“You’re right. Let’s get ready to burn this place down. I’m sick of it too.”
And with that, the two of us parted ways, each walking into opposite wings to cover the place in petrol. The blaze it would create would leave little trace of what we’d done here tonight.
Good fucking riddance.
Forty One
West
When we were out of earshot of the others, Scarlett turned her face towards me and gave me a look. I knew she was suspicious of why I’d asked her to come to coat the outbuildings in petrol with me.
“What?”
“You could do this bit by yourself, so why do you want me here?”
I adjusted the hammer on my shoulder.
“We went through the whole house, including your bedroom, and there was no room like the one you described. The concrete cell. I’m guessing it’s out here somewhere. I want you to show me. I need to see it.”
Maybe it was fucked up and twisted of me to force her to take me to her concrete prison. I had to see the place. Needed to know what she’d gone through. Seeing her bedroom wasn’t enough. Scarlett hadn’t wanted to go inside, so we hadn’t made her. She told us there was nothing for her other than memories of screaming at night and the metal bars across the windows. Her bedroom was on the ground floor of the family wing at the back of the house. It made me sick to see the bars keeping her inside. The whole place made me violent, but I was keeping a lid on it. I couldn’t afford to lose control when we had shit to do.
Scarlett faltered in her steps, shifting the can in her hands.
“You want to see the cell?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t want to go in there, West.”
“You don’t have to. Just take me to it and you can wait outside.”
She almost shook her head, her eyes full of sadness and pain.
“Okay, but we need to go deal with the barn first. It’s furthest away from the house.”
I touched her arm with my free hand, but I don’t think it reassured her. It made me feel like a dick for forcing this on her. She’d already dealt with so much this evening, being back in the place holding most of her worst memories. We’d made new ones for her. Killing all the people who’d wronged her. Not to mention the fuckery in the bathroom. That was unexpected, especially for Drake, who was so fucking anal about everything. Our girl had changed him. Brought out the old Drake. I’d known she could. Only Scarlett had the power to set us all free from the trauma and pain of losing her. She was the key to everything.
She was quiet as we reached the barn. I set the hammer down and took the can from her, going into the place and coating the area with petrol. I came out and drew a line from the barn to the first outbuilding. Scarlett brought my sledgehammer over and we swapped, so she didn’t have to carry it.
We dealt with the first outbuilding together. It was a storage unit filled with all sorts of crap, like old furnishings. The second contained gardening supplies. And the last building made her hesitate in her steps.
“This is it, isn’t it?” I asked, giving her shoulder a squeeze and pulling her to a stop.
“It is.”
“You don’t have to go any further.”
She looked up at me.
“Why do you want to see it so badly?”
I set the hammer down and took the can from her, placing it on the floor too. Then I put both my hands on her shoulders and came down to her level, meeting her eyes.
“You went through some of the worst experiences in your life in that place. I need to see and feel it for myself. Your pain is my pain. I need to live it and breathe it with you. Only then can I help take away the hurt and suffering lingering inside you.”
Tears welled in her eyes.
“West…”
“You’re mine and I’m yours. We’re half alive when we’re apart. We don’t exist without each other. Let me carry your pain.”
Her hand came up and settled on my jaw.
“You want to share my burdens?”
“Yes. That’s what soulmates do, little Scar. You don’t need me to stand on your own two feet, but it doesn’t stop us from belonging by each other’s sides, breathing the same air and our hearts beating in tandem. It doesn’t stop us from needing each other to feel alive.”
Those threatening tears burst through, spilling down her cheeks. I gathered her up against my chest, stroking her back and pressing my face to the top of her head. Little sobs erupted from her mouth, showing me how much she struggled with her memories and the past. Scarlett had come so far with us, but there were still miles to go, so many things she had to heal from. I would help her in whatever way I could.