SUMMER
Violet’s eyes widened in horror as she realized he hadn’t gone down like she’d planned. This is why we should have discussed different scenarios, I screamed at her in my head. Now we were never getting near that key and he would make doubly sure the door was locked at all times.
I pressed my side into the banister and dug my nails into the wood. What were we going to do now? Breathing suddenly became too hard, and I felt like I was drowning. Tears sprung to my eyes as I realized I wasn’t going home.
“Clover, I’m sorry. I don’t know—”
“Shut up,” he growled. Spit flew from his mouth. He managed to keep his posture calm and controlled, relaxed even, when he sounded so murderously angry. What was he going to do now? The image of the knife he kept in his pocket flashed through my mind. He wouldn’t really use it, though, would he? It was just to scare us into behaving.
Out of his pocket came that same knife, the blade shining proudly under the light directly above. I gulped and I wanted to close my eyes through his threat and until he left but I couldn’t not watch. My back hurt where the edge of the banister dug in as I tried to get farther back.
Violet raised her trembling hands and shook her head. “Please don’t. I’m sorry.”
“I’ve already given you a second chance, which isn’t something I offer lightly. There are no third chances, Violet.” He spoke so calmly it sent a chill down my spine. Without another word from either of them, he took a step forward. There was no hesitation when he shoved the knife into her stomach.
My legs gave way, and I collapsed to the floor, gripping the wooden banister as if it was my lifeline. I tried to scream, but when I opened my mouth, nothing came out. Tears streamed down my face and I blinked hard to clear my vision. It’s a dream, it’s a dream, I repeated over and over in my head. Wake up. Wake up!
Violet gasped hard, desperate for breath, and slumped to the floor, limp and lifeless. She was dead. I had never seen a dead body before, only fake ones on TV. I stared at her, dazed. She was dead. It was over quicker than it would’ve been if we were in a movie.
His head snapped around and he faced Rose and Poppy. “Clean this up. Now.” Turning back, he bounded up the stairs and out the door, locking it behind him.
Poppy pulled me up, dragging my stunned body to the sofa, where she then pushed me down. “Shh, stay here.” There was no danger of me going anywhere. I literally couldn’t move, not an inch. It was as if my body had seized up.
I looked on in shock, breathing heavily, wide-eyed as Rose and Poppy gathered a bucket, mop, and what looked like another bucket full of cleaning supplies. “Oh God, she’s really dead,” Poppy whispered, almost in disbelief.
Rose squeezed her shoulder and brushed her fingers over Violet’s face, closing her eyes. “Get the body bag, Poppy.” My eyes bulged and my throat dried. “Get the body bag, Poppy” were five words that instantly burned themselves into my memory. They had done this before.
A small pool of blood had started to form beneath her body. I couldn’t take my eyes off the bright red liquid. Rose took Violet’s hand and kissed it. “Good-bye, sweetheart,” she whispered. I gagged, slapping my hand over my mouth as I ran to the bathroom.
Rose and Poppy were struggling to pick up Violet when I came back in the room; there was no way I was going to offer to help them put someone in a body bag. They carefully laid her down and pulled the sides of the bag up. Even though they struggled to move her, they never asked for my help. They either didn’t want to make me so soon or they just knew it wasn’t happening.
I stared as they moved in tune, working around each other perfectly, as if they’d done it a million times before. How many times had they cleaned up after his murders? A shiver ripped through my body, turning my blood cold. Would I have to see something like that again?
My eyes fixed on the small sliver of Violet I could still see. She looked peaceful, as if she were sleeping. Of course, I knew she wasn’t. Rose zipped the bag up, and I sagged in relief, mentally thanking her for creating the plastic shield between Violet’s face and my eyes. But I knew I’d never forget it. My head pounded and heart raced as I struggled with what I’d just witnessed.
“Good-bye,” Poppy whispered and placed her hand over where Violet’s heart was.
I watched in horror as they stood up and collected a bucket, filling it with water. They were going to mop up the blood and then it would be like it never happened.
The water in the bucket quickly turned pink as it mixed with the blood; it looked like one of my mum’s cocktails, and I tried to pretend that’s exactly what it was. My stomach turned when Poppy lifted the mop to rinse it, a string of blood stretched between the floor and the sponge pad and dripped back to the floor.
The horribly strong metallic smell bulldozed its way through the eye-watering lemon scent and I gagged. As quickly as the blood had poured onto the floor, it was gone. They were fast but thorough—not one spot was left unclean. How many times?
If it weren’t for Violet lying in a bag in the corner of the room, you would never know someone had just been murdered here. That was the scariest, most horrific thing I had ever witnessed, and they just cleaned it all up as if they were mopping muddy footprints. Their brief moment of sadness seemed long gone.
“He’ll be back to get the body after he’s had a shower,” Poppy said, sighing and looking at Violet. The body. She wasn’t even a person to them anymore. Was that why they get through it and how they’re able to be so calm now? See a body, not a person. I tried. I pictured Violet—the body—with no face and no name. I took everything away from her until she was just a lump of meat. But I still wanted to collapse and scream until I lost my voice.
I sat back down and gripped my hands to try to stop them from shaking. “How many people has he…you know?” I whispered. Murdered. Poppy looked away and I gritted my teeth. Violet wasn’t the first; he’d done it before. That was what I’d heard the other night. I whimpered, curling into a ball on the sofa.
Rose lowered her head and replied, “Eight since I’ve been here, including Violet.”