Chapter Twenty-Five
Showered, Dressed, fed and calmer, I sit down in the living room and stared out the window. I could see Gabe through the reflection of the glass. He had a guilty expression on his face. As much as I couldn't stand how he was treating me, I loved him like a brother. I would be there for him, even if he did fear me.
“You alright, Gabe?”
I watched as his eyes widened then he nodded his head.
“What it’s like?”
The door opened and everyone else walked in. Great timing if I do say so myself. Maybe he should have been the psycho instead of me. I laughed to myself. That reminded me of something Lorik would say.
I looked up at the sky. The bright blue sky was giving up reluctantly to the dark gray clouds that were rolling in. “There’s a storm coming. Can you feel it? We all have that in us. Just a little bit. That anxious feeling that won’t go away. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.” I turned toward him. He just sat there like the rest of them, listening. “How you don’t know what it is, but it won’t stop. It feels like it’s eating at you. You get restless.
“That’s how I used to be but not anymore. No now, things have changed. When the images begin, I can hear the sounds that surround me. I can see the colors brightly. It’s not in black and white like the movies we use to watch.” I laughed a breath. “No, it’s real. I feel it. And the pain, I feel it too. Doesn’t matter whether it’s mine or someone else’s, I feel it.”
I looked back to the window and up at the dark clouds churning. “It won’t be much longer.” Within seconds lightening shot across the sky and thunder clapped somewhere nearby. I could see in the reflection as they all jumped. “I’ve noticed that lately, you guys do the same thing. You probably don’t pay it any mind once whatever is going to happen, happens. It’s over with by then, you know? But what if it was telling us that there was something more out there.
“I mean, what if what I’m seeing is real? What if I’m not insane? What if hitting my head triggered something in a way? It’s all over the internet how head injuries can cause these things. But you guys, you sense it. I can see it in the way you look at me at times. You can shake your head all you want to Lorik, but you sense it. You get antsy. I see it especially in Shayden and Zavier. It’s stronger in them.
“But even Gabe knows when I’ve seen something.” My voice was barely audible. “Don’t you Gabe?”
He didn’t answer.
I told him everything I had seen since then. I even told him about the dream I had of his mother while they were gone. But I knew he wouldn't believe me. I wasn't the kind to prove what I was saying was true. You either believed me or you didn't.
I looked down at the coffee table, took a deep breath, and closed my eyes. I had maybe a few minutes left. The feeling was stronger. It was like every second that passed, every tick of the clock, let me know that my time was running short.
I smiled and put my hand out for my phone. Gabe looked at me confused until my phone went off. His hand was shaking as he handed it to me. I bit my lower lip and fought back the tears threatening to spill out. Dean wanted me to come to his office. Seems my dad had come here while I was busy, like I didn't know, and wanted to speak with me.
I was already dressed in my suit. I noticed when I put it on someone had not only patched it but secured it further. It was a little tighter but as long as it didn't restrict my movements I didn't care.
I walked over to the entertainment center and got my blades and holsters to put on. There was no way I would go out of this room without them. Not sure they would do me any good, but I wasn't taking chances.
I turned and looked at the guys. I smiled but couldn't stop from gulping at the thought. I reached for the door handle and stopped. I walked back over to Zavier and kissed him. I whispered in his ear that I loved him and walked off.
I was wondering if my alarm had been reactivated as I heard the click. I stiffened for a moment before turning around to see someone standing there. I had made it almost completely to Dean's office. He was hiding on the stairs. No one had any idea he was even here.
“You.” The word came out in a huff of air. I felt like I had been punched in the gut.
I had dreaded this moment for two weeks now. Knowing that any day I would once again be looking down the barrel of a gun. I couldn't calm my heart. I was terrified.
No alarm sounded as the beating increased and my blood thrummed through my veins.
“Yeah. Me. I've been waiting for a long time to do this you know. If you had died like you were supposed to when you were five, we wouldn't have this problem.”
He was waving the gun around. Mocking me. He knew he had me. I was still too sore to try to go for my blades. I was hindered, unable to move fast enough. And I knew it.
