Crosswinds Ch. 07

Her greedy fingers dug into the heap and were well rewarded. The charm bracelet was mostly silver with some specks of red, violet, and ecru. She smiled as the memories flooded back to her—how Rochelle helped her start the bracelet from all her experiences that year. A ruby earring from her first school dance, a tooth she lost in a rollerblading accident, it was if they all occurred yesterday. She quickly strapped it to her wrist before grabbing her candle and moving from the attic.

Her next stop was Christy's room. She gently crept inside and watched her sister sleep, clutching a body pillow like a teddy bear. Diana smiled as she stroked her Christy's angelic face with the back of her palm. "Goodbye my dear sister." Her eyes wandered to nightstand, and the empty glass of juice she poured her before bedtime. "You drank the whole thing..." She exclaimed. "Christy." She called out, jostling the woman's shoulder. "CHRISTY." Then she slapped her. To Diana's delight, she remained resting, even snoring. "Good girl." She smiled again. "Come here, Harold." She moved to the rabbit cage and undid the latch. The rabbit soon hopped into her waiting arms.

Diana clutched Harold with care as she plugged on the dazzling white Christmas tree lights. "You just hold on right here, dear." She cooed, pulling a tiny vial from her pocket and ripped the top off with her teeth. "I'm so sorry about this, Harold." She said, sprinkling the liquid over the light's power cord. "If you ever see Christy again, you mustn't blame her." She moved the rabbit close enough the smell the cables. "This is the reason I bought you. Mother just accelerated this by forcing my hand."

She took a cautious step back, amazed that Harold didn't run off. Even though she tested the blend of softwood scents and pheromones, Diana was relieved when Christy's pet aggressively chewed on the flimsy wiring. She squeezed a branch on the tree and to her further delight, the brittle pine needles crumbled and snapped at her touch. "You think you're so smart, mother. You never even followed up I kept the tree watered. OH!" She yelped at the sound of a frizzing, blown out fuse. She didn't have to examine the rising smoke to pronounce Harold dead. She snapped off a dry twig and returned to her candle. Once the kindling lit, she quickly laid it on the lifeless rabbit.

Diana kept the candle as she made her way to the door. She savored one last look around the house where she grew up as the floor filled with smoke. She peered upstairs, where her mother and sister lay deep in sleep. "With any luck, the smoke will take them both before they suffer." She said, wiping away her tears. "Do you feel that my love, my princess?" She stroked her belly. "Do you feel my sacrifice for you?"

Diana walked out the door and locked it behind her.

--

Savannah was the first stir when the phone buzzed across the flimsy nightstand. "That's okay, I wasn't sleeping good, anyway." She muttered. Flopping her arm over Maddi's body, she grabbed and phone and shielded her girlfriend's face from the piercing blue light as she spoke. "Maddi Masters' phone."

As the person on the other end spoke, Savannah's eyes grew bigger and bigger still. "Maddi, wake up!" She gave the sleeping girl a violent shake as she screamed. "It's the police!"