“He was no brother to me,” he argued. “The moment he laid his hands on Eve he lost that connection.” Dominic shook his head and stepped back from me as if to compose himself.
“Look, let’s just get Eve through this, I’ll go see Jill tonight. I don’t want any more arguing over this, we need to be strong for them. My sister is going to be in hell right now, I can’t imagine...nearly losing Eve was bad enough. Going through what Jill is facing is a parent’s worst nightmare.”
“Dominic, you stay with Eve, me and Marie will—” Dad stopped abruptly and I turned to look over my shoulder. My chest did that stupid tightening thing again.
“Johan, son, I was wondering when I’d get to see you,” Dad said, walking towards him.
Johan stood in the doorway, his posture reflecting fight or flight. I was certain he was getting ready to run, but Dad reached him first. He patted him on the shoulder; it was clear in Dad’s face he wanted to grab him and hug him but men don’t do that. I smiled at how awkward the both of them appeared. Mum stood next and dashed across to him. Not having the same problem she put her arms around Johan and clung to him. She pulled him into one of her bone-crushing embraces and sobbed against his chest. I’d forgotten that Mum and Dad hadn’t seen him since Eve was admitted to hospital. With him being with me at their house every night, it felt like he was a part of our family. But thinking about it now I realised he was very meticulous about leaving before they returned.
“I wondered when I would get to thank you. We owe you so much.” Mum cupped his face in her hands. Johan just stared, never saying a word.
“Yeah, you little shit, you did good...for a change.” Dominic laughed. Finally Johan’s gorgeous dimples appeared as he smiled shyly. He looked straight at me and butterflies took flight in my stomach.
Hi, he mouthed. I lifted my hand to offer a pathetic wave.
“How is my gorgeous girl?” Johan smiled at Dominic, who shook his head and laughed.
“My gorgeous girl is perfect. They’re just running some tests, then we can go back in and see her. They may move her in the next few days so she can have more visitors.”
“Awesome, I’m sure she’s missed me. She’ll be ready to spend some time with my gorgeousness.”
Dominic huffed, but the smile on his face said he wasn’t annoyed. The relief in him was palpable. He hummed with excitement to see my sister. I loved him for that, I adored him for the utter adoration he had for her.
The door to ICU opened and a man wearing a blue striped shirt and black trousers walked towards us. He paused to use the sanitising gel. A stethoscope hung around his neck so I assumed he was the doctor. These doctors all had the same generic look, no tie and baggy ill-fitting trousers; Darren had slowly transformed into the same clone. I was incredibly proud of Darren, his career path, his ambition, I’d just lost him along the way. Or maybe I had opened my eyes to see our love had limits.
“Evelyn Beaumont’s family?” We all turned in unison to face the doctor. “I'm Doctor Stevianson,” he said his thick Eastern Europe accent. “We have assessed Evelyn, and we are happy with her responses, her reflexes are sluggish but we be accounting this to the pain medication, and she be still sleepy. Right now, I am happy with our results. I will carry more tests later but for now I am happy with her vitals. I have sent for blood work, just routine, you understand?”
“Can we see her now?” Dominic asked.
“Only spouse and her parents, I'm afraid. Not all of you,” he said, taking in his avid audience.
I nodded. I felt a warm hand at the small of my back and turned to see Johan had stepped close to me. I offered a shy smile, feeling such a fool for what I had done earlier. I could only hope we’d be able to return to how we were before, because I had come to really enjoy his company. I was more than happy to have him in my life as a friend, even if I was starting to feel like I wanted more. But I suppose I should take a step back from relationships, as it was clear Darren and I needed to finish because he wasn’t going to accept the baby. And if he couldn't love our child, I couldn't love him.
The Monster Strikes
Chase Dermont Junior III
8 Years Old
Boston Massachusetts
“FUCK! What are we going to do?” Ryan’s panicked voice scared me.
“I’ve no idea, Mom just told me, they’ll be here after the Cooper’s place has been searched,” Will said, staring at Ryan. He shifted his feet and looked out the window up to his house.
