Page 89 of The Karma Project
BRANDON: WE NEED YOU. *CURRENT LOCATION SHARED*.
My mouth dries out instantly and I look at my brothers, “I did not send this.”
The world falls still, and my blood runs cold, I see the same earth-shattering emotion mirror in my brothers’ faces. My instinct is to look to Teddy first, who is still pulsing in a quiet rage, but has now started twitching his fingers. He’s itching to kill, and I can’t say I blame him. Something's got its teeth in me, and I’m ready to back in anger.
That’s when Zoe’s phone rings in Max’s hand and we all freeze. It’s like when you’re watching a horror movie, and you know a jump scare is coming. You’re practically counting down because it’s laughably predictable, but you still jump in the end because no matter how confident and how sure you felt— you are never truly prepared for just how horrifying the monster is.
“Karma’s,” the voice on the other end greets us all in a modified robotic and heavily edited voice.
“Who is this?” Max bites out.
“Stupid questions get stupid answers, Max.” The anonymous voice chastises, and I notice the pulse in Max’s jaw, the vein in his forehead ready to burst. “You know who we are, and you know we’ve caught your little bird.”
Max rears back his fist and pummels it into the driver side window of his Porsche, shattering it in a way that mimics exactly what is happening to my heart.
“We will find her; do you hear me?” Teddy yells, stealing the phone away from Max, and taking a few paces away from our huddle and deeper into the alley.
“And when we do, so help me Satan, you’re going to wish I killed you instead. You will beg for death, and I’ll just keep bringing you back again and again until death finally takes mercy on you.” Teddy growls, his knuckles begin to turn white as his grip tightens on the phone.
“But there will be no mercy in your death, there will be no peace. Because I’m Teddy Fucking Karma and I’ll follow you directly to my own kingdom of hell and ensure that you pay your debt in flesh for eternity.” The phone in Teddy’s hand finally gives way, and crumbles in his palm, effectively ending the call.
The remaining fragments of my heart are lodged in my throat, and my palms are ticking with a need to do the same thing. Teddy goes still for a moment rolling his shoulders back and taking on a very familiar facial expression.
The Numb.
And as if we are all connected to the same wavelength, we follow suit. All four of us take a breath, roll our necks, and take on Zoe’s saving grace.
Now is not the time for hysterics. Now is the time for a plan, a true plan.
Because we are all ready to start over, not with emotion, not with love; but with revenge.
46
Gravity
Zoe
I’m dead. I’ve died, and not too long ago it was something I wanted so deeply but was always too cowardly to execute. I thought it’d be more peaceful. I thought that maybe the itching guilt that set my skin on fire would go away, but it still persists.
However, this is a new type of guilt. This is a guilt that reflects words never spoken, untold truths, and so much fucking regret.
I died, and I never told a single soul that I loved them. As far as anyone was concerned, I was never capable of the emotion in the first place.
I suppose that isn’t so bad. I was raised to believe love was a weakness, anyway, feeling anything was a weakness.
But over the last month or so, I have felt everything. Hate, anger, frustration, ecstasy, and love that is so incredibly potent and bitter sweet that even in death I can feel it fluttering in my stone-cold heart.
I’m dead, and all I have ever been, is a liar. I never really said anything meaningful or true.
I wish I lived my life more like the Karma’s.
Brandon lived with a free spirit and never shied away from affection. He was willing to do anything in his power just to see someone smile. He paid attention to every detail of a person, and never, ever, held any dark secrets against you.
Dean was strong, and powerful. He protected everything he loved with ferocity and such gumption that a lion’s strength radiated from him when he entered a room. Dean was also secretly gentle and tender. He had a hard shell with such a gooey caramel center that you couldn’t help but sigh in delight when you were lucky enough to reach it.
Max was incredibly stubborn and the most infuriating man to walk the planet most days. But that smile, his laugh. I always treated him like a robot, or some sort of machine, and I regret not letting him in sooner. We mirrored each other in a way. He was everything I hated about myself, but I somehow found myself so undeniably in love with him it has made me question why I hated myself at all. But I think I know why I hated myself. Max never lied, even for a second, about who he was. Sure, he was cold, but he loved, and he cared. He was controlling, but he always, always did his best to make sure everyone had the best life possible. His intentions were always right, and I hate that I may have disappointed him once again.
I’m positive that Teddy and I were twin flames. Destined to meet each other in every single life. That’s what I have to look forward to, maybe my luck will turn around and I’ll get to meet him again. I didn’t believe in reincarnation until I met Teddy. But the type of connection that pulls us together could never be coincidence, because our connection is cosmic. He is so familiar, and comforting. Teddy is devotion personified. Teddy would have crawled to the ends of the earth to make any one of us pleased. Teddy didn’t get enough credit where it was due,and I should have praised him more. Teddy was love, devotion, loyalty, and constant. He was my exact and my opposite. Teddy was everything. I wish I could be as devoted as him. To love so hard, it hurts. To love so hard, it can only be described as destruction, wrath, heat, and raw electricity. Teddy was not unhinged. Unhinged couldn’t describe him well enough. No, not unhinged. Chaos. As chaotic as an earthquake, complex and unpredictable, but so impactful that he should have his own entire wing in a museum.
