Mother's Day

MOTHER'S DAY

  Bethany watched in horror as her stepfather beat her mother. Even at the age of ten, she knew what he was doing was wrong. She wanted to help her mom, but she was too frightened. The last time she had intervened, her stepfather had hit her so hard, she had a black eye and couldn't go to school for a week. 

Her mom screamed as her hair was yanked so hard, her head was lifted off of the kitchen floor Ray had her pinned to. She tried to get out from under him, but his weight wouldn't allow it. 

"I asked  you once, you fuckin whore! I won't ask you again! Now answer me!!"

"I don't know, Ray!! I swear!!"

Bethany wasn't even sure what they were fighting about. She had came home from school when the fight was already in progress. She knew all too well how it felt to be at the center of his drunken rages. On more than one occasion her mom had to pull Ray off of her. 

When her mom didn't give the answer Ray was looking for, he gave her head a punch so hard, Bethany could swear she heard bones breaking. Then he slammed her head on the hard tile floor. Bethany saw the blood oozing from under her mother's head. Her mom went silent. Ray shoved her away from him and staggered to his feet. 

"What the hell are you looking at?!"

The instant he spoke, Bethany realized she was standing where he could see her. She had thought her hiding spot behind the kitchen door would conceal her from his view.  Apparently not. 

"Noth..nothing, sir...," she muttered. 

He lunged towards her, wrapping his filthy hands around her tender throat before she could run. He leaned in close to her face.

"You're a no good slut just like your mom. Fuck with me and you'll get the same thing she did. Do you understand me, you fuckin retard?!"

She couldn't stop the tears from flowing from her eyes. The horrid smell of his breath made her want to vomit. 

"Yes, sir.." 

Ray turned back to her mother. 

"Get your lazy ass up and fix my supper!"

Her mother didn't move, nor did she make a sound. Ray kicked her once more for good measure, then spit on her limp, bleeding body. 

"Wake your mom up. Now." 

 He walked to the living room and flopped on their tattered couch. Bethany made sure he was not paying attention before she walked over to her mother. His attention was on the TV. If she couldn't wake her mom up easily this time, Ray would take his anger out on Bethany again. 

She gently touched her mother's shoulder. 

"Mom?", she asked softly. "Please wake up.. Please.." 

 Bethany's tears dropped onto her mother's swollen face. 

"I made you a Mother's Day card at school today. I colored it purple. Your favorite color.. I even wrote you a poem inside it.." 

 Bethany wasn't sure why she was talking about this to her mom right now. She just felt like she needed to say something positive, something that would get her mom's mind off the pain she was surely in. 

"Maybe on Mother's Day this Sunday,  we can make breakfast together like we used to.." 

 Since Ray had come into their lives four years ago, she had spent very little time with her mom. Ray made sure of that. He seemed to be jealous of any attention her mom gave her. 

Her mom still hadn't moved or said a word. Bethany collapsed on top of her mother's body, crying like she never had before. She laid her head upon her mom's chest and sobbed. Not even the pain Ray inflicted upon her hurt as much as seeing her mom like this. It only took a second after her sobs subsided for Bethany to notice she didn't hear a heartbeat. A heartbeat that had comforted her so many times before. In a panic, she yanked her mom's shoulders. 

"Mom!! Mommy, please no!!!" 

She ran to Ray. 

"She's not breathing! I can't hear her heart beating!" 

"Good,"  Ray replied. "I hope that bitch is dead." 

Bethany's young mind didn't think to call 911. After all, the police had been there many times before and always let Ray off with a warning. Her mom would never press charges on him. 

 She ran back to her mother and listened for a heartbeat again. Nothing.  No breathing either. She curled up beside her mother's body and cried. She wanted to die with her. She had no one left in this world now. No friends. No family. No one at all. Just Ray.. There would be no one to protect her now. No one to save her. No one to love her. Ray had taken the only person that she loved from her. 

 Without a second thought she walked to her mom's bedroom.  She retrieved Ray's pistol from under his pillow. It was loaded. He always made sure of that. She walked into the living room and stood closely behind the couch where Ray was sitting. She aimed for the back of his head and  pulled the trigger and watched as his body slumped forward. Suddenly, she felt release. She didn't even mind the blood and brain matter that splattered on her face. 

She threw the gun down and walked back to her mother. She leaned down and placed a kiss upon her mom's forehead. 

