“I spent as little on her as I possibly could. It gave me a thrill imagining all the other little girls in their finest while she wore the rags I found at second-hand stores, which is all she deserved. Do you know what happens to kids at boarding schools whose parents are neglectful? The staff catches on and treats them accordingly. Add the fact that I never visited, and you can imagine how those old nuns treated your precious wife.”
“Oh, but that’s not what you asked, is it? You wanted to know why she’s so afraid of me.” I forced myself to stay seated when she walked over and got in my face. I had to relax the tension from my fingers so that they didn’t reach for her scrawny neck, and once again, I didn’t let any of what I was feeling show on my face.
“She was there.” She whispered the words in my ear. I was afraid of that. Whenever I tried coming up with an answer for Giselle’s innate fear, this was the one thing I shied away from even though it was the only thing that made sense because it was too monstrous. “She was where? I don’t understand.” Like hell!
“Oh, don’t play coy with me. Haven’t you noticed what a sniveling coward she is? It’s what she deserves for preferring him to me, for stealing away his love and affection, the little bitch. I made her watch.” She laughed maniacally, and I had to fight the rise of bile in my gut. “You should’ve seen her little face when she ran to him, screaming.”
“It was then; it was then I told her what would happen to her if she ever told a soul. I needn’t have bothered because it seemed to splinter her fragile little mind. She didn’t speak for a good year, did she tell you that? Weak! If I hadn’t pushed her out of my body, I would’ve believed the hospital switched the little bitch at birth. Do you know who my family is?”
“There isn’t a weak cell in any of us, but I had to give birth to that simpering little idiot.” The door opened with a crash, startling both of us. “Oh shit, Giselle.” She stood there with her chest rising and falling, and her little fists clenched tight. “Mom, what’s going on, why is she here?”GiselleI jumped up from the table and called out to him, but it was too late; he was already gone. That’s when the nerves and panic set in. What have I done? I can’t let him face her alone. She’s going to hurt him, just like…just like what? I got the same splitting headache I always get when I try to remember what it is about the monster that makes me so afraid.
It’s silly, I know, to be this afraid when my scattered mind can’t even recall what it is that I’m afraid of, but I know that it’s bad whatever it is. I’ve seen flashes in dreams, hints of blood, and a loud banging sound that scares me and makes my heart race, but in the cool light of day, nothing comes to mind, just that feeling of mind-numbing fear.
My tummy started to hurt as I looked at my son’s innocent little face. What should I do? I can’t let Calen walk into danger. I may not recall the things from my past that had shaped me, but I remember very well her threats against him. It’s because I can’t remember much more than those flashes in my dreams that I believe her capable, that, and the pure malice I see every time we meet.
I bit my nails and paced back and forth, trying to come up with something. Just then, Calen’s mom entered the room; all smiles as she made a beeline for her grandson. “Who’s a precious boy? Give nana a hug.”
My heart warmed at the way he chortled at her, holding out a piece of bitten fruit that he’d slobbered all over. Her laugh and the way she lifted him from his seat in the highchair almost brought me to tears when I thought of the fact that he could’ve missed all of this had Donovan not seen us that day.
Was that only a few days ago? She turned with the baby in her arms and must’ve read the panic on my face because the smile fell from hers. “What is it? What’s the matter?”
“It’s Calen, he…” How will she take what I’m about to say? I know she’s always been kind to me, but what will she make of the fact that I’d put her son in danger?”
“He what? What’s going on?”
“He went to see my mother.” She didn’t seem to get it because she turned her attention back to the baby and bounced him in her arms. “Oh, that’s all? He’ll be fine, trust me.”