Sweet Sixteen, Chapter 20 ~ Falls Apart, part 2
Elly sat on the couch, in her ridiculous little Halloween costume, wondering what if? What if she’d gone to Airidan with Sien? What if she was impossibly far away from reality right now, separated from everything she knew by dimensional barriers she didn’t understand? What was an otherworld like? Would she be too excited and intrigued by everything she saw around her to miss home, to regret leaving her family, to be afraid of all that was unfamiliar?
But it was useless to think about. Sien hadn’t even asked her to come with him. And if he knew what she had done since, he’d be congratulating himself on leaving behind the wrong girl.
The front door opened. She got up off the couch and went to meet her father, and was surprised to see Marc hovering behind him.
Russ hugged her, she cried; he asked why she wasn’t hiding, she told him she’d heard him and come out to meet him. He was evidently satisfied enough by her appearance, standing and coherent and not looking bloodied or beaten, to leave her with her brother and go do what needed to be done.
She was glad her father trusted her enough to wonder why she didn’t look worse, if she had really just been raped. But then, she was still disheveled enough to look as if she’d had sex of some sort, and if Elly said it had been forced, her father would never doubt her.
He ordered Elly and Marc to stay downstairs, to not follow him up to Sam’s bedroom, to stay where they were no matter what they heard. Marc didn’t seem to like this, but he stayed with Elly as told, looking awkward and glum.
Elly didn’t need to ask why he’d come. She’d been surprised at first, but then things between Marc and Russ had been bad every since Marc’s kleptomania was discovered. Marc was no doubt eager to go wherever his father went and do whatever he asked. She felt sorry for her brother; he wasn’t a bad kid and Russ had been kind of hard on him.
“Are you alright?” he asked, when Russ had disappeared up the stairs.
“I’m fine,” she said, calmly. Her act of fear and distress was for their father, she didn’t really feel like worrying Marc more than already necessary.
Marc looked at her warily. She wondered what he knew — or thought he knew — about the situation.
“Did Dad tell you what happened?” she asked.
“Yes.” He looked at the floor. “I’m . . . sorry.”
“I’ll be alright.”
They were silent. There was no sound from upstairs, or possibly it just wasn’t reaching them. “Does Mom know?” she asked after a moment.
“I don’t think so.”
Elly walked over to a chair and sat down. “What about Eric and Hollie?”
“They were asleep.”
“Why did Dad bring you?”
Marc looked at the empty stairs. “I’m supposed to be taking care of you.” He said with a touch helplessness, as if he had no idea what that meant, or what he was supposed to be doing. She wished he hadn’t come — she was his big sister, one who had never needed protection or care before. He was obviously more scared of the idea of her being raped that she was.
Her eyes also strayed to the stairs. They both stared, waiting. There were noises now, muted, but voices were raised upstairs. Elly felt a little tinge of worry; Sam was probably denying it all, and even if her father didn’t believe him outright, it could place doubt. Sam didn’t have much of a leg to stand on, though; the best he could come out as was a statutory rapist and a past child molester, if only attempted. Still . . . she didn’t want Russ to realize she’d come here and had sex with Sam on purpose, just because she was angry with Sien.
“Do you think he’s going to kill him?” Marc wondered.
“What?” Elly scoffed. “Of course not. He’s going to hurt him, that’s for sure, but Dad’s not going to kill Sam.”
Marc looked at her as if she were completely stupid. “Why not?”
“Well . . . because that’s murder, and Dad’s not going to . . . well and he’s Noah’s brother, Dad’s wouldn’t . . . .”
Marc let the silence last for a moment. They heard a thump from upstairs.
“He did rape you,” Marc said, and then looked away awkwardly, seeming to realize it was probably insensitive to say that to the vicitm. “I’m sorry. I just mean, well, I’d kill him.”
She stared at her brother, who looked so much like their father, then without a word turned and ran up the stairs. Marc ran after her, protesting that they had been told to stay down, but she didn’t listen. He must have wanted to go see what was going on up there too, because he left complaining at a minimum and followed her to Sam’s bedroom door.
The door was shut and locked. There was no noise from inside, but Elly pounded on the door, calling, “Daddy? Dad? What are you doing?”
The was a creak, the sound of someone getting up from the bed, and Russ said, “I told you to stay downstairs.”
Elly shot a worried look at Marc, he just looked back unsurprised. There was no sound from Sam inside, and he definitely would not be sleeping. Perhaps Russ had knocked him unconscious . . . .
“Dad, are you alright?” Elly asked, though she’d never had any fear for her father against Sam. She just didn’t know quite how to ask if he’d actually just killed a person . . . and was it her fault . . . .
“I’m fine. Wait for me downstairs.”
“Dad,” said Marc, “can I come in?”
“No. You kids . . . go away.”
In a moment of impatience, Elly made the locking mechanism disappear, and without a warning sound there was nothing to hold the door closed. She pushed it open.
Russ was standing just on the other side, and a quick look around revealed Sam on the floor, face down and completely still.
Russ looked momentarily surprised that they’d gotten past the door, but didn’t even ask how, just grabbed Elly’s arm and dragged her out of the room. “You shouldn’t be up here,” he said harshly, then added more gently, “You’ve been through enough, you don’t have to see this.”
Marc, however, was left at liberty to go in the room and inspect Sam. Elly let her father lead her away, but demanded to know; “Did you . . . is he . . . you killed him?!”
“You don’t have to worry about him,” Russ just said, looking grim and not meeting her eyes. “It’s alright. You’re safe now.”
“You killed him?” was all she could repeat, in dismay.
“Elly Ann—”
“I can’t believe it! They’ll arrest you! They’ll put you in jail! You weren’t supposed to murder him!” Elly felt real distress and fear now, she pulled away from her father and stared at him.
“Elly Ann . . . .”
But she just turned away and walked quickly down the hall, down the stairs, not listening to what he said as he followed her.
She did not realize that she turned invisible as she walked. She didn’t do it on purpose, it was an uncontrolled, instinctive reaction. It wasn’t until she was at the door, just thinking of getting out and away, that she noticed she could not see her own hand reaching for the doorknob.
Elly turned around, seeing the complete shock her father was experiencing as he looked around for his disappeared daughter. He called out her name, but she didn’t answer. She opened the door; he saw it and ran to it, but Elly was out and slammed it shut before he could get there. Once outside she ran, feeling the cold air rush over her like a slap to her senses.
This is wrong, all wrong, she thought desperately, you’ve made your father into a murderer. What did you think would happen? Calling him to come here in the middle of the night to rescue you? As if he wasn’t going to kill the man who just raped his daughter? She stumbled in the dark but kept going. And Sam; she’d despised him but not nearly enough to kill him. She’d always felt contempt but a little pity for him, and whatever disgust she had for him could hardly be spared herself, now, now that she’d lied and caused his death.
The second time she’d killed someone. In only a month.
The Lost One was nowhere, as if even the ghost child was ashamed to know her and didn’t want to be anywhere near her now. Sien, Sien, she thought bleakly, what would you think of your Queen of Seven now?
next: Sweet Sixteen, Chapter 21 »
About this entry
- Previous:
- Sweet Sixteen, Chapter 20
- Published:
- 11.6.08 / 4pm
- Print version:
- None
- See also:
- Alisiyad
- See also:
- Tales of the Queens
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