They Think I’m Easy Prey—but My Words Manifest into Reality Chapter 08

They Think I’m Easy Prey—but My Words Manifest into Reality Chapter 08

Vanessa lost the arm.

To stop the flesh-eating bacteria from marching straight into her heart, the surgeons took it off at the shoulder.

She woke up in recovery, groggy and confused. Before she could even start screaming about what they’d done to her, the Sheriff’s deputies transferred her into custody and moved her to the secure medical wing of the county jail.

What’s waiting for her now is a long, brutal stint in court-mandated rehab followed by a very real prison sentence.

As for my parents and Ryan, they were cuffed and led out of the hospital right behind her on charges of assaulting Penny.

It took them two weeks and a fortune in legal fees to get Ryan out on bail pending his trial.

I had moved out of that house the day they were arrested. I rented a small studio apartment near the

community college.

Late one evening, I was walking back to my building when I saw three figures huddled against the

cold wind near the front steps.

They looked nothing like the high and mighty Harringtons who had lorded over the city just a few

weeks ago.

My father’s hair had gone completely gray. His shoulders were stooped and bent.

My mother’s eyes were sunken into dark hollows. She looked like a strong breeze might snap her in

half.

Ryan was leaning on a pair of crutches, his right leg still wrapped in that heavy plaster cast. He was

shivering in the cold.

The second he saw me, his eyes welled up with tears.

He let go of his crutches and let his bad leg slam into the concrete with a dull thud.

He crawled toward me on his hands and one good knee, dragging the dead weight of the cast behind him. He grabbed onto my ankle and held on like I was a life raft.

“Luna. I’m sorry.”

He let go of me and started slapping himself across the face. Hard. Left. Right. Left.

The sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed in the quiet street. Blood trickled from the corner of his split lip.

“I was blind. I was so fucking stupid. She was a snake and I treated her like-like she was worth something. Like she mattered.”

“Luna, I paid for Penny’s hospital. All of it. More than all of it. I went to her. I got on my knees. I begged her. Just talk to her. Please. Get her to sign. Get her to drop it. If she doesn’t, Luna, I’m going away. I’m going to prison.”

My mother rushed forward, sobbing. She pulled a small red cloth pouch from inside her coat and pressed it into my palm.

“Luna. Honey. I went back. To St. Mary’s. I crawled up those steps again. All of them. On my knees. I begged the sisters. For a new medal. A new Saint Christopher. For you.”

“I failed you. I know I did. Please. Let me try to… let me fix this. Give me a chance.”

“That house. It’s nothing without you.”

My father stepped forward. He held out two thick manila envelopes with trembling hands.

“Luna. Here. The shares. All of them. Harrington and Company. It’s yours. All of it. And this. The deed. The house. Everything. There’s nothing left. This is it.”

“Just come home. Take it. It’s all yours. We can… we can try again. Please.”

I looked down at the three of them. Crying. Begging. Shattered.

I let the red cloth pouch fall from my fingers.

The new medal hit the concrete and shattered just like the first one had.

My mother’s crying stopped with a choked gasp. She stared at the broken pieces on the ground like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

I gave them a thin, cold smile. My voice was flat. Empty.

“You don’t get it.”

“I’m not angry. Angry means I care. I don’t. Not anymore.”

I kicked Ryan’s hand off my ankle and took a step back.

“Save your tears,” I said. My voice was flat. “I’m the reason Penny won’t sign. I’m the one paying

her lawyer. And I told him. Push for everything. Every last day.”

My father’s face went white. His lips were quivering so badly he could barely speak. “Luna. You’d send your own brother to prison? You’d do that to him?”

I let out a sharp laugh. “He should have thought about that before he tried to break a girl’s hand.”

The three of them looked like they’d been physically struck by a truck.

In the distance, the sound of sirens began to wail. They were getting closer.

A county squad car pulled up to the curb. Two deputies stepped out and started walking toward the

Harrington family.