Page 17 of Upon Blooded Lips (Vengeance #1)

TESSA

M emories roil and bubble to the surface before spilling out, the words choking me as I unleash their poison into the beautifully decorated room.

I’m six! I twirl around my room, too excited to sit still.

Mommy says I’m going to have a special birthday party with cake, ice cream, and presents.

This is the first time I’ve gotten to have a party.

Mommy said I was too little before, but now I’m just the right age.

My Uncle David and Aunt Sophie will be there.

They don’t have any kids, so I don’t have any cousins to play with.

But that’s okay, because I’ll have lots of presents.

I asked Mommy if the two boys who played blocks with me could come, but she got angry and told me to not talk about them because they were naughty. She’s wrong. They were nice to me. But when Mommy says no, it means no, so I didn’t ask again.

The door crashes open, startling. “Hi, Mommy,” I say, rushing forward to hug her leg. She pushes me away, and I stumble and fall on the floor. Tears well in my eyes, and I brush them away. Why doesn’t she love me?

Mommy opens the closet and chooses a red frilly dress. “Take your clothes off,” she snaps at me while grabbing my brush off the dresser. I hurriedly do as she says, laying them on my bed. “Underwear too.”

She tosses a scrap of fabric at me and orders me to put it on. I turn it over in my hands. What is it? Mommy rolls her eyes, snatches them back, and forces my leg into the shiny white fabric. Oh, they’re underwear. Why don’t they cover my butt?

She yanks a white lace undershirt over my head, forcing my arms through the holes, followed by the red dress. I scratch at my tummy. The fabric makes my skin itch like when the mosquitos get me. They’re gross. They suck blood like vampires.

Mommy slaps my hand away and scowls at me. “Stop that. You want to look pretty for your uncle, don’t you?” I nod. “Now sit down so I can do your hair.” Once it’s done, she orders me to behave and not get dirty before the party.

I sit on my bed, swinging my feet back and forth. Behaving is hard work. It’s so boring sitting here like a doll. My heart jumps when I hear talking, so I slip off my bed and tiptoe across my room, putting my ear to the door. My shoulders slump. It’s just the maids.

As I’m about to go back to my bed, I remember I didn’t feed my pet bunny yet today. Mommy’s right, I am stupid. Sticking my head out of the door, I look both ways before sneaking down the hall. If I’m super quiet, no one will hear me.

Once I’m outside, I run across the grass to the big mulberry tree where we keep Thumper’s hutch. She makes a happy squeal when she sees me, and my face breaks out in a grin.

“Hi, Thumper. Guess what? It’s my birthday!

I’m going to have a cake and presents and balloons.

” I chatter away to her while I scoop some pellets out of the storage box and fill her bowl.

She sits up, her nose wrinkling, and I can’t help but open the door and scoop her up.

She’s so soft and fluffy and makes my heart happy.

After I give her a kiss, I lock her back in and turn around, only to find Mommy standing there with her hands on her hips and the bad look on her face.

She narrows her eyes, and I glance down, my body turning cold at the sight of the muddy footprints Thumper left on my dress.

I frantically try to brush them off, but it’s no use.

Mommy stomps toward me, anger flashing in her eyes. She grabs hold of my hair at the base of my neck and hauls me into the air. A desperate scream tears out of me, my feet flailing and body twisting in her grasp. Pain rips through me as she yanks me against her chest.

“You fucking little moron,” she spits at me. “Can’t you follow even the simplest of directions?” She shakes me, and I cry out in terror.

“Please, Mommy, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get dirty. I just wanted to give Thumper a hug.”

“I told you to stay clean. I got that dress especially for your birthday, and you ruined it. You did that on purpose, just to make me mad. Didn’t you?” she screams.

“No, Mommy, I promise! I’m sorry,” I beg.

She drags me by my hair into the house. We pass two of the maids, but they turn away and pretend to not see me. She throws me onto the bathroom floor and fills the bath with cold water before tearing the dress over my head and removing the underwear.

“Get in.”

I step forward, making my legs move even though I just want to run away and never come back. Mommy grabs my arm and tosses me into the chilly water. She washes me roughly, her sharp nails catching on my skin.

“Are you going to disobey me again?”

“No, Mommy,” I whisper.

“And to make sure you don’t…” She shoves my head down. Water rushes into my nose and mouth, and my hands slap against the side of the tub. She hauls my head back up, and I suck in a breath before she does it again and again.

When she’s done, she drops me on the bathroom floor, leaving me sputtering and crying while she calls for a maid to clean me up and get me ready for the party.

I don’t think I like birthdays anymore.

When Uncle David and Aunt Sophie arrive, Mommy makes me take lots of pictures. I don’t feel like smiling, but she tells me I won’t get any presents if I don’t. I try my best, but she keeps hissing at me to smile better.

Daddy brings out the cake, and everyone sings. I try to keep a smile on my face because Mommy will get mad, but I don’t feel happy. My chest is sore and cold, and nothing seems real.

When Uncle David tells me to make a wish, I close my eyes and pray that someone will come and take me away from here. A tear slides down my cheek, and Aunt Sophie asks me what’s wrong. Before I can answer, Mommy says, “She’s been a very naughty little girl today.”

“Has she? Well, that’s not good for a birthday girl, now, is it?” Uncle David replies. He leans close to me and whispers, “You can’t be sad on your birthday, sweetheart, not when I have a very special present for you. Now give your uncle a grin.”

I force myself to smile and go through the motions of opening presents and pushing my cake around my plate. When the party finishes, Aunt Sophie leaves for work while Daddy and Mommy drink wine in the living room.

Uncle David helps me carry my presents to my room, dumping them on the floor in the corner. He closes my door before sitting in the big chair in the corner and pats his lap. I glance at the door, something inside me telling me to run.

“Don’t you want your special present?” I bite my lip and edge closer. He scoops me up and settles me on his lap. “Did you know every uncle picks a little girl or boy who they love so much to be their bestest, most favorite in the world?”

My throat tightens, and I shake my head.

“Well, we do. Now, can you guess who I picked?”

“Me?” I whisper.

Uncle David runs his hand over my back and down my leg. “Yes, sweetheart, I picked you. You’re a very, very special girl. But I’m not sure you’re ready for your present. Do you think you are?”

“I-I think so.”

Uncle David winks. “You have to be good at keeping secrets. Are you a big girl? Can you promise?”

I hold up my little finger, and we pinkie promise. It’ll be our little secret.

Nate’s face contorts with anger, his fists clenching, while Eric pulls me into his arms, holding me tightly.

“And then, and then he…” I tell them what Uncle David did to me that night while my shoulders rack with sobs. How he took a photo of me afterward, and how Mirror Girl was born.

I push away from Eric and dash the tears from my face.

“The next morning, I found my bunny in her hutch with her neck broken. I don’t need time to decide.

They need to pay for what they did to me.

I want them to feel every ounce of pain, heartache, and terror they inflicted on me.

” I glance between the two men who have been my confidants and saviors, and hope with every fiber of my being that they’ll help and support me. “I want to dance in their blood.”