"I love you mom.. Happy Mother's Day.." 

Brotherly Love

BROTHERLY LOVE 

    

I sat huddled in my closet, clutching my blanket close. A scream pierced the silence of the night and sent me searching for a hiding spot. It sounded just like my mother screaming. I had been sleeping soundly before something caused me to wake up. It was almost as if someone were standing over my bed, watching me. It was just an eerie feeling that I couldn't shake. Only moments after that I heard the scream.

I tried to control my breathing, but my heart was pounding and I was terrified. I listened closely to see if I could hear anything else, but I didn't. I knew I should go check on my mother and my younger brother. He was probably hiding under his blankets, if he was awake at all. At four years older than him, I'm his big sister and need to protect him. He's only 9 years old and still acts younger than that. 

I slowly opened the closet door and quietly crept out. The silence was deafening. It was so dark, but I was too scared to turn on the lights. If someone were inside the house, they would be alerted that I was awake. I didn't want to draw any attention to myself. I had begged my mom for a phone, but she always refused. Saying I was too young. Now when I actually needed one, I don't have it. The only phone was downstairs. I figured it would be best to check on my brother and mom first.

My brother's room was right down the hall from mine. I made my way inside and went straight to his bed. It was empty. Where could he be? I softly called his name, fearful of saying it much louder. No answer. Now I was beginning to worry even more. 

I went on down the hallway to the room at the very end, my mother's room. I fumbled my way to her bed, kicking stuff out of the way that wasn't normally there. I reached for her bed, intending on shaking her to wake her. She wasn't in her bed, but her bed felt wet. And sticky.

“You shouldn't have came in here," my brother said.

“Aaron?”, I gasped. “Where are you? Are you ok?”

“I'm fine," he answered in a growl, then continued, “I was going to let you live. I came in your room to kill you, but changed my mind. Now I have to hurt you.”

I was in shock. I turned on the light on my mother's nightstand. What I saw before was a sight no one should ever see. 

My brother was hunched over my mother's bleeding body on the floor. Well, what was left of it. He was in the process of cutting her up. Blood was smeared all over his body. I looked at him. He didn't look like my brother. This was a crazed person before me. He had a hatchet from our basement in one hand, and my mother's decapitated head in the other. He looked at me smiled. 

“Why, Aaron? WHY?!”, I screamed at him. But he just continued to smile. 

“ I had to. I was put here on this Earth to end her life. Now I must end yours.”

With that he took a step towards me, and I began to run, hoping to make it to the front door down stairs. I made it a few steps when the pain in my back caused me to stop. I screamed in agony. I felt the hatchet pulled from my back and I tried to take another step, but fell to my knees instead. My brother took a step around me and stood in front of me. I looked up at him.

“Close your eyes, Ashley. This might hurt.”

I did as I was told. I knew I was going to die. He had no intention of allowing me to live. I shed a tear. A tear for my mother.. for myself and for my brother, my killer.

The Seventh Day

THE SEVENTH DAY 

This story might be disturbing to some people. It talks about a disturbed child who does something horrendous to a newborn baby. 

   The Seventh Day: 

 From the instant Simon laid eyes on his newborn sister, Claire, he felt nothing but hatred for her. 

 The day his mother and father brought her home from the hospital, he took one look at her and walked away. He couldn't stand to see his mom and dad cooing over her. It made him sick. 

 For seven years he had been the center of attention. They doted on him constantly. Buying him anything he wanted and showering him with love and affection. Even his bad behavior had no affect on them. They simply patted his head and told him to do better next time. 

 Then Claire comes along and it's as if he ceases to exist. When his mother was still pregnant with Claire, she spent a lot of time in bed. She didn't play with him when he asked. That upset him a lot. His dad had to work extra hours and couldn't give him the attention he desired either. 

 He blamed it all on Claire. He knew it was her fault. If she wasn't around, he'd still have his mother and father all to himself. He had to get rid of her. 

Claire had been home for a week when his mom had left the room while the baby was napping in her crib. She had warned Simon to not enter the room and awaken her. 

 But he went inside anyway. He waited until her heard his mom in the kitchen down the hall and went inside Claire's room. He looked around at all the toys. Those should be my toys, he thought. 

 He slowly crept to Claire's bed and leaned over her crib. Suddenly she opened her eyes. She looked directly into Simon's eyes and seemed to smile. He took a second to look at her. 

