Under Her Care(83)
I take out another syringe. This one filled to five times the amount I just gave him. Just as pure. I’m not messing around. I get things done right.
“Hi, baby,” I say, leaning over him and wiping the hair off his forehead. “How are you feeling?” He struggles to open his eyes and peek at me. He chews on his tongue while he smiles. I grab the belt from his jeans thrown at the foot of the bed and bring it up to him. There’s no need for the surprise attack this time. His entire body is limp.
I grab his arm, and it flops on the bed. I pull him down so he’s flat on his back. He’ll fall asleep that way. Hopefully the heroin stops his heart before he chokes on his own vomit. I can’t imagine that’s pleasant. Poor thing. I hope it’s fast.
I pull the belt hard around his bicep, just like I practiced on mine so I’d know exactly how to do it when the time came. It’s perfect. His veins bulge, fresh and untouched after months of sobriety. I shove the needle into the largest one, the blue one bulging like the varicose veins used to do around my grandmother’s calves. I push more poison into his body. It’s not even seconds until he’s out cold. I’m not sticking around to watch what happens next.
I leave the needle in his arm and turn around, heading toward the door. I grab the duffel bag from the floor and hoist it over my shoulder. Three hundred thousand dollars is heavy. Who knew? I double-check the room to make sure I haven’t forgotten anything, but the only thing I really need is myself. I don’t bother being quiet. There’s no waking Brett up. I can be as loud as I want. I take one final look, then open the door to let myself out.
Suddenly, there’s strange gurgling behind me, quickly followed by a horrible choking sound that stops me in my tracks. I freeze. But only for a second. Too much emotion makes you weak.
I shut the door tight behind me and hurry down the landing to the stairs. I can get through this. I’ll start again in a new place with a fresh face. It won’t be long until the facts of what happened here slip away like trivial events and I replace them with ones I like better. The only thing left to do is keep the secret, and I’m good at doing that. I learned from the best.
After all, I am my mother’s daughter.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Huge thanks to my publishing team at Thomas & Mercer—Gracie Doyle, Megha Parekh, Charlotte Herscher, Lauren Grange, and Sarah Shaw. Another thanks to my amazing literary agent, Christina Hogrebe, and film agent, Will Watkins. So grateful to have all of your support and collaboration.
To all of my readers. You are the best part of my job. I appreciate every single one of you. Under Her Care is my best work yet, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Gus Berry. My forever and always. Thanks for your creative insight and genius. I’m glad you’re finally old enough to read what I write.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Lucinda Berry is a former psychologist and leading researcher in childhood trauma. Now she writes full time, using her clinical experience to blur the line between fiction and nonfiction. She enjoys taking her readers on a journey through the dark recesses of the human psyche. Her work has been optioned for film and translated into multiple languages.
If Berry isn’t chasing after her son, you can find her running through Los Angeles, prepping for her next marathon. To hear about her upcoming releases and other fun news, visit her on Facebook or sign up for her newsletter at https://lucindaberry.com.