The Clean Up

How do you do it?" I asked her. "How do you go on?"

I watched her rinse the blood from her clothes. It pooled in the sink and dissipated.

"You think you can just wash the stains away? You believe he's just gone, like that?"

I snapped two fingers in front of my sister's eyes.

The other young woman bent, concentrating on rinsing every last drop of dried blood from the shirt.

"Shut up! Just shut up! He's gone!" She hissed.

"He will never be back to torment us. I am so glad he's dead. Dead as a door nail!"

Her face took on a strange expression. The hair on my neck stiffened.

"Well, I gotta go. There's not much more I can do."

I backed toward the door, heading for the side of the house and my car.

"Don't go anywhere," my older sister said from between clenched teeth.

I stopped in the doorway, trying to think of something to say to calm her down.

In her right hand gleamed the blade, blood still darkening the hilt.

""She looked at him and said, “Best not flirt with disaster, let it decide to commit.”"
My sister whispered our father's words to me.

"Remember how often he said that to Mom?"she whispered.

"I remember," I said softly.

"Selena, look at yourself? You've become him."

"I am nothing like him!"

She lunged at me. A face not familial, a face not my sister.

I dodged her, skimming my calf on a sharp edged table in the garage.

She fell on the table, the knife flying through the air and embedding on the far wall.

Tears of frustration rolled down her cheeks.

"It wasn't right. They will catch you in time."

"It wasn't right? You weren't there! Not for all of it, were you? You left us. Me and Mom. When it all went down, you weren't here. You were too busy with school and that damn boyfriend. Too busy to call and check on Mom!"

"Say hi to someone with a smile! At least one of us could live their lives! And here you stand accusing me. Me? The one who stayed behind and watched Mom cry, every damn day, Carlee. The one who took care of Dad to keep him from beating Mom!"

"Yeah, maybe they will find me! Mom's still alive in the other room. Maybe you should step in and check on her. Maybe she'll tell you about the last attack.

Oh, wait. She can't talk because of him.

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