Hello my lovely readers,
I'm so sorry this is late; please don't kill me. The end of last month and the beginning of this one hasn't been the best and I haven't felt like writing. I hope you enjoy this chapter because its going into more detail about Monroe's family. I also hope to keep this urge to write because I don't want to keep you readers waiting.
Hope you enjoy, and please comment.
Thank you,
M.
Chapter 9.
Family Dinner
The rest of the week was pretty quiet and relaxing – at least where my shifts were concerned. There were no more shootings or anything else like that. I did get another call from Tammy and Bill which I was surprisingly thankful for. It was repetitive in so many ways but a blessing that nothing bad was really happening. They were just a couple of drunks getting into it like always.
Friday – my first day off – rolls around and I decided to just bum it in bed all day. I didn't care if I slept or not as long as I didn't have to get out of my comfy spot. The only time I could get out of it of course is if it was really necessary. Everything was going according to plan until around three. I was half dozing while reading a book – Beautiful Disaster – and my phone starts buzzing on the bedside table. Thinking it was Jay finally getting a hold of me, after almost a week without hearing anything, I threw the book aside and hurry to grab my cell.
Looking at my screen I was kind of disappointed. It wasn't Jay like I had hoped but my brother instead. I hadn't heard or seen him since Monday, when Adam told me they would be working. Deep down I knew I missed him, but I was still extremely mad at what my brother had done. Sadly, I knew he was going to keep calling if I didn't answer the phone. I sighed and pressed the answer button.
"Yes?" I mumbled.
"Were you sleeping?" he questioned.
"No. it's three in the afternoon."
"Okay, you just sounded like I woke you up."
There was an awkward silence after that. I had never felt this way around Adam. Usually, I could tell him just about anything, but after what happened I didn't know what to say around him. I didn't know what to do.
"So, are you off Sunday?" he finally asked.
"Yea," I answered. "I told you that last week."
"I do remember hearing something about it but wasn't sure if it was a dream or not. Anyway, I was calling because dad has been asking where you've been. He wants to know why you haven't been coming to Family Dinner."
"I've been busy."
"He doesn't believe that. He says no one is ever that busy to come to Family Dinner every once in a while."
"Just like I told you; if you work the hours, I worked he wouldn't want to go to Family Dinner either."
"You know how he doesn't listen."
Adam was right. To top off our father's temper, he also forgets we told him things – or doesn't listen at all – and then gets mad at us because he doesn't remember us telling him. It made things difficult growing up. The yelling and the physical abuse. There wasn't really anything you could about the situation. It was like he was looking for excuses to hurt us. Exactly why I moved out right after I turned eighteen and only showed up when I really had too. Then there were times like these when I couldn't get out of it no matter how hard I tried.
"He told me to tell you," Adam spoke up again, "if you didn't get your ass down here, he was going to go over there and drag you to the family home himself."
"Awe," I mocked. "How sweet of him."
"He's not kidding Roe. If you don't get down here, you're going to be in some serious trouble."
"Do you really think I'm scared of him?"
"He's twice the size you are."
"That don't mean shit."
"Yes, it does. Do you remember when we were kids and how bad he used to beat mom and us?"
"As a matter of fact, I do Adam. Why in the hell do you think I got out of there and rarely go back?"
I was getting angry by now. How stupid can someone be to go to a place where all their memories are filled with nothing but pain? My whole childhood was filled with it. I didn't want to go back there for that very reason.
"Just come to the Family Dinner," my brother said, ignoring my question. "I don't want to see you get hurt."
Sure, he didn't. If he didn't want to see me get hurt, then why did he not believe me when I told him someone was following me? The more we talked the more irritated I became. I thought it was best if I just ended this conversation now before I said something that couldn't be taken back, no matter how tempting and satisfying it would be to say it.
"I'll think about it," I muttered.
"I don't think that's not such a good idea Roe," he warned.
"It doesn't matter what you think. It's my choice. Not yours and currently not dad's. If I want to go, I'll go. If not, I'll just sit around the apartment all day and sleep. I'm tired of being told what to do all the time."