“I need to get him out of here. How the fuck am I going to do it though? The place is crawling with cops.”
“What’s happening, Ryan?” I asked, pulling at his sweater.
“The bastard has demanded a search of all nearby properties, pool houses, boat houses, everything to try and find you. And what the honourable district attorney wants, the fucker gets.”
“Grandpa is going to find me?” I screeched in absolute panic.
“No! I’ll die before he gets to you again.” Ryan picked me up from the floor. “Will, we can’t let them find him.” Ryan looked around the room and through the windows frantically.
“Fuck!” Will called running towards us and pushing us out of sight. “Mom and Chase are coming down here with Deputy Grant. Fuck!”
“Ryan, I’m scared.” I clung to his neck, hiding my face.
“Don’t worry, buddy.” Ryan started walking towards the kitchen. He opened a drawer and took out the biggest knife in there.
“Fuck, Ry, you can’t...what the fuck are you planning to do with that shit?”
“Like I said, I will do anything to stop him taking him. You just have to swear to take care of him when I’m gone.”
“No! Fuck that...you can’t...” Will looked over his shoulder, craning his neck to see out of the window. The rear of the house that was facing the big house on the hill had less windows. To the front where the pool was overlooking the lake it was all glass. Will grabbed the hem of his sweater and pulled it over his head then threw it across the floor. Then he pulled a sneaker off and threw that near the table.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Ryan asked, watching Will undress.
“Your dad is not going to want to continue searching a property if he finds his son on the couch making out with another dude.”
I frowned. Ryan walked backwards away from Will; I think we were thinking the same thing, that Will had gone crazy. Ryan didn’t like to kiss boys, he liked kissing girls. And I’d seen Will kissing a girl on the front porch of the big house.
“Are you fucking serious?”
“Deadly. I’m not watching you dragged off in a police car for murder, and killing him isn’t worth becoming someone’s bitch.”
Ryan stood staring at his friend; I watched Ryan because I didn’t want the Sheriff to take Ryan away.
“Fuck!” Ryan whispered, placing me onto the floor and pulling his button-down over his head. He hopped on one leg while pulling his sneakers off. “Jo, buddy, I need you to go hide under the bed and no matter what you hear, stay there. Do not come out, okay? Promise me.”
I nodded.
“Say it, buddy. Promise you will not come out from under that bed. Because if you do, Dad will get you and take you to the boathouse.”
At the mention of that place I ran, ran as fast as I could and crawled under the bed. I wrapped the blanket around me and hid.
“Dude, that was harsh,” Will said angrily.
“Will, this shit is serious, he cannot go back there. Now, keep your dick in your pants. I don’t want to see that shit.”
“Yeah, more like you’d feel inferior.” Will laughed. “We’d better get on the couch. Don’t touch my junk.”
“Fuck you, dickhead.”
“It’s my dick I’m worried about right now.”
There were some weird noises, Ryan and Will arguing before I heard his voice.
“What the hell are you doing?” Grandpa shouted and I covered my ears.
There was a lot of banging an
d shouting, I stayed hidden like Ryan told me to. I kept hearing a lady calling out to Grandpa to ‘calm down’ but the shouting continued.
Another man said he would arrest Grandpa if he didn't calm down.
When it had been quiet for a long time, I peeked out from under the blanket to see that it was dark. I needed the bathroom but I promised Ryan I wouldn’t move so I stayed under the bed. I remained under the bed for so long that eventually I started to see the sun causing a little line of light under the sheet. There was still no sound downstairs but I didn’t dare come out from under the bed. I didn’t want Grandpa to get me.
My stomach groaned and hurt like it did when Grandpa locked me in the basement. I felt dirty too because I had peed my pants.
I smiled a little when I heard Will shouting. “Jo, little guy, it’s me. I’ve brought you something to eat. Sorry I took so—” He stopped talking and I heard the door open and close. “Ry, Jesus, what the hell happened?”
