Page 34 of Haunting Goats

Dumb and Dumber open the door, and I run up behind them, entering after the two of them.

“What the fuck is that smell?” Jake investigates the room, looking for the source.

Cash slowly moves behind him, scanning the area.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Jake. The fact that no one has come checking in on the smell is insane. It smells worse than horse shit in here.”

I can tell Cash has never been here before. He opens the microwave and attempts to rummage through an empty fridge while Jake is frantically searching beneath the bed.

“Where the hell is she?” he desperately inquires.

Jake scoops trash, an empty bottle of lube, and some laundry out from his hiding place under the bed.

“What do you mean, where the hell is she? Where’d you leave her, dipshit?”

Jake stands up and runs his hand through his hair as he pulls down on his face while he speaks.

“I left her under the bed, but she’s not here—just some bodily fluids.” He points to the floor.

Cash runs up to Jake and grabs him by the collar of his shirt, slamming him into the wall.

“She didn’t just get the fuck up and walk away. Now where the hell is she?”

Cash leans into Jake, gritting his teeth as he tightens his grip on his collar.

“I said, I don’t know. Now get the fuck off of me!”

He shoves Cash backward, and he trips and slides in the juices on the carpet, almost falling into Lyr’s leftovers.

“I won’t hesitate to fuck you up, boy.”

Jake stomps off into the bathroom.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” he shouts. Cash follows him in and just stands there, assessing the situation.

“So, you mean to tell me that you don’t know where Lyric is and, let me guess, you don’t know what happened in here either?”

He starts clapping mockingly, and Jake throws a fist. Cash catches it and uses all his upper body strength to shove Jake backward into the debris.

“I fucking hate you, you know that?” Jake sneers at Cash.

He wipes at himself in a panicked manner, trying to remove bits of Lyric from his skin.

“Yeah, well, I hate you too, son.

Why do you think I left and started a new family? You’re a disgrace.”

Did he just say son? Wait. Did Lyric know?

I look down at her, still in my arms, and I can see the shock and disgust written all over her face. She catches me looking at her, and she shrinks in on herself, hiding her face.

“I told your mom to keep you away from me, but the bitch couldn’t listen. I was happy getting to fuck a mom and her daughter until the two of you ruined it for me and you stole what was mine.”

Cash begins to pace just outside the bathroom while Jake continues to make numerous failed attempts at climbing out of the tub.

“Not only did you take what was mine, but then you killed her too? Couldn’t even keep a goldfish alive, let alone a fucking girl. You’re a pathetic waste of space.”

He stops moving and spits on the ground.