“What do you mean, when I was five?”
I had to keep him talking long enough for Shayden to feel me.
“Oh don't you remember. I was told you were there. That somehow you managed to get away.” I watched the slow grin spread across his face. The face of my mother. “It was supposed to be a two for one deal. You dead, Dean so upset over Maria's death that he gave up and retired. Doesn't matter though, I get the joy of killing you now. It's going to be nice to put that bullet in your skull.”
Images of Maria flashed in my head. I was five again and stuck in the oven. I had torn it up the day before playing hide and seek with Lorik and broke the element in it. Maria had called the repair man to fix it and asked me to open the door when someone rang the bell. Only somehow I knew it wasn't a nice person.
The man had a scar on his face that was diagonal all the way down. One eye was drooping, his nose looked as though it had been stitched back on, and his lips were distorted. But it wasn't the scar that let me know. No, it was the fact that he didn't have a tool box with him.
I had shut the door and locked it, run to Maria and told her that a bad man was at the door. When I told her what he looked like, the blood drained from her face. She opened the oven door, told me to get and not make a sound. She had just enough time to shut it, click something on top and open the back door when I heard the front door burst open.
“Why? Why would you do this? You're my uncle.”
The pain almost caused me to lose consciousness when he hit me and I fell to the floor. I spit blood and teeth out. I tried to get back up but the dizziness was too much.
His face was blood red and I don't know how everyone didn't hear him because it sounded as if he were an echo through my head as he screamed at me.
“Don't insult me! I am not your uncle. She's not even your mother. She was nothing more than a vessel. Your mother died the day you were supposed to little girl.”
He laughed and it resounded in the halls.
“Tell her hi for me,” he said as he aimed the gun at my head. That was when I saw the letters H-A-T-E, tattooed across his knuckles.
The shot rang out. I turned my head away. When I opened my eyes, I was looking at the tile on the floor. Beside my head, less than an inch deep in the concrete was a bullet. I turned back around to see Mom's brother on his knees with the entire front of his face gone. I watched as he fell over.
If I hadn't still been dizzy and numb I would have scurried away from his body. I didn't want to be anywhere near him. When I looked up, my mind blanked.
Standing there was both Zavier and Shayden. It was no wonder his face was gone. They had both taken a shot.
As they began helping me up, Dean and Dad rushed out into the hallway. I could hear Dad telling someone to stay in the room. I knew it was Mom.
When the door shut to Dean's office I looked at them. “He tried to kill me.”
“Who is it?” Dean asked.
“Marcus.” That was all I could say. I knew Dean would know who I meant by that. That was the one thing I continued to tell Dean when he asked what the guy said as he killed Maria. His message was: Marcus sent me.
I watched as Dad rifled through M
arcus' pants pocket and pull out a wallet. He opened it up and stood there. His eyes widened. I could see the anger starting to surface. His lips pursed, nostrils flared and jaw set as if he were gritting his teeth.
“Your mom's brother?”
I was unable to answer him because of the blood pooling in my mouth.
“I'll bring her back. I'm taking her to get cleaned up.” Dean nodded to him and Zavier wrapped an arm around my waist to keep me steady.
When I looked at the guys every one of them looked shocked. Their eyes were open wide and jaws slack as they stared open mouthed. Gabe was the only one that had his mouth covered and from his pale features, I'd say he was also a little sick at his stomach.
I heard Dean have Lorik and Sage help Shayden remove the body from the hallway. I was glad they didn't freak but I could hear Shayden asking if they believed it yet. As we walked by, Zavier stopped, grabbing a hold of Braxton's arm. Braxton turned, looked at him, looked down at his arm like he was getting pissed, then back at Zavier. For some reason his features softened. I didn't know what look Zavier was giving him but I heard clearly what he said.
“Turn her locator back on.”
Braxton nodded.
Zavier got me in the room and toward the kitchen. I staggered to the sink and began spitting out blood while he held my hair back. I felt a hand under my chin and looked over. He was touching me, with shaky hands, but touching me none the less. I looked up at him.
