naomi & lana para. lana sneaks off from the group to find naomi, who had been taken by mayer willis hours before. if you would rather read the doc and laugh at good comments, the link is here.
the rest of the night goes by slowly. naomi hears mayer going in and out different rooms, returning to the dining area where she’s at to take the sleeping twins upstairs. as much as it pains her to see him take ava and noah away— she knows it’ll keep him busy long enough for her to try to get out of the confinements she was currently in. her wrists are all cut up from her previous escape attempts, the harsh wire digging into her skin as she moves. but it’s been hours since she’s eaten, rested, or even had a drink of water so naomi feels pretty desensitized. it doesn’t hurt as much as she wiggles around in the chair anymore but she just can’t get out. letting out a frustrated sigh, she slumps back in her seat and takes a few deep breaths, trying not to fall asleep. that’s when she hears his footsteps again and suddenly naomi is wide awake, sitting up straight so she doesn’t look completely weak in front of him. “i’m going to go check on our friends at the motel,” mayer takes a few steps towards her, water bottle in hand, “make sure they’re okay.”
naomi gives him the nastiest look she could muster before saying, “you’ve already got me. isn’t that what you wanted? leave them alone.” as much as she wanted to look like she had her shit together— she obviously didn’t. her face was bruised and cut up, lips chapped and voice coming out in a hoarse whisper. mayer just looks at her, much in a way that a cat would look at it’s prey before completely devouring it.
“you’re thirsty, aren’t you?” he dangles the water bottle in front of her, chuckling to himself before setting it on the table, knowing she wouldn’t be able to reach it. “i’ll be back later.” and with that, she is alone again.
naomi waits a few seconds after he’s left before she starts screaming and shaking around in her chair, crying because she already knows how this is going to end.
somewhere between the yelling and the unbearably awkward silence, lana slipped out unnoticed. as soon as she heard the news that naomi was gone, she removed herself from it all; not physically, but mentally. hours had passed since they realized she ventured off and never came back, and they had yet to do anything about it. she was facing the dirty, cracked window in the room–––– vision set on the flickering sign that read kirby motel. it’d been years since this place had any guests or a caretaker, it shouldn’t have been working. in a town like this, it didn’t surprise her. in fact, her mind was blank. maybe they were still blaming her, maybe they couldn’t even bring themselves to look in her direction after the night before. lana wasn’t aware of any of it. she just could not handle it. mayer had her, she knew it. they all knew it. mayer had the twins and now, he had naomi. waiting around and thinking of a well designed plan wasn’t going to help. and that’s why she had to get out of there.
she studied up enough on mayer willis in the past couple of months to know where he had taken them. honestly, anyone who had a decent amount of knowledge about him would know. it almost felt like this was a trip. everything that led the team to this moment happened so that mayer could get his hands on them. with the type of man her dad was, it wouldn’t be a stretch. he was smart. not in the same way that julian or verena were, but in a particular manner that got him to be two steps ahead of everyone else constantly. there was a possibility that he was conscious about lana’s relationships with the rest and he understood how lana’s mind worked. if he expected her to do what she did and send that email to get the whole group to silverwood, this may have been his plan all along.
it was mid-morning, though it didn’t feel like it. an abnormal amount of fog filled the atmosphere and lana could barely see a few feet into the distance. what was the most strange was that she didn’t even know where she was going. she didn’t know where mayer’s old house was located within the town. despite that, she started the travel anyway–––– as if she had done it before. something was guiding her, whether it was her adrenaline or a force more sinister. she refused to overthink it. not here, and not now. naomi and the twins’ safety was the only thought that she would let herself have.
lana wasn’t sure if ten minutes had gone by or sixty. she had no sense of time at the moment and so, she kept wandering, silently hoping that she would hear ava’s cries or naomi’s screams. there was nothing. the past couple of days that they were there, silverwood had been anything other than quiet. they tried to ignore it–––– well, she did at least. she didn’t want to believe that this place was as bad as the group made it out to be. especially because of the fact it was her fault they were stuck here. the carnival music could have been explained as technical, the whines they heard in the woods could have been animals, there was always a rational explanation. but, now there was only silence.
she walked the street, aimlessly. lining up one foot in front of the other on the painted lines that separated the lanes to distract herself. she desperately wanted this fear she’d been feeling since losing blair and daniel to go away. lana wasn’t an overly fearful person. in fact, it was a short list–––– with mayer willis at number one. besides the nightmare that felt strikingly real, she hadn’t seen him in about a year when she visited him behind bars. the encounter was anything but pleasant. the man mastered the art of saying everything she didn’t want to hear in a short period of time. that was the day that she learned just how terrifying he was. the conversation began to echo through her ears.
