Chapter 14: Thea Reed

Only a sigh could be heard… The Reed neighborhood consisted of mere suburbs compared to the opulent factories of the Saint Mary district, so at this hour of the night, it was easy to interrupt the silence.

“I'd prefer you wait outside…” A young blonde with gray eyes stood in front of her apartment door, holding a little girl with the same face as hers. “But it would be worse if you waited in the park…”

“Don't worry, big sis, I can handle this,” said the girl. “Mom… shouldn't be with anyone. I hope…”

Elynne Reed, twenty-three years old, gripped the door handle tightly. Her hand trembled slightly, and it wasn't just from the thirteen degrees outside. The girl, barely eleven years old, felt equally restless… but her gaze was lost on the ground, a contrast to her older sister's expression.

Their hearts beat fast, and the handle had left a mark on Elynne's palm. She was only delaying the conflict she knew was going to happen.

“Alright, let's go. Ien, I want you to go to your room and lock the door. I don't want you to hear her…”

“But…” the girl looked up, her red eyes meeting her sister's. “Be careful.”

Elynne didn't respond, just nodded and opened the door.

She did so with difficulty; behind it were garbage bags blocking the way.

Their home was dark, only illuminated by the television on in the living room and another light from the refrigerator. The entrance had piles of cigarettes scattered on the floor, and the stench of tobacco (and other substances) hit Ien's senses.

The apartment's open kitchen was at the entrance, connected to the hallway. There was food on the floor… crumpled papers, empty beer bottles… it was a mess.

They advanced a few steps toward the black silhouette that had its face buried in the living room table. There was a person sitting there… motionless… It could be mistaken for a mannequin.

Elynne signaled her sister to go to her room, and the girl obeyed, saying nothing more.

Both walked to separate at the living room intersection. Ien didn't even want to look at her mother, and Elynne stood still, leaning her back against the wall.

“Where are you going?” the voice emerged from the table, flat, without a single movement. “You walk past me as if I don't exist… What an indolent daughter.”

The spectral words, almost ventriloquial, made the girl stop in fright and startled Elynne.

She turned her head slowly without stopping to rest her face on the table. Her red eyes wide open caused a pang in the older sister's heart.

“Won't you greet your mother, Ien?” With a hoarse and deep voice, the woman addressed the girl keeping a look at Elynne… and no blinking.

“I'm… sorry, mom. I didn't want to bother you…” said the girl, with a trembling voice. “It's just… you were sleeping and—”

“Liar,” barely a second's pause before continuing. “You choose to ignore me. You always greet her when you come home… even if she's high. You're a liar.”

Elynne swallowed hard. She didn't reply to her provocation, but watched her little sister, who was pale.

“Let her go to sleep.”

“I'm not talking to you,” despite speaking to her younger daughter, her gaze remained fixed on Elynne. “Hey Ien, I haven't seen you in a long time. Come closer… to say hello.”

“Je… Incredible. Ien, go to your room and don't—”

CRACK

The bottle the woman was holding went flying toward Elynne, who barely reacted in time. The bottle crashed against the wall, and the pieces fell to the floor.

Ien screamed in surprise.

“Fucking… crazy bitch…” Elynne threw herself to the floor, agitated. “Finally you're gonna fight face-to-face.”

She wanted to hide her nerves, but her voice betrayed her. The girls' mother got up from the table, swaying a little, and approached Elynne with a look… difficult to describe.

Dilated pupils and wide-open eyes, her mouth showed no expression, and her blonde hair was disheveled, covering part of her face.

“Hey, I'm talking to you. Answer… Thea!”

Thea Reed, thirty-nine years old, raised her hand and brought it closer to Elynne, who remained still, not knowing what to do. She wore a white shirt as worn out as her jeans. The shirt was poorly fitted, exposing her left shoulder and a bra strap. Nothing about her seemed put together

“What's wrong with you? What are you gonna do?” asked Elynne.

“D-don't do anything to my sister, please… Mom!” Ien shouted from the hallway.

Thea ignored the plea. Her steps crunched over the broken glass as she got closer. Elynne made gestures with her hands to stop her.

That was the fear her mother instilled…

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She closed her eyes, not knowing what to expect. The muscles in her neck contracted, holding her breath.

Elynne covered herself with her arms, tensing up to her teeth. The smell of garbage took a backseat; everything was reduced to her heartbeat and the unsettling sound of Thea's breathing.

“Mom!” Ien shouted again.

Thea's shadow extended over Elynne. The blue light from the television made the figure stretch out, giving the shadow an appearance… almost like that of a…

Her mother's hand lowered slowly and open…

One second.

The refrigerator's hum became more intense.

Two seconds.

The touch of something cold on her arm made her clench her teeth tighter. She was ready… for whatever came. That woman might do anything.

She waited… Biting her lips… with nothing happening.

Elynne opened one eye, confused. Thea was crouched next to the bottle remains, carefully picking something up from the floor.

“Look at this,” her voice changed.

The shine of a wet fragment was lost to her sight when Thea lifted something black.

“You're lucky I could see it…” A crooked smile appeared on her face. “It's a black widow. They're poisonous.”

The black spider moved slowly between her fingers, stunned but alive and held carefully.

“I have good aim.” That woman's eyes shone with a different fire than Ien's. “A mother always has to protect her offspring, even when they're indolent bitches.”

