𝐋𝐔𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐒. ᵒᵘᵗᵉʳ ᵇᵃⁿᵏˢ ¹

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 48.

I kept my spot at the doors, while he sat on a chair in the backyard, not far, at their patio table.

"Ward, you have a spear mark in your arm," Rose panicked, sounding anxious, "We gotta get you to the hospital, baby,"

I narrowed my eyebrows even more, not having a clue of what she was saying. But when she shuffled out of the way, grabbing hold of Ward's body, I laid eyes on a poorly-wrapped bandage tied around his right arm, stained with blood. He groaned in pain as she pulled him up.

I instantly thought about the fishing trip.

"Where's... John B?" I asked him, slowly growing alarmed, "He was supposed to come back and pick me up— where is he?" I was speaking fast, shooting fleeting glances between Ward who shut his eyes in pain, and Sarah who stood with her arms crossed, just as confused as I was.

Sarah shrugged with a sad manner.

"Where's John, Ward?" I urged, as he and Rose slowly made their way past me. "Did he come back with you?"

Ward didn't reply as he stepped into his home, disregarding my concern. Sarah grabbed a hold of Wheezie's hand, pulling her into the house after her father.

I sharply furrowed my brows even more this time, trying to find the missing facts. I wake up, and suddenly Ward is back from his fishing trip, with a stabbing mark in his arm, and my boyfriend is nowhere to be seen. I followed them into the mansion.

"I'm going to the cops," Ward told his wife, his voice low, but I could hear his words as they bounced off the kitchen walls. "Stay here."

"No, I'm not going to stay here," Rose denied, still holding his arm.

Ward turned to face her, "You're staying," he declared, gritting his teeth. His arm continued to bleed through the bandage, and he covered it with his other hand. "Everyone is staying here, ALRIGHT," he shot his eyes to me.

When he looked at me, specifically, I felt a sudden chill run down my spine, causing me to stop in my tracks. He meant a message by it. Immediately, something clicked in my mind, but I didn't know what that something was, just yet.

Sarah looked to me with narrowed eyebrows, following her father's glance— then soon, everyone had their eyes on my face, as Ward stumbled out the front door, slamming it shut behind him. I could've sworn that the walls of the house shook a little bit.

    No one said anything. Sarah and I exchanged glances.

    "So who did that," Wheezie spoke up after a long moment, somehow appearing quite neutral, "Who did that— thing or whatever, to dad's arm," she asked Rose, and then with a glance to me, "I thought he was fishing, with John Routledge," her dark eyebrows furrowed underneath her glasses, as she leant her body on the kitchen island. "First of all, why was he fishing with him."

    Rose rubbed a hand over her forehead, "Go upstairs, Wheezie." she said, through a long sigh.

    "Someone stabbed him," Wheezie lowered her eyes.

    "Wheezie, upstairs, please," Rose persisted.

    I looked to Sarah.

    "With a spear? C'mon, mom, I saw the mark," The young girl claimed, standing up, "Did John B do it—"

    "Go upstairs, Wheezie!" Rose shouted, her eyes wide.

    "Jeez, alright then," Wheezie slightly rolled her eyes as she turned around, drifting past me and Sarah.