Chapter 92 CLEANERS
“Why did you do it?! I would have finished it!"
Aurora’s voice broke sharp, almost a scream.
Her mum flashed her a weak, blood-smeared smile. “And ruin your life? I can’t… it’s my cross, Aurora.”
She flashed another smile small, exhausted, final.
Then her body simply collapsed. Went limp like every string holding her up had been cut., she dropped hard to the floor with a dull thud.
Aurora lunged forward, her arms wrapping around her mum’s broken body before her body could land on the ground.
“Don’t fall asleep!” she hissed, voice cracking with panic. Her fingers fumbled for her phone, ignoring the slick red blood sliding everywhere.
“Hello!”
“ 591, Saving service! What can we help you with?” A calm female voice answered.
Aurora’s lips parted, breath ragged. “Arizona 4, Downhill!”
“Okay!”
Aurora’s eyes darted to the wristwatch ticking on her wrist. She had to get her mum to that spot—fast. It was only a short drive away, but the body…
She yanked on the black gloves. Snapped them tight over bloodied hands.
Dragged the headless corpse, her father, across the floor leaving wet smears blood trailing behind like dark paint. Heavy dead weight.
Her nuscles burned as she hauled him toward the toilet
Lifted and dumped him into the massive bath-tub.
Back inside, The floor was a lake of red, she grabbed detergent poured it in wild arcs, sprinkled water then alcohol.
Foam exploded upward instantly, white and furious, swallowing the blood.
She bent down, lifted her mum onto her back—piggyback style, she was going to use the alley her mum usually took when she was little. Except now warm blood soaked through her shirt, dripping down her spine.
Locked the apartment door with shaking keys and rushed out into the street.
A few hurried steps to the junction she gently lowered her mum onto the metal bench under the flickering streetlamp.
Hid behind the thick concrete pillar and watched.
Two unmarked vans screeched to a stop and two people in paramedic uniforms jumped out: quick, professional, no nonsense
Aurora dialed again on her phone.
Female voice: “We have arrived. Who needs saving?”
She spotted the woman holding the phone. Pulled the mask tighter over her face and stepped out from the shadows.
“She needs treatment.”
No questions asked, they lifted her mum. Placed her carefully on the gurney. Loaded her into the back of the ambulance-like vehicle.
A folded piece of paper slipped into Aurora’s gloved hand.
She gripped it hard.
Watched the vans pull away, lights flashing silent red and blue. Inhaled sharp through her nose, then tilted her head back to the sky and licked her dry lips
A low vicious smile curled up.
Finally. The taste of freedom hit like metal on her tongue, but her eyes snapped open wide.
Anyone could show up. The neighbors, vistirs. She spun and ran back, weaving through the maze of parked cars. The nose-mask still clamped tight over her face.
She feached the apartment door but froze as she sighted someone was already knocking.
“Mr. Dale!” A man’s voice called out, impatient.
Aurora’s eyes darkened. She darted to the side stairs instead, blazing down them two at a time.
The man stopped knocking and pressed his face to the peephole glass. Cupped his hands around his eyes, closed one to see better.
“Hello!” Aurora’s voice cut through the door like a blade.
He jerked hard. Fear flashed across his face for a split second, he turned slowly.
“Who are you?” Suspicion was thick in his tone. He didn’t recognize her at all.
She smiled under the mask, he couldn’t see her mouth, but he felt the cold amusement lift her brows.
“He’s not home,” she said softly.
He gasped, his lips parted to utter some words, but then he froze as he sighted the smeared blood on her gloves.
Aurora stayed perfectly calm and pointed lazily toward the small wire cage in the corner.
The chicken lay there, head split open, guts spilling, dead on the floor in a puddle of its own blood.
Thankfully she had thought about this and killed the chicken beforehand.
“I killed the chicken for dinner,” she muttered casually.
His heart visibly eased and his houlders dropped.
She reached forward, and lifted the dead chicken by its broken neck. Held it up like proof.
“I’ll come again next time.” He nodded fast, turned and walked away.
