SCARLET
“Hello again, Niamh,” I said, smiling as I got into the blacked-out Mercedes they were driving. “Such a pleasure to see your smiling face.”
“Pleasure is all mine. Nice boots,” he said as he looked back at me over the driver’s seat. I could hear the sarcasm in his voice as he fought not to roll his eyes. And I decided there and then that we were going to get along just fine.
“Ready?” Mots asked.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
Which was not very ready at all. I hadn’t seen any of these people since I ran away. I didn’t know who was on our side and who wasn’t. I didn’t know who knew what my father was trying to do to me and who was none the wiser.
The thought of seeing people who had sat by and let him try to kill me made my stomach turn and my fingers itch for one of the many weapons I had on my person. I wanted to make each one of them feel everything I had felt over the last years and especially what I felt in the moment that night.
I may have been an adult in their eyes and the eyes of the law, but I was still a kid. That fucking family had stolen a lot of my innocence over the years, but that night took the cake. Even if I did have a shitty childhood, I had always thought I still had a home. But my father and his little cultlike followers had taken that from me. They had stolen the one thing I thought I could always rely on.
“It’s going to be a quick one,” Motshan said, bringing me out of my thoughts.
“The funeral?”
“Yeah. I guess in his will he stated that he wanted a quick funeral and a long celebration back at the house,” he said.
“Who knew he had such a kind bone in his body to spare us all the religious bullshit?” Niamh remarked.
“It’s not out of kindness,” I told him. “He didn’t give a shit about all of that stuff either. He wants us to go home to where we can all speak freely and speak of him. He wants us to have plenty of time with each other to talk about all the wonderful and amazing things he did for this family.”
“That tracks,” Niamh said as we turned into the entrance of the cemetery. “Where will the guys be?”
“My three will stay at the mausoleum. Close enough to see what’s going on but far enough away that no one else will see them. They’ll have eyes on me,” I added just to make sure they knew they couldn’t get away with anything. I wanted to trust both of them. I wanted to think I wasn’t walking into a starving lion’s den, but I just couldn’t push down that anxious energy.
“Alright,” Niamh said, pulling off the side of the pavement and into the soft grass. “You guys ready for this?”
“I think we’re both ready to just get it over with,” Motshan said, looking over at me and grabbing my hand.
“Pretty much,” I agreed, squeezing his hand back.
Niamh got out of the car and opened the door on Motshan’s side, letting him out first. I watched as everyone’s eyes turned to our car, watching him get out of the car and adjust his suit.
I saw two options of how I could handle this situation. I could step out of this car and cling to Motshan like a life vest. I could be timid and quiet.
Or…I could step out of that car with a smile on my face and not a fear in sight. I could show them all that I was fine without them—in spite of them. I had made a life for myself, and I had survived. I could make them realize that literally nothing they could do to me would stamp me out.
I went with the latter.
I scooted over the back seat and took Motshan’s hand. I smiled up at him as he helped me out of the car. Stepping into the sunshine, I let my head fall back as I took a deep breath of fresh air.
When I finally looked over to the group of people near my father’s headstone, they were all openly staring at me. Some were both close and distant relatives; others were friends of the family or people that had worked for my father for as long as I could remember. I smiled in their direction and linked my arm through Mots’ with a smile.
I was too far away to see any of their facial expressions or hear any of their whispers, but I was sure they were shocked to see me. Motshan told us he wasn’t going to make an announcement about it, but that showing up on his arm was going to be enough of a warning not to fuck with me, that I was there to pay my “respects” to the man I called father.
As we began to walk across the grass, I was happy that I had chosen to wear boots. If I had worn heels, I would’ve looked like an idiot as my heels sunk into the muddy earth with each step. I glanced up and saw my father’s casket hovering over a six-foot-deep hole.
I couldn’t hold back my joy, and I bit my lip to keep myself from smiling like a madwoman. I was wearing a veil, but I was sure they’d still be able to see most of my facial features through it. And if we wanted this to work, I had to keep up appearances. I was here to say goodbye to my father and show that I was in this with Motshan.
I glanced over my shoulder and saw Niamh walking at a distance behind us. Behind him was the mausoleum, where the boys should be keeping a lookout. I wanted to pull out my phone and text them to see if they had made it, but as I looked around, I saw a couple of their less conspicuous cars parked pretty far off in the distance, hidden from anyone unless you were looking for them.
Some of the anxiety in my stomach settled knowing they weren’t far away from me.
“Stop doing that,” Motshan whispered as we got closer to the site. “You look like you’re looking for someone. And they’re supposed to be our hidden weapon in case we need them.”
“I just wanted to make sure they were here.”
“And?” he asked, looking at me as we passed row after row of people sitting on folding lawn chairs.
“Yep.” I smiled and patted his arm as we made it to the front row and took our seats. It was getting warmer, and it felt nice with the sun shining, but the wind still had a chill. I shivered, and Niamh took off his jacket as he passed me and placed it over my shoulders.
“You got a lot of eyes on your back,” he whispered into my ear.
As he backed away to take his seat next to Motshan, I gave him a look.
Yeah, I wanted to say. No shit.
“Scarlet?”
I turned around to see my aunt Beatrice staring at me like she’d seen a ghost. She had really started to look her age in the last few years. Her hair was brittle and greying, and her once vibrant blue eyes had dimmed to a dull grey.
“Aunt Bea,” I said as a way of greeting.
“My goodness, child. I thought that was you when you stepped out of that car.” She smiled and placed her hand on my shoulder. “It’s so good to see you. You’ve grown into quite the beautiful young lady.”
“Thank you. It’s nice to see you too, Aunt Bea,” I told her. She smiled sadly at me again, her hand falling from my shoulder to sit folded back in her lap as the priest took his place at the headstone.
When I turned back around, I glanced over at Motshan to see if maybe she was someone we could trust. I hadn’t really been close to her as a child, but then again, I hadn’t really been close to a lot of my family, seeing as I was always left out of everything.
He gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head.
Bitch.
Motshan reached over and took my hand as the priest began to speak, and I just sat there the entire time trying to shut down any emotions I had that wanted me to turn around and open fire on anyone who had wronged me.
I swallowed against the ache in my throat. The pain from the betrayal was an open wound all over again.
Reminding myself that my boys weren’t far away and that I would be able to get out all of this pent-up anger soon was the only thing that kept me sane. I stared at my father’s closed casket and wished that all of his sins were currently biting him in the ass wherever he ended up.
Fuck you.