by K. C. Hamby
Chapter 46
Falen
I follow Nina to the main part of the house when Charlie finally returns from the grocery store. After a good and thorough cuddle session, Nina and I are back to being better than great.
She turns and winks at me before sliding into a wooden chair at the dining table a little off from the kitchen.
It’s a very open room. It’s bright and airy, no walls separating the kitchen, dining room, and living room. I can definitely tell Charlie is a master craftsman with how everything is set up to be modern but with old wooden flairs aged enough to look vintage.
I sit with Nina, watching Charlie move around in the impressively large white kitchen like a pro, grabbing pots and spices as he intermittently wipes his fingers on the towel hanging over his shoulder.
“What are you making?” Nina asks, rolling her finger over the wooden grain of the worn table. Her fingernails catch on every uneven surface.
I swallow the annoyance the Monster is trying to bring up at the sound. She wants me to snap.
“Guess.”
Nina gasps and slaps her hand on the wood. “Really?”
I look back and forth between her and a grinning Charlie, confused as hell. I must have missed some silent conversation while I was putting a lock on my inner demon.
“Roast, green beans, mashed potatoes, and biscuits,” Charlie says when he catches a glance of my confusion. “It’s Nini’s favorite,” he tells me with a wink.
“Why haven’t you ever told me that?” I ask Nina and raise an accusing brow at her, crossing my arms over my chest.
I guess it’s not like it really matters, though. I suck at cooking. Nina always does it, and before her I just ate at Ash’s house.
“To be mysterious,” Nina cackles with batted lashes and I squeeze her thigh beneath the table. “I guess I’ve just never really thought about it. Nothing can beat my Daddy making it, so why try?”
Charlie chuckles and glances at me, apologies in his bright eyes. “I’m sure Fal here could do a decent job,” he states, gesturing at me with a damp cooking spoon.
I snort, flattered he would think so highly of my nonexistent chef skills. “Nope. I’m awful in the kitchen. Ask Nina.”
Her smile falls as her doe eyes widen. “Yeah...no. She burned rice.”
I press my lips together. I mean, I know I’m not good at cooking but…I didn’t think we were going to expose my dirty laundry like this.
“Now, Nini. It’s easy to burn rice,” Charlie scolds, placing a hand on his hip while raising an accusing brow.
“Daddy, she burned rice in a timed rice maker.”
I duck my head when Charlie cackles, hand moving to his bouncing stomach.
Cooking wasn’t something I learned when I was training to be an assassin. Other than poisons, I don’t have use for the skill. But even then, I could just slip the poison into already made food.
Ash managed to teach himself and he is a pretty good cook, so I always barged in and ate with him if I didn’t decide to buy something pre-made.
My face heats in the silence until Charlie clears his throat.
“Nini is a pretty good cook. Taught her myself as soon as she could walk. I prolly have some pictures of it somewhere in this house…”
“Mmm, don’t know what you’re talking about,” Nina interrupts, face red and eyes looking everywhere but at me. “I’ve never taken a picture in my life. Nope.”
I take out my phone and press the Lock button, lighting up a picture of me and Nina, her kissing my cheek and me red-faced and smiling. My brows furrow.
Charlie rolls his eyes and places both hands on his hips like Nina does when she’s about to be a diva. “Come on, now. Ya were a cute lil thing. Freckles covered all over with flour and deep dimples…”
“I was never a child, you must be mistaken,” Nina blinks at him, trying to hide a smile.
“That’s okay,” I loudly whisper and elbow her side. “We can just wait until you’re asleep to look at the pictures.” I wink at Charlie’s devious smirk.
“I…don’t sleep,” she mumbles, and I chuckle under my breath.
Charlie cackles as he shakes his head and puts a pan of homemade biscuits into the oven. The heat from the open door radiates throughout the room until he closes it once again and sets a timer.
“Come on, babe. I saw the pictures in your room. You were cute. I’m sure the others are just as adorable. Maybe more.”
