Page 19 of Sour (The Wellard Asylum #10)

“Koven?” Ziggy called out. I wasn’t sure if he heard me until his footsteps traveled down the hall and closer to the bedroom door.

He was walking in my direction, and a sliver of hope began to burn in my stomach.

“Koven, you there?” He was getting closer and closer.

My heart was racing. “Koven? Hello?” His steps stopped outside the bedroom door. “Skittles?”

Ziggy slowly opened the bedroom and was met with a thick layer of absolute darkness.

Erek must’ve panicked, because as soon as the door opened, he decided to speak up. “Woah there,” he spat out. “Haven’t you heard of knocking, boy?”

Ziggy stood in the doorway, his dark silhouette barely visible in the dark. “Sorry, Dad, I was uh—I was looking for Koven. Have you seen her? I found her bag outside, and the glass from the front door shattered all over the place.”

“Yeah, that’s my fault,” Erek huffed. “I stumbled on my way in, knocking out that old window. Koven must’ve dropped her bag when she helped me inside.”

Liar.

Ziggy didn’t move. “Where is she? I looked all over the trailer and can’t seem to find her.”

My body tried to wriggle, muffled sounds drowning beneath the sound of the storm outside.

Erek pushed the gun harder against my skull as he thrusted once more inside me.

“No,” he quivered. “S-she was here earlier to take care of her momma, but uh, she uh, said something about some party? I-I don’t know.

You should just go out and look for her.

She shouldn’t be out there alone in this storm. Go—go on.” He was breathing heavily.

“You okay, Dad?” Ziggy asked. “You sound pretty winded.”

Erek adjusted his grip on the gun. “Oh yeah.” He thrusted in and out of my body again, as if the idea of being caught somehow excited him more. “Just trying to unwind after a long, crazy day.” I could hear the smile on his fat fucking face.

Come on! See me! Fuck, why are the lights not coming back on?

Ziggy stood there in the doorway and didn’t move. He didn’t question his father or do anything. It made me die inside, knowing Erek was going to get away with this…just like he always fucking did. No one could save me, not even Ziggy. It was hopeless.

I cried silently to myself, accepting my fate.

“Alright then,” Ziggy exhaled. “I guess I’ll just head out and see if anyone knows where she is.

Thanks—” The power suddenly flickered and came back on.

The whole trailer lit up, and I stared directly at Ziggy, dressed in his faded jeans and his black leather jacket over one of his many graphic tees. Ziggy’s eyes instantly met mine.

Ziggy.

His hands trembled, and his eyes moved from me to his father, who was currently hunched over, pinning me down while his dick sat inside me.

“Ziggy.” His father slowly pulled the gun away from my temple and moved away from my body. He stepped off the bed and tried to quickly hide his dick and fix his pants. I dropped my head in relief and cried into the bed.

Erek zipped his pants and returned his gun to its holster. “Now, son…I-I can explain.” He nearly stumbled over as Ziggy stepped farther into the room.

Ziggy’s eyes returned to me, watching as I sat there exposed, clutching my legs shut. He silently moved between his father and I, turning his back to the old man. He wasted no time unlatching Erek’s belt. “Are you okay?” he asked me quietly as I spun around and pulled my pants up.

“S-she’s fine, Ziggy,” Erek answered. “It’s…it’s not what it looks like.”

Ziggy’s eyes raised past me and looked at my mother. “What happened to your momma?” he asked me. My eyes looked past him at Erek. I ruptured into tears and crumbled into Ziggy’s chest as he held me.

“Ziggy—son—they’re fine. Her momma…her momma’s just sleeping, right Koven? Come on, boy. You just need to—you need to take a minute, okay?” Ziggy gently let me go. “Ziggy, come on, these women, they’re—they just don’t know how to—”

Ziggy swung around and grabbed his father by the throat, aggressively slamming the man’s fat body into the wall.

“I didn’t fucking ask you!” he shouted. Erek quivered in fear, shocked to see his son stand up to him for the first time ever.

Thunder boomed again, and the grown man trembled while his son towered over him.

Erek tried to calm Ziggy. “Son, listen. I—I need you to just take it easy, alright? I-I was drunk and came in here and I must’ve—must’ve mistaken her as her momma. That’s all! An honest mistake, Ziggy. I—”

“Mistake?” Ziggy shouted. “She was wrapped up and bound with your belt! You had her arms tied, and her face buried against her dead momma’s leg, pinning her down!

That’s no mistake!” Erek trembled as Ziggy pushed his forearm into his neck.

“I’m going to give you a ten second head start before I hunt your fat ass down. ”

“Ziggy—”

Ziggy released Erek, and the man fell to his knees. “Two.”

“Ziggy, please. I–I didn’t mean to! I swear!”