“i’ve been having dreams.”
“dreams? what kind of dreams?”
“of the women that you murdered!”
lucky for her, the dreams stopped her first night spent in seattle. however, what her father said to her that day…she’d never be able to forget. there wasn’t a day that went by that she didn’t think about what he went on to admit.
“don’t say that kind of thing, solana. we can talk about this when i get out.”
the validation she needed to process the fact that this was premeditated. this was part of mayer willis’ plan. lana tried to suck in a breath, but struggled. the sound of his voice didn’t sound like it was simply in her head, it sounded like he was standing right behind her.
lana swiftly spun in a circle, looking for him. she was positive that she wasn’t imagining it. he was here. although, there was no one in sight. “hello?” she called out, praying that there would be no reply. naomi was right when she explained that the town messed with your mind and it was transpiring at this specific point. lana turned to see the direction she came from, dying to run back. her body wouldn’t let her; she was frozen. “hello?” when she repeated it again, louder, lana’s voice seeped of desperation.
the town was quiet again. there was no answer. she told herself to relax, but it was no use. the second she started to calm down, she heard a slow, jewelry box type of ballad in the tune of the happy birthday song. lana squinted at the house ahead of her, it was coming from inside. she scanned the facade of the house; if it wasn’t so rusty and the grass surrounding it wasn’t so high, it would look exactly like the picture of mayer’s silverwood home that she kept in his file. she was here.
the sun hits naomi’s face harshly and she groans, slowly stirring awake as her eyes adjust to the light in the room. she whimpers as the wounds from the night before feel sore and she doesn’t even want to look down on them, knowing that with everything she had been through, they could be infected. suddenly she hears a soft mama coming from the room and she’s now more awake and alert than she was a few seconds ago. “hey babies,” she coos with a soft smile, “i’m okay, we’re okay. we’re just going to celebrate you and lana’s birthday!” naomi tries to sound as enthusiastic as possible, trying to shield the toddlers from the real horror that was taking place. however, their small eyes are just looking at the cuts she has all over her body and she almost breaks down into tears right there but she can’t— she has to stay strong for the two of them. “everyone will be here soon okay and then we’ll eat cake and go home.” this manages to distract them so now they’re clapping their hands excitedly. naomi sighs in relief and hopes that someone in the team notices that she’s gone.
lana very well recognized that this was the place she could potentially die in. it didn’t make a difference because naomi, ava, and noah were in there. so without second thought, lana was sprinting to the door. she made it to the porch when she stopped in her tracks. she noticed that the door was ajar–––– he was expecting her arrival. she closed her eyes and sighed, whatever was inside this house was going to shatter her. even if the outcome was good, it was going to shatter lana.
without pushing the door completely open, lana entered. there was no one in the living room and no noises could be heard. if she was too late, she would never forgive herself. “naomi?” it was more of a whisper. she thought it would help, but if mayer was in here, he’d be the first to hear it. “naomi, where are you?” she took one step and the floor squeaked beneath her.
“hello, solana,” his greeting made her jump. lana whipped her head around to see that he was standing behind the door and he slammed it shut with a slanted smirk. she backed up, slowly, watching as he locked her in. heart sinking when she noticed the axe leaning up against the wall near him. she couldn’t build up the courage to speak to him, she’d rather run.
lana picked up her pace. there had to be somewhere to hide. in the attempt to get away, lana tripped on the step that led down to the kitchen and stumbled over her feet. it made the man laugh nonchalantly— she already failed at her first try at getting away. he figured this was going to be too easy.
