I must have dozed off while packing, and that’s when they stuck me, drugged me.
They came like the thieves they are under the cover of night and marked me, labeled me: a label that screams one thing and one thing only—mine.
This isn’t real. This can’t be real. I study the tattoo on my back, disbelieving that this is my reality.
And I’m so done.
So fucking done.
Done with the questions, with the struggle, with the understanding, the mystery. I’m so fucking done wondering, waiting for answers while forever dangling in the dark.
I’m just…done.
And tonight, when the moon rises high in the sky above, I’m going to declare fucking war.
Bass thumps from behind the bubbled metal doors as loud laughter sounds out. They’re all here. Mindlessly partying while I stand a marked woman, completely set adrift on an island of rage and bitterness. I lift the first bottle and toss it, hitting my mark when it shatters against the door. The music clicks off, as the second one sails into the air, smashing to pieces at the foot of the door. Tyler is the first to go into the lobby. I can see his lips move with his report as one of the metal doors slowly lifts, and I hurl another bottle at it.
“Jesus, fuck,” Sean says, flinching as some glass hits him as I hurl another and another. His eyes flare with anger as he surveys the damage I’ve already inflicted. All of their tires are flat. No one will be following me tonight.
It’s surreal to see them all standing there, gawking at me like I’ve lost my mind. Jeremy, Tyler, Dominic, Sean, Russell, even Layla, who ghosted me along with the rest of them but regards me now with wide eyes. For so long, I felt like I’d imagined my time amongst them. But the gang’s all here and a few others I didn’t expect to see. Some fare with similar tattoos to the one I now wear, one of them with her eyes locked on Dominic, who discards a joint as he surveys the damage in his parking lot.
Sean takes a tentative step forward as my eyes meet Dominic’s behind him. His features impassive as he surveys me.
I can’t believe I let myself get wrapped up in these liars, these manipulative thieves who stole me from myself.
“Cecelia,” Layla speaks up, her voice on edge. “Baby, what’s going on?” She turns her gaze on Sean and Dominic. “What did you fuckers do?”
“Don’t bother,” I scold her dismissively. “Don’t pretend to give a damn about me now.”
“You know I didn’t have a choice.”
“Oh, bullshit,” I glare at her. “You had a choice. You chose them. And guess what? You deserve them.”
Guilt runs clear in her blue eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“Save it. You’ve all made your point. I think it’s time I made one of my own.” I lift the five-gallon can adding the rest of the contents to the puddle in front of me.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Sean asks, taking a step forward, just as I lift a different kind of bottle, the rag inside soaked.
“Jesus Christ,” Tyler says, his eyes bulging. “Cecelia, what the hell are you doing?”
“Who did it!?” I fume as Sean starts toward me.
“Take another step before I get my answer, and I’ll light this, and we’ll all see where it lands. Don’t fucking push me, Sean!”
“Put it down,” he barks as I try to ignore the sight of him and what it does to me. Seeing them again is surreal.
But I’ve been a fool far too long.
“Who did this to me!?” I scream, no longer able to keep our secret. No longer able to hide what’s been done.
“Is this what you consider loyalty? You want me? Well, here I fucking am! You want extremes? You want devotion. Trust me. I’m dedicated to this. And I learned from the best. Fucking test me.” I lift my chin in defiance. “Speak up, and you can come and get your fucking prize.”
I strike one of the Zippos I stole from Sean when we were together, and he jerks back.
“Cecelia, don’t!” Sean’s panicked eyes dart back to Dominic, who starts to move toward me, his steps sure as he pushes through the crowd.
“Bitch has lost her mind,” one of the girls says from the garage. “You must’ve dicked her too good, Dom.”
A few guys I recognize from one of the meetups chuckles, but no one else is laughing, especially Dominic, whose eyes flare in irritation as he moves toward me at a leisurely pace.
“What the fuck?” One of them speaks up, catching on to the damage done. “She slashed our fucking tires!” Dom holds up his hand, silencing them all with the flick of his wrist.