“Hm. It’s a tempting offer, but if I can’t resist putting my face in between your thighs, what’s to say he won’t try it again?” he asks, turning his attention back to Tiberius. “I think he’ll be okay after this.”

  Pater pushes the dog down firmly. I move forward to try and stop him, but it’s too late. Tiberius lets out a loud yelping noise as Pater drives the blade under his chin, up through the top of his head.

  “I always did like animals,” he says, more to himself than me, as he turns the blade viciously so that the dog doesn’t suffer any more than it needs to. “Just not this one.”

  Chapter 27

  Numb doesn’t begin to describe how I feel anymore. I’m hollow, empty, void of life, and yet here I stand watching Pater as he turns the dog onto its back and splits it open. He’s talking to me, telling me how he’ll skin the dog and make a blanket for our newborn child when we have one, but his voice is so distorted that I’m sure I’ve lost most of his words in translation. Or maybe this is all just a bad dream, and I’ll wake up in a world where it all starts at the beginning and never makes it this far.

  I turn away from what he’s doing and wrap my arms around myself as I walk back into the living room. Vaughn is dead at this point; his back is no longer moving up and down, and as I walk over and place a hand gently on his back, I can feel him starting to become cold to the touch. The sweet peach colored skin that once shown so warmly on him before our lives became this Hell, is slowly turning a soft shade of pale. I know that when it’s over, he’ll be bitter blue and no amount of trying to keep his body warm will make him the beautiful boy he used to be again.

  “I’m sorry, my sweet boy,” I whisper, leaning down and kissing the top of his head. I pull my shirt off over my head and lay it across his stiffening body. It’s not much, but it’s the only comfort I can offer to him now.

  I think I can hear Pater calling out my name, but I continue my pilgrimage slowly toward the front door, walking out and around the house.

  While it would have been much easier to walk out the back door, I would have had to walk past Pater to get there, and I can’t stand the sight of him anymore. His bitter tongue has told enough lies that I would prefer to leave this fucking world without hearing any more false promises of how good a life is yet to come.

  I push my way through the brushes, the low hanging branches, acquiring more scrapes than I ever have in the oubliette, but I don’t care. Eloy is out here somewhere, and I have to say goodbye to him.

  When I make it into the clearing, I can see that his body is even more mangled than before and he’s toppled off the throne. I assume wild animals have gotten to him, though it won’t deter me from giving my youngest the same gentle kiss I gave to his brother. I loved them both equally, and I still do; even if they went to their deaths believing otherwise, I hope they knew in their hearts that my love for them never faltered.

  I pull his body toward the center of the clearing and turn him onto his back. Brushing his hair off his face, I lean down and kiss his forehead. Had I been strong enough to end him when commanded, his death would have been so much easier than it became.

  I’ll always owe Eloy a debt I cannot repay, but I’ll find a way to make it right in the next life. Maybe he’ll smile at me when he sees me; maybe it’ll be his turn to throw stones. Either way, I just hope to God he doesn’t hate me for all that’s happened to him.

  I wish I knew where Laura was. Pater hid her body so well that I’ll never be able to say goodbye to her. I can’t hate her for what’s happened to us; as much as I want to, I understand now. She didn’t have a choice in what happened, and she probably didn’t realize how evil Pater was until it was too late.

  Getting back to my feet, I look up through the trees and sigh.

  “I’m sorry, Mom. I know you tried,” I whisper into the oblivion. “It ends with me; I promise.”

  I can hear Pater again. He’s outside. His footsteps are fast approaching, because he knows I’d come out here. I don’t answer him, instead taking in the last few peaceful moments I can with the one I’ve wronged the most.

  Lowering myself to the ground, I turn my body toward Eloy and wrap an arm around him, as I close my eyes and wait for a well-deserved death to be bestowed upon me.

  Epilogue

  Pater

  Three years later

  “What have I told you about going near the well?”

  I walk over and pick up my daughter, laughing as her light brown pigtails brush against my face. The sound of her laughter is what keeps me going; that, and knowing that she loves me as unconditionally as I love her. She doesn’t see a monster, she sees a father, and that’s how it should be.

  “You’re too curious for your own good,” I chide her kindly, giving her a kiss on the cheek. She smiles widely in return, and I can’t help but laugh, because I know that smile all too fucking well.

  Laughing, she pushes my face away. It’s the stubble against their smooth skin that always gets them. For the most part, anyway, because I have no intention of making this one my wife. I want to play the part of the dutiful father for a while. I want to make sure that she has a good upbringing, and that she never hears about her good-for-nothing brothers and grandmother.

  Nah, I’ll tell her all about what a good life those three had if she ever asks about them, which I don’t know why she would. I never had any pictures of any of them, so it would only be word of mouth, and there’s no one around to fill her head with lies against me.

  She would never believe it. She only knows me as a good daddy, because that’s what I am. I’m the best fucking father she’ll ever have, and I was to my other kids, too; they just chose to always see the bad side of shit.