“Let me check your jaw and gums to make sure you're alright, okay?” Gabe still cared.
I stood before him and cried. I watched his eyes water. He knew I hated people seeing me cry but what he was doing meant a lot to me.
I winced when he pressed on my jaw. Then opened my mouth for him to check the gums.
“Two teeth. I need to do x-rays of your jaw to make sure it's not broken. You will have to see a dentist over your teeth.”
I nodded to him. He stood there a minute before he reached out with one hand and pulled me to him. I didn't hesitate. I wrapped my arms around him. When I pulled away, Gabe and I both became sick and almost lost our breakfast. I had forgotten that I was in the zone of debris when Marcus was shot. Gabe shot off one way and I the other.
Zavier had helped me get my suit off and cleaned up the best he could. He had me sit down so he could slide my jeans on since bending over made me want to pass out. And of course every one of the guys decided now was as good as time as any to step through the door. While I stood there in jeans and a bandage wrapped around my chest.
Zavier tried to hurry to get my shirt over my head since Shayden walked in and immediately turned to look at the wall. Braydon had other things in mind. He walked over and stood in front of me.
“May I?”
I knew what he was asking. I nodded one small nod. He wanted to see the scar from surgery. I knew he wouldn't ask to see the other. Not that he could see it anyway. I kept gauze on it and as silly as it sounds, I did it to the other as well. I didn't want one padded and not the other. Plus I couldn't wear a bra and I wasn't running around with just a bandage covering them.
I pulled the bandage down just a little but Zavier's hands came around from behind me and hovered over my breasts like he was making sure Braydon didn't see them. I wanted to laugh. Zavier was a good man. He never tried touching me. Just like he wasn't touching me now. I loved him for it.
Braydon reached a hand out like he wanted to touch the scar but he stopped and dropped it. He closed his eyes and took a breath.
“I don't blame you for this. Even when it happened. You had nothing to do with it. And I don't blame your father either. We don't know everything that had been said over the years. I mean, they were reacting out of fear.”
The soft look Braydon had been giving me changed to fury right before my eyes.
“Don't blame him? I don't care how scared he was or what he had been told, there was no reason to try to kill you. He could have talked to you to see what your intentions were!”
“That is a valid point but, I refuse to live the rest of my life angry at them for something they didn't cause.”
My statement hung in the air. Everyone was looking at me by then. It made me glad that Zavier had finished pulling my shirt down because even Shayden had turned around and was going to rant about my comment until I said what I did.
“And neither should any of you.” I walked passed Braydon and out the door of the room.
I heard the shuffling of feet behind me and was going to open the door to Dean's office until someone grabbed my hand, pulled it away and led me on down the hall to the medical center.
I laughed at him and then cried out in pain. Gabe was back. I was glad for it but laughing was not something I should be doing with my jaw killing me. I wish he knew how to numb it without knocking me out. That should be our next lesson. After I learned it from Kyle anyway.
Kyle showed up and was brought down to the room I was in. Gabe had just put the film up on the light board. I could see from here it had a small crack but wasn't broken. It would hurt for a few weeks but I was good to go.
Kyle checked it out and listened to Gabe explain what had happened. The color draining from Kyle's face let me know Gabe had been keeping in touch with him and letting him know about the hallucinations I was having. Or he thought I was having anyway.
“I have heard of things like this happening before from head injuries. Sometimes they fix themselves other times not. I guess we will wait and see.”
He examined me, took my stitches out, told me to rinse my mouth, and see a dentist soon. I nodded. I knew from the way Kyle worded it, he would research what happened to me but wouldn't ask for tests. I think with everything else going on, he was afraid to hear the truth.
They finally let me go and I made my way back to Dean's office in time to hear Mom and Dad screaming. I opened the door to stop what was going on and was surprised when Mom lunged at me.
“Monster! You're a monster!”
I stepped back and felt Shayden step up behind me.
“I'm the one that killed him.”
“It's your fault. You have always been nothing but trouble. You should have died that day and no one else would have had to suffer.”
