R.I.P.

by Charity B.

  “We are sinners and need to be stopped.” She straddles me, and though she’s not a large woman, the weight is excruciating. She’s holding a small surgical knife with tears streaming down her face. “Goodbye, Micah. We’ll see each other in Hell.”

  She holds the blade to her throat, swiping it across before my cry reaches my diaphragm. Blood pours from the wound in her neck like a red waterfall. She involuntarily chokes and coughs, grabbing the cut as if she can stop it from splitting. Her eyes meet mine, and I think in this moment, she realizes the atrocity of what she’s done. To herself. To me. To our children.

  To our beautiful family.

  Her eyes shift to the ceiling before she falls against my chest, forcing me to wail from the agony of it. Blood seeps across my shirt, and even though it burns my eyes and may even make the pain worse, I cry. I cry for her, I cry for our marriage and our children. I cry for the life that could have been if we would have made different choices along the way.

  With my dead wife across my chest, the torture is so unbearable, it feels as if I’m losing my mind. Anger, sorrow, fear, defeat, and every other morose emotion I’ve ever felt reaches a boiling point. Clenching my fists and tensing my body, I open my mouth to do the only thing I can.

  I scream.

  Adriel

  17 years old

  Moonlight strangles the dark, stretching across the tombstones like a haunted dream. This is my favorite place in the whole wide world. Death’s murky essence bleeds the thickest in a cemetery. It has always comforted me to be so close to the other side. Most people are scared of dying, but I’m not. I’m excited to see what happens.

  Mommy once told me I have a black soul. I don’t think that’s true though because I always try to be a good girl and obey. Besides, my favorite color is pink. For reasons I’ve never understood, she just plain doesn’t like me. She won’t even hug me.

  The pitter-patter, pitter-patter between my ribs hasn’t slowed since the basement. Malakai touched me. He tasted and licked me. Nothing has ever felt as good as his tongue did. The fantasies I’d had were nowhere close. I still can’t believe he really did it.

  In the black of the night, his hurried footsteps scratch, scratch, scratch against the gravel of the church parking lot. I slip behind my favorite headstone. The granite feathered wings of the angel almost look like they could flutter at any moment.

  Our Darling Daughter

  Eliza Dupont

  February 3, 1898

  April 14, 1900

  May you dance with the angels.

  The silence of his footsteps tells me he has crossed into the graveyard. Crouching down to peak under one of the wings, I grin when I see he’s almost at the tombstone. With my fingers spread out in front of me, I jump out to scare him.

  “Boo!”

  A tornado storms in my tummy when he smiles. I spin toward the mausoleum and take off in a run. The moment I’m inside, I hurry to tear off my dress. If I’m already naked, I’m hoping it will be harder for him to resist me.

  Two faux candelabras, one in each corner, supply the only light inside the mausoleum. My bra barely hits the floor when the door opens, revealing Malakai’s shadowed form standing in the entryway.

  The moment he’s in front of me, his fingers brush my cheek. Tingles flutter up my spine when he crashes his lips to mine. I wrap my arms around his neck, deepening our kiss as he walks us backward until my head hits the wall.

  Desperation for this to continue eats my every thought. With frantic fingers, I undo the button on his jeans. My veins prickle with eagerness as I reach into his underwear, and the heat of his erection pulses against my palm. His quiet moans float into my ears, tugging on the tightness between my thighs. Since I’ve never done this, I have no idea how fast to move my hand. I start slow, but his thrusts tell me to do it quicker.

  He’s always meant everything to me. Every single night I thank Jesus for him in my prayers. The skin of his butt is soft when I reach back to shove down his jeans. Shuddering breaths whip against my neck as I continue stroking at a steady speed.

  As much as I despise watching him with Mommy, it teaches me a lot about what he likes and how to do stuff. Squeezing my bottom, he picks me up, spreading my legs with his body.

  “I love you, so much, Adriel. Once we do this, we can’t undo it.”

  I want to laugh. Not being able to undo it is exactly what I’m counting on. Bringing my lips next to his ear I say, “Good.”

