Jason & Darius |Craving Yours| ✔

25. Blood & Rugs

Darius Dixon

My heart was pounding in my chest and my vision was blurry. I stood in the centre of what seemed to be a victorian living room and breathed in the foul stench of expired takeaway.

I couldn't hear anything except a constant electric buzz and Jason's voice in the background as he spoke. My head was spinning and everything in me was screaming murder. This was my fault I didn't drive fast enough. Maybe if I had I would have arrived on time.

"Darius."

I could see law enforcement milling about in uniform from the corner of my eye. I was still rooted to the floor but my blood was running fast. I could fill the constant fast thumping of my heart as I clenched my fists and my jaw. My sister. Why was I late?

"What is he doing here?" I heard an all too family sweet saccharine voice say.

At that moment my rage boiled over. It was all their fault.  This was not my fault this was their fault and yet they had the audacity to ask what I was doing here? At my sister's crime scene. I turned around in one swift motion and leapt over the shards of wood laying on the stained carpet.

In a blind rage, my hands were clasped on James McCain he was the reason this happened. Him and his wife. I shoved him against the wall and made sure to breathe in his face with as much intimidation I could master.

"You did this!!" I screamed in his flinching face.

"Darius. Stop." I barely registered Jason's voice.

"You are the reason she doesn't call me anymore. You are the reason she doesn't confide in me anymore. You are the reason she is in this mess. You!" I screamed feeling his windpipe give just a little under the pressure of my hands.

"Darius! Stop!" Jason screamed as he pulled my left arm while a random police officer pulled my right arm.

"I want to press Charges." Mildred, James' wife said screaming at me as she clutched her wheezing husband.

"Press charges?" I screamed lunging forward. Jason managed to move in front of me before I got ahold of her too.

"Yes. Press charges. What are you doing here? After what you did? Press charges are the list of your problems." She said as she assisted her husband outside.

I moved with purposeful strides as I followed them out.

"What I did? I am here to see my sister!"

"She is not your sister!" James whispered as his voice failed him.

"She is My sister. I grew up with Olivia and Carol I am part of their story since they were eleven and four. Those girls are my sisters as much as a blood sister would be to me!" I said shouting at James and Mildred.

Jason placed a tentative hand on my bicep as he tried to calm me. But my whole body was now shaking with rage. My hands were trembling and I could feel the sweat dripping from my face.

"You know what? You don't know them. You have no right to tell me who I am to them because you didn't reproduce them. You didn't push them out of you. You are basically strangers playing house with some weak pathetic kids!" I shout at Mildred and James.

A hurt look flashed over Mildred's face but I ignored it and ploughed on.

"What have you ever truly done for them. Do you know who they really are? Do you know they always say the Lord's prayer even though they stopped believing in God? Do you know why carol never eats the green skittles? You don't know them. You don't know who they are. They are not your kids. You don't get to make decisions for them when the only reason why you keeping them is that their trust fund is about to kick in!" I shouted towards their faces as they cowered back.

"Darius?" A soft small voice startled me.

I turned to see a hurt tear-soaked Carol watching me. She looked at me with a certain look of betrayal I had never experienced. Her eyes shifted to her adoptive parents then back to me as if trying to decide what to do next. Mildred lunged forward with open arms but carol backed up like a wounded animal.

"Hey, kid." I croaked voice hoarse from all the screaming.

Her head whipped in my direction but she backed up from me too. So instead of moving closer, I take a step back and raised my hands in a surrendering motion.

"Look Carol...you know..."

"Where is Olivia?" She said cutting me off.

My eyes glanced involuntarily towards the house now sealed off by the policemen. Carols face followed my line of sight and fear crept up on her face soon after realising whatever thought came up in her mind.

"Olivia!" She screamed as she made a run for it to the old house.

I lunged fast and grabbed her before she went in. But not fast enough because she noticed the blood-soaked carpet.

I lifted her up and held her to my chest. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. This is not how our story was supposed to be like.

"Hey, kid. Listen to me. " I said softly as I rubbed her back in soothing circles. "Olivia is not dead okay."

Her head lifted up from my chest as she looked at my face with doubt in her eyes.

"She is just missing, But the police Are going to find her, okay."

She looked at me as if wondering if I was lying to her or not.

"Have I ever lied to you?"

"No."

"There you have it," I said as I hugged her again.

I looked up towards James and Mildred as they glared at me with contempt. of course the bad parents who would bring a preteen to a crime scene were judging me. Jason was now standing a few feet away as if he wanted to be around but not in my space.

"My Dixon. We are going to need you to come to the prescient with us." I looked at Mildred and her overly satisfied face. Of course, I would need to go face charges of assault.

I placed Carol on the ground. "So I have to go with the policemen you have to go home with your parents now okay."

She looked at me like I was crazy.

"I promise it will be okay. " I looked at her disbelieving face and tacked on another reassuring word. "I will call you tonight."

"But I don't have a phone? Anymore." She said looking over at her parents.

"I will call on your home phone. Just be ready by eight o'clock." I said holding out my pinky for a pinky promise.

Carol hooked her finger to mine. Before letting go and walking towards her parents with hesitant footsteps.

"I WILL call tonight," I said one last time but this time it was for the parents, not carol.