“Three!” My stepfather groaned and scrambled, trying to stand.

He looked between us, shocked at how things had turned against him.

“Four.” Erek began to panic. He turned and ran out of the bedroom, stomping down the hall.

Ziggy looked at me and stepped closer, cautiously touching my beaten face.

“Are you okay, Koven?” he asked, leaning down to press his forehead against mine.

I closed my eyes and shook my head in reply, crying against him. “No,” I sobbed.

“How long?” he asked in a low, pained voice. “How long, Koven?”

I sobbed louder. “Years.” My bloodshot eyes met his and he wiped them away. “Since the day you both walked into our home.”

Lightning struck and thunder followed. Ziggy’s entire demeanor shifted. His nostrils flared, and I noticed his hands were balled into fists as he backed away from me. “Six!” he shouted, exiting the bedroom.

“Ziggy? Ziggy, wait!” I wobbled to my feet and rushed after him. “Happy!”

Ziggy entered the living room to find Erek standing there with his police gun in hand.

Erek’s arm trembled as Ziggy didn’t even flinch at the sight.

“Seven!” He charged his father, raising his arm and swinging.

Erek’s face made a cracking sound as Ziggy punched him, knocking the fat fuck to the ground.

The old man groaned, blood seeping from his nose as he tried to move.

“Eight!” Ziggy began to kick his father, over and over again. “Nine!”

I stood in horror, watching Ziggy beat Erek, knowing just how much pent up anger and rage he must’ve had stored deep inside him.

I wasn’t the only one Erek was abusing in that trailer.

The only difference was Erek had been abusing Ziggy his whole life.

Seeing Erek raping me was merely the tipping point to a lifetime of resentment Ziggy had collected. It was the straw that broke him.

“Ten!” Ziggy bent down and picked up his father’s gun. He held it tight and aimed it directly at Erek with a steady hand. My stepfather sat on the floor, bleeding and crying as he leaned against the kitchen counter. “I warned you,” Ziggy whispered.

I rushed between them and raised my arms. “Wait!” His face twisted in confusion. “You—you can’t do this,” I breathed. My entire body ached from being beat, but I knew I had to stop this.

Ziggy made a face. “Get out of the way, Koven. He doesn’t deserve to live. Not after what he’s done to you.”

I nodded. “I know, Happy. I do.” Erek continued to cry on the floor while I focused on Ziggy.

“But, if you do this, then you’re no better than him.

” His eyes locked with mine. “You can’t kill him, Ziggy.

If you do, there’s—there’s no coming back.

Please,” I begged him. “Please, let him go.” Ziggy’s eyes reddened, and I knew he was feeling the turmoil of a lifetime of trauma rising to the surface.

Tears flowed down my beaten cheeks as I tried to calm him.

“I know you’re hurting, but killing him won’t make that pain go away. ”

Ziggy rubbed his eyes and groaned. “I don’t care how much he’s hurt me.

My pain means nothing to me, Koven. Nothing!

You are the only thing that matters. You.

And knowing that fucker hurt you,” he shouted down at Erek as his face burned with rage, while the man cowered in fear.

“That he touched you…again and again…it makes me boil with hatred.” Ziggy cocked Erek’s gun.

“I can live with my pain. But I won’t let you live with yours.

This is long overdue, Skittles. Now, step aside. ”

“Ziggy, wait—”

As Ziggy prepared to fire the gun, Erek grabbed my arm and yanked me to the floor with him.

He squeezed my body close, holding a kitchen knife to my throat.

“Put the gun down, boy,” he hissed. “Or I’ll kill her, just like her momma.

” Ziggy glared at his father. I panicked, trying to wriggle free, but Erek only squeezed me tighter.

He leaned close to my ear, his alcohol-soaked breath hitting my face as he spoke.

“Keep moving and I bleed you dry right here, you fucking whore!” He pressed the knife against my throat, slightly cutting my skin.

I cried out, screaming for Ziggy to put the gun down.

Erek breathed heavily. “You better listen to her.” He licked his lips. His bloody nose dripped all down the side of my face, staining my bruised and beaten skin. Ziggy didn’t move. “See, I told you,” Erek whispered against my face. “He doesn’t care for anyone but himself. Not even you.”

“Ziggy,” I sobbed. “Please.” My nails clawed Erek’s arm, desperately trying to peel him off of me, but he didn’t move. He just sat there, holding me hostage on the floor.

“Let her go,” Ziggy growled. His arm was trembling and shaking.

Erek chuckled and coughed. “Not until you put the gun down, son.”

Ziggy smiled and pulled the trigger. “No!” I shouted as I clenched my eyes shut in anticipation. But nothing happened. No loud bang or sound of the gun firing. Nothing.