 She had big blue eyes, just like his. She was chubby and tiny. He reached into the crib and she reached up and curled her small fingers around his thumb. 

 Simon used his other hand to cover her mouth and nose. He pressed hard. Claire started to squirm and attempt to cry. She never released her grip on his thumb. 

 Simon watched as her tiny face turned red. He was already thinking of how great things would be once she was gone. Maybe his mom would take him to buy a new toy later! 

 Simon pressed so hard, the back of Claire's head was pressed deep into her mattress. Suddenly, he felt her fingers release his thumb. 

 He looked at her. She wasn't blinking. Her face looked weird. 

 He released the hold on her mouth. She didn't cry. He poked her in the side. She didn't move. He was satisfied that she was dead. 

 He calmly walked into the kitchen and sat at the kitchen table. He asked his mom for a snack. He just knew his mom and dad would be playing with him soon. 

There would be so much time for him now. Time just for him... 

 

Lucas

LUCAS 

 The first time I met Lucas, I was instantly drawn to him. He had such charisma and charm that made it impossible to ignore him when he was in the room. 

 I'll never forget the night I bumped into him outside my favorite bookstore. I was exiting and he was headed inside. 

 With my nose stuck in a book, I didn't see him until it was too late. After helping me pick up my stuff, Lucas asked about the book I was reading and we stood around chatting for what seemed like forever. 

Lucas looked every inch to be the 'bad boy' type. He was tattooed and had a lot of piercings. His ears must've had at least 5 earrings in each ear, none of which matched and most looked kinda girly. Still, he looked tough and rugged. Not my type at all, but I was intrigued with him. 

 Before parting ways that evening, I gave him my number. It wasn't something I usually did, but I couldn't seem to help myself when it came to Lucas. 

 I actually didn't expect to hear from him again, but sure enough he called me later that night. I only ended up getting a couple hours sleep because we stayed on the phone all night. 

 He listened to me go on and on about my life and seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say. He even sounded sympathetic when I told him about the death of my parents in a car accident years before, that had left me pretty much alone in this world. From the little he told me about himself, he was a loner just like me, always preferring books rather than people. 

  

Even after we hung up, I could still hear his kind voice in my head. I drifted off thinking about his adorable smile. 

 The next day at work, I told my best friend Jenny about Lucas. Jenny was a few years older than me and always thought she knew what was best. 

"You've only known this man for less than one day, yet you think you like him already?" 

 

"You just have to meet him, Jenny. Then you'll understand. It's hard to explain, but I just feel something around him." 

"You 'feel' something?", Jenny asked, laughed out loud, then continued, "Amy, you're  20 years old. You don't know what you feel. Probably just hormones." 

I knew right then, Jenny would never understand. I was really hoping she would. Jenny was all I had. After my parents died, I didn't really have any family left. Jenny was even my only friend.  Jenny's opinion meant a lot to me. I would just have to keep this from her. 

 So I kept seeing Lucas anyhow. I couldn't help myself. Things between us started to progress so fast. Before I knew it, he was spending nearly all his time at my apartment. Even spending the nights there. 

 It felt like we had known each other for years, when in fact, it had only been a couple weeks. 

Jenny showed up unexpectedly a few days after Lucas moved in. She was furious. She voiced her opinion right in front of him too. She stormed out when Lucas told her to kiss his ass and she never came back. I regretted not sticking up for her. I wish I had. I guess she saw something in Lucas that I wasn't seeing. 

 

 The first time I became uncomfortable around Lucas was when he came home late one night with fresh scratches on his face. He seemed to be out of breath and frantic. 

 He wouldn't tell me what happened. Only that he had an altercation with a co-worker at the pizzeria he worked at. I didn't question him any further because he became extremely upset if I tried.  

 

The next day, I came home to find Lucas there, with a new ear piercing. I jokingly asked him about the newest addition, remarking that it looked like something a teenage girl would wear.  He instantly flew into a rage. Tossing my coffee table across the room and storming out the door. 

 He didn't come back that night. As a matter or fact, I didn't see or hear from him for a few days after that. 

Then one day out of nowhere, he 

shows up unannounced while I was lying in bed late one night. 

 I heard him frantically pounding on my front door, yelling my name over and over. 

 I opened the door to find Lucas standing there, his face smeared with blood. 