"Dad's going to be really pissed."
"So, let him be pissed. I don't care. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go back to reading. Bye Bubba."
"Roe wait–"
Letting out a frustrated sigh, I hung up on him before he could say anything else. I was very tempted to turn off my phone, but I might be called into work, if worse came to worse; didn't want to get yelled at for not answering the phone. So instead I put it back on my nightstand and said to hell with everything. Grabbing my book, I tried to remember what I was reading before Adam called.
As I stared at the book I couldn't help my mind from wandering towards the Clay situation. All week I had been able to put him in the back of my mind and not think about him much because of work. Now that I was home, and no one was here to distract him, it was proving harder to no think about it. I had to admit he scared me… a lot, but I didn't know what I could do to make him go away.
It was clear as day that he was sick. He was a stalker and he obsessed about one person – sadly the one person was me. Of course, I heard about problems like this, but the ending was always the same three ways. One: the person who was stalked ended up kidnapped and killed because their stalker went crazy. Two: the stalker ended up killing the person because they were tired of not having the affection of the person. And three: the stalker ended up being caught and put in jail. The last one happened slimmed to none because the person who was stalked either didn't know that someone was following them, or no one believed the person. It was a scary thought all the way around.
I don't know how long I sat in my bed thinking about the problem I had, instead of reading, but soon I found myself falling asleep. Putting my book down beside my phone, I snuggled into bed and slowly drifted off to sleep. If only I would have known my dreams were haunted by the man who was after me I wouldn't have dozed off.
~J&M~
Saturday was uneventful, to be honest. All I really did was clean the apartment and run errands around town. Adam never showed up, even though it was his turn to run said errands, but I didn't mind doing the work. It got my mind off of everything that was happening and that was the best thing for me right now.
The next morning, I got up around ten and processed to take a shower. Looking in the mirror, after I was done, I noticed that my bruises from Clay were almost gone. Just looking at them, it was like the incident never happened. I couldn't think like that thought, because it did happen, and he was going to come back and do it again if I didn't figure out how to get out of the situation, he has put me in.
I decided to dress in one of my favorite baggy hoodies. It was black with a gray American flag on it. One of the strips was blue; it was to represent all the fallen first responders. With that I put on some black legging and called it good. I was planning on staying home so there was really no big reason for getting dressed up. I also decided to skip the make-up; I didn't like putting it on much anyway.
As I was getting done French braiding my hair, a knock on my bathroom door. Freezing in place I held my breath. This couldn't be happening, he wasn't supposed to be back for a long time, or so he told me. I hadn't even heard him come into the house. The silence stretched on for a few more seconds and then another knock came.
"Roe," my brother's voice came through the door, "are you in there?"
Letting out the breath I had been hold, I closed my eyes in relief. I had never been so happy to hear his voice in my whole life, until that very moment.
'It's only Adam,' I thought. 'It's only my brother. It's not Clay. It's my brother.'
"Yea," I answered. "What are you doing here?"
"Uh…" he mumbled. "Last time I check I lived here."
"Well you've been gone for so long I thought you had forgotten this was your apartment too."
I opened the door and he was standing right there, with his arms folded over his chest. He was dressed nice – but not overly nice – of course Adam always looked nice in anything he wore. I think it was his curse in a way. Women – and girls when he was younger – always fawned over him. Considering he was my brother I didn't see what the big deal was.
He was looking at me with a questionable look that I only knew meant he didn't approve of how I looked. I mirrored his position with my arms crossed over my chest, but I raised one of my eyebrows, not understanding what the big deal was if I wasn't going to be going anywhere day.
"What's your problem?" I asked.
"You're seriously going to wear that to dinner at our parents' house?" he questioned back. "We both know they wouldn't approve."
"I'm not. This is what I'm wearing because I'm staying home."
"I think we both know that's not going to happen."
"Oh yes, it is."
I glared at Adam with as much irritation as I could muster. Did he really think he was going to take me to the place I least wanted to be at? He was in for a rude awakening if he thought that was going to happen.
"I'm sorry about this Roe," my brother finally said, "but this is for your own good."