  His body tenses just as an unexpected, ripping sensation splits me right down the middle. A scream lodges in my throat. He’s doing it too hard. I can’t breathe in between the sharp stabs that shoot to my toes. My short nails claw at his shoulders while my back grates against the coarse stone of the wall.

  “Oh, fuck,” he groans against my neck. I can’t inhale enough air to speak. This is what it must feel like to be impaled. People are bonkers, this doesn’t feel nice at all! “I’ve wanted this for so fucking long.” He does it rougher each time he moves, forcing himself deeper. “It’s never felt like this before.”

  Lifting his head, his eyes scan my face as the light captures his confusion. His body stills, allowing my lungs to expand enough to gasp, “It really hurts.”

  Heat blooms up my neck when I feel him sliding out of me. My fingers clutch his hips to pull him back. No matter how agonizing this is, I’ve never been closer to him. I refuse to give that up. His hand warms my cheek. “I’m sorry, it’s never—Do you want me to stop?”

  “No,” I say, trying to move myself up and down to get used to it. “Just go slow, okay?”

  Pressing his forehead to mine, he nods. Being held by him loosens my skin, my body rocking against him in response. His hands oddly feel larger than normal as they squeeze my waist to carry me away from the crypts. In front of my discarded clothes, he kneels, lying me on top of them. The chill of the concrete seeps through the fabric while I watch him frantically kick off his shoes and pants. Every ounce of cold evaporates the moment he climbs on top of me.

  Kisses trail down my neck as his cock rubs against my exposed pussy. “I can’t believe this is happening,” he breathes.

  Neither can I.

  Looking down, he reaches between us to put the soft tip into my entrance. Hair falls into his blazing eyes when he lifts his head, giving me a grin that opens my legs wider. Slowly, I take him inch by inch. This time, the piercing sharpness softens to a dull ache.

  I’ve never thought about other boys. I can’t even remember ever thinking another guy was cute. To me, the concept of a ‘crush’ seems unnatural. How can you have feelings for someone you barely know? The girls in my class fall ‘in love’ within a couple months of dating. They wouldn’t know what love was if it stabbed them through the chest. Me and Malakai? We were created in the same womb. Most people will never experience knowing someone as deeply as we know each other in their entire lifetime. I would plunge to my death without a thought if it would save him.

  That is love.

  “I only want to do this with you.” I open my body further, consuming as much of him as I can. “You’re my brother. I love you more than anyone in the whole wide world.”

  My words quicken his pace, and I wince, grasping at his shoulders. I need him to slow down. Just as I open my mouth to ask him, the sensation shifts. Suddenly it’s…oh.

  The heels of my feet scrape against the concrete. I wonder if his heart feels like it’s glowing like mine does. My back arches as I trail my hands down his shoulder blades, his muscles moving beneath my fingers with each thrust. This is so much more intense than when I touch myself in the dark. Pressure builds between my thighs, forcing me to buck against him.

  “You want to know a secret?”

  His head dips before his warm mouth sucks on my nipple. My breathing comes out stuttered from the jolts of electricity thumping in my clitty.

  “I love secrets.” Soft strands tickle my fingers as I comb them through his hair with a moan.

  Licking at m
y flesh, he kisses across my chest. “I think of you when I’m with Mom.”

  My heart spasms at his confession. It’s shocking how much I wanted to hear those words. I smash my mouth to his, kissing him as deeply as I know how. If I had one wish, it would be for this moment to last the rest of my life. This mausoleum is where everything is perfect. We can’t ever tell anyone. Not even Mommy and Daddy. Lying isn’t something I like to do, but for Kai, it’s worth it.

  It’s important that this is as perfect for him as it is for me. I’ve noticed that more often than not, he fucks Mommy from underneath her. I wonder if that’s how he likes it.

  “Can we switch places?”

  His grin intensifies my ache. Fullness stretches me further as if he’s growing larger inside me. “Hell yeah.”

  I squeal when he tucks his arms underneath mine to lift me up. Dread surrounds me like a shadow when he separates our bodies. The moment he’s sitting upright, I scramble to straddle him.