“we’ve been waiting for you,” mayer added and viciously yanked her arms to pull her back onto her feet.
naomi hears voices coming from outside the room and she shushes the kids so that she could try to see who it was. it didn’t take her long to figure it out. “lana... LANA I’M OVER HERE!” she yells out, again wiggling around in her chair in hopes that this time, the wire would snap so she could try to untie the rope that bound her as well. she hears footsteps coming in her direction and she is so happy that she’s about to get the hell out of here.
that happiness doesn’t last long.
lana comes through the door first and naomi is about to say something when she sees that mayer is hot on her heels, gripping on to her arm tightly. “don’t grab her like that.” she practically growls at mayer, angered by the way he was holding her.lana was so relieved when she heard naomi. trying to answer her friend, lana opened her mouth. when mayer noticed, he tugged on one of her arms even harder than before. she winced, straightening her posture while her father put both of her hands behind her back.
“she’s my child, i can do whatever i want with her,” in all of lana’s life, he hadn’t ever treated her this way. never even so much as violently lay a finger on her. she still wasn’t capable of wrapping her head around the idea that this man was the same person who raised her. he didn’t have control over what she saw and what she did...was frightening. the decorations, the music that played earlier, mayer willis was celebrating their birthdays. her eyes landed on the twins and she smiled out of habit.
mayer twisted lana’s body so that she could see naomi’s current state. “naomi…” she cried out, softly. her friend was pale, injured— but she was alive. there was still a glimmer of hope somewhere deep inside her. she tried to get out of his grip; coming so close, which made it worse when he pulled her right back into his chest.
naomi’s eyes narrow at his reply but her features soften as lana calls her name. all the fight in naomi gives and she’s so— tired. her eyes begin to feel heavy, “i-i’m fine lana...” her head lulls to the side, “just make sure the twins are okay.” words slur together as she tries her best not to fall asleep. come on naomi, wake up. she’s certain that whatever evil spirits were around were doing this to her. just a second ago, she was ready to jump out of her seat but now she feels like someone is sitting on her chest and forcing her to go unconscious.
“hey hey hey, wake up.” mayer’s voice booms throughout the room and naomi struggles to keep her eyes open, looking at him, then lana and then at the twins. “you can’t fall asleep at your own kids’ birthdays. that’s just inconsiderate, sweetheart.” he sits lana down on one of the chairs and gives her a stern look, “try anything and i’ll kill naomi right in front of you and the twins. wouldn’t want that, now would we?”
“what makes you think i’d do anything?” she was being sarcastic. the first chance she had at getting up, she would take it. for now, she complied. if he said he’d kill naomi, she didn’t take it lightly.
mayer tied one of lana’s wrists to the chair’s armrest, leaving one available so that she could pick up the utensils on the table. “because if it were me, i’d try something, too.” he was using her weakness against her. no one wanted to be compared to their serial killer parent, he did it on purpose. it was a given by the amusement displayed on his features.
she scoffed, there wasn’t anything else she could do. “you’re an asshole,” she’d called him that before. not to his face, but in a conversation she had with micah some time ago. her life back then was much simpler. sure, she had to live with the secrets she kept. but, when she first said it, she would have never predicted that this is where she would have ended up saying it again–––– that this is how she would die. even though, she probably should have expected it.
mayer ignores lana’s comment but this prompts naomi to say something, “lana please don’t make him mad.” she says, quiet enough so that he won’t hear them. she doesn’t know if she should mention what happened the last time she pissed him off. deciding not to, naomi timidly looks around the room, trying to think of a plan. “he didn’t tie your other hand down. he’s going to have to use a knife or something to cut that fucking cake… i want you to try to get it from him so you and the twins can get the hell out of here. i know you can do it.”
before lana has any time to reply, mayer is back at their sides with a sickening grin on his face. “what are my two favorite girls talking about, hm?”
naomi averts her gaze when she replies, “nothing. let’s just get this over with.”
he begins to place plates around the table, setting things up as if it was an actually birthday dinner rather than a psychotic hostage situation. naomi is just glad that he hasn’t hurt the twins or lana. she would rather get hurt herself than have any of the three go through what she was. once the table is set, mayer kisses the twins before taking his seat at the head of the table.
lana’s eyebrows furrowed together, not believing her ears when naomi didn’t include her own self in the freedom plan. she would never leave her behind. never.
she cleared her throat, cringing every time mayer talked to them like he was a normal human being–––– when he was the farthest thing from it. “if you don’t mind me asking…” she really wished she didn’t have to ask. the answer was bound to be horrific. “what are you doing with us when we do get this over with?”