I crawled out from under the bed and peered over the balcony. I saw Will struggling to carry Ryan to the couch and when he laid down, Will moved. I gasped when I saw Ryan, and ran down the stairs to him.
“Ryan?”
“Hey, little buddy.” He coughed and made a noise, I knew he was hurting. He was covered in bruises and his shirt was all bloody. He couldn't open his eye because it was all puffy and purple. He rested his head gently on the cushion.
“Did your dad do this?” Will asked.
Ryan grumbled a yes. He started coughing again and turned to the side as blood started coming out of his mouth.
“Ryan, Ryan –“ I cried. Will pulled me out of the way and held something under Ryan’s mouth.
“You need to go to hospital.”
“Can’t.” Ryan coughed again and more blood came out.
Will stood up and put his hands to his hair and pulled. He paced around the room muttering cusses. I knelt beside Ryan and touched his cheek.
Will cussed some more before storming out of the pool house. I whispered quietly to Ryan that I would help make him better. I didn’t know what to do to help him, he looked badly hurt. The door opened again and a woman with golden hair came running in. She paused when she saw me sitting beside Ryan. I wanted to run but I couldn't leave him like this. I held his hand tighter. His other arm came around me and pulled me to him. He must have seen the lady too.
“Chase?” She asked in a soft voice. She turned to look at Will, he shrugged his shoulders and looked to his feet.
She came towards us and I scrambled to get further away from her. Ryan grunted and cried out as I crawled across his chest.
“It’s okay, honey, I’m not going to hurt you. I just need to see Ryan.”
I shook my head and clambered behind Ryan. He moaned some more and she held out her hands.
“Ryan, you need to help me here,” she said quietly and smiled at me.
“Bud.” He coughed again and clutched at his sides. “Jo, Anesu isn’t going to hurt you I—” He coughed some more. “She’s Will’s mom. Let her help me.”
I looked down at Ryan and watched as he started to look sleepy. His body relaxed onto the couch, his arms went floppy.
The next thing I knew Will had me in his arms as his mom held her cell to her ear; she was telling the person on the other end about Ryan and how badly he was hurt. Ryan looked so pale. I turned my head and rested my cheek on Will’s shoulder and watched as his mom took care of Ryan. She was real gentle with him, she touched his face and whispered to him and kept calling out his name whenever his eyes closed.
The paramedics arrived. Just as they entered the room, Will raced up the stairs to the bedroom and instructed me to hide again. His mom called out to him but he ignored her.
“I swear he will be okay, just stay here for me. I will come back for you, I may need to move you somewhere else now. But I promise your grandpa won’t get you. Can you trust me, buddy?”
“Okay,” I whispered. I leaned forward and hugged Will. “Thank you.”
Chapter 6
Louise
York, England
Three days later, and three-thirty couldn't come quick enough. Why? Today I finally get to see my big sister after nearly four weeks of waiting. They moved her onto a general ward this morning, Mum phoned me at lunch time to let me know, so as soon as school finishes I am out of here and I’m going to go see my sister come rain, hail, or shine. Johan said he would be meeting me outside the school reception and wanted to come with me, but if he isn’t there waiting, I’m going without him. I can’t wait much longer to see her. Mum said she would be here to pick Ellie up, a little surprise for her, seeing as Mum hasn’t collected her in over four weeks. We haven’t told her that tonight she is going to see Eve.
“Miss Beaumont, I need a wee.”
“Okay, Sophia, don’t forget to wash your hands,” I said to the little raven-haired girl.
“Miss, me need toilet too.”
I rolled my eyes because one child needing the toilet always started the wave of toilet breaks.
“Okay, go ahead Harry.”
I turned my attention back to the little boy reading to me.
“...ch..ch...ch...” His sweet little defeated face looked up at me. I smiled at him.
“Let’s break it down and use our fun phonics.” I pointed with my pencil. “Read the letters first, sound them out, and see if we can get the word.
“Ch..e...e...”
“Remember e and e together are magic, they make an ‘ee’ sound,” I said quietly. He smiled.