"What are–" I began.
Sadly, I didn't get to finish what was going to say because next thing I knew my brother had bent down, scooped me up, and threw me over his shoulder. There was no warning whatsoever. I let out a gasp of surprise but grunted when my stomach made contact with his shoulder. My brother then started walking out of my bedroom and towards the front door.
I was in a daze until he closed the door and locked it behind us. Once he started making his way towards the elevator, I realized what he was doing. That's when I started to kick and scream while I punched at his back.
"Put me down!" I growled. "I told you I'm not going to that hell hole."
"I said I was sorry," Adam responded, "but I don't want to see you get hurt."
"I really wouldn't be worried about me right now. I'm not the one who is going be dead when I can walk again."
"Sis you keep saying that, but you never act on it."
"Oh trust me, I will act on it. You have crossed a line."
"Bite me."
To be honest, I don't think he has ever told me that before and it stunned me into silence. I was quiet until we got close to his car and then I remember why we were in this situation in the first place. That's when I started kicking and hitting his back again. I really didn't want to go.
"Dammit Adam," I hissed, "put me down now."
"As you wish," he said.
I feel him lean over and drop me down on my feet. It took me a few seconds to right myself, but once I was sure I wasn't going to fall I pushed my hair out of my face and glared up at my brother. He was looking at me with amusement and that only made me madder.
We stood there for about a minute or so, in a show down trying to see who would give in first. Thirty seconds later the amusement was starting to fall from his face. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh.
"Just get in the car Roe," he muttered, opening his eyes. "Please."
"How many times do I have to tell you, no?" I questioned.
"No don't work in this situation."
"If it's against my will and I say no, yes it doesn't work."
Adam sighed again, before opening the passenger side door. He put his one hand on my head and the other on my arms. I fought with all my strength to keep myself out of the car, as he pushed my head down, but it didn't work. To be honest, I kind of felt like my brother was arresting me. This is how I've seen him out suspects or people he's arrested in the car. I really didn't like that thought of that.
Once he had me in the car, he slammed the door in my face before I could get out and locked the door. Somehow my brother rigged the lock so only he could open it; sad to say I couldn't open the door. When he was one his side of the car unlocked his door and got in.
"Put your seatbelt on," he told me, as he turned on the vehicle.
"You know this is kidnaping, right," I said.
"Not if it'll save you from getting your ass kicked. Now put on your damn seatbelt."
"After being kidnapped excuse me if I don't want to comply to your demands."
"You're so damn stubborn."
I didn't answer him as I slumped in my seat, crossed my arms over my chest and stared out the window. There had to be some way to get out of this situation; I just needed to figure out a way before we got to my parents' house.
When my brother pulled up to a blue three-story house, I still didn't have an answer. As I stared at my childhood home, I couldn't stop the flashbacks of the hell I went through here until I was fourteen. That was when our mom got smart and took Adam, our sister, and myself away from this place – why she took me I'll never know; she doesn't seem to like me much. A few months later dad invited all of us to Sunday dinner, and even though my parents got a divorce, we all still had dinner together one day a week. For the past few months though, I tried my hardest to stay away from this place; and yet here I was about to be dragged in.
Adam got out of the car and walked to my side to open the door. He watched me as I stared off into space. How he thought this was a good idea, I will never know.
"Come on Roe," he said softly. "They'll be starting dinner soon."
"I don't wanna be here Adam," I whispered.
"Well, I don't wanna see you get hurt."
What he didn't know was I was gonna get hurt either way. It didn't matter if it was from our father or someone else, someone was gonna hurt me eventually. Even if I told him what had happened Monday evening, he wouldn't have believed me. I could have showed him the bruises and how scared I was but that wouldn't have mattered.
"Let's get this over with," he coaxed. "We're already going to be in trouble for being late."
My brother put his hand on my upper arm, and gently pulled me from his car, but I couldn't feel anything; I was numb all over. I was walking into a room full of people who didn't like me. Now that I think about it, Adam was the only person who seemed to care about me, and yet he and I were supposed to be fighting. As the two of us walked up the driveway I wanted to turn and run away, but my brother had a secure grip on my arm, which meant I wasn't going anywhere. Adam paused at the door and looked down at me. I could tell he was worried; sadly, he wasn't going to budge. He had his mind set and we were both going into that house whether I liked it or not.