 "Look!", he said gleefully, shoving an earring into my face, then continued, "Now you only have me. You can count on me, Amy." 

I instantly recognized it. It was Jenny's. It was her favorite pair of earrings. 

"Lucas," I asked cautiously, "where did you get this?" 

I guess deep down I already knew the answer. Lucas's behavior had given a lot away. I guess I should've seen it before now, but who wants to think the one they love is a serial killer? 

Lucas shoved his way inside the door. 

"I thought you'd be happy! That bitch never approved me of anyhow! She's ignored you since I started staying here. Fuck her! Now it's just us!" 

It hit me then. All the mismatched earrings... They were from his victims. Lucas was a murderer. Why hadn't I seen it before? 

I knew I had to call for help. But how? Lucas was pacing around the room like a madman. He grabbed me and tried to kiss me. I was too terrified to fight him off. I was afraid he would hurt me if I did. 

 Once he let me go, I looked down at my shirt and saw the blood that had smeared on my shirt from his jacket. I screamed then. I couldn't help it. I was in shock. I knew Lucas would kill me too. 

Lucas grabbed me and covered my mouth. 

"Shut up, now! I don't want to hurt you. Don't make me,"  he whispered in my ear. 

With him pressed up against me, I felt the knife in his jacket pocket. His murder weapon. I shook my head and let him know I would be quiet. 

 I reached for him as if asking him to hug me. He took me into his arms. I reached into his pocket and grabbed the knife before he could move away. 

 Lucas jumped back and stared at me wide eyed. I was standing there with his very own knife pointed towards him. I knew I was shaking. He laughed hysterically. 

"What are 'you' going to do?"' he asked. 

"You are a murderer, Lucas. I'm calling the police. Don't move or I will cut you. I swear it!" 

I glanced away for a mere second to look for my phone. He was on me in an instant. We fell to the floor, with Lucas on top of me. His fingers were trying to peel mine away from the handle of the knife. I knew that if he got it, I was dead. 

 I shoved the knife forward with all my might. Lucas gasped and looked into my eyes as the blade struck his heart. 

"I thou..thought you loved me..," he said. 

"I thought I did too," I said as I shoved the knife deeper and twisted it. 

Lucas went limp after a few minutes. It took everything I had to shove him off of me. 

I stood up and looked down at his lifeless body. I knew I was lucky to be alive. I bent down and retrieved Jenny's earring from his pocket. Then I ripped all the other ones from his ears. 

 Before I could stand, I felt his arm grab mine. 

 "I would've never hurt you, Amy. Never." 

"I would've never let you," I replied and reached over to slam my hand on the handle of the knife once more. 

After one last breath, he died on my floor. 

I walked out the door, covered in his blood, with a handful of bloody earrings in my hand that still had the flesh from his ear attached to them. 

  

I breathed in the fresh night air. Then calmly walked to my neighbors to call police. I would have time to panic and cry later. 

The Tattoo

THE TATTOO

  Amy awoke with a pounding headache. The early morning sunlight glaring through her bedroom window was making it impossible to open her eyes. She moaned out loud and pulled the covers up over her head. 

 She didn't even remember coming home last night. The last thing she did remember was sitting at the local bar with her friend, Gary. She'd had a few beers and had decided to call a cab to take her home. 

Amy racked her brain, trying to remember anything after that, but she was drawing a complete blank. She didn't remember getting picked up by the cab. She didn't even remember leaving the bar. 

A stinging on her arm caused her to grimace in pain. She looked to see a tattoo that hadn't been there before. It looked like the number 3. Whoever did it, did a shitty job. 

Where the hell did that come from, she wondered. What was in that damn beer she drank? It's like the last 10 hours of her memory was completely gone. 

 

She reached from under the covers, feeling on the nightstand, searching for her phone. The pounding in her head seemed to increase with any move she made. 

 Finding her phone, she peeked through her eyes enough to scroll through her contacts to find Gary's name. 

After a few rings, he answered. 

"What in the world happened last night?", Amy asked. 

Gary seemed genuinely surprised. 

"Amy?", he said. 

"Yes! Of course it's me! Who else would it be?" 

"I've been so worried about you! After you stormed  out of the bar last night, I wasn't sure where you'd went. I went out looking for you, but it was like you'd vanished." 

"What do you mean? I don't even remember leaving that damn bar! I woke up in my bed with a pounding headache and a new tattoo!" 