Her smile vanished the instant his footsteps faded.
She reached for the key and unlocked the door.
The man hesitated at the end of the hallway, glanced back once more, then finally left.
She shut the door behind her, and locked it., carried the bloody chicken corpse over to the couch and dropped it, then walked straight into the bathroom. Grabbed the mop, it's bucket and bleach.
Then started cleaning. She mopped the thick, sticky floor, but it was so soaked she eventually dropped to her knees and scrubbed with bare gloved hands, her nails digging into the tiles, red water swirling around her.
She stared at the couch and haved a tired sigh, licked her lips, and poured bleach straight onto the floor scrubbing harder.
Wiped and scrubbed again.
Finally the place looked sparkling clean, but the ring kind of clean she wanted and expected.
Beep beep! Her phone vibrated
She tore off the gloves her blood fingerprints inside them and answered.
“Hello!”
“Miss, everyone’s here! Where are you?” Her PA’s voice was restless, almost frantic.
Aurora froze. The photoshoot. She had completely forgotten it existed.
“I’ll be there in about twenty minutes!”She glanced at her wristwatch and ended the call.. she dialed another number.
“Clean up service, state your order please!” A feminine automated voice answered.
Aurora’s lips twitched. She couldn’t speak for a second and Inhaled sharply, pressed her lips together.
“Thorough clean up needed,” she said softly and a small smile spread slow across her face.
“Will be there in ten seconds!” The voice suddenly sounded alive, human now.
“I haven’t started the address yet—” but laughter erupted on the line. “We tracked your location already, Miss!”
Aurora froze. “Oh… k.” licked her lips again.
Ding! The Doorbell.
Aurora’s gaze tore to the door.
Ding! It came again
She stared down at the half-cleaned floor. Shit. She wasn't yet done.
“Hello!” A bold thick voice called from outside, Aurora’s grip tightened on the phone.
“Have you guys arrived already?”
“No, Miss, we are on our way!” her breath hitched hard in her throat.
“Repair man!” the voice said, but something felt wrong. She knew better than to open the door.
She crept to the door and peeked through the hole.....Two tall men. One darker-skinned, striking sucking hard on a cigarette, exhaling slow clouds of smoke. The other shifting nervously.
“He wouldn’t open the door?” the nervous one muttered and the cigarette man laughed low. “Break the door,” he said softly.
Aurora panicked. They were thekan shark ehr dad owed.
"Pocket!" She screamed inwardly and reached for her golden card, slipped it under the door along with a scribbled note.
The man about to kick the door paused, bent down and picked it up.
“5567,” he muttered the PIN, and turned to his bods "It’s a golden card! We have our money!” but the boss sneered. “Might be a tri-”
He paused, dtared at the card one last time and pulled out his, scribbled some words in...
“Go withdraw the 409$ he owes us! If it’s a trick we’ll take whoever is in there.” he pointed to the house and the guy bolted off, but the boss stayed, Kept sipping his cigarette, yet staring at the door like it owed him something.
Aurora checked her wristwatch again. These freaking psychos were wasting her time, she would be late for the photoshoot, plus her PA messages buzzed nonstop on her phone.
Outside, she spotted the cleaners’ van pull up near the door, and bit her lower lip until she tasted blood.
“Boss, it’s freaking loaded?” The guy placed the thick cash stack into his boss’s hand, he stared at it, wanted to say something else but shit his lip as he sighted 'the cleaners' walking toward the apartment.
Being a Lina shark, a dirty money man, he understood fas
“Let’s leave.” They walked off quick ....Knocks came again, lighter this time.
Aurora exhaled, relief washed over her face, she puked the mask upwards and pushed the door open.
“I’ll be off now!”
“Payment first!” The words stopped her dead, she turned slowly. Stretched her phone out, placed it over one of the cleaner’s devices.
Ding!
The transfer hit instantly.
She stepped out and the door clicked shut behind her.
The street lights buzzed and flickred softly, only her disappearing back could be seen.
"Mm, I wonder who she is!" One of the cleaner muttered, staring out the window.