The Demon's Whispers

27- Parallels

A shiver ran down my spine at the situation I was in right now. The one part of me that I had kept hidden. Not through shame but through pain was now laid out in front of me, like some dirty sordid secret. But my baby, my Amelia was not dirty, she was not a secret. She was perfect, too perfect for a world that I was slowly seeing become so vile and twisted.

How did he get this? How did he know? How did he have this photo when there was only one left?! How di- Cody.

"You're not going to say anything?" He asks watching for my reaction.

How dare he?! How dare Cody give him a copy! How dare they both?! Zak and Cody! And. And Bacon! How dare all of them!

I look at Zak dead in the eye, seeing the satisfied look in his eyes having unveiled one part of me that will always be damaged beyond repair. One part of my soul that was split the moment I woke up in a pool of my own blood. The moment the doctor told me that there was nothing they could do. The anger, resentment and bitterness bubbled up in my chest as a low growl emitted from my throat.

"We are done here."

I got up from my seat and made no attempt to stop as he called after me. Pleading me to stop running away from him and anything that has arose in the past few days.

How did he get to Cody?! How did he even... Bacon. But how could Bacon find him?

My eyes fluttered to my hold-all. The tags. He took the tags, he had Cody's name...

He planned this.. Yesterday? The hiking? Those moments of us together? This morning.

That's the reason why he shut down after I said he had a beautiful soul. He shut down because he was doing all this! Behind my back! He's played me, and like a fool, I allowed it.

I snatch my bag off floor and turn to find Zak filling the bedroom door. My chest heaves with anger as I look at him, finding my feelings parallel from what I thought they were this morning. What enraged me even more, was that he didn't look sorry for what he had done! He didn't seem ashamed or even guilty! None of this fazed him, like using my dead baby was nothing to him!

"So you're going to go? Not say a word?" He asks as I stand my ground.

I remain silent.

"Leah. I thought—"

"Thought what? That I'd open up after you hand me a photo of my dead baby?Have a little cry on your shoulder? And let you tell me everything is going to be okay?" I ask watching him shift.

I sound cold, I know I sound cold and spiteful, but that's what happens when you poke a bear with a stick, when you go in for an attack on the bear's cub.

"No. I..-"

"Get out of my way Zak."

"You can't leave." He answers as I stepped forward.

"Move." I growl at him.

He shakes his head defiantly "No. No I won't."

"False imprisonment. How long do you get for that now?" I ask pulling my phone out.

His eyes flick from my phone to my face "Don't."

"How about domestic violence? I'm sure I can make this convincing..."

He frowns "I've never hurt you Leah. I would never hurt you."

"You just did."

Regret fills his face as the situation begins to dawn on him. "I... Look I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking-"