Blood On Her Hands

Chapter 29

Vincent had his headlights off when he rolled into my driveway.

The silver hatchback crawled into the tiny space behind Nancy and Tìa's almost silently. I had only known he arrived because I was staring out my window in anticipation.

I answered my phone on the first ring, the blue light casting my room in a faint, fuzzy glow. His voice was nearly a whisper when he said he was outside.

"Be there in a second," I replied.

My thoughts were hanging above me like candle smoke. The hours of not speaking accompanied by the fatigue sinking into my bones were taking a toll on me.

I had been waiting for his arrival in darkness. I had turned out my lights hours ago so my family would think I was asleep. My eyes had adjusted, making it easier to navigate through the shadows of my room.

After the confrontation, I had gone the rest of the day without speaking to anyone. It meant not eating with them and limiting my bathroom visits to only a well timed few. I hated that I let my family make me a stranger in my own home but I couldn't bear the thought of being in the same room with any of them again.

They had threatened me. All of them ganged up on me. They had shown me that they didn't trust me but that was okay because I didn't trust them either.

I slipped on my sneakers, wishing I could see my reflection in the mirror before heading out. I had chosen to wear dark colors, paranoid that I would be caught sneaking out if I didn't take every possible precaution.

I wore yoga pants that flare out at the ends and the gray sweatshirt Julio had gotten me from my birthday. It would be the coziest Vincent had ever seen me but it was fitting for the time of day.

I tiptoed out my bedroom, pausing after I closed the door behind me to listen for any stirring. When I heard nothing, I scurried past Nancy and Julio's room.

With a house as old as ours, it was less noisy to glide over the floorboards than let your weight sink into it. Luckily, many nightly trips to get a drink of water had taught me to monitor my footsteps. With a figure like Nancy and I had, curvy and full at the hips and thighs, one could hear us coming several feet away. I hoped I had found a way around that by rushing my steps.

My aunt and uncle's room was directly beside the landing of the stairs. I gripped the banister tightly as I descended. I tried to make each step light and tiny, telling myself that if I made too big of a noise I would have to simply run for it. The whole time I thought about the threat they had made.

Take a step out of that door and see what happens.

No te atreves.

When I made it to the door, my muscles began to unwind. I locked the door behind me despite how the keys jingled in the lock. I might have not been on good terms with everyone but I wasn't going to leave them vulnerable.

I jogged over to the car and pulled the door open. Vincent began to drive away the second my butt touched the passenger seat.

It smelled delicious inside, like coconut and pineapples. There was a tree shaped car freshener dangling from the rearview mirror that I assumed the smell came from but it was so strong it could have been coming from Vincent.

It didn't surprise me how tidy he kept his car. In my aunt's, there was always an empty bottle of juice in the cupholder or crumpled up tissues somewhere at our feet. Vincent, however, kept the inside of his car spotless. His cup holders were devoid of any empty bottles and didn't look sticky or filled with crumbs. The passenger seat was up in its straightest position and I guessed that if I opened the glove compartment, I would find its contents organized in alphabetical order.