“it’s a surprise!” he exclaimed, cheerfully. “if i tell you, it’ll ruin your birthday present!” mayer gave the both of them a look filled with joy and then passed the knife to lana. “now, go ahead and cut the cake. it was our birthday tradition, remember?” of course she did. she rolled her eyes and used her free hand to take the knife. he had the ability of making her reminisce on the past when she sure as hell didn’t want to. she couldn’t help but remember the father he was when she was younger and because of this, she didn’t do what naomi asked of her. what lana should have done was stick the knife in the place where mayer’s heart was supposed to be. once again, mayer willis knew what he was doing. he messed with her mind the same way silverwood did with everyone who infiltrated it.
with a shaky hand, lana cut into the cake. one piece for naomi, one piece for herself, two for ava and noah, and one for him. mayer ripped the knife out of hand before she was finished with the last piece. clearly, he didn’t trust her with the weapon for too long. he then put each piece onto a birthday themed plate, passing them out to his kids and making sure to put naomi’s close enough for her to smell, close enough for her to see, but far enough that she couldn’t eat it no matter how hard she tried.
naomi was disappointed when lana didn’t do what she had asked to. that was probably going to be the only chance they got to actually make a move to get out of here. what never crossed her mind was how hard it has to be to actually think about murdering your father. no matter how evil or messed up he was, he was still lana’s dad.
once a slice of the pastry is put in front of her, naomi turns away so that she wouldn’t even have to look at it, her stomach beginning to growl as the smell hit her nose. “fucking asshole,” she mutters to herself, not wanting him to hear her because she knew how that was going to end if he did.
“i’m really... blessed to be here. celebrating the birthday of all three of my kids,” as soon as the words leave his mouth— naomi’s heart begins to race and she wants to tell him to shut the hell up but it’s too late. no one had told lana the full story, how naomi had slept with her father when they were in marblemount and how noah and ava were her brother and sister. truth be told, she never wanted for the girl to find out. it was the most humiliating thing naomi has done and as much as she loves the twins; she’ll never be able to forgive herself for giving them the father that they have.
an awkward silence falls over the table ( it’s not totally quiet, you can hear the twins babbling on and on in their gibberish ways ) and naomi can feel the stare she’s getting from lana.
it took a minute or two for lana to put the pieces together, mostly because she didn’t want to. she didn’t want to believe that naomi had been lying to her face for as long as they had known each other. she didn’t want to believe that her psychopathic father slept with her current best friend. “w-what?” she said under a breath.
“oh,” he tilted his head at naomi, staring at her with fake concern. this wasn’t unlike every other awful thing he’s done to them, he had motive and a method to his ways. he was trying to anger both of them. “you didn’t tell her?”
lana didn’t take her eyes off of naomi, she wasn’t going to miss any expression that naomi showed. she could feel her blood flowing to her skin, her cheeks now burning red with fury. “tell me he’s lying,” they had this same fight last night, this time the roles reversed.
“fuck you, mayer.” she spits out, feeling her throat close up and her voice crack as the words leave her lips. “lana… i…” she doesn’t even know where to begin, but with her obvious reaction, lana should know that he isn’t lying. “i didn’t know who he was and i never told you or anyone because i was ashamed.” she knows how much of a hypocrite she’s being right now. not even twelve hours ago she was yelling and cursing at lana for keeping such a big secret from her. and how she’s being called out for doing the same. “i’m sorry.” she cries, looking down at her lap. the wounds and cuts all over her body were no longer the reason why she was in pain— it was the way lana was looking at her that was causing this heavy feeling in her heart.
“wow,” lana’s mouth dropped. she had so much more to say, so many thoughts. if only she could say it. “you...and he...the twins...oh my god,” she was incapable of forming a sentence–––– perceiving that the two adults at the table with her were people she thought she knew, only to be blind-sided by each of them. she wasn’t just betrayed by her father, but now the person she called a best friend. “why didn’t you tell any of us?”
“because i was scared and embarrassed and utterly disgusted with m-myself, i just couldn’t. daniel assured me that everything was going to be okay and that he would take the fall for it but then this son of a bitch just had to kill him.” her vision blurs because of all the tears and she tries so hard to explain herself to one of the very few people who naomi could trust.