  “Why do you keep coming out here, huh?” I ask her with a smile.

  I don’t want to think about the past anymore. It’s not gonna do anything but put me in a shitty mood, and she deserves better from me.

  “Wanna take a better look? Come on, hold on tightly to Daddy, and I’ll show you what’s down there.”

  I shift her in my arms and hold her close as I walk closer to the well and kick the door open with my foot. You can’t really see down too far, because that’s how I had it built. I don’t really like secrets, but some should be kept, and whatever she sees will be of her own choosing, not what’s presented.

  Children are so innocent at this age. It makes me miss simpler times when I was younger and didn’t have to care for anyone other than myself, but I can honestly say that I chose this life because it was the best fit for me.

  “Close your eyes,” I say to her quickly. She likes to play peek-a-boo, and I’ll turn her into a world class fucking champion if that’s what she wants. Playing this little game right now will also lessen the blow of what she might see.

  When the sun is at its peak like it is right now, you can almost see all the way down to the bottom.

  Almost.

  I don’t go down there, but before I decided I wanted to keep my baby safe from all the bullshit lies, I did manage to buy and throw some barrels of hay into the well. I figure it was a small act of kindness; a creature comfort for having to stay in a place like that.

  I’m not afraid of the oubliette, I’m just better than being reduced to having to stay there, is all.

  “Ready?” I say, poking her gently in the stomach.

  She lets out a giddy giggle as she peeks through her chubby little fingers and smiles at me, “Yeah!”

  “Oh! I can see you peeking!” I say to her playfully. She giggles again and covers her eyes completely. “Alright, baby girl. On three. Ready? One ... Two ... Two and a half ...” she giggles again, and I can’t help but laugh. Pulling her close, I give her a kiss on the side of her head before I finish my countdown, “Three! Open your eyes and look!”

  She quickly pulls her hands away and leans so far over that I have to adjust her again to keep her from falling.

  “Hi Mama!” she calls out.

  I can hear the hay shifting slightly, but there’s no response.

  “Hey! She’s talking to you!” I call down sharply. “Say hi!”

  The same sound of the rustling needles greets my ears and I sigh.

  “Mama’s tired right now, baby girl. She’ll be okay to talk to you tomorrow. Is that alright?”

  “Bye Mama!” she calls out again.

  I guess it is.

  I use my foot to close the lid again, then place her back down onto the grass. I cross my arms loosely over my chest, and laugh as she takes off running, squealing happily at the top of her lungs.

  I’ll never replace Jocelyn as my true wife. I can’t; that girl has meant more to me than any other wife before her, and she’s helped me a lot too, in the emotional sense. She showed me that I can be a better person, and when I still feel the need for physical contact, I toss the ladder down into the well so I can fuck her.

  It’s probably why she’s still alive, too. Being able to fuck her keeps my mind straight on being a father and not the evil bastard she thinks I am. Maybe one day I’ll let her out permanently, and we can raise this one together, but I doubt it.

  If she knew the little collection of wasted wives I kept in my special rooms that she’s so damn scared of, she’d know that being down in the hole is better than being above ground for her.

  I can’t help but shake my head and chuckle.

  A few years ago, when that couple came back to get their damn dog, she spilled every single fucking secret we had, so of course I had to kill them. I didn’t want to, but she forced my hand. The best part is that no one ever came looking for them. There were no missing persons alerts in the newspapers or in the media.

  I found out later on that they were drifters. They never ended up renting the house next door; they just wanted someone to watch their dog while they found a new place to squat.

  Fucking losers.

  All of them.

  Laura. Vaughn. Eloy.

  But I guess it’s safe to say that a wasted fuck, leads to a waste of children, with the exception of my sweet Joce. God, just thinking about her down in the darkness, dirty, alone, scared, is enough to make me wanna throw the ladder down for a quick fuck, but I can’t today.

  I promised my baby girl I’d take her to the zoo, and since I’m damn determined to be a good fucking parent, that’s what we’re gonna do.

  CINERE

  Acknowledgments

  My PAs, Ginja, Bootz, and Meanie, thank you for sitting through the headache that is Yolanda Olson and not quitting on me. Specifically when I said I was going to write about this bastard again. Your reactions were priceless and I’m still smiling thinking about it!

  Abigail Davies of Pink Elephant Designs for bringing the fuego and you’re undying excitement in creating this cover! Tu eres un amiga increíble, gracias por las risas.

  Dez of Pretty in Ink Creations. I know how you feel about this man, so thank you for going through it again and editing it and for the beautiful formatting!

  The Twisted Rabbits; some of you sat through him again as I told the story, and some of you got to see him in pieces before you saw the whole picture. I cannot thank you enough

  for keeping me laughing and typing when I thought this might not be my best idea. You ladies are the best!

  And last, but never least, to my readers. I bet you didn’t see this coming. Daddy’s back.

  Welcome Back

  Well, holy shit.

  I’m impressed that we have company again so soon and even more impressed that you’ve even decided to come back to my humble home.

