Page 82 of Like An Animal

“Jer!”

“Give me a damn minute,” I growl with irritation, trying to figure out how to address this with my wife, but the world has other plans.

“It’s an emergency, man! A blacked-out van just threw a crate at the gate and drove off. Max is bringing it inside. You need to see this shit.”

I watch the expression on Bron’s face shift from anger to undiluted fear. Instead of trying to push my arm off of her, she clings to me. Something about the news Xavi just brought us has her terrified.

And that alone pisses me off.

“Come on.”

Bron nods as I guide her down the hallway toward the lounge we were in earlier with my grandfather. We walk into the room just as Massimo sets down a small pine box on the desk. One of the guards, Alex, hands Massimo a crow bar that he uses to crackit open. The wood of the lid creeks before it flies off the table and lands on the floor in front of my wife. Her gaze zeros in on a design etched into the wood before she gasps and takes a step back.

My little ghost has always been a headstrong, independent spirit and yet that symbol is enough to turn her into a scared child.

“Have you seen that before?” I ask as I tuck her loose hair behind her ear.

She slowly nods. “More times than I’d like to admit.” Her voice shakes more with each word.

“Where have you seen it?”

She doesn’t respond but also doesn’t let go of her hold on me.

“Well, this is just melodramatic.” Massimo slowly shakes his head as he pulls out a DVD box with writing on it made with a thick black permanent marker.

Mary Elizabeth of The Daughters of Jephthah

What the fuck?

“What do you think it is?” I ask as Bronwyn’s fingers dig deeper into my arm. It might hurt but I’ll let her keep doing it if it makes her feel safer.

“Well, we should watch it. Whoever sent this made quite the ruckus sending it here. We should at least see what it's about,” Xavi suggests, but only then does Bronwyn release my arm.

“No! Don’t watch it!”

My head snaps around to look at her and the horror written on her face.

“Do you know what this is, Bron?” Massimo presses as he holds it up.

“Yes, and trust me when I say youdo notwant to see what is on that.” She pleads with me using only her eyes.

For some reason, she’s desperate for us not to see what’s on it and that makes me ten times as determined to see it.

“Play it,” I say and the fear in her eyes doubles.

“No, please, don’t do this,” she begs over and over as Massimo walks over to the TV across the room from the sofas.

Massimo pushes it into the disc slot on the side of the TV as Bronwyn turns to me.

“Jer, I’m begging you. Don’t watch it.” Tears fill her eyes, desperation clear in their depths.

“Are you going to tell me why you don’t want me to watch it?”

If she can give me a good reason, I’ll go with what she’s asking.

“Can you please just trust me on this? You don’t want to see what’s on that disc.”

So she’s not going to give me a real answer.