“you should really stop keeping secrets from each other. you’re tearing this family apart!” he laughs, being entertained by this whole ordeal.
lana opened her mouth to argue with naomi again, but mayer’s voice stopped her. lana was already irritated with naomi so when he made his little comment, it triggered something inside of her. she picked up the fork meant to be used for the cake, raising it above her head and down again, driving it into the back of mayer’s hand that rested on top of the table.
his reaction was inhuman. he didn’t scream, he didn’t even budge. mayer used his foot to push his chair back and stood up, glaring down at lana like the monster he was. he pulled the metal out, making it seem painless. dark, red blood began to ooze from the open holes in his flesh and still, he gave no indication that he was in pain. “big mistake,” mayer pronounced. he reached under his belt on the back of his torso, revealing a gun that had gone unseen during the whole duration of this confrontation. without hesitation, he aimed it towards lana.
everything happens so fast. one minute, she’s arguing with lana and the next— mayer is pulling out a gun and aiming it at his own daughter. naomi freezes in her seat, not knowing what to do ( she can’t really do anything, anyway ) about the situation at hand. the children are in the room and she’d be damned if she lets anything happen to them or lana. “m-mayer please, ava and noah are here. you can’t do this,” she cries, feeling her heart race and her breath quicken. she’s going to have a panic attack.
“did you not just see what this little bitch did to me,” he says loudly, cocking the gun and letting his finger hover over the trigger. “i’ve let this slide one too many times, solana. i should have killed you back in seattle when i had the chance.”
“dad, please,” calling him ‘dad’ left a bitter taste on her tongue. since she was too busy begging for life, it wasn’t a her biggest problem. tears welled up in her eyes, the first time in forever since she formed them. “please don’t do this,” she slammed her eyelids shut, the tears running down her cheeks. she may have been pleading with him, but this was mayer. he had no remorse. and lana had no desire to watch him do it or see the menacing look he’d give her before pulling the trigger. her fingers were tightly wound around the edge of her seat, gripping it so hard that she started losing feeling in them.
his lip twitched as he listened to the two of them cry; mayer was finding pleasure in this. he was sick and twisted and there was no getting through to him. whoever it was that grew up alongside solana winship wasn’t there any more. or he wasn’t there to begin with. “i’ll make this quick for you. you won’t feel a thing––––”
“let me do it.” the words come out of naomi before she can stop them, “please i’ve been waiting so long to put a bullet through her skull. she’s caused us both enough problems.” once the ball gets rolling, she knows this will be enough to at least make mayer let his guard down for a second. a second that lana can use to advantage to get that damn thing away from her. she quickly makes eye contact with lana and with the look she gives her, it should be enough so that the other girl knows what to do.
“excuse me?” mayer asked the question while lana’s eyes shot open. there was no chance that naomi was truthful in her request and the other girl knew where she was going with this. while her dad was distracted by his disbelief, she lifted her jacket sleeve from under the wire to her elbow–––– giving her wrist some room to evade out of the constraint. “you want to kill her? is that so?” he sounded fascinated, from what lana could hear. she could still feel the gun pointed at her, nonetheless. she shimmied her hand; forward and backwards, forward and backwards, the sharp edges piercing a deep, new scratch through her skin everytime. the discomfort was agony. she bit down on her bottom lip, seeking a way to divert ache.
blood stained the seat cushion, her jeans, and dripped from her wrist to the dusty carpet below. it took several seconds, yet lana finally managed to get her arm free. she wordlessly urged naomi to keep up the act as she got up from the chair.
naomi’s eyes are now locked with mayer’s, trying her best to give him the most evil smirk she could muster. “i know how you felt… how you feel when you want to end someone’s life. all that anger and passion… i’m feeling it right now. we can kill her then head back to the motel… get rid of everyone else. they have no idea what’ll hit them.” it pained her to say these words but it was working. mayer slowly begins to lower the gun and the same twisted grin is now on his face. “well look who decided to jump ship. i’m impressed, naomi.”
