...Now, I Know: Bloodline 2 Borderline, #2

By A. K. Brown

When you realize that you're the rat in the experiment, how do you escape the labyrinth?

 

Cherish is… different. She's attractive, she's motivated, she's intelligent—yet somehow, all of her attempts to blossom have failed. Now, at odds with some covert influence that seems determined to keep the secret of her life's purpose, she finds herself at the heart of a conspiracy that's been meticulously engineered to drive her to insanity.

 

A conspiracy that's been collectively orchestrated by the disturbingly sinister minds of those closest to her.

 

But why? That question, she would find, could not so easily be answered…

• Language: English
• Publisher: A. K. Brown
• Release date: Jun 22, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223396031

A. K. Brown

A. K. Brown has been a lover of all things weird since childhood. She never dreamed, however, that she would find herself as the unwitting star of her very own Truman Show. A homemaker, health fanatic, and voracious epistemophile; she dedicates much of her time to holistic personal upkeep, and to researching random subjects.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Sammy had really stirred something awful within me. It was almost as though he'd been possessed. He wasn't anything like himself. He was no longer that golden-tressed hero who'd swept me off of my feet at the café so many years ago. He didn't seem to care about me—he didn't even seem to care about Chucky. Why was he still maintaining contact?

The following morning, I awoke to a loud tapping from directly above my room. I laid with my eyes open for a moment while trying to identify the noise—and shot upright when it turned into what sounded like the hurried steps of someone running. I bounded from my bed and sprinted to my parent's room where my mother was just turning off the shower. I tip-toed past my snoring father and began quietly rapping my knuckle on the restroom door.

In a harsh whisper, I demanded, "Did you hear that?!"

"Hear what?" my mother asked, alarmed.

From the roof! I exclaimed. "It sounded like someone was running on the roof!"

She looked up at the ceiling and said, I couldn't really hear anything over the—

"SHH! SHH! I hushed her as the sound briefly began again. That! Did you hear it?!"

Her eyes widened as she slowly said, "Yeah, I did hear that... Tom? She called out to my father, who now laid silently. Tom?... He turned away but said nothing. Hey, TOM!" she yelled.

"Wha'?! What's goin' on?" he asked.

Did you hear that pounding? she questioned.

"Well, I was 'sleep, so no..." he responded.

Not buying it, she cocked her head and said, "Well, it sounds like someone's playing around on the roof. Cherish and I both heard it, so you need to go find out what's going on."

"Fine, he said with a sigh. I'll look when I get up."

About thirty minutes later, my mother left for work and I heard my father rustling in the master bedroom. About ten minutes after that, he darted through the breezeway and out the front door before hopping into his car and driving off. I could only blink in stunned silence.

Later that afternoon, Sammy invited me to his friend's place where he was staying. I cleaned myself up the best that I could (which was still rather disappointing), gave Charlie a fresh bowl of water, and began my trip.

When I arrived, I was surprised to find Samael seated on the porch with a short, thin woman whom I'd never seen before. He greeted me happily and excused himself to get a beer, leaving me with his unknown guest. She sat, staring at me through blackout sunglasses as she twirled her long, dark hair. Since they were occupying the only two chairs, I took a seat on the concrete steps with my back to her. After a few moments, she spoke in a bizarrely forced baby voice.

"Hi! I'm Mara!" she said.

I turned toward her slightly and politely responded, Yeah, Cherish... Nice to meet you.

Samael returned a few minutes later and offered me his seat next to her, which I refused. I turned away from the two of them and began staring off into the distance while they chattered quietly behind me, when out of nowhere, she said, "Hey, Cherish! I want to get this tattoo of a coyote, but I don't know where to put it..." I wasn't a body art practitioner, and growing more used to the oddness of late; Coyote flittered across my mind as she held out her phone to show me a picture of the drawing that she wanted.

I don't know... I replied. Maybe the back of your leg or something?

She looked at the photo again while murmuring, "Hmm..."

Moments later, she excused herself to take a mid-day shower. Thoroughly confused by the setup, I asked Sammy, "Who is that?"

"That's Drystan's wife, he replied. You remember Drystan—you met him a few months ago."

I did remember his friend and was also beginning to notice a pattern. "She makes me really uncomfortable..." I told him.

Yeah, I don't really like her either, he said, but she's here while he's at work.

"He just randomly left his wife here with you to go to work? I asked. That's kind of weird, isn't it?"

Yeah, I guess so... he said as he pulled out a cigarette.

Shortly after, several friends of the house owner arrived. As I sat in the kitchen with Samael, I noticed a camera flash and turned to see a man who promptly lowered his phone while looking away.

"Did he just take a picture?!" I exclaimed.

"Wait—what?" Sammy replied.

I think that guy is taking pictures of me! I told him.

"Hmph... Well..." he muttered as he shrugged and glanced at the man.

Reminded of similar incidents with both John and Bruce, I told Samael that he could come outside with me, or that I was going home. Stepping outdoors, we found that the early evening had brought a biting chill, so I suggested that we sit in my car. As we watched videos on his phone a short while later, Mara came skipping from the house in tight, daisy duke shorts rather than the sweats that she'd been wearing earlier in the day.

"Uh-oh, better roll up the windows! Sammy said while laughing. My hand was already on its way. Oop! Didn't think you would!" he exclaimed.

