Voodoo Doll // cth

thirteen

[that's your mom's jacket. your dress is also over there, and there's blood on it.]

I almost dropped the phone in that moment and lunged across the small space separating us, strangling my biological dad.

She was my best friend, my other half. She was everything I wanted to be and more. She was my safe space, but I threw all of that away when I pushed her away.

I talked to her a few days ago, she couldn't be dead. I refuse to believe it.

"Thank you," I pause for a second, trying not to allow myself to cry. "for fixing it."

I feel Calum move slightly before my biological dad starts speaking again. "Alright, so what can I help you guys with?"

His question might be innocent, but it still makes me want to scream. I want to hit something. I want to throw a tantrum only to find out that my mom is alive and kiss and hug her, but instead I'm here.

"I wanted to know how you and mom found each other again." I force a smile, causing Calum to snap his head in my direction. "I'm leaving for my after-high school traveling right after graduation, and Calum is doing whatever he wants to do. He's still figuring it out, but I wanted to know how you and mom found each other again after being apart for so long."

They both stare at me and I suddenly realize that he knows. He somehow knows that I'm not telling the truth.

In that moment, I remember feeling like I was about to pass out. The sudden change in mood and the way he looked at me told me everything I needed to know. Someone was going to die that night, and in that moment, I thought it was going to be me.

He wipes the corners of his mouth with his thumb and index finger before laughing. He rises from his seat and steps towards me. "You don't think I'm an idiot, do you? You're just like your mother, Adeline."

I try to think of any way that I can get out of this situation as he comes closer. Suddenly, he grabs me by my hair, ripping me out of the seat. I reach up and begin clawing at his hand, unable to say anything because of the sudden pain.

I still feel his hand on my head, ripping my hair out unapologetically. I felt like I had no one in those moments. That was, until he said something.

"Let her go!" Calum yells, standing up from his seat.

A happy ending isn't real in this reality, but I'm sure he and I have a happy ending in another one. His soul deserved it.

My biological dad spins around, turning me around as well. "What was that?"

"I said-"

"Calum, stop!" I interrupt him, causing my biological dad's grip on my hair to tighten. "He didn't say anything, he's just got a habit of blurting things out."

They both stop moving for a few seconds before I feel another yank on my hair. "You're lucky she's my daughter, prick." He turns back around, dragging me along with him as we pass the jacket. "You know, I always hated how you got to live a normal, happy life. Your only problems were being bullied at school. You got a dad and a mom. You know who I got? No one."

He was so angry, but I never knew why. Yeah, he told me, but I still don't get it. He was acting like I chose for him to leave.

He tosses me onto the ground and lights a cigarette, the smell making me want to throw up.

I still can't smell a cigarette without flashing back to that night, all the things that happened play in my head constantly like a stop-motion film.