When he figured I was as ready as I was ever going to be, he opened the door and pulled me through. I tried my hardest not to go forward but he was stronger than I was and there was no use in fighting it. Adam lead me down a hallway and it didn't take me long to hear voices coming from a room on the right. The sharks were waiting for us, and who knew how many were there. As we came up to the doorway, I heard a young boy laughing; so Sammy - our nephew – was here. That only meant Katie was here too… joy.
"Don't forget to smile," my brother whispered, putting his own smile on his face.
He pushed me in ahead of him, after moving his hand to my lower back. Without hesitation, I did as I was told and put a fake smile on my face. It wasn't hard, I had done it many times before when it came to these things. I looked around the dining room table when everyone came into view. At each end of the table were my parents; Bob and Diana. On the left side of the slab of wood, facing the door, was Sammy and Katie with an open chair in between my nephew and mom. Then on the right side of the table was Wendy. So, Adam had brought her a long; just what I needed.
It became quiet when everyone saw me walk through the door. Wendy turned around in her seat to see what everyone was looking at. When she saw my brother, her eyes lit up and a smile came to her face. I could see her eyes flicker to me for a few seconds. There was nothing but hatred in them for me. If I wasn't trying to look happy to be here, I would have showed her that the feelings she held for me were mutual.
"Well," my dad said, breaking the silence, "look who decided to grace us with her presents. Our long-lost daughter Monroe."
He was slurring his words, so I knew he was already drunk. This outing just got better and better. Adam put his hand back on my arm and pulled me over to where I was supposed to sit. Once he knew I was going to stay sitting he made his way to sit next to Wendy. Everything was quiet as everyone looked at me and I tried my hardest to keep the smile on my face.
"What took you so long to come see us MoMo?" my dad slurred. "You think you're too good for us?"
"I've been busy," I lied, the smile slipping from my face.
"Oh bullshit. Don't lie to me little girl."
"Bob!" my mom snapped. "Not in front of Sammy."
"Stay out of this Diana."
One of the many reasons why I didn't like coming here; dad and mom fighting because of something I did. My sister always used to say it was my fault they fought all the time, but she never told me what for. I always thought it was because I was adopted. The reason why, I didn't look like anyone in my family. Katie took after our mom; blonde hair, brown eyes, with the same light build, thin lips, and high cheekbones. Adam was almost our dad's twin; Brown hair, dark brown eyes, with a muscular build, but dad had a beer belly. Then there was me; red hair, light blue eyes, full lips, with a natural muscular build.
See what I mean, nothing like them at all. Everyone's hatred for me – besides Sammy and Adam – showed me something was up. I just never could find anything around the house that proved my theory. All off this and more made my life in this house so confusing, which made things frustrating.
"Are you going to tell me the truth or not?" dad growled.
"I already told you," I retorted. "If you don't believe me ask Adam. He lives with me after all."
"From what Wendy has been telling us, he's been staying with her for a while. So even if I asked him, he's getting his information from you, and you've been known to lie to us before."
'I've never lied,' I thought, as my blood started to boil. 'You just choose not to believe me when I told you the truth.'
"Daddy," Katie jumped in, before I could say anything, "can't you do this later when my son isn't around?"
Our dad looked over at his favorite daughter. When she gave him those eyes and used that voice he could never resist; the use of daddy, like a small child, helped a lot too. I watched as dad's eyes softened when he looked at Katie and then he glanced over at Sammy. The young boy looked scared at his grandfather's outburst and my dad smiled at him.
"Of course, Kate," he muttered. "I'm sorry for scaring you Sammy."
It took all my willpower to not roll my eyes at the scene in front of me. One glance over at Adam, and a small shake of his head, I put the fake smile back on my face. After years of being treated this way I knew where I stood in the family and even though it still hurt, I knew things weren't going to change.
