Page 34
Story: Ache For Her
The guard pushed the main door open for me. Sights and smells assaulted me. It had only been a week since Simon stole me from my room, but it felt like a lifetime ago. Coming into the house before, I would’ve had a huge purse in one hand and sunglasses in the other that I would plop down on the counter. Right now, it was just ratty old me in borrowed clothes. “Where is he?”
“In the family room.”
Family room. Huh. Surely, someone told him of my presence here by now. There were cameras all over this place, and nothing went by without him being informed.
I walked slowly to the room I last saw my grandfather in. Sure enough, he sat in the same position, watching TV without a care in the world. Emotion swam toward the surface. My vision broke in front of me, fractured by the tears threatening. I didn’t know if I’d be able to hold any of this back. “G-grandpa?”
His head turned slightly, just enough to make sure it was me. “Yes, Dear?”
“It’s me,” I said, searching for words. “It’s Delilah. I’m back.”
He only nodded.
I hobbled into the room. It was like all the aches and pains, both physically and mentally, from the last few days were just now crippling me. I dropped to my knees right before I was in front of him and then crawled toward him. “Grandpa. I’m alive.” I didn’t know what I wanted from him, but whatever it was made my heart break in two.
He looked down at me, his gaze narrowing, though his face was as blank as it always was. “I can see that.”
I grabbed onto his knobby knees. “You didn’t come for me.”
He grabbed the remote from the side table and turned the TV off with a sigh. He brushed my hands from his lap and peered down at me. “Rightfully so, I see. You’re alive,” his gaze wandered to my body briefly and then back up to my face. “…and intact as far as I can tell. There was no need to come for you after all.”
My stomach dropped. Couldn’t he see how broken I was? Couldn’t he see the hell I’d been through? I looked and felt like death. I had scars all over my body. My hands started to shake. “This was because of you,” I said, my voice growing louder. “Because of you I was raped,” I spat. “And tortured.” I leaned closer to him, pointing out all the little cuts over my body that Simon had made with his freaky vampire claws. “What do you call these? Do you call these intact? I’m scarred…for life.” Tears dripped down my cheeks like a running faucet. I couldn’t even stop them if I tried.
Grandpa’s face turned hard. “Superficial wounds. I don’t know what you’re up to, Delilah, ransoming me, threatening me. I knew it all along.”
My mouth dropped open, and I started to shake so severely I could barely stand on my feet. What was he even saying? “I was kidnapped, Grandpa. Simon, he-he killed Ronnie. What is wrong with you? Didn’t you fear for me at all?”
“I heard and saw enough to know that you were in on the whole thing. You are no granddaughter of mine.”
A surge of anger rose up hard and fast. How dare he dismiss everything that happened to me? How dare he act as if everything didn’t matter when I loved him so? He was the only family I had, and he so easily dismissed me as someone who would do that to him. “You’re right. I’m not like you,” I breathed out, my nostrils flaring. “I don’t treat people the way you do, especially not my own family.”
“You’re no longer my family.”
I lunged at him. Fist closed, I hit him upside the head and kept going. I hit him and kept hitting him. His hand blindly reached out for the emergency button that went straight to the guards, but I clawed at his hand to stop him. “Why don’t you care about me? Why?”
Grandpa, for as old as he was, was still spry. He was able to push me off. I fell to the floor in front of him. When I looked up, he was standing over me, a gun pointed to my chest. A flurry of activity sounded just beyond the family room doors. He cocked the gun. “I can’t believe you would show back up here expecting me to believe your lies.”
I wept as fear rose inside me. I was sure I wanted to come back here, but for what? For this? For someone who so easily distrusted me? I scrambled backwards, staring at the barrel of the gun. “I loved you.”
Voices from the walkie talkies went off. “She has no weapons. I checked her when she returned.”
I blinked. “You were waiting for me to come back?” That guard, he wasn’t looking for injuries, he was looking for weapons. This was all a set up.
“Waiting for you to make your last desperate attempt to overthrow me. Who else would want me dead, Delilah? You’re the heir. You’re the one who is set up to gain everything when I die.” A sneaky smile made its way onto his cracked lips. “Little did you know it’s never been set up like that. Your attempt at blackmailing me for my life was doomed to fail from the beginning. It might interest you to know that you were never my heir, Delilah.”
His words were hardly computing. It was difficult to think about anything when a gun was pointed at you. I just shook my head. “There are more things to life than money, Grandpa. You can’t possibly see that someone would want to kill you for what you did to them, not what they can get from you? He left you a note. He told you why.”
“That story’s a ruse. Drop it. Which family are you working with Delilah? Is it the Irish? The Polish? Which one of them convinced you to do this, huh?”
“Neither,” I shouted.
He reached out and hit me with the butt of the gun. A splitting ache ran across my head. My vision blurred, and I blinked rapidly. I reached up, feeling something sticky on my forehead.
“Tell me now!” Grandpa growled. “You’re going to die either way, Delilah, but I want to know who you’re working with, so I can make them suffer too. No one tries to take out Jacob Greene and gets away with it. You know that. You’ve heard me say that a million times before. You’re no different. I don’t care if you’re blood or not.”