“just let me out of these and we can do this. together.” her words are directed to both mayer and lana— signaling the other girl to do what she had to do.
it worked like a charm. lana crept up behind the man and waited until his most vulnerable moment to knock the weapon out of his clutch. it went flying and slid under the table, out of sight. they were ahead of his plan; outsmarting the smart killer. she took a few steps back, knowing mayer would return with a punishment. her eyes grew wider when he instantly spun to face her. breathing got heavier and adrenaline rushed through her veins. then, with his one step forward, lana bolted to the opposite side of the table.
mayer followed her path, but taking more of a mockingly slow approach. lana watched, shifting her weight on one foot to the other, deciding what her next move was. she had to think fast–––– eye flickering from her dad to the gun that was a few feet to the left of them. it was better to take the chance of grabbing it, at getting the upper hand. that conclusion didn't make the action of doing it any less challenging. she dropped to her knees, crawling to the firearm and dodging any interference that mayer threw at her. he reached down to try and grab ahold of her ankle. she was too abrupt in her movements, gliding under the take to fend him off. coming out the other side, lana was now the one with authority.
“solana,” he scolded his daughter through gritted teeth. she didn’t say a word, too engulfed by the disheartening reality that she stood in. she was aiming at mayer, a wobbly hand clenching the handle as firmly as she could. a mirror image of mayer willis himself.
she couldn’t kill him. as much as she understood that she had to, it was not going to come to that. she refused to turn into the person he was famously known to be. but, she had to hurt him–––– hurt him so that he couldn’t stop lana from helping naomi and the twins get the hell out of there. come on, lana, you’ve been preparing for this. mayer’s flaws are what she’d been drilling into her memory since blair and daniel’s deaths; when she knew she had to be the one to end his rampage. he was gaining on her, too close for comfort. as he towered over her, lana began to feel overwhelmed, running through her options trying to figure out where to spend her one bullet when it hit her. his right knee.
when lana was seven, her father came home from a business trip uncommonly early, whining about how he suffered a blow at the hotel gym. after the ordeal, it became clear to her that it wasn’t from exercising. those trips were for work, yes, though not the kind he implied. when he fractured his knee, mayer must have chosen a victim who fought back. he wore a brace for weeks, bedridden for days on end. the bone never returned to its normal condition. lana presumed that it merely got worse with age.
the bullet came fleeting out the barrel and collided with mayer’s patella. the blow sent mayer’s body down the wall, a look of anguish covering his face. lana inhaled loudly and dropped the gun. it all happened quicker than she could comprehend, she had to stand still and stare at her bloody hands–––– stunned at what she had done.
waking up from the breathless trance she was in, she heard the twins’ murmurs. “oh my god,” the sobs were uncontrollable and while wiping her tear-filled eyes, lana ran to where naomi was tied up. “naomi, we have to get out of here!” she swiped the knife used for the cake and, working through the tears, she started to cut the cords restraining the other girl.
“lana, i can’t move,” naomi tells her, feeling the pressure against her wrists and ankles release as the other girl cuts her loose. mayer is currently on the ground and it gives naomi so much satisfaction, seeing him in pain. it will never amount to all that she and her friends have endured these past few months but it’s still something. with lana’s help, she’s able to stand up, her legs shaking underneath her as she does her best to walk over to the twins to let them out. “c’mon, party’s over.” naomi ignores the pain from the cuts all over her body and successfully manages to get both ava and noah out of the highchairs.
she hesitates as she walks towards the door, not wanting to leave lana with him for any longer. “lana come on, we have to go.” she says, feeling dizzy the more she stands. it’s been almost a full day since she’s had anything to eat or drink and she’s lost so much blood— it’s a miracle she’s still conscious. “now— we’ll let the cops deal with him.” by now, naomi is at the front of the house, looking back and waiting for lana to join her and the twins.
