The harsh brightness of her bedroom light being turned on suddenly brought Kristy out of a fitful slumber. The clock on her bedside table read 2:17am. What was going on?
"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty," a voice sneered.
"Watson?" Kristy asked groggily, sitting up in bed.
"Won't you call me 'Daddy'?" Watson asked jeeringly, stalking across the room to the edge of Kristy's bed. As he came closer she could smell alcohol heavy on his breath. "After all, I've provided for you your whole life. It's the least you could do."
"What are you doing in my room?" Kristy asked. She was very confused and starting to get scared. She didn't even have enough strength to fake her usual bravado.
An angry look flashed across Watson's face. "Your room?" he sneered. '"This is my house, and my room, and I can come in it any time that I damn well please. But just because you asked, I've got a few things that I need to talk to you about, young lady." He spat out the last two words.
"What is it?" Kristy asked timidly, even though she mostly knew. A feeling of cold dread rose from the pit of her stomach.
"I know that your mother told you everything about the past. Everything that she thinks you deserve to know. Your mother is a weak woman; she has been her whole life. She would be nothing without me, and without my money. And the same thing goes for all you kids, do you understand?"
Terrified, Kristy nodded slowly. A scream lodged itself in the back of her throat, but she was unable to let it escape.
Watson sat down on the bed, as close as he could to Kristy, who sat at the head of the bed, clutching her knees to her chest, making herself as small as possible. She silently prayed that he wouldn't do anything to hurt her or anyone else that night.
"If you breath a word of this to any of your siblings, I will make you live to regret the day that you were born. Do you understand me?" Without waiting for Kristy to respond, Watson continued. "Actually, I will make you live to regret the day that your mother met me."
"You mean nothing to me." Watson spat out. "I do what I do for you to appease your mother, and for no other reason. I can be rid of you in a second. Someone with my money always has options," he said with a slight snicker.
Tears welled up in Kristy's eyes but she said nothing. Her mind was literally blank, and her heart felt as though it had stopped beating. It was almost as if it was just a shell of her on her bed, in her room. She couldn't really be experiencing this.
"Quit your crying," Watson said, disgusted. "I thought that you were supposed to be tough. It was the one thing that I always liked about you."
"I am," Kristy said, strangled, her voice barely above a whisper. She wiped the tears that had fallen with the sleeve of her t-shirt. No new tears formed.
"Good. Prove it." Watson got up from the bed, much to Kristy's relief, and walked across the room to the door. "You better not go crying about this to your mother or you precious Nannie," he sneered. "As far as they are concerned, this little chat never happened. Do you understand?"
Again, Kristy nodded.
"Good." Watson replied. "Don't forget anything that I've told you," he said, turning off the light and closing the door.
Sitting in the newly darkened room, Kristy let out an audible sigh of relief. She wasn't sure if she had ever been so scared in her entire life. There was no longer any doubt in her mind of the make up of Watson's character. She had no idea how a man who had been so kind to her for so long could say such hurtful things.
Despite what had just happened, Kristy couldn't hate Watson, even though she almost wanted to. Aside from the last month he had always treated her with kindness. He had even paid to take her friends in the Babysitter's Club on vacation on more than one occasion! Also, what he said tonight had a lot of truth to it, he had supported her and her family for almost her entire life. He must care about her to do that, at least a little bit. Maybe it was just the alcohol talking. Kristy was a good person. She couldn't bring herself to believe that what she had just seen in Watson was his true self. She had had too many beliefs shattered in the last few weeks, and she didn't want to add another to the list.
But still, there was no way of denying the magnitude of what had just happened. Watson's drinking was quickly getting worse and worse, and the incidents this caused at home were becoming more terrifying. She was literally terrified. And the worse thing was that she had no one to talk it over with. She couldn't bring this to her mom or Nannie for fear of repercussion from Watson. And after what had happened earlier that evening with Abby she didn't even want to see her again for a long time, much less talk to her about something so important.
Even though she needed to desperately.
Kristy again looked over to the clock on her bedside table. It was not 2:31am. The whole encounter with Watson had taken about ten minutes, even though it had felt like an eternity.
Not knowing what else to do, Kristy lay down and rested her head upon her pillow. She curled up on her side and remained that way until she eventually fell asleep.
--------------------------
Morning came too quickly, and Kristy awoke to the sound of her alarm. She turned it off, and lay in bed as the events of the previous night came back to her. There was no way that she could go to school that day.
Kristy lay in bed listening to the hubbub of her brother's and sister's getting ready for school. After about twenty minutes Nannie opened the door.
"Are you awake, sweetie?" she asked. "You're going to have to get moving if you want to catch the bus. Although I have been known to give rides to my favorite grandchildren," she said, her voice softening.
"I'm not feeling well," Kristy said, which was only half a lie. Everything that had happened over the past weekend had made her sick to her stomach.
"Oh you poor thing," Nannie said. "Emily Michelle isn't feeling well either. You go back to sleep, and when you wake up, I'll make you my special get well breakfast. How does that sound?"
"That sounds great," Kristy said. And it really did sound great. It was so nice to have someone taking care of her. She could always depend on Nannie.
"You get your rest, sweetheart. Let me know if you need anything."
Nannie quietly left the room, leaving Kristy alone again. Not knowing what else to do, Kristy followed Nannie's advice and closed her eyes as to go back to sleep.
Kristy awoke several hours later, and sat up in bed, slowly rubbing her eyes. Sunlight poured into the room through the window, creating a cheery atmosphere. It was quiet upstairs, though she could hear Emily watching cartoons on the television in the playroom. Feeling at least somewhat ready to face the day, she got out of bed and proceeded downstairs for the breakfast that Nannie had promised her.
Walking downstairs, she heard some noise in the entryway. Puzzled, she walked that way to investigate. She found Nannie snapping a suitcase shut, tears in her eyes.
"Oh good, you're up," Nannie said as Kristy walked toward her. "You're going to have to take care of Emily Michelle today. I'm sorry to have to do this to you when you don't feel well already, Kristy."
"Do what?" Kristy asked, confused. "Nannie, what's going on?"
Nannie sat down on the bench in the entryway, and motioned for Kristy to do the same. She gently reached out and put her hand over her granddaughters.
"I can't do this anymore Kristy," Nannie said, her voice breaking. "I can't live her and watch this family fall to pieces. It would break my heart to think that my love isn't enough."
"Are you leaving? You can't, Nannie. I don't know what to do without you!" Kristy's voice was rising, and her panic was evident.
Hearing this caused tears to fall freely out of Nannie's eyes. "It's not my choice, sweetheart," she said softly. "Watson thinks it's best that I find somewhere else to live. He says he appreciates my help, but that he and your mother can run the family on their own," she explained, her bitterness evident through her sadness.
"You don't have to listen to him," Kristy protested weakly.
"Yes I do." Nannie said simply. "You'll understand someday."
With this, Nannie rose to leave. "I'll be back to visit soon. I'm going to go stay with your Aunt Theo and Uncle Neal for a little while. You can come and visit me too, if you'd like. You must miss your cousins."
Kristy nodded, a lump forming in the back of her