  Make yourself comfortable, because man, have I got a story to tell you this time! The little one you’ll see running around from time to time is Darby; I’m sure you remember her from the last time you came over.

  The house is a hell of a lot more quiet without the other three running around like the little assholes that they were, but I’m sure you’ll recognize a couple of people once I get started here.

  Buckle up, kid.

  This is gonna be one wild ride.

  Chapter 1

  I never did feel good about what happened to Jocelyn. What ended up becoming of her is not my fault though, because disobedient children always did leave a sour taste in my mouth, and she knew that.

  Maybe things shouldn’t have ended the way they did, but what’s done is done and I don’t have the will or the want to start over with her again.

  The boys were a fucking waste—I never cared much for either of them, Jocelyn on the other hand; man, was she special. The unadulterated embodiment of everything I ever wanted and needed, and she did a damn fine job of taking care of her wifely duties until those little fuckers got inside her head.

  It’s alright though, because they got what they deserved, and in a way, so did she.

  Her entire purpose for even being allowed above ground as long as I let her was to give me children. She only gave me one, but that’s better than what Laura did, giving me three, two of which were fucking useless.

  But as I lie here on my lawn chair watching little Darby running around picking wildflowers, her pigtails bouncing in excitement each time she finds a new one, I can’t help but think that we did alright.

  She’s about five now, which is almost as long as Joce has been in the oubliette. After I delivered the baby from her womb, I tossed her down in the fucking ground where she belonged for disobeying me one too many times.

  It’s a damn shame it had to come to this because there are nights where I’ll admit that I miss feeling her body next to mine on our bed. Hell, there are even some nights, after I put Darby to bed, that I go into my room and jerk off thinking about the way her mouth felt on my dick.

  Part of the reason I get hard is because I miss Joce’s touch, but the other part is because I know that Darby will be just as good as her Momma when the time comes and it’s something I can’t wait to fucking experience.

  “Don’t get too close to the well! I told you about that!” I call out to her when she starts picking wildflowers at the base of it.

  That little girl is full of spunk and curiosity, but unlike her Momma, she listens to me. I know with time that will go away, because all children go through a stage of defiance, but I hope she’ll learn to love me the way that Joce did.

  The more I think about things, the more I have to force myself to keep my hands off of her. Darby isn’t ready for me yet, and I don’t want her to be afraid of me—not when she’s supposed to love me.

  Maybe I’ll bring Joce up for a family day soon. It’ll be easier for Darby if she sees how a daughter is supposed to love her Daddy, so she’ll be ready when it’s her turn to try.

  Getting to my feet, I walk over to my baby and pick her up off the grass causing her to squeal happily. She loves the way my beard feels against her chubby cheeks—it always makes her laugh like this.

  “Why don’t you go inside and put those flowers in a vase? I’ll be in shortly. I’m just gonna have a quick talk with your Momma, okay?” I say to her, gently kissing her cheek.

  She squeals again and nods, kicking her feet so that I know she wants to get down, then turns and runs back toward the house.

  I watch her, my hands on my hips, and sigh. Yeah; things would be a hell of a lot easier on her, if Jocelyn were up here with us.

  Chapter 2

  “She smells a lot like you did before you crawled into my bed for the first time,” I say quietly into the dark hole. Jocelyn doesn’t respond but I know she can hear me, so I continue. “I thought that she would taste like you too, but I think that maybe I waited too long to find out—or it could be that I took my taste before she was ripe enough.”

  When I hear her shifting on the hay at the bottom of the oubliette, I smirk and keep going.

  “I don’t know. A lot of this shit doesn’t seem to make sense anymore. It’s not the way it was when you were above ground—I won’t lie about that. I do miss you sometimes, Joce, but you’re too fucking willful to be up here with us. Hell, you’d probably try to grab my baby and make a run for it even though you know how that would end. And that’s why you’re down in the hole where you belong,” I say, crouching down and putting a hand on either side of the well.

  A rock goes whizzing by my head and I move quickly enough to keep from getting cracked in the face with it, letting out a laugh.

  “Still got some spirit, I see. Relax; I haven’t touched her. I just wanted to make sure I had your attention, and now that I do, I want to make a proposition.”

  Jocelyn throws another rock, but this time I catch it, stand up, and start tossing it up in the air.

  “If you keep throwing shit at me, I’ll just seal this fucking well up forever and you’ll starve to death. I think maybe you should listen to what I have to say,” I reply conversationally.

  She shifts again down in the dark, but at least there aren’t any more rocks being hurled at me. I’ll have to get down there soon and find out how she got them. Can’t have her thinking she’s got some kind of upper-hand on me by sneaking shit around when she thinks no one is looking.

  I catch the rock in my hand again and cast a thoughtful glance at the house. The only way she’s been getting these is if Darby’s been tossing them down to her, which means I’ll have to teach her a lesson in discipline sooner rather than later.

  Fuck, I think with a sigh. I was hoping to avoid that shit until later, but I don’t want her to think she can give her Momma “presents” without me knowing about it.

 

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