  Chest to chest, he grips the back of my neck and kisses me with urgency. His cock is wet and slippery to the touch. My tummy somersaults, pushing out a laugh against his lips.

  The moment he fills me up, we gasp into each other’s mouths. Gripping my waist, he moves my body up and down faster than I could do on my own. My skin prickles like locusts are flying around me. Not even my imagination could have predicted the way this feels.

  “I don’t want you to touch Mommy anymore.” The words bounce from my lips before I know the thought has crossed my mind. It makes me want to scream thinking of him being with her now that he’s been with me.

  He shakes his head, sliding his hands to my bottom. Powerful fingers dig into my skin, pushing us closer. “I won’t. I swear.”

  Our bodies writhe together in mutual euphoria. That promise, his body, his taste, this entire night…it all erupts through my veins as I come. Abandoning everything outside of this moment, I’m devoured by the blissful attack on my body. Quick little moans are the only sounds falling from my lips.

  I love the lullaby of his fast breathing. With a groan, he rests his forehead against the crook of my neck.

  “Fuck, you have to get off of me.”

  Heavy disappointment tugs my mouth into a frown. Resisting the urge to cross my arms I pout. “Why?” He shoves against my hips, attempting to separate us. No! I don’t want this to be over yet. My legs tighten around his waist, and my arms hug his neck.

  “Because I’m gonna fucking come!”

  Holding his gaze, I whisper. “Do it inside me.”

  The idea of being able to walk around and still feel him in my body, even if it’s only for a little bit, is the strongest desire I’ve felt in a long time. I move my hips faster to push him over.

  “Seriously, Adriel. No! You have to—Oh, fuck! Oh, God!” He trembles beneath me. In the dim light I can see the odd mix of pleasure and horror on his face. Heat fills me up, and I involuntarily clench at the pulsing expanding deep between my legs. As soon as he’s empty, the expression on his face pokes me with icy stabs. “Shit,” he whispers, scrambling out from under me in a panic. “Shit, shit, shit.”

  Is he freaking out because we had sex or because he came inside me? Ripping his jeans up his legs, he tears his fingers through his hair.

  “Are you mad at me?”

  He scoffs, meeting my eyes. It scares me when I can’t place what I see in him. “Get dressed. We need to call Mom and Dad.”

  His response sucks the air from my lungs. It’s as if my blood evaporates, leaving nothing but desiccated veins. Our entire lives, every time I’ve asked that question, he’s always answered, no.

  The air is frigid as he brushes past me. I can’t make myself move. Everything in me wants to chase after him and tell him I’m sorry. I just can’t. Even when the mausoleum door slams behind me, my limbs remain paralyzed.

  Malakai

  18 years old

  Fuck! Fuck, fuck!

  I can’t believe that seriously happened. Jesus Christ. As if sleeping with her wasn’t bad enough, I had to go and come inside of her too. Why the hell wouldn’t she listen? The thought of throwing her off was in the back of my mind, but it just felt so damn good. It happened so fast.

  My stomach sours with nausea as I storm back into the church. I’ve known from the beginning that what we were doing was obscene, yet the moment I came, all the guilt and fear about what we’ve done multiplied tenfold.

  In an attempt to slow my heart, I rationalize with myself. We’re teenagers with hormones. Our adrenaline was high, and we made a mistake. An accident we can’t take back…even if I wanted to.

  Obviously, we can’t be together like that again, and nobody can ever, ever find out about this. Not even when death feasts on our final breaths can we mutter a word of what we’ve done.

  Mr. Jasick and the basement are a complete mess. Pulling up his pants, I fasten them before picking up Adriel’s panties to stuff them in my pocket. Mom and Dad would probably ask about that.

  Fuck. Mom. How the hell am I supposed to keep that promise when I’ve never been able to stop her in the past? The very thought of her or Dad finding out about tonight intensifies the panic already buzzing beneath my skin. What would they do? Mom would be furious for a different reason than my dad. I inhale deeply to settle the sickness threatening its way up.

  Would she see this as betrayal?