When things calmed down, the food was passed around the table. Even though I wasn't very hungry, I put nice amount on my plate to make it look like I was going to enjoy myself. Everyone around the table talked happily, but I stayed quiet and only half listened. My face started to hurt half way through the meal because of the fake smile, but I kept it plastered on my face, as I hoped for this moment to end so I could go home.
Dessert consisted of the same thing we had every Family Dinner; peach pie and vanilla ice cream. Before we began Adam cleared his throat and for once everyone was looking at him and Wendy. She was smiling happily at the family, with her eyes shining bright.
"Considering the whole family is here," Adam began, "Wendy and I have an announcement to make."
"We're engaged," Wendy squealed, without hesitation.
She held out her hand to show everyone and as they all smiled, squeal with joy, and said their congratulations my stomach dropped. The smile slipped from my face once again when my brain came to terms with the ring that was on her finger. It wasn't too flashy, but it wasn't simple either. The diamonds around the band connected to the biggest diamond in the middle. It was our grandmother engagement ring; she never took it off until the day she died. When my sister got one of her old necklaces and Adam got our grandfather's old pocket knife, nana Glenda – dad's mom – told me when it was my time to get married this was for me. I had given it to my mom for safe keeping until I was ready… if I was ever ready. Now here it was on the finger of a woman that I dislike very much.
I glanced over at my brother, once everything had come into focus. He was staring at me with an apologetic expression on his face, while Katie hugged Wendy. After he knew what that ring meant to me, the only thing I had left of our nana, he gives it her. The sick thing was he didn't even ask me if he could have or borrow it. He knew what my answer would have been, so he went to our mother instead. This was almost as bad as telling me he didn't believe me. I didn't even know how this man was.
~J&M~
The rest of dinner passed with talk of wedding details – even though there weren't many at the moment. Katie was asked to be the maid of honor and I was left out of it, lie the conversation. I didn't even bother to put a smile on my face. The only good thing about the announcement was no one paid attention to me; it was like I wasn't even there.
After everything was cleared from the table, I tried my best to stay out of people's way to sneak out of the house. I had had enough fun for one day and all I wanted to do was go home or to Molly's, whichever my legs took me too when I walked home. I didn't want to ride with my brother after everything he had done to me recently. It was best just to get away from everyone for a while.
I found my opportunity when everyone moved toward the living room. Staying quiet I went into the opposite direction and headed for the door. Closing it softly behind me, I watched my steps as I walked down the stairs. I didn't want to slip at fall just as I was making my escape. Just as I got to the end of my brother's car, I heard the door open, but I just kept walking.
"Roe," Adam called as he ran up to me, "where are you going?"
"As far away from this place as possible," I growled, not turning around to look at him.
"You can't leave yet."
"Yes, I can, and I will. I'm done with everything for today."
"At least let me give you a ride."
"Hell no."
"Come one Monroe."
Feeling his hand grab my arm I spun around and jerked it out of his grip. He looked taken aback, holding his hands up in surrender, as I glared at him. I couldn't believe he had to audacity to have an innocent expression on his face right now. He had to know what he had done and how mad I was at him.
"Stay away from me Adam," I hissed. "I don't want anything to do with you right now."
"What did–" he began, but that was his mistake.
"Don't you dare finish that question! You know exactly what you did!"
"Roe–"
"I mean it! Stay away from me until you become my brother again, because who you are right now… I don't even know who you are. Now go back into that house with your family and your fiancé and leave me the hell alone."
Turning around I almost ran away. I needed to get out of here and away from anyone who I once called my family when I was small. If I staid I was going to say things I didn't mean and regret later – or maybe I wouldn't but I wasn't going to risk it either way.
"Oh," I called back, "and I don't want an invitation to the wedding."
Adam called my name as I walked away from him, but he didn't try to follow. He probably had an idea what would happen if he did. As I walked, I thought which place would be closer to walk to – my place or Molly's. The bar was closer and knowing my luck there was someone there I knew who would take me home. So, I took a left and started heading to place where I knew I would be safe from a lot of people, including my father if he decided to come looking for me.