Even with the pain it caused, my jaw dropped. I closed it and grit my teeth sending more pain through my head. I stepped up and got in her face.
“Monster. He was the monster. He paid a man to come and kill a five year old child and a woman that had nothing to do with any of this. So don't stand there and call me a monster.”
I could see her hand fly out and didn't even bother stopping it from making contact. But I didn't flinch. I stood there and looked deep into her eyes. When I took another step forward Dad's hand snaked out and stopped me.
“Or maybe we can tell everyone what kind of monster you are? I tried to pretend that you were a good person, but you are far from it. Let's share some of the things you done to me, shall we? Like how you burned my hand on the stove when I was five just because I wanted to help cook. What was your excuse? Oh yeah. 'Let me show you what happens to little girls that plays in the kitchen,' Wasn't that what you said?
“Or how about when you smacked me when I was seven because I asked if I could call you Mom. I thought it would bring us closer. No, you said that was an insult. Or even better. How about when I was ten? I bet you thought I forgot those things huh?”
“What happened when you were ten Rissa?” Shayden voice was strained. When I turned and look Zavier and Lorik were holding him back.
I turned and looked back at Dawn. “I was supposed to go on vacation with her. It was cold here and a couple weeks before Christmas. She was taking me to California so we could be warm. Only she was the only one that went. Weren't you Dawn? She dropped me off at the mall in Kingsport, Tennessee. For three days. I was smart for my age though. I knew you were up to something. I also knew you wouldn't let me take my bag or what little money I had in my purse, or even the cell phone that I had. No, but I had
stuffed one of Dad's credit cards and a fake ID in my shoe.
See when I got there, I went straight to a store and bought new clothes. Then I went to a beauty salon and had them do some things to my hair and put makeup on me. By the time they were done, I looked like a new person. But I didn't stop there. I bought luggage, contacts from the eye doctor. I had to appear older.” I grinned at her. “Then I left from there and walked down the road in a direction I didn't think you would think of and rented a hotel room. I didn't leave that room except to get food for three days.
“I walked back to the mall on that third day and waited patiently for you to show up. Don't think I didn't see you looking around for someone else when I got in the car. I saw how freaked you were. It was because of you that I took an interest in disguises. And don't worry I saved receipts. I still have them.”
“You're lying!”
I was more than shocked when it was Dad screaming that at me and not her. When he stepped up in my face, Shayden got loose. He pulled my arm and got in between me and Dad. A vision slammed into me and I knew if I didn't get Shay away from him they would get in a huge fight.
I faked it. It was the only thing that stopped it all. I grabbed my chest and began moaning. Shayden turned around before he could say anything to Dad and grabbed me. He helped me over behind Dean's desk and sat me in his chair away from Dad. I caught the quick smile Zavier gave me before I hung my head.
“Don't either of you come near us again. I will not stand by and have you talk about your mother that way nor will I tolerate either of you behaving in a threatening manner to either of us.” I watched as he looked over at Dean. “I handed in my resignation. I don't believe there is any more to say here. So we're leaving.”
I watched him walk out the door. I had been betrayed by the one person I thought I could always depend on. Out of everything that had happened to me in my entire life that had hurt worse. I had thought all these years that my father loved me.
“We don't turn eighteen for another four months.”
“I'll take care of it.”
I knew Dean would do one of two things. He would either file for emancipation for us or take custody. It was then I realized he would have to do the same for Sage.
“Why would he do that?”
Images flashed in my head of Dean sitting down at his desk and reading the resignation Dad handed in. Only it wasn’t what any of us thought.
“He faked it?”
Dean looks at me confused then down at the paper. He sits down at his desk and began to read. He set it down and nodded his head.
“It would seem so. He thinks Dawn has been in with it all along. It says that while he was in hiding he had found several things, one of which was her dropping you off at the mall and a plane ticket for her brother from California to Tennessee.”
Shay and I both slumped down in a chair.
“I don't understand, why didn't he just do something about it? Why didn't he have her locked up or something?”
Shayden had a very good point.
“He can't prove it completely and he also wanted to wait to see who else was involved. There had to be more at play here than just those two.”