But not for much longer.
My Granddaddy died a few weeks ago and his estate lawyer already told me that I’m getting his gold mine. I promised Aftyn that I’d set him up with a new life. One far away from this bitch that makes his life a living hell, and I intend to follow through on it.
We just have to make sure she stays out of the fucking way of our plans.
An eternity, or thirty minutes later, the front door opens, then closes. She’s finally gotten rid of Aftyn’s latest ‘uncle’ and now the fun can begin. I always hated that she flaunts all of these bastards in his face, making him feel even less than zero, because she’s so captivated by every man in the world except for her own son.
“Wills?”
I look at Aftyn whose eyes are wide and lower lip trembling. It’s not because he’s sad—he knew exactly what we were going to do tonight—I think it’s because he can’t believe that it’s finally happening.
“Yeah?” I ask softly.
“Remember; me first.”
His trembling lip gives way to a devious grin and I nod in agreement. He wants to make the first strike because he wants her to understand why, and I can honestly say that I admire him for that.
I cringe when I realize that his mother is going to bed without even showering. When her sweaty panties and skirt drop on the carpet, I reach over and turn Aftyn’s face away. He shouldn’t have to smell the stench of whore on her because I’m sure hearing it was enough to stoke the flames of rage inside of him as it is.
His breathing is normal which tells me that he’s in control of his emotions. When he interlaces his fingers with mine, I know that he’s ready. But when the confident look in his eyes is accompanied with that damn signature sneer of his, I know it’s time to play.
Aftyn lets go of my hand as he slides out from one side and I from the other. His mother lets out a scream because she wasn’t expecting us to be here, and when she begins to shout at him for being in her room, I reach forward, grab a fistful of her hair, and yank her back toward me.
Aftyn climbs onto the bed, knees on either side of her legs and leans down into her face, “Hi, Mom.”
She begins to struggle violently against me when he places the small hatchet on the other side of his knee, but I tighten my grip and put the blade of mine against her throat.
“I’m not gonna be able to hold onto the bitch much longer,” I bark at him as she reaches up and scratches the side of my face.
“Sorry, Wills. I just wanted her to look into the eyes she hates the most one last time,” he tells me quietly before he picks up his hatchet again, raises it over his head, then brings it down as hard as he can, and when he hesitates for the slightest second, I tell him what he needs to hear.
“Do it, Aftyn. She deserves it.”
Nine
Caught in the Middle
Dexter
I’ve been feeling sick for the past hour or so, but I haven’t spoken up yet. Partly because Aftyn is sound asleep, but mostly because I don’t think he’d be too happy if we stopped again.
My eyes are slightly open as I watch the world outside go by in a blur. We finally made it out of New York about twenty minutes ago. I’m not sure what states are next, but I’ve never been outside of Scarsdale so this should be a great chance to see the world beyond the town’s limits.
I reach up and gingerly touch the bump on the back of my head. It isn’t wet anymore so I know it’s stopped bleeding, which means I should be okay sooner rather than later. One less thing for Aftyn to hate me over.
“Hey.”
I turn my head a little too quickly toward the front of the truck, grimace, then smile at Willa’s eyes in the rear-view mirror.
“Hey,” I reply softly.
“How you doing back there?” she asks as she turns her eyes toward the highway again.
I shrug. “I’m okay, I guess. I’m not bleeding anymore.”
She nods, then steals a glance at Aftyn who shifts in his chair, then goes back to snoring quietly.
“He could sleep through a goddamn nuclear war,” she says with a chuckle.
I lean my head against the window again and go back to watching the blurry shadows of the landscape and occasional headlights of random cars breezing by us.
“Can I ask you something?” Willa finally says after a few moments of silence.
“Sure.”
“How the hell did you get into the back of the car without me seeing you?”
I steal a glance at her eyes, smile nervously and wonder if I should tell her the truth. But when Aftyn shifts in his chair again, then sits up, I know the conversation is over.
“Where are we?” he asks in a groggy tone. I can hear the sound of him smacking his lips and it makes me smile. I don’t want to fuck Aftyn—at least I don’t think I do, but I wouldn’t mind touching his mouth. To me, it’s his best feature and deserves a little bit of praise.
“New Jersey.”
“I guess that’s better than nothing,” he remarks as he sits up and leans forward. I close my eyes and listen to the sound of his bones popping as he stretches, then do my best not to open them again when I feel his eyes on me.
“He still asleep?” Aftyn asks Willa curiously.
“Yeah, but I’m pretty sure he’s okay,” she replies.
“Oh, I don’t care about that,” he tells her with a laugh. “I just wanna know if I’m paying for that power wash is all.”
“Will there ever be a day where you care about anything other than yourself?” she barks at him.
“Hm.”
I don’t feel his eyes on me anymore, so I know he’s turned around in his seat again, allowing me to crack an eye open without him knowing it.
“I don’t see it happening if you want me to be honest, Wills. Someone has to give a shit about me, and we both know that no one will love me more than I do.”
She chuckles despite the mood he’s putting her in. I don’t spend a lot of time with the two of them together, but for the most part, they seem to just snap at each other. This is different; he’s trying to bait her, but she’s refusing.
“Know what I was thinking about while you were asleep?” she asks thoughtfully.
“My dick?”
Willa lets out a loud sigh and Aftyn grins at her. “Never mind. You’re clearly not in the mood to be an adult right now, and the sun will be up in a couple more hours. Go back to sleep so you can be ready to drive by then.”
Aftyn turns his head quickly toward me and I’m praying that I closed my eyes in time for him not to notice I’ve been awake this entire time.
“I still can’t believe he’s here,” he says.
“Why’s that?”
“Because he doesn’t belong on this trip, Wills. This was supposed to be ours to do alone and he weaseled his way in.”
“No. He didn’t. I invited him.”
“What?” he barks at her.
I crack an eye open again and glance at Willa. I can see the smile on her lips in the rear-view and the mischief gleaming in her eyes. She’s trying to save me from Aftyn unloading whatever seems to be bothering him, and she’s willing to throw herself into his line of fire to make sure he doesn’t do me harm.