She grumbles something I can’t really understand, but it sounds something like, “I’ll show you adorable, Fal.”
When Charlie turns back to us from the oven, his mouth is set in a confused frown and his eyes are squinting like he’s trying to decide if he should say something. A face Nina makes all the time.
“I thought Nini here told me you have a scar on your face.”
“Daddy!” Nina gasps and glares at him. “You can’t just ask people things like that!” Nina glances up at me, horrified, biting the inside of her cheek.
“What? I was just curious.”
I take it in stride when his face turns a little red. It’s not like questions about my scar are new to me. “You’re right, I do. Sometimes it makes me uncomfortable, so I cover it with a lot of makeup.”
Maybe the fake vulnerability will make it believable.
“Makes sense. I had an Army buddy who got his leg near tore off when their caravan ran over an IED. It degloved him and he had to get a skin graft half up his leg. It took him a while to get used to it, but I thought it looked cool. Like mermaid scales or somethin’.”
My head turns to the side like a confused puppy. I suppose I’ve never thought of my scar as something positive like mermaid scales. It’s either been negative or impassive.
A smile slides across my face. “I’ve honestly never noticed until you said so, but it does look a bit like mermaid scales.”
“I’ve always thought it was beautiful,” Nina tells me, leaning her head on her table-propped hand. She bats her eyelashes dramatically and I can’t help but smile through my blush.
I poke her nose with my finger, and she giggles, squinting and scrunching up her face.
When I turn back to Nina’s dad to thank him for the revelation, my smile falls.
“Wow, this scene is so touching. It makes me want to fucking vomit,” the Monster sneers, curling her lip up in absolute disgust. When she notices my shock, she breathes a laugh. “You thought you could get rid of me that easily?” she asks, standing right behind Charlie who stares at me like I’ve grown three heads. The Monster’s grin is evil, and her eyes are burning rage.
“Ya okay there, Fal?” Charlie asks, waving a hand at me. “Ya look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
From the corner of my eye, Nina’s head snaps to my face.
What is it? Let me see what you see, Nina whispers in my mind.
“Oh, yeah. Go ahead and show the little princess,” the Monster cackles and flips her long braid over her shoulder. “It’s not like she can help you anyway. I’m your demon, dumbass.”
Okay.
I drop my mental barriers and let Nina all the way in. She’s a brush of soft air across my mind, changing everything she touches to calm.
But her surprise is a shock in my brain, rolling nausea up my throat.
She’s not real. I promise you. You don’t have to believe it yourself but believe in me. Trust me. She’s not real.
“Don’t let her lie to you. I’m as real as you are,” the Monster growls, fingers curling with violent intentions at her sides.
I promise you, Fal. I would never lie about this. She isn’t there. She isn’t real.
This makes the Monster lift her lips and snarl, “Meddling bitch.”
Promise?
I promise.
I shake my head and look back at Charlie, trying my damnedest to ignore the asshat behind him glaring at me with murder in her gaze. “Uh, sorry. Just zoned out for a second there. Probably jet lag.”
“It was a
long, rough flight,” Nina agrees and grips my hand under the table. “I got sick because of the…turbulence.” Nina bites her lip and glances up at me, worry seeping into my skin.
“Never have been one for flyin’ myself,” Charlie agrees with a nod of his head as he brushes flour from his hands.
The Monster’s mouth falls into a sneer, pulling my attention back to her fury-filled face. “Don’t fucking ignore me, you piece of shit. Look at me!” She has something in her hand and throws it at my head.
Shit. I duck out of the way, falling out of the chair and onto the wooden floor, smacking first my hip and then the side of my head against the hard surface.
Goddammit.
It’s not real. She’s not real. You’re here with me. You are safe. Trust me.
Nina squats down beside me, helping me sit up and pry my face from the floor. “Whoa, babe. Maybe you need a nap,” she tells me out loud.
I gaze into her glacier eyes and soft hands yank on my soul, pulling me back to her and into my humanity.