Through the disheveled hair, you could see an exhausted countenance… deep dark circles, cracked lips, and a wound on her right cheek. The smell of alcohol only accentuated the image.

“It's still alive…” She put the spider in front of her older daughter's face.

“Igh…!” Elynne recoiled, disgusted.

“Hmm…”

She sat down again, but this time on the table, placing the spider next to her purse.

“Ien, come greet me properly.”

“Ah…” the girl was stunned.

Thea grabbed the cigarette she had in the ashtray… still lit, and crushed it into the spider's body, which writhed a little before dying.

“Ien…” said Thea, with a soft voice. “Come here.”

“No… I… I want…”

“I told you to come here, Ien. Stop being so shameless and disrespectful to your mother.”

The older daughter let out a sarcastic laugh. There was madness in that cackle that led the other two to look at her with surprise.

“Are you okay?” asked Ien.

“Heh… There's nothing to respect about you,” Elynne pointed at her mother. “You're not a mother, Thea.”

“Ien, obey,” Thea ignored her older daughter.

It was to such a degree that it almost felt as if she were ignoring a dog's bark.

“You won't give orders to either of us!” Elynne shouted, got up and before putting her hand inside her jacket. “You should lea—”

SCREECH

Thea dragged the chair back making it screech, and got up overturning the table, knocking everything that was on top of it.

Ien took a few steps back, and Elynne stood up to get between her mother and her sister.

“Stay away!”

“Please, don't!”

Thea faced Elynne with a look that could pierce the soul. Her eyes were filled with anger, but also with something else…

“No… you won't do anything to Ien. I won't let you.”

Ien grabbed her sister's waist.

Thea breathed calmly, but very deeply. Every inhalation and exhalation was actually audible.

Her gaze focused on Elynne, to end up facing her.

The older one restrained herself from any action, even from breathing. To her surprise, Thea only caressed her cheek with one hand, so slowly that she felt all five fingertips. It was… maternal.

“What's wrong with you?” asked Elynne, disconcerted by the gesture. “If you thin— AAGH!”

Elynne hadn't noticed her mother's intentions. A stabbing pain in her abdomen made her scream, taking her breath away.

“Guh…”

“Big sis!” Ien screamed. “Mom! Why?! Why did you stab her?!”

While her daughter was distracted, Thea had driven a piece of glass from the bottle into her side.

She fell to the ground, clutching the wound with both hands.

Thea, having removed the glass, holding it and dripping blood, approached Ien, who was paralyzed. She began to play with her daughter's hair.

“Uhh… Ah… ah… Bu… bu… Buaaaaa! Buaaaaa!” Ien cried inconsolably. “Mom, please! Don't hurt me—!”

SLAP

Thea slapped her daughter, making her fall to her knees on the floor.

“Ack…! Ah… cough…” Ien was left breathless.

“You must… listen to your mother and not say horrible things like what you were about to tell me,” Thea approached Ien with a disturbing smile. “You must respect your parents, understand?”

“Y-yes…” Ien nodded, with tears in her eyes.

Thea got up and approached Elynne, who was still on the floor. She crouched down to put her hand in one side of her daughter's pants, pulling out a… gun.

“A nine millimeter… Walther PPK/S. Good weapon for personal defense… If you spend your money on these things, at least make sure to use it. It offends me that you're so afraid of me that you won't even draw.”

“Put… put that down…” Elynne could barely speak from the pain.

“I just came by, to see how MY girls were doing. You should try to stop contaminating her with your crazy ideas, Elynne,” she picked up the purse to store the gun. “I need you to do an errand for me.”

“Go rot…” Elynne spat blood.

Thea kicked her daughter, who clutched her stomach tighter.

“Cough, cough.”

“Big sis!” Ien tried to get close to Elynne, but her mother stomped hard on the floor, intimidating her.

“In all of Anesse… I can find you no matter where you are. If you try to run away, I'll know anyway,” she crouched down and rested her chin on her hands. “Tuesday, at the Saint Mary shopping center, at five in the afternoon. I'll call you… you'll answer the phone and do what I tell you.”

Elynne looked at her without saying anything… silence was the best communication between them.

“Don't miss it,” after saying that, Thea looked at her younger daughter…

Ien could only see one of her mother's eyes; the other was hidden by hair and shadow. The yellowish teeth of her crooked smile were visible.

What did she mean by that?

Her older daughter understood it perfectly.

“Call an ambulance, my girl. I made sure it was a wound that wouldn't incapacitate her. She'll be fine by next week.”

Thea walked out down the hallway, smoking her cigarette, while Ien hugged her sister soaked in tears.

The door closed behind her, creaking loudly.

The silence that followed was almost as terrifying as the violence that had just occurred. The only sounds were Elynne's ragged breathing and Ien's broken sobbing.

“Sis… sister…” Ien trembled as she pressed her small hands over the wound. “She's bleeding a lot…”

“Stay calm…” Elynne struggled to keep her voice steady. “Call 911… Tell them it was a… domestic accident.”

Ien nodded, tears blurring her vision as she searched for the phone. Her hands shook so much she could barely dial the numbers.

While they waited, Elynne closed her eyes, not from the physical pain, but from the certainty that this was just the beginning. Thea wanted more than one of her simple “errands.”

The weapon she had bought was useless…

Both sisters' sobs were lost in the darkness of the apartment, mixing with the distant hum of the refrigerator.