“Ch...ee...ssss...e. Cheese.” He grinned up at me, feeling proud of his little accomplishment. I loved seeing little ones accomplish tasks they feel beyond them. A simple feat to us, a mammoth task to them.
“Great work, now let’s find out what that cat is going to do with the cheese.”
“I think he’s going to get the mices.” He laughed.
“Let us find out if he does get the mouse.”
“Miss, Ellie’s crying in the toilet,” Sophia said as she came running towards me.
“Don’t run inside Sophia, now tell me what’s the matter with Ellie?”
“She crying in toilet, Miss White shouted at her cos’ she not got her P.E. kit,” Sophia said, her eyes filling with tears, she was such a sensitive little girl.
“It’s okay, I’ll go see what the matter is.” I stood up. “Mrs. Havers, can you continue listening to Jake for me please?”
She nodded and walked over to us, giving me a wary look because she knew more than anyone what a raging frigging bitch Samantha White is. And she’d gotten worse since finding out I’m carrying her brother’s child. Yes she is one of Darren’s sisters.
I walked into the bathroom to sounds of Ellie sniffling; I could hear her soft little cries coming from the small cubicle. I closed the door, although it was supposed to remain open, especially when faculty were dealing with a child, and more importantly alone. But seeing as this was my little sister I was taking liberties and saying sod the rules.
“Ellie sweetie, it’s Lou,” I said, peeking over the child-sized doors.
She sniffled again and wiped her nose on her sleeve. “It’s Miss Beaumont in school.”
I laughed. “Good girl, silly Lou-Lou. Now come out here and tell me what is wrong.” I kept my voice gentle and coaxing.
She unlocked the door and her little shoulders were drooped, her head hanging forward so her hair hid her face. I knelt in front of her and lifted her chin with my finger. “Sweetie, why are you crying?”
Her little lip quivered again and my heart squeezed, I hated seeing her upset.
“Miss White shouted at me, I didn’t bring my P.E. kit.” She sniffled again and I pulled her into my arms. I rubbed my hand up and down her back, rubbing in gentle circles.
“I thought we packed it last night, I remember you putting it all in your little bag perfectly.”
She nodded. “I left it in the car, I forgot when we got out.”
“So
it’s in my car?”
She nodded.
“Sweetie, why didn’t you say that, I can go get it for you.” I swept her hair away from her face and out of habit started braiding it into a plat for her.
“Miss White said I not allowed to do P.E.”
“What?” I snapped. “Did you say it was in my car?”
She nodded.
“Right!” I stood up after I finished her hair. I slid my hand into hers and walked us out of the bathroom. Our two classrooms were joined by a cloakroom, so coming out of the bathroom I could go left back to my classroom or right straight into year two, Miss White’s classroom. The kids were just starting to change; thirty odd kids took a long time to change.
“Miss White,” I called in my most formal voice. “May I have a word, please?” She turned and the bitch cast me such scathing look I wanted to slap the vapid tart across her face.
“Not right now, Miss Beaumont. We are getting ready for P.E.” She shrugged and plastered a fake smile across her face.
“But—”
“Miss—”
All of a sudden, Joyce, or should I say Headmistress Durnham came into the room and paused when she caught sight of Ellie’s tear-streaked face.
“Ellie, whatever is the matter?” she asked. She stepped towards us bypassing Samantha.
Ellie burst into another round of loud sobbing. I knew she would automatically assume she was in more trouble with Mrs. Durnham getting involved.
“We were just sorting it out, weren’t we Miss White?” I asked, shooting Samantha a daring glare.
Joyce looked between the two of us and sighed. She knew the problems I was having with Samantha, but I’d begged her not to get involved.
“Miss White, may I ask what’s going on?”
“Ellie has forgotten her P.E. kit, and just as I would with any other child I said she wasn’t allowed to do P.E.”
“Oh.”
“Did she forget her kit though?” I asked.
Joyce frowned at my tone and I offered her an apologetic shrug.
“It isn’t on her peg,” snapped Samantha.
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