Poison
Everything in Milly’s life had generally been a disappointment — a series of events, mostly led by her mother, which had made her existence one giant obstacle course. If it wasn’t the hurdle of trying to scrounge up dinner for the night, it was flaming arrows flying in her direction in the form of a fist to her face. There had never been a single moment for Milly where things came easy; everything was about survival and by this point, the girl had it down pat. If her mother was drunkenly passed out cold on the carpet, Milly would dutifully wrap her in a blanket with a freshly stolen apple in the other hand. One way or another, she found a way to live, she found a way to bury the void her mother left in her abusive wake, even if her methods were looked down upon at times. There simply wasn’t enough time to be a “good” girl when you were constantly trying to map out ways to keep a roof over your head, especially when you were just a child.
Not only was her reality littered with misfortune, but the cherry on the sundae was that, at the end of the day, Milly Walton was pretty much alone. She didn’t have a family to tuck her in when she was sick or provide her with the latest fashions. She didn’t have a best mate or even a true group of friends she could depend on. She hadn’t even ever fell in love. The closest thing she had to any semblance of companionship was in the shape of one Colton Woods. And that guy? Not promising. It was a thousand times more likely that he’d leave her in a ditch on the side of the road than ask her to be his girlfriend. But she didn’t want it that way, not even if the thought of him with another girl made her stomach churn with anger, and even worse? Jealousy. If there was ever anything Milly had to hold on to, it was her strength and her independence. There was no way in hell she was about to leave Colton with a single ounce of it. And now?
Now she was capable of poisoning you with a single touch.
When the young woman had become aware of her capabilities, it was as if the world had finally cut her a break. This was her chance to strike back against all the harm that had been dolled out on her. This was her chance to make them all see something more than the poor girl with the alcoholic mother who couldn’t afford to buy her a new damn shirt. For the first time, Milly felt powerful. She felt in control and she was soaking up every second of it. Unfortunately, there were still those times where she felt like she was losing some of that newfound control. Times like today, where she loomed over the store clerk as he seized on the floor below her, white foam dribbling out from the corner of his mouth as his eyes rolled back into his head.
It had all just started as another “shopping” trip, where she was granted her usual five-finger discount. Just like any other day. But Milly had been slacking when it came to her technique, her fresh stature of power feeding her ego more than she should have let it. A couple bananas were shoved into her messenger bag as she opened the cooler to snag a half-gallon of milk. Her first mistake? Hitting the place up as late as it was, since she was currently the only patron. Of course, he’d be watching her. Of course, he’d expect her to come up to the counter to pay for her goods. That much she knew, but a part of her couldn’t be bothered to care. So what? If he tried to stop her, she’d stop him first. She could do that now. She was a whole new Milly. A bag of potato chips was snatched off the shelves as she strode toward the counter, dropping it down before the man.
“Were you planning on paying for the rest of those?” He raised an eyebrow curiously, glaring at her as his eyes were drawn to the bag over her shoulder.
Stupid.
“The rest of what?” Milly returned his stare, straightening her posture in an attempt to seem larger, perhaps more intimidating, more sure of herself. But she wasn’t that lucky, at least not tonight. The man slammed his hands down on either side of the chips, his own stance now so much larger than hers.
“You know what.”
“No. I really fuckin’ don’t. So how ‘bout you be a sweetheart and ring me up for this so I can get the hell out of here.” Her expression contorted into a sneer as hazel eyes gave the place a quick scan, “It smells like god damn piss and dirty mop water in here.” Once again, her gaze settled on his, cutting and dauntless, just daring him to test her. So of course, that’s exactly what he did.
“You can get the hell out of here when you pay for everything you took. What? You think I was born yesterday? That you’re the first asshole kid that’s come in here trying to steal? Pay. For. Your. Shit.” Now his features were beginning to match hers, hard and steadfast, refusing to let some little punk get the best of him.