  Adriel’s footsteps down the stairs are slow. The truth is, I’m not mad at her as much as I am myself. I made the choice to be with her. While, of course, I wish she would have listened to me and gotten off me, if I was truly determined to pull out, I could have.

  She silently walks across the basement to pick up the body bag, lying it on the floor next to Mr. Jasick. With a sigh, I kneel beside her and take her hand. The hopeful expression illuminating her face stabs me between the ribs.

  “I’m not mad at you, okay?” My fingers reach for hers before I realize it could make the already sucky situation worse. “It’s me I’m upset with. Being with you like that is something I’ve wanted for years, but it’s wrong. We can’t ever do it again…or even talk about it.”

  Her forehead creases with her glare. “You wish it hadn’t happened.”

  She says it as if it’s fact, but the crazy thing is, if I had the power to go back and change it, the only thing I would do differently is come on the mausoleum floor instead of inside of her. Even knowing we can’t be physically together again, never in a million years would I want to undo the fact that I was able to experience her.

  I want so badly to kiss her, but this all has to stop. The knowledge that this will change things between us creates a barrier in my windpipe.

  “That isn’t true at all. It was incredible. It’s just really fucked up. If it ever got out, our lives would be ruined.”

  Her words stay locked away as we tug Mr. Jasick’s body into the bag. God, this really fucking blows. All I want to do is comfort her, touch her and tell her I love her. After tonight though, it would just make everything harder.

  Shit, I need to call Dad. She focuses on her toy instead of me as I walk to my cell phone sitting on one of the boxes. The lock screen lights up when I swipe it open.

  Uncle Bennett

  Missed Call (6)

  The last time I got a call from Uncle Bennett was on my birthday, so why the hell has he tried six times?

  Since it’s obviously urgent, I call him before Dad. Halfway through the second ring, his hysterical, nasally voice grills me. “Where the hell are you? I’ve called at least half a dozen times! What’s the point in having a fucking phone?”

  Uncle Bennett is one of the most laid-back guys I know. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him inconvenienced much less angry. “Whoa, chill. We were just away from the phone.”

  “Is Adriel with you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You need to get home right now.”

  The way he says that freezes my skin solid. Something is definitely off. “Are Mom and Dad there?”
r />   His gasp is lined with a sob. “Just get your sister and come home, okay?”

  Adriel tilts her head in question, standing next to me as I put him on speaker. “We really need their help.”

  He breathes harder with a whispered, “Fuck!”

  My skin instantly flips in temperature, the heat making my head feel like it’s going to explode.

  “What’s going on, Uncle Bennett?”

  The other end only offers silence. Finally, he sighs and says, “I didn’t want to tell you this over the phone. You need to know that.”

  My knees weaken while I squeeze the cell to keep from dropping it. Somehow, I already know what he’s going to say. Adriel’s eyes widen the second she pieces together that something terrible has happened. Just as quickly, her face falls passive.

  “I’m so sorry, kid. Your parents…” He groans in a painful way. “Azalea and Micah…they’re gone. They’ve…They’re dead.”

  The room stops. Even the dust particles in the air seem to freeze in place.

  I should be overcome by grief. I should want to fall to my knees in mourning, but all my emotions feel dormant. Like when you react in an unlikely way in a dream. Everything’s fuzzy and blurry.

  I don’t know how long I stand there, holding the phone, staring at the body bag that contains what is likely to be our last sinner. It’s odd that after never particularly enjoying family night, it hits me that we won’t ever have one again.

  “Dead,” Adriel whispers. The first twinge of heartache peeks out, threatening to destroy my resolve the second I look at her. She doesn’t move or blink.

  We, along with half this basement, are covered in blood, and there’s a corpse that can’t be here by morning. My heart punches my chest so fast I have to gulp in air to breathe. It’s over. If you include Snow Ryan and Ashley Radcliff, Mr. Jasick was our twenty-first body. They’ll lock us up for the rest of our lives.

  “Kai? Are you there?”

  With a snap in my brain, I suddenly know what needs to be done. My father has prepared me well for this. This isn’t the end. It can’t be. I have to protect her. “Have you called the police?”