As Mara trotted around the front of my car, I thought that I saw Samael barely raise his hand to signal her to go away. She immediately shielded her face and turned to walk in the opposite direction. I watched as she climbed onto the trampoline and began jumping. Suspicious, I glanced at Samael. He quickly turned away from me as he pulled his pack of cigarettes from his jeans pocket. I shook my head and took out a baggie of cocaine that I'd managed to keep hold of since my time with Maalik years before. I offered Sammy a bump, but he huffed while slowly shaking his head and saying, "That is not cocaine..."

I inspected the small, crystalline chunk before asking, Are you sure? It looks like it to me—just needs to be ground up...

"I deal drugs, remember?" he asked.

"Well, yeah?..." I responded.

"... I think I'd know meth when I see it," he said as he began chuckling and slapping his knee.

"What?! But... Why did they tell me it was cocaine?!" I asked, panicked.

I don't know. Meth is cheaper to make... Higher profit, maybe? he said while shrugging. "Now, I can get you cocaine..." he offered.

NOT WANTING TO RETURN to his residence, I invited Sammy over the next night. He excused himself to the restroom at some point and returned almost ten minutes later. He sniffled and wiped at his nose while standing in the breezeway before stating that he needed another beer from his car. I accepted the opportunity to take a break from the television and stood to accompany him into the brisk night air.

In the glow of the moon, I noticed that he was waddling as though cradling something in the front of his jeans. I froze as my heart suddenly began racing. I just felt that something was very wrong, and before I could even think, my feet had turned me around and I was sprinting back to the house.

Almost immediately after I'd locked the door behind myself, I received a text message from him. I responded that I thought he had a gun, and that I was scared. He denied my speculation, but I didn't believe him. I'd known this man for over a decade—I knew his natural gait very well and I was sure that he was hiding something.

When I failed to respond, he tried again; So are you coming out or not? If not, I'll go home.

I didn't answer. Instead, I walked down my family's darkened hallway, past my father's deafening snores, and quietly knocked on my mother's door. No reply. I headed to the security room and watched on the monitor as Samael drunkenly climbed into his car and drove away. I was hurting, confused, and I just wanted someone to hug me.

Chapter 2

The following morning , I found my mother in the kitchen. After a quick greeting, I told her I thought that Samael might have brought a firearm to the house and had been planning to kill someone. Her eyes widened as she shrieked, " WHAT?! "

I explained the odd way that he'd hobbled down the driveway and how I felt that something was off about him lately. I took a seat and began sobbing as the gravity of the situation settled in my mind. My mother immediately began dialing my uncle to request his advice. When she got off the phone, she told me that he'd said Hello, and had asked if I was taking my medication. I jerked my head back, perplexed as to why that would be his response. At the same moment, my father appeared in the kitchen doorway and scowled at me before angrily demanding to know why I was crying.

When I found myself too choked up with tears, my mother explained, She thinks Samael had a gun last night and was planning to kill us.

My father paused for a moment while staring at the ground before saying, No, no... I don't think he had no gun, Cherish.

"How would you know?" I asked with a squinting sneer.

In place of an answer, he turned to my mother and began speaking of an entirely different subject. I shook my head and looked away from him, knowing that something was surely amiss—but what?

Once he'd walked away, in a whisper, I asked my mother why he didn't ask any questions, but seemed sure that Samael wasn't armed. She shrugged and reminded me of the odd connection that they'd always shared, and suggested that he probably didn't want to believe that it could be true.

A FEW DAYS LATER, I began packing my bags to depart for anywhere, when my father approached and said, "I, uh... hope ya not plannin' on leavin', Cherish. And if ya are, I hope it's not 'cause of somethin' I said. I stopped what I was doing and cocked my head curiously. For the last number of years, all that he'd told me was to get out of his" house while he offered zero assistance in my doing so.

"What does it matter to you?" I challenged.

"Well! It matters—'cause I'm yo' dad!" he replied, appearing startled at my dismissiveness.

"... All of a sudden." I muttered before continuing what I was doing.

I went to the master bedroom to speak with him a bit later. When he noticed me coming down the hallway, he shut off his computer screen and smiled bizarrely at me. He sat in near darkness with the heavy curtains drawn over the patio door. I glanced uncomfortably at his clothing that was hung in various oddball places, the Star Trek posters and old birthday cards that were tacked on the wall behind his head, and the mountains of dusty receipts and knickknacks that littered the shelves and the top of his desk.

Well, I'm glad ya wanna talk, Cherish... he said as he glanced downward while picking at the dried skin on his thumb.

I looked directly at him. Really took a moment to look at him for the first time in years. He was different. His shoulders were much smaller and his head appeared to be swollen. His once, latte-brown skin seemed yellowed and lusterless. The dim desk light cast an unsettling shadow across his face. His overall vibration made my skin crawl.

"I've always wanted to talk, I said. I just feel like I'm bothering you."

"Eh, well... No. Ya not gon' botha' me," he said as he looked up with a faint smile.

Did you enjoy the muffins? I asked, offering a warm smile of my own.

Why yes, I did! he exclaimed. Did ya make 'em?

"Of course, I made them?..." I replied, questioningly.

"Oh... Well, ya mama told me she made 'em," he said as he looked down.

I huffed and muttered, "I don't know why she would