“Fuck. You!” Milly reached forward to grab the chips away from him, but he was just as quick as she and his fingers curled savagely around her wrist, yanking her forward. A gasp flew out of her as her stomach made firm contact with the counter, a mixture of fear and animosity churning in her gut, setting her veins on fire with a kind of fury she reserved for her mother. His lips parted in an attempt to retort, but before he had the chance, his face began to take on a sickly pallor as his grip became lax. Without even realizing it, Milly had accessed her power and this time it wasn’t on some meager animal.
No. She didn’t want to do this. There were going to be cops involved and now she could be on camera. No. This was a person. But it was still a person who had tried to do her harm — he had put his hands on her. It was justified, wasn’t it? Maybe. Except now the flush of power surging through her was eating away at her morality; because while it might have been wrong, it felt really fucking good. This was for her mother, for her drinking, for the kids at school who had made fun of her, for the teachers who thought she was just like her, and for every single time Milly Walton was made to feel like an absolute nobody.
Well, take a look at me now.
By the time she finally realized what she was doing, the clerk had stumbled to the other side of the counter toward her, choking out a gurgle of petrified sounds in a failed attempt at questioning his fate. It was too late; the poison had already begun to nullify his nervous system, leaving some of the muscle numb and useless. His hands landed on her shoulders, sheer panic veiling his features as he tried once again to speak, perhaps beg for mercy, but instead he just coughed, a splatter of blood projecting onto the front of Millys’ dress.
Oh no. No. Damnit. What the fuck did I do?
The clerk slid to the ground, the toxins debilitating him faster than anything she’d ever seen before. It wasn’t like all the other times. None of them died like this. Yeah, but none of them were human. His own body flung itself into the ground as it began to spasm; Milly left simply watching wide-eyed in shock. He was dying. She had killed him. She was a fucking murderer. And the worst part? As scary and as repulsive and evil as it seemed, there was still a portion of her hanging on that enjoyed it, that relished in the glory of her feat. She had her own personal devil and angel, perched on her shoulders, heatedly debating the current status of her virtue, a subject she wasn’t ready to face yet.
Milly wasn’t going to stick around for it; that was for sure. And just like that, she was out the door, her feet pounding against the pavement as she took off down the street, sidestepping the few lingering night owls who crossed her path. What did she do? Did anyone see her? Whatwas she going to do? Fuck. Damnit. Shit. Her heart thudded in her chest like a caged bird, wings furiously beating against her bones, her mind a dizzying whirlwind of conflictions. It felt good. It was still bad.
What the fuck was she going to do?
Her body was acting of its own accord, carrying her through the night to whatever safety it could find. Perhaps it knew better than she did because right now, there wasn’t a single soul she felt she could turn to, not a damn place she could hide. Yet all of a sudden she found herself on the porch of the Woods house, her fists hammering against the wood as she called out Colton’s name, “Colton. Colton! Colton! Open the fuck up, I don’t care if I wake up the town just open the door.” Please. The acidity from the adrenaline and anxiety crawled up her chest, making her feel sick. Please. She shut her eyes, turning her head toward the ground and holding them closed as tight as she could in a pathetic effort at making every little bit of it all go away forever.
The door clicked open quietly, a sound that Milly never thought would be capable of causing such a sense of relief. Carefully, she tilted her head upward, hoping it was the brother she’d called for and not his asshole of a father, the corner of her mouth perking up in a faint smirk when she was met by that familiar icy stare. “What the fuck are you doing knocking on my door like this? Do you know what time it is? If my Dad came dow-“ Already Colton was going off on her, dragging a over his face in aggravation as he peeked behind him to make sure the latter wasn’t so.
“I fucked up?” The smirk broadened into a mocking smile, an act of pretending everything wasn’t as bad as it really was, an act she’d become extremely well versed in. But everything wasn’t okay because she’d killed a man for some stupid fucking milk. “Seriously…” Her characteristics softened as she reached out to grab his hand, squeezing it firmly, trying to portray exactly how sincere she was. It wasn’t until then she noticed the few stains of blood that remained on her skin. “I fucked up really, really badly, Cole.”
