Heart Shaped Lies

Chapter Ten

Hannah  fought against the heavy darkness that engulfed her. Her eyes opened slowly, and she winced against the sudden brightness. The only face she saw was that of her father, gazing intently at her. Hannah  wanted to flee, but found she was bound with her hands behind her back, rope knotted around her ankles. She was propped against a wall. She tried to speak, but her mouth was dry. Her father inserted a thin straw between her lips, and Hannah  eagerly drank the lukewarm water. 

"Where am I?" she asked hoarsely. "Where's Sawyer?" 

"Don't worry about any of that. It's pointless. You won't be here long."

"Please, let me go!" Hannah  begged, terror tightening her heart. Her head pounded, and it was then that she felt the warm trickle of blood down her face. 

He slapped her hard, jerking her head to the side. 

"Shut the hell up! You are just like your mother, never knowing when to keep her mouth shut! She'd still be alive if she had shut her mouth! Don't forget, little girl, I can shut you up for good just like I did her!" Her father whipped out a long, dangerous looking knife. He approached her, knelt down to eye level, and pressed the blade against her throat. 

"Are you going to be quiet?" he growled. 

"Yes," Hannah  whimpered.

The knife vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

"Good. Now you be a good little girl while Daddy tells you a story." William paced the floor as he spoke, stirring up dust that stung Hannah 's eyes and made her cough. 

"I know that everyone thinks I am to blame for your mother's death, and yeah, I admit I killed her. I have never tried to cover that up. But you see, Hannah , it wasn't my fault. Your mother was a slut; not a day went by that she wasn't in bed with another man while I was working to keep a roof over her head. That day, before she came to get you from school, she told me she was taking you and leaving, that I would never get to hold my little girl in my arms again. And I decided that if I couldn't have her to myself, if I couldn't have you, that nobody would. So you see, Hannah , it is as if your mother pulled the trigger herself."

Her father turned to stare at her. Hannah  gaped at him. Not her mother, she would never do that. But Hannah  knew she needed to try and appease William. 

"But why come after me? I was only seven years old! You stabbed me, tried to kill me! It could've just been me and you!" 

"I knew I was going to jail, Hannah . I wouldn't have had you. You would've ended up in foster care anyway. My plan was to kill myself after it was all over. But now...now we are going to be together forever. All three of us."

"Daddy," Hannah  begged, the word leaving a burning sensation like acid in her mouth, "please. We'll run away, just the two of us. Just please call an ambulance for Sawyer and I'll go with you, no fighting, nothing, I promise. We can be gone before they get here. I love him, Daddy. Please, don't let him die." 

William's face softened and he appeared to be contemplating her suggestion when a thump outside made them both jump. Her father rushed out the door that Hannah  hadn't even noticed until now and disappeared. That gave Hannah  the chance to better observe the small shack she was in. It was barren, with one window and one door and a single bulb hanging from the ceiling. The sun was beginning to rise, but the weak light filtering through the door was suddenly blocked by a tall figure. And this tall figure was holding a gun.