“okay,” she ultimately obliges, taking her time to meet naomi. she frowned at her father and turned away. they were going to be fine, they were going to walk out the door and leave this god awful place. it felt like a triumph, a huge victory. they defeated mayer.
lana was only a few strides from naomi when she heard heavy footsteps following behind. she whipped her head around to see mayer coming, too. he was having a hard time walking–––– dragging the leg with the laceration like dead weight.
naomi hears mayer coming in the direction and she uses all the energy left in her to pick the twins up and exits the house. she doesn’t want to leave lana behind and she doesn’t plan on it, but right now the most important thing to her is the twins’ safety. “you can run from me, naomi, but you can’t ever run away from who their father is.” he calls after her and this makes her falter in her steps. he’s right— she could try as hard as she could to erase him from her and her kids’ lives but he was always going to be there. tears well in her eyes but she shakes them away and continues to make her way down the abandoned neighborhood. a few seconds pass by before naomi hears more voices coming from the end of the street and she recognizes them instantly. the rest of the group. “g-guys! over here!” she yells out, setting ava and noah down, waving her arms so that they could see her. she feels so relieved and happy to see them— they were going to make it out of here alive.
it doesn’t take long before they’re right by her and the twins’ side and that’s when everything that’s happened catches up with her. before completely falling to the ground in exhaustion, naomi manages to tell the group where lana is and that she was in trouble.
“she’s lucky that one,” his voice was hoarse. mayer hated that naomi escaped him not once, but twice. although, his single instinct is to take what he could get. lana remained in the room with him; he could live with that. she ... would not. “reminds me a lot of your mother,” lana froze. he was going to get under her skin and unless she didn’t give in, it was very well going to do the trick. “lorena put up a good fight.” he raised an arm to show her that the gun was back in his possession–––– speaking with his hands, it was unclear where he planned to shoot it. “not good enough."
the words were stuck in her throat. she was going to ask for the truth. lana had spent a majority of her life knowing none of it and it was exhausting having to guess. what was worse? living life with the unknown or learning the devastating facts. “you killed her,” it was a statement, the best she could conjure. mayer paused, running his finger along the frame of the gun as he inched closer to her–––– she didn’t take her eyes off of him when he did. the suspense was killing her. “you killed mom?” deliberately pursuing the answer this time. her decision was made and she had to know. mayer smirked at her choked up speech; the way his lips curled told the whole story.
face to face with the muzzle, lana continued to hold that gaze with her father. he killed her mother–––– his wife, and now he was going to kill his oldest child. the moment was surreal; mayer willis gave her life and just as quickly, he was taking it away from her.
naomi is in the middle of explaining to the group everything that’s happened when she hears the gunshot. she feels her heart stop and it’s like everything around her goes completely silent. the girl sits there in shock before lunging forward in the direction of the house, crying and screaming out lana’s name. she feels someone hold her back but that doesn’t stop her from moving around in their grasp so that she could break free and go check on lana. “let me go! she needs me!” naomi cries, falling to her knees in tears as some of the group members run to lana’s aid.
the rest played out in slow motion. the wink mayer supplied, the pull of the trigger, lana’s instantaneous motions. she gravitated to the floor, the bullet meeting the door frame. neither one of them could anticipate what took place next. she seized the axe that she made a mental note of when she entered the house; mayer’s famous weapon of choice.
on december 17th, lana had come to accept that fact that she was going to die. she’d convinced herself over and over that it would all be okay, it was better her than the others. it had been her fault that they were in that predicament, so she settled on taking the hit. but, being so close to death changed her outlook completely. she wasn’t ready.
she hadn’t ever picked up an axe, let alone used one. yet, when she swung the tool straight into mayer’s abdomen, it gave off the impression that she had done it plenty before. the weight of it felt easy in her hands, familiar if she was brave enough to use the word. in the blink of an eye, the scene had become a blood bath; splattering back onto her face, her clothes. somehow, the man remained unfaltered–––– that devilish, smug expression never fading. it was a recognizable look, the same one he’d given her when she rode her bike for the first time, the same one she’d get from him when she won a soccer game. lana had made her father proud. “just…” one word at a time, they came out flooded with the red liquid that formally filled his body. “like...your daddy.”
it didn’t come as a revelation that, even as he was dying, he’d try and provoke the girl. there was no energy left in her to say anything; lana was weak, the adrenaline running through her veins didn’t provide any help. it had not set in what she did to mayer. she backed away, peering at the man who kneeled to the hardwood and then toppled over.
the muffled noises found her, door opening wide to reveal all the gore. lana turned her head to see the mysterybusters; they were welcomed with a blood stained countenance, the murder weapon dangling by her side, and mayer’s lifeless figure behind it.