"Wow, that's odd. A new tattoo, you say?" 

"Are you fucking deaf now, Gary?!" 

"Sorry! I don't know what happened. All I know is you stormed out of the bar after arguing with Jeff." 

Jeff..that son-of-a-bitch. Her ex had a special way of getting under her skin and pissing her off. She knew she should've left the instant she saw him walk in the bar. Instead, she let him buy her a beer and then piss her off. 

"I gotta go," she said abruptly and hung up without waiting for Gary to reply. 

Something in her was urging her to get up. She felt a sudden need to find out where this tattoo came from. 

She took a bus to go back to the bar and pick up her car. Once there, she drove around the block, looking for any tattoo shops. She's not sure how she wouldn't have known about one in the area before. She frequented that bar a lot. 

 About a block away, she found  a small tattoo parlor. She was hoping like hell this was the wrong place once she walked inside. The smell of sweat made her want to gag. The place was filthy. 

 The light inside was so dim, she could barley see. 

"Wadda ya need, missy?" 

Amy scanned the area looking for the voice. The place looked empty. She followed the sound of the tattoo gun buzzing and found a filthy old man giving an unconscious man a tattoo. 

"Is he alive?"

"What kinda stupid question is that?" 

 

She quickly changed the subject. She didn't have time to waste. The pain in her head was intense and was making it difficult to stand. 

"I was wondering if you could tell me if recognize this tattoo." 

 

"Yep. Sure do." 

"Ok? And?" 

"And what?" 

 

"You dense old man! Did you give me this tattoo?!" 

"Yep. Sure did. Your boyfriend brought you in last night and paid for it, and he paid a mighty big price. That there is a special tattoo. One that very few folks get." 

"And why is that, old man?" 

Amy was starting to get really irritated. The damn pounding in her skull was driving her insane. It seemed to be vibrating her entire body. 

"It puts a time limit on your life." 

"A limit on my life?! What the hell does that mean?" 

"You got three days to live." 

Amy literally laughed in his face. What a quack! 

"So you're telling me this tattoo is like a curse? And you're also telling me that you are a murderer? Since you are the one that is giving these tattos

?" 

"I'm no murderer. I'm just a old man trying to make a livin. When someone flashes that amount of cash that your man was, I happily oblige. That there is no curse. It's just a very special type of ink." 

With that, she stormed out of the tattoo parlor. That old man is out of his damn mind, she thought. If she'd been in her right mind, she would've immediately made her way to the ER. 

But the pain she was in was making thinking clearly really tough. 

She went home and laid back down. She was desperately hoping the bitch of a headache would ease up. It made it impossible to do much of anything. 

When she awoke again, it was dark. She had forgotten to turn any lights on in the house. And she was kinda glad too. She'd never had a headache like this before. The less light, the better.  

"I'm gonna sit right here until I know you're dead." 

Amy nearly jumped out of the bed when she heard Jeff's voice echo through the darkness. 

"Jeff? How did you get in?!" 

"I guess you forgot you gave me a key." 

Amy was thinking hard, trying to recall  where her cell phone was. She couldn't remember! 

Jeff continued, "I told you, Amy.. If I can't have you.. No one will. And don't even think about looking for your phone. I took care of that." 

Amy was trapped and she knew it. 

"Jeff.. Please don't hurt me." 

He laughed out loud. 

"Oh, you mean like you hurt me? You broke my heart and then stomped on it. But I'm not gonna lay a finger on you. You've got less than 2 days of your miserable life left." 

Amy gasped in disbelief. 

"The tattoo? You seriously think a tattoo can kill me?" 

"The tattoo itself? No. The special ingredient in the ink? Yes." 

"Jeff!! Did you poison me?!" 

Jeff laughed and said, "I personally only drugged your beer. The poisoning was done by the tattoo artist. But I did pay for it. Happily." 

"How could you?", she asked. But he didn't answer. 

Amy knew she had to get out of the house and fast. Jeff never gave her a chance. He didn't leave her side. 

As another day passed, Amy felt the pain all throughout her body. She was growing weak. She cried and begged Jeff for mercy. He wouldn't show any. 

Amy could feel her life slipping away. The poison was making its way through her blood stream, causing organs to shut down. 

Suddenly, she heard a pounding at her front door. She heard someone yelling her name. Gary. 

