Free Shattered Puppet (Rag Doll) by Ava Catori Page A

while.”
    “Oh baby,” she said sitting beside him. Her stomach was sick at the thought. How could his own family…oh right. Her own father. They were two peas in a pod, their families destroying them. “Did your uncle?”
    “Oh no, he pays somebody to do the dirty work. The worst part is knowing that it’s coming. There was no mistaking it. It was as simple as him telling me I had to learn the lesson. He’d just break one of my bones, instead of all of them. I’m family after all,” he mocked in an impression of his uncle’s voice. “It was scary, it sucked, but then his thug was kind enough to drop me at the hospital. My debts are paid. I just need to stay away for about a year and they’ll clear my name.”
    Cree shook her head. “It’s hard to believe this stuff is real. It’s like out of a movie.”
    “It’s very real. One guy got shot in the face for looking at my uncle cross. It wasn’t pretty. But when the cops wanted him to squeal on who did it, he kept his trap shut. He knew he’d be buried six feet under if he spoke. He was more afraid of my uncle than he was the cops. Anyway, I can’t talk about them anymore. It’s just better. The less you know, the safer it is.”
    “I told Kendle I’d give her a statement. She’s going forward with the charges. I need to do that before we leave, but then we’re finished here. We can go anywhere you want to.”
    “I don’t have a lot of money left. They drained my account. I did have some stashed away they didn’t know about, but it won’t take us too far. We’ll need to get jobs.” He stopped for a minute. “Other jobs,” he said sensitively. “I don’t want anybody touching my girl except me.”
    Cree smiled. She was somebody’s girl. It all felt new, special. “I don’t have many skills.”
    “We’ll figure it out,” he said. “As long as we’re together, it will work out.” How had they gotten here? How did she work her way into his heart so fast? All he knew was that he wanted nothing more than to spend more time with the girl beside him.
    They’d start over and make a new life for themselves. Nobody needed to know their past. The past was behind them.
    The knock came a few minutes later and then she heard her voice. “Cree?” It was Kendle.
    Cree sighed. Taking a deep breath, she got up and answered the door. “Why? Why couldn’t you listen to me?”
    “How could I? You’re everything to me? I needed to see you, to talk some sense into you.” She glanced over and saw Carter. “Is this because of him? Is he dragging you away?” She turned to Carter. “Don’t take her from me. You don’t understand what we’ve been through.”
    “He knows,” Cree said softly. “He knows about the monster. He knows about the past.”
    “Why? Why do you have to leave?” Kendle was pleading. “Whatever it is, Graham can help you. He can make the trouble go away.”
    “It’s not about that, Kendle. I need to start fresh somewhere. I need a change. We both do. We’re putting the past behind us and moving forward. I need a break from the past.”
    “But that means you’re shutting me out.”
    “Don’t look at it that way. I’ll be in touch eventually. I just need space to find out who I am, what I want to be and do with the rest of my life. I’ll have Carter by my side. He’ll take care of me.” She calmed her sister down. This wasn’t to hurt Kendle. Couldn’t her sister see it wasn’t about her? It was about Cree and finally finding her life and owning it. It was time to move forward.
    “You can do that here. Or go away, sure, I get that. You want a new start. But why can’t you be in contact? I don’t understand.” She was frantically looking for a way to hold on.
    Cree embraced her sister. “It will be okay. I just need space.”
    Kendle cried into her sister’s shoulder.
    “I love you. That never changes,” she soothed. “You’re not losing me. I’m just taking a break.” Her voice was syrupy sweet,