I brought my bloodied hands in front of my face. Tears of blood ran down the side of my face and fell from my chin to my clothes. “I’m not working with anyone,” I slurred. “I’m—I was kidnapped. I was taken. Beaten.”
Grandpa only laughed.
“In the family room.”
Family room. Huh. Surely, someone told him of my presence here by now. There were cameras all over this place, and nothing went by without him being informed.
I walked slowly to the room I last saw my grandfather in. Sure enough, he sat in the same position, watching TV without a care in the world. Emotion swam toward the surface. My vision broke in front of me, fractured by the tears threatening. I didn’t know if I’d be able to hold any of this back. “G-grandpa?”
His head turned slightly, just enough to make sure it was me. “Yes, Dear?”
“It’s me,” I said, searching for words. “It’s Delilah. I’m back.”
He only nodded.
I hobbled into the room. It was like all the aches and pains, both physically and mentally, from the last few days were just now crippling me. I dropped to my knees right before I was in front of him and then crawled toward him. “Grandpa. I’m alive.” I didn’t know what I wanted from him, but whatever it was made my heart break in two.
He looked down at me, his gaze narrowing, though his face was as blank as it always was. “I can see that.”
I grabbed onto his knobby knees. “You didn’t come for me.”
He grabbed the remote from the side table and turned the TV off with a sigh. He brushed my hands from his lap and peered down at me. “Rightfully so, I see. You’re alive,” his gaze wandered to my body briefly and then back up to my face. “…and intact as far as I can tell. There was no need to come for you after all.”
My stomach dropped. Couldn’t he see how broken I was? Couldn’t he see the hell I’d been through? I looked and felt like death. I had scars all over my body. My hands started to shake. “This was because of you,” I said, my voice growing louder. “Because of you I was raped,” I spat. “And tortured.” I leaned closer to him, pointing out all the little cuts over my body that Simon had made with his freaky vampire claws. “What do you call these? Do you call these intact? I’m scarred…for life.” Tears dripped down my cheeks like a running faucet. I couldn’t even stop them if I tried.
Grandpa’s face turned hard. “Superficial wounds. I don’t know what you’re up to, Delilah, ransoming me, threatening me. I knew it all along.”
My mouth dropped open, and I started to shake so severely I could barely stand on my feet. What was he even saying? “I was kidnapped, Grandpa. Simon, he-he killed Ronnie. What is wrong with you? Didn’t you fear for me at all?”
“I heard and saw enough to know that you were in on the whole thing. You are no granddaughter of mine.”
A surge of anger rose up hard and fast. How dare he dismiss everything that happened to me? How dare he act as if everything didn’t matter when I loved him so? He was the only family I had, and he so easily dismissed me as someone who would do that to him. “You’re right. I’m not like you,” I breathed out, my nostrils flaring. “I don’t treat people the way you do, especially not my own family.”
“You’re no longer my family.”
I lunged at him. Fist closed, I hit him upside the head and kept going. I hit him and kept hitting him. His hand blindly reached out for the emergency button that went straight to the guards, but I clawed at his hand to stop him. “Why don’t you care about me? Why?”
Grandpa, for as old as he was, was still spry. He was able to push me off. I fell to the floor in front of him. When I looked up, he was standing over me, a gun pointed to my chest. A flurry of activity sounded just beyond the family room doors. He cocked the gun. “I can’t believe you would show back up here expecting me to believe your lies.”
I wept as fear rose inside me. I was sure I wanted to come back here, but for what? For this? For someone who so easily distrusted me? I scrambled backwards, staring at the barrel of the gun. “I loved you.”
Voices from the walkie talkies went off. “She has no weapons. I checked her when she returned.”
I blinked. “You were waiting for me to come back?” That guard, he wasn’t looking for injuries, he was looking for weapons. This was all a set up.
“Waiting for you to make your last desperate attempt to overthrow me. Who else would want me dead, Delilah? You’re the heir. You’re the one who is set up to gain everything when I die.” A sneaky smile made its way onto his cracked lips. “Little did you know it’s never been set up like that. Your attempt at blackmailing me for my life was doomed to fail from the beginning. It might interest you to know that you were never my heir, Delilah.”
His words were hardly computing. It was difficult to think about anything when a gun was pointed at you. I just shook my head. “There are more things to life than money, Grandpa. You can’t possibly see that someone would want to kill you for what you did to them, not what they can get from you? He left you a note. He told you why.”
“That story’s a ruse. Drop it. Which family are you working with Delilah? Is it the Irish? The Polish? Which one of them convinced you to do this, huh?”
“Neither,” I shouted.
He reached out and hit me with the butt of the gun. A splitting ache ran across my head. My vision blurred, and I blinked rapidly. I reached up, feeling something sticky on my forehead.
“Tell me now!” Grandpa growled. “You’re going to die either way, Delilah, but I want to know who you’re working with, so I can make them suffer too. No one tries to take out Jacob Greene and gets away with it. You know that. You’ve heard me say that a million times before. You’re no different. I don’t care if you’re blood or not.”
I brought my bloodied hands in front of my face. Tears of blood ran down the side of my face and fell from my chin to my clothes. “I’m not working with anyone,” I slurred. “I’m—I was kidnapped. I was taken. Beaten.”
Grandpa only laughed.