“This isn’t over, cunt,” the Monster whispers behind me, seeming to drag her nails down my spine before her presence disappears.
I slump into Nina’s arms and take a breath.
“Uh, yeah. Maybe you’re right.” I grab my head as it pounds. “I think I’m going to go lie down for a bit if you two don’t mind. My head is killing me.”
“Need me to come with you?” Nina asks, squeezing my hand as she helps me off the floor. She heals the headache away quickly, but I still think I need to sleep even for fifteen minutes. Reset my brain, in a way.
“No, hang out with Charlie.” I turn and smile at him, hoping it doesn’t show the panic I feel pulsing through my veins. “I’m a big girl.”
He smiles in sympathy. I try not to take it personally, his sympathy. He is just being kind, standing there with his hands open and ready to help me.
“Here, let me get ya somethin’ for that headache.” He opens the stainless-steel fridge and pulls out a sports drink, goes to the medicine cabinet right next to it, and shakes out three ibuprofens into his palm.
“Thank you,” I relay and immediately take the medicine he drops in my hand even though I don’t need it anymore. The drink is so sweet as it slides over my tongue, but I nearly down the whole thing in one go.
Charlie pats my shoulder before I leave the kitchen and walk to Nina’s old room. I try not to hate myself for cringing.
“Want me to wake you up when dinner is ready?” Nina calls.
“Sounds good to me, babe.”
Nausea rolls through me again as I close the door and settle onto the squeaky bed beneath the pointless mosquito net. Food is the last thing I want right now. What I really want is for the Monster to fuck off.
For good.
Chapter 47
Nina
I watch after Fal until she closes the door of my old bedroom.
So, that’s the Monster. She looks so real. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought it was Fal. No wonder it’s been driving her crazy. She’s literally watching herself scream at herself about how she’s not being the right version of herself.
It’s confusing me.
“How ya doin’, Nini?” my dad asks as he gets back to cooking, and I make myself comfortable back at the table. “How’s Greece?”
“Oh, it’s beautiful! The water is the clearest and bluest I have ever seen. You need to come visit,” I exclaim stupidly before I can slap myself.
“Do ya live on a military base or somethin’?”
Great. Now I have to lie again.
You and I live on a private island in an undisclosed location. You don’t even know what it’s called, Fal tells me with a small chuckle tickling my thoughts.
“We live on a private island. It’s an undisclosed location. Super-secret. I don’t even know what its name is, to be honest.” I shrug and roll my eyes.
Good job, Fal mutters.
“Huh. She really does have a top-secret job if the spouse isn’t allowed to know where they live,” Dad mumbles, stirring the pot of potatoes. “Is it dangerous?”
“Well, um.”
It’s only dangerous if I don’t do my job correctly. And I always do.
“So, it’s really only dangerous if Fal messes up her job. But she never does. She’s super smart.”
Thanks, babe.
“Hmph, alright. I’ll stop askin’ questions about it. I’m just too curious for my own good. Have ya talked about when y’all are gonna get married?”
I’ve got this, I tell Fal, feeling her anxiety roll over me. Get some sleep.
“I don’t know,” I sigh and push hair away from my eyes. “We thought about this coming Spring, but I don’t know if that’s too close.”
“Would ya have it in Greece?” he asks, looking down into the pot like the potatoes are the most fascinating things he has ever seen.
“Yeah, I think so. But don’t worry. Fal assures me she will buy you a ticket for like…a week before the actual wedding so we can spend time together.”
He looks up at me and smiles. “She’s really somethin’, Nini.”
“She is,” I agree and grin to myself.
“I can tell you’re really happy and I’m glad for it. After everythin’ you’ve been through, ya deserve happiness more than anyone I know.”
I swallow hard. I don’t want to cry again. “Thanks, Daddy. You will walk me down the aisle, right?”
