Orange Juice

Chapter Thirty-Two

 Don paced back and forth in his small motel room impatiently as the red clock on the wall ticked while Jenifer failed to show up with his awaited woman.

 With every second that passed, his frustration grew larger and larger while his mind ran with the nerve-wracking assumptions that he might have been tricked and that Jenifer was not going to return with Lizzy.

 The regret of trust drove him mad enough to grab his keychain, his loaded gun along with a small flashlight before making his way over to his dark vehicle. Passing by Sunny's motel door, he paused, contemplating the idea of barging in and murdering her in the comfort of her room. After some thought, he decided he probably would once he was back from getting Lizzy, wherever she had been.

  He stomped down the flight of metal stairs, jumping over the last few steps in a hurry before unlocking his car, hopping in the driver's seat, and drifting out furiously onto the main road.

~

 Don parked in front of the unlit abandoned building where Lizzy and Sash were supposed to be. They were right there inside when he had found them earlier that day, and reminiscing of the fact that she had been right there within his grasp drowned him with regret of ever cooperating with Jenifer.

 He aggressively shut the car door with the gun and the flashlight in his hands as he made his way through the broken window, carelessly climbing through it and scratching himself with the shards of glass on the frame.

 He held his flashlight up to illuminate the dark empty building as he remained alert for any sound indicator of anyone's hidden presence.

 Although he would never admit it, he was beyond mortified of standing there in that dark, large, half-broken-down building all by himself at night.

  Don felt goosebumps on the surface of his pale arms as he carefully treaded while wearing his faltering courage like decomposing skin. He tightened his grip on the gun, frowning in concentration while his heartbeat picked a pace with every echoing step further inside.

 Suddenly, he halted in his tracks, his breath hitching and his body freezing up to icy stone at the sight of the blood puddle in the middle of the room. Some of it seemed smeared and wiped, but it was far too abundant to hide.

 What mortified Don the most was the lack of knowledge as to who the blood pool belonged to.

 His stomach twisted and he could feel a trail of vomit rise up in his throat. But he held it in as he slowly moved forward with the glowing light in front of him.

 "Lucy!" he yelled out for her, his voice echoing in the empty space.

 The only reply he heard in return was the faint sound of crickets and the soft rustling of the summery wind.

 Looking over his shoulder, he glanced at the blood once more before immediately turning back, disturbed by the images that flashed in his head as he tried to figure out what body it had spilled out from.

 He stood his ground for a few seconds, waiting for anyone to come out or appear; nobody did.

 Unable to bear the banging loudness of his dashing heartbeat, he turned back to the shattered window and exited the abandoned building.

 His walking pace sped up with every step he took on the ground until he found himself reaching his car. Pushed by a fearful rush, he quickly threw himself in the driver's seat, tossing the flashlight and the gun in the passenger's before immediately starting up the engine and driving away to the main road as fast as he possibly could.

 Once he found himself surrounded by the street lights and the all-night open stores of the town, he parked to the side to compose his trembling body and reeling head.

 His stomach was flooded with a nauseating mix of dread, rage, and regret. There was no telling if that blood was Sash's, Jenifer's, or Lizzy's, and although all of the options were far from pleasant, one of them urged him to light the entire town on fire with everyone in it.

  Walking with the assumption that it was Lizzy's blood, he fantasized of skinning Jenifer alive and feeding her flesh to a cannibal.

 If it was Jenifer's or Sash's blood, however, it meant that his plan was shattered to the very bare core, leaving him with absolutely zero chances of marrying the woman he had been dedicating all his life for.

 In his eyes, she was his but couldn't be when in reality he craved her and she harshly rejected the entirety of him.

 But Don Paulson never cared about what Lizzy wanted. Don never cared about Lizzy or her well-being as a whole, he just wanted her. He wanted her to be his because in his mind she was meant to be.

 Don was not, is not, and will never be in love with Lizzy. He simply wanted to own her.

 He could especially not live with the idea that she would reject him, and more so for other women. It made him feel lacking and especially within his own masculinity. What only haunted him further were the lingering jokes about him being so dreadful to her that she had retorted to seeking love from other women.

 That was, of course, not a sensible claim, but the fact that other people had that perception ripped his dignity to shreds, and so he had to prove them wrong, and he had to have her.

 But now she was gone. Whether it was her soul and body or her chances to be with him he did not know, but either option drained out any last drop of sanity that flowed in his boiling red blood.

 He heaved in his car, his head trembling as his jaw almost cracked against his screwed teeth. A rising rage bubbled through his tightened throat and he unlocked his jaw to allow it to erupt into the blood-curdling scream that shook the small car.

  He kicked his feet aggressively and punched down on the armrest so hard it almost broke. His intense screams lingered in the car for long, outstretched minutes until he slowly felt himself lose his voice.

 He took deep heavy breaths with a struggle so great it was as though he had been beaten up in the chest with a heavy hammer. After a while, his heartbeat calmed its harsh drumming and his breaths followed a slightly more regulated pace as he heaved in furious exhaustion.  Allowing thoughts to seep into his mind once again, he came to the realization that he had no clear idea of where or how Lizzy was, but there was still someone within his field of control.

  The girl beloved to Lizzy was still at the motel room next door to friendly neighbor Kyle Spencer.