She looked over to see Jeff asleep in a chair beside the bed. It took everything in her to scream, but she did. 

"HELPPPPP!! Help me, Gary!!" 

Jeff pounced on her, tightly covering her mouth with his hand. 

Gary knew something was wrong. Amy had missed work the last 2 days and not returned any of his phone calls. He also knew all the trouble she'd had with Jeff. 

Without a second thought, Gary kicked  down the door. He heard a struggle coming from the room directly down the hallway. 

He walked in to find Jeff on top of Amy. She wasn't moving. 

Gary picked up the heavy lamp and crushed it over Jeff's head. Jeff slumped forward onto Amy. Gary shoved him off of her and picked her up. 

She was barely breathing. He knew he had to get help for her fast. He called 911 once he had Amy outside in his car. She was so pale. He was so worried about her, he forgot about Jeff. 

Gary was turning the key to start his ignition when he felt the glass shatter  on him. Jeff was reaching through the broken driver side window trying to grab the keys from the ignition. 

Gary reached for the glovebox, intending on grabbing the gun hidden inside. 

 Amy opened her eyes. As if it was a dream, she took in the sight before her. Gary struggling with a blood covered Jeff. She felt like she  was in a daze. Everything seemed as if it was in slow motion. 

She knew what Gary was reaching for and without hesitating, she got the gun from the glovebox. She knew Gary kept it loaded. 

She pointed it at Jeff and fired. She felt the blood spray on her face. She didn't scream. She just stared at Gary. 

"Get me to a hospital. Now" 

A few days later, Amy was slowly recovering in a hospital bed. Gary was at her side. The doctor told her she didn't have much time left once she arrived. They did everything they could to save her life. It would be a long road to full recovery, but she knew she was going to survive.

 She was sure gonna have one hell of a story to tell when someone asked about her tattoo. 

Unbreakable Bond

UNBREAKABLE BOND

 Even before Kaitlin and Preslee were born, they had an unbreakable bond. Some people say that often happens with identical twins. They can feel what the other one feels, think what the other one thinks, finish one another's sentences. Kaitlin and Preslee were no different. Except their bond was even stronger than anyone could have ever imagined. Here's their story: 

 Preslee sat on her sister's bed and watched Kaitlin rush around the room, throwing clothes all over the place. Preslee considered herself to be the big sister, although she was only two minutes older than Kaitlin. Since they were kids, Preslee always made sure to look after Kaitlin. 

"Can you please just decide on something to wear, Kaitlin? I've been here for an hour waiting on you." 

"We are only going to turn 21 once! This is a special day! I want to look my best." 

Preslee laughed and rolled her eyes. Kaitlin was definitely the most outgoing between the two of them. She kept up with the current clothes trends, hairstyles and cutest shoes. Whereas Preslee was content with an old pair of jeans and a t-shirt. 

Finally Kaitlin found an outfit she was satisfied with. She slipped on the pink sundress and spun around in front of Preslee. 

"How do I look?", she asked while smiling. 

"You look amazing, as usual. But since when do you have a tattoo?" 

"Since last week. How do you like it?" Kaitlin asked while turning so Preslee could see the purple butterfly on her right shoulder. 

 

"It's beautiful. You got a tattoo and didn't tell me?" 

"I was going to, but you were always too busy every time I called. So I never actually got a chance to even tell you." 

" I can't believe I didn't know for an entire week. We always tell each other every thing."

"Yeah. We do. But we have our own lives and get busy with other stuff." 

"Why a butterfly?", Preslee asked. 

"Because they are free. Free to fly and roam wherever they choose. No one can tell them what to do. Plus, purple is our favorite color." 

Preslee  felt sad. She wasn't sure why, but she did. She never wanted to be too busy for Kaitlin. She loved her sister more than anyone or anything. 

She knew why the butterfly meant so much to Kaitlin. When she was born, Kaitlin was sick for a long time. Their mom was overprotective of her, and so was Preslee. She knew Kaitlin must've felt tied down most of her life. 

"I'm sorry, Kaitlin. I should've made time to talk to you." 

"Water under the bridge,"  she replied with her brilliant smile. 

Preslee looked at the young woman standing before her, whose features were identical to her own. Yet, they were so different. 

"Let's go, Preslee!", Kaitlin said excitedly. 

Preslee was not looking forward to this. She knew this party meant a lot to her sister and their mom, so she went along, but she really didn't like being the center of attention amongst a crowd of people.  She hoped it passed by quickly. 

They headed outside to Preslee's car. 

"Let me drive," Kaitlin said.

Preslee didn't want anyone else driving her classic '69 Mustang, but she'd already felt like she'd let Kaitlin down, so she agreed and tossed her the keys. 

"Be careful with my car!", she said to an excited Kaitlin. 

Their mom's house was an hour drive from Kaitlin's apartment. Kaitlin and Preslee only lived 15 minutes apart from one another, but sometimes, that even felt too far. 

Kaitlin turned on the radio and rolled down the windows. Preslee couldn't help but to enjoy the moment. The warm summer breeze blowing in their hair. It felt so nice to be with her sister. 

Out of the corner of her eye, Preslee saw the car swerving towards them from the other lane, and she started to yell for Kaitlin to watch out, but it was too late. Most of the impact of the crash was directed at Kaitlin's side of the car. 

The force of the other car hitting the Mustang, sent it rolling several times. It finally stopped when it smashed into the guardrail. 

Preslee opened her eyes and groaned in pain. The crash must've knocked her out. She looked towards the drivers seat searching for Kaitlin. What she saw nearly made her scream. 

Kaitlin was bleeding, badly. The steering wheel was crushing her chest. Her legs were pinned. 

"Preslee..,"  she whispered. 

"I'm here.. I'm here..," Preslee tried to sound reassuring. She didn't want to frighten her sister. 

"I can't feel my body." 

"Just hold on, Kaitlin. Help is on the way." 

Preslee could hear people yelling to her from outside the car, but she couldn't see them. They were telling her 9-1-1 had been called. They were asking her if they were ok. But she couldn't answer. All she could do was look at her sister. 

"Hold my hand, Preslee. I'm scared." 

Preslee stretched across the broken glass, trying to reach her sister. The seatbelt made it hard to move and it wouldn't unbuckle. 

The most she could do was grip the end of her fingers. Kaitlin looked at her and began to cry. 

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the tattoo. I wanted us both to get it. I wanted us to always be connected. To be free, together." 

"It's ok! Don't cry. We will go get one for me.  Just like yours. I promise. We can go tomorrow." 

Preslee knew that wasn't going to be possible, but she was willing to say anything to ease her sister's mind. 

Preslee felt the grip her sister had on her fingers ease up. 

"Kaitlin!! Hold on!! Please hold on to me! Don't let go! Don't give up!" 

Preslee began to cry.  She watched as Kaitlin closed her eyes. 

"KAITLIN!!! NOOOO!!" 

Kaitlin died right there before her eyes. Preslee screamed in agony. Not from the pain of the crash, but from the pain in her heart. 

Preslee ripped at the seatbelt, trying to get it off of her so she could get to her sister. She was able to loosen it a little and could grab Kaitlin's hand again. 

She cried as she took her sister's hand. She shed a million tears for her sister. 

"You are free now, Kaitlin... Free to fly and roam wherever you choose.. I love you so much..." 

Preslee closed her eyes then. Shock caused her to pass out. 

The next day she woke up in the hospital with her distraught mother leaning over the hospital bed. 

"Preslee?" 

"Mom... Kaitlin..." 

" I know, my love," her mom replied through her tears. 

Her mom could only imagine the pain Preslee must be in. Losing her twin had to be like losing her very soul. 

"You have to focus on healing now, Preslee.  I can't lose you too.." 

Preslee couldn't stop the tears from flowing down her face. Kaitlin was everything to her. How could she go on when her sister was gone?

"Your tattoo is beautiful,"  her mom said, trying desperately to get Preslee's mind on something else. 

"Tattoo?"' Preslee asked, somewhat confused. 

"Yes. The purple butterfly on your shoulder. I didn't know you even had a tattoo until the doctor mentioned it." 

Preslee thought her mother must be losing her mind. Kaitlin was the one with the tattoo, but no one besides Preslee even knew she had it. 

"Mom, hand me that mirror, please." 

Preslee took the small mirror from her  mom and held it so she could see her right shoulder. Sure enough, there was her sister's tattoo. 

But how?.. She wondered. Somehow, some way, Kaitlin's tattoo had transferred to her shoulder. Preslee smiled and cried at the same time. She knew she would never be without her sister. Kaitlin would always be there..looking over shoulder, protecting her.