His cheeks heat and he tries to hide it by wiping his face with the towel lying over his shoulder. “Ain’t that the only way ya can get down the aisle? Ya need a big strong escort to intimidate your suitor.”
“Daddy,” I snort and roll my eyes.
“Of course, I will, Nini. Even though I’m not too big on givin’ ya away and all that. I know what you’re gonna say.” He holds up his hands when my mouth opens to object. “That’s an old person belief and we are all feminists now. But you’re still my little girl.”
My eyes burn when his turn a little red. The thought of dancing with him at our reception shoves its way into my thoughts and I have to swallow down the lump in my throat. “I’ll always be your little girl. And don’t pretend you haven’t been a feminist your entire life.”
He smiles for a second before he clears his throat. “I know, I know. I remember goin’ to all them protests with your mother…”
He coughs when I immediately stare down at the floor. Why does my mother keep getting brought up? It’s making my skin itch.
“Uh. Anyway, seems Fal can take care of ya good enough, though. You’re still in one piece with a smile on your face.”
I hide my smirk behind my hand and chuckle. “Yep, one piece and happy as can be.”
We become quiet, just enjoying each other’s company.
The food smells good enough for my mouth to water. I haven’t had Daddy’s cooking in a long time.
The kitchen, however, is weird to me. I mean, I saw it renovated the last time I was here and I’m grateful for the lack of tacky, wood-colored cabinets. It just doesn’t look like a part of my childhood anymore. It’s too white.
The walls are at least a light blue, but the cabinets and tile backsplash are bright white, and the countertops are a dark wood butcher block. He even replaced the hideous green, vinyl flooring with brown hardwood.
It’s beautiful of course. He’s a master craftsman after all. I guess it just reminds me how he has a life separate from mine now. He goes places, has friends, has a whole existence without me here to witness it.
Luna licks my hand from her spot under the table, no doubt noticing my sadness. She was and still is such a great therapy pup. Even if she’s a little chunkier.
Speaking of that…
“Daddy?”
“Mhm?” he mumbles while staring into the oven to check on the biscuits.
“How many treats do you give Luna?”
She whines under the table, nudging me with her wet nose like I may give her a treat if she reminds
me enough.
He stands up straight, cheeks a little pink. “I mean, I only give ‘em to her when she’s a good girl.”
Luna’s tail thumps against the floor and I scrunch up my face.
“And how often is she a good girl?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.
My daddy’s eyes flick everywhere around us, avoiding my stern gaze like I may turn him to stone if he looks.
“Well, uh, Nini. Now you know Luna is always a good girl.”
I snort despite myself. Luna yips, deciding she’s not in trouble for being too good too much.
“She needs to go on a diet,” I comment, and she whines low, nudging me again.
“Now, Nini. Ya know it ain’t nice to comment on a lady’s weight,” he scolds, laughing when Luna wiggles out from under the table and waddles up to him, showing whose side she’s really on.
Traitor.
“At least set a limit, okay? She needs to stay healthy and a million treats a day is not healthy.”
“Aw, alright. Two treats a day and we will play outside four times instead of three. Sound good, girl?” my daddy asks, looking down to Luna who gazes up at him like he hung the moon.
I push a laughing breath from my nose and shake my head at them. Two peas in a pod.
“Oh, I didn’t know if I wanted to bring this up to ya or not, but I think it may give ya some peace.” Daddy throws the towel back over his shoulder before leaning against the counter and watching me with his serious ‘I gotta talk to ya’ look. “He’s gone.”
“Who?” I ask, tilting my head sideways. That’s not at all what I thought he was going to say. And so cryptic. He usually gets straight to the point.
“Daniel,” he grits through his teeth, making me choke on my spit. “He was killed in prison.”
I open my mouth to say something, anything, really, but nothing comes out. Not even a croak. I didn’t expect him to bring up Daniel at all. We have never ever talked about that dark time unless I brought it up. Daddy didn’t want to hurt me by asking questions I wasn’t ready for or trigger me by the smallest mention of it all.