering or using the bathroom, sleeping or eating. She tugged on the leash to get his attention just so she could flip him off. She was about five seconds away from ripping off his stupid fucking face.
"Now Pers, I'm just tryna look out fer ya."
"Blow me, dickhead."
Lucas sighed. "C'mon… It's almost dinner."
He led her into the yard, sloshing through the muck. The leash hung loosely as she kept up well with his long-legged gait. They tracked their dirty footprints in through the house and toward the dining room. She couldn't stand the thought of pretending to eat that disgusting trash the family called 'food'.
Speak of the devil, the woman with the tangled black hair joined them as she walked down the staircase. Lucas had called her 'the bitch' for a while until he said her name was Mia. Mia stayed behind Persephone, snickering and pointing at the leash. What she wouldn't give to turn around and deck her, but the idea of Lucas shocking her again kept her silent.
Once they reached the dining room double doors, she grabbed the leash and tore Lucas off to the side. Mia eyed them as she passed, a nasty smirk across her lips. The moment she was out of sight, Persephone started on Lucas.
"You take this leash off me now, Baker."
"Ya know I can', y'all will just run off again."
Her blood boiled and she clutched the collar of his hoodie, voice raised. "Listen to me, you motherfucker—" Then she stopped when he reached into his pocket. It took immense willpower to force her balled, quivering fists to release him. She breathed deeply, looking away and gritting her teeth. "Please, Lucas. I promise I won't run."
"Look at me n' say it like ya mean it."
Bastard. She should've punched him, but instead swallowed her pride, forcing a grin as she looked into his eyes. "Please, Lucas? I promise I won't run."
He looked at her with a single cocked eyebrow, then unclipped her leash and put it in his pocket. An immense pressure was taken off her chest.
Inside of the dining room, Diane bounded up to Lucas, licking his face and hands as he knelt down to her, her tail wagging so fast she hit herself in the sides. Seeing them made Persephone miss the simpler days where she could enjoy Lucas and Diane's close relationship. They were too terribly cute together. Her admiration and pining didn't last long as Lucas motioned for her to go to the table.
Everyone took their seats, Persephone between Lucas and Mia. Eveline chose to sit in Mia's lap rather than her own seat between Marguerite and an absent Jack. Mia beamed as she doted on Eveline. Persephone grimaced, wondering when she would be smitten so disgustingly.
"Dad not here?" Lucas asked Marguerite.
"He's out lookin' for new family members," she replied sweetly. "Told us to start dinner without him since he won't be gettin' home 'till late, bless his heart."
She arranged several plates on the table as if they were all different dishes, but they looked the exact same: organs covered in bloody sauce, smelling strongly of carnage. Aside from Persephone and Lucas, the entire family took a deep, savoring smell of the 'food'. With Jack not around, she didn't bother pretending to eat. She sat there, staring blankly at the pepper shaker while everyone else tucked in.
"You okay, Sis?" Eveline asked, looking at Persephone
She turned her attention to the young girl.
Eveline continued, "You haven't eaten. Are you sick?"
"No, of course not. I'm just… Full from breakfast."
"Dunno if I've ever seen you eat at the table before."
A drop of sweat rolled down her temple. She didn't want to be called out in front of Marguerite, only to be scrutinized every dinner from now on if word got to Jack. "I-I do, don't worry. I eat plenty. Marguerite's food is… Delicious. You just don't see me eat it, I guess, since you're always getting all that attention."
Lucas cleared his throat suddenly—a sign that meant Persephone was doing far too much talking, so she shut up. The table resumed their meal. Mia fed Eveline and called the child cute. Eveline seemed intent on sitting in Mia's lap the whole time, earning a sidelong glance from Marguerite.
"Evie," Marguerite said gently. "Don't you think you should sit in your own seat, dear? So you can eat from your own plate like a big girl."
"No, I think I'm good here, big Sis," Eveline smiled brightly, bouncing in Mia's lap.
Big Sis? What? If Jack was her daddy, why was Marguerite not her mommy? Marguerite flinched at Eveline's words and glared at Mia. Mia smirked, fingers running through Eveline's hair after she fed the young girl from her fork. She looked directly into Marguerite's eyes.
"Aw, Marge, jealous that I'm Eveline's mommy?"
There was a brief silence… One that had such a palpable atmosphere that Persephone couldn't breathe. Mia was her mommy?
Suddenly, Marguerite flipped the table, screaming, "Shut your mouth, you little cunt!"
'Food' went flying everywhere, which Diane was catching midair. The entire family leapt away from the fallen table, avoiding plates and utensils as they launched around the room. Eveline giggled, jogging away from the scene to watch from the double doors, and for good reason. Once Eveline was out of the way, Marguerite went fully on the offensive and threw her chair across the room at Mia. Persephone jumped out of the way right into Lucas. He dragged her to the living room.
"This is about t' get ugly."
Mia lunged at Marguerite, shoving her into the wall. Marguerite threw a punch into Mia's jaw so strong that it sent at least one of her teeth flying. Eveline laughed away in the corner like it was all a game. Her laughter rang through Persephone's ears while the others fought—clawing, knocking out teeth, throwing anything they could get their hands on. She couldn't get the chaos out of her head. The more she watched, the louder the laughter became. Trying to do anything to stop it, she grabbed either side of her head and slumped onto her knees, face down so she wouldn't have to look. She wanted to fight, too. The screaming, the cursing, the laughing, and Diane's excited barking drove her crazy; Eveline, the impetus.
Lucas knelt down, hands on her shoulders. "Pers, look at me, c'mon."
Persephone looked into his face.
"Calm down, it's just in yer head."
But his face didn't calm her and his words and voice bore into her like a hot knife. It's all in her head, is it? So she was just as crazy as the rest of them now, was she? If that's what he thought, she'd show him how crazy she could be.
Lucas didn't think his comforting was working. God, just a couple more weeks until the vaccine, all he needed to do was hold out until then. He spoke her name again but her eyes looked dark. Pers grabbed him by his hoodie, fists full of fabric, and shot up, lifting him into the air. She heaved him into his mom and the bitch's brawl, knocking all three of them to the ground.
"Shit," he cursed, sitting through his aching back.
"Get off me!" The bitch snarled, kicking him hard in the side.
He sprung to his feet, as did she. He was so done with the bitch and her bullshit. "Calm down, ya psycho cunt!"
She tried to throw a punch but he grabbed her wrists and held them tight. The bitch thrashed in his grasp, able to slip one of her sweaty wrists out and use her freed hand to claw his face. The sharp pain was nothing he couldn't handle. He felt the blood running down his brow and cheek, and into his eye like she'd gotten through the lid. He wanted to kick her ass, but before he had a chance to, Pers grappled the bitch to the ground.
"Get your fuckin' hands off him!"
Great, pissed off super-powered Pers. Fun. The bitch didn't stand a chance, even with all her rage. She was sprawled on the ground as Pers beat her face, probably knocking out the rest of her teeth. His mom while one of the most unstable of the entire family seemed to know that she wanted nothing to do with Pers's fury. He didn't, either, but he still had to pry his girlfriend off the bitch anyway.
"Pers, stop!" He demanded, seizing her around the waist.
Pers elbowed him in the nose, bashing it so hard that he saw stars. She snatched him by the neck and scruff of his hoodie, and launched him over her shoulder. He slammed into the refrigerator, rattling the contents. His whole head ached now, thoughts fuzzy and ears ringing. He rubbed his burning, bloodied face. Eveline's gift would fix him up but it still sucked. As he got shakily to his feet, groaning and trying to clear his blurry mind, he looked back to the chaos to see the bitch was knocked out and Pers encroached on his mom. All the while, Eveline laughed away like her psycho mold bitch self.
He rushed over and clutched one of Pers's wrists. "Persephone, that's enough!"
She whipped around and her free hand punched his cheek. "Fuck you! You scrawny piece of shit, I'll kill—"
He pressed the 6 button to her collar and her sentence ended in a mixture of a snarl and a scream. She reached up and ripped at the collar to pull it off, but he hit the 8 button. She collapsed, convulsing and screaming.
"I don' like doin' this t' ya but y'all know better than t' be violent n' rude."
"I'm so sick of this shit!" She screeched. "I'm sick of you, I'm sick of this fucking house, and I'm sick of this goddamn SHOCK COLLAR!"
She glared at him, eyes wild and chest heaving with harsh breaths. Sighing, defeated, he just wanted this nightmare to end. He moved his stiff jaw—in pain but not broken. There was still a little bit of her in there and he wanted to preserve that for as long as he could.
"Let's just go, okay?" he said. "We can go back to our room n' relax."
She eyed his hand in his pocket. With some hesitation, Pers got to her feet, sneering and keeping a close watch on him. To prevent her from doing something else stupid, he leashed her—earning a flinch when he approached—then he took her out of the room, past his withdrawing mom and a giggling Eveline.
Persephone didn't talk to Lucas. She stormed into his room and hunched over her knees on the very edge of his bed. He tried to touch her but she shrugged him off and refused to speak. Lucas soon gave up, clearly just as frustrated and done with everything as she, and left. She put her head in her hands and cried. Alone in his room, she felt masked enough to let it all out.
Lucas was gone. The Lucas she knew had died, now twisted and warped. She cried harder than she'd ever cried, until snot dripped out of her nose and her head spun with pain.
It hurt to know that she was next. She would never be the same, even after the vaccine. It was starting already. The guilt from sex with Lucas had been drifting away, though she knew that her "no" meant nothing else. Did he not care that she didn't want it? Did he think it was some kind of game? Or that it turned her on, like when they'd pretended? That was consensual, something that he and her had talked about before doing, with safe words and gestures.
She'd instinctively used some of these gestures and she'd notice him hesitating, obeying and respecting the rules they'd once put into place, but then his hesitation would end. Was she getting through to him when that happened, to then be sucked back into insanity? Or was he sadistically pretending like he cared, only to break her and show that he didn't? She didn't want to know the answer—either one shattered her heart.
Soon, Persephone was coughing from her dry throat. She sniffled, looking to the alarm clock. Almost 11 at night. Her head pounded.
"You're lucky I like Lucas."
Persephone's gaze shot to Eveline's voice, finding the girl standing in the corner of the room. She bounced on the balls of her feet, her hands behind her back.
"He's my favorite. After Mommy, of course. My favorite big brother. And I want him to be happy. You make him happy now but if you didn't, I'd kill you, 'cuz I know you don't like me."
Oh, so she was going to keep her alive to please Lucas? Then maybe she should get an earful.
Persephone spat, "You're right, I don't like you. If I could set this whole house on fire to get rid of you and the rest of us, I would. You're a fucking psycho bitch and you've torn this family apart."
"I was hoping you'd be a fun sister."
"And I was hoping my Lucas was still here, so I guess we both lose." Persephone turned away from her, facing the wall.
"Just keep making Lucas happy and we won't have anything to worry about."
She didn't respond, wiping her stinging face as dried tears irritated her skin. She reminisced about her days with Lucas as a distraction and it made more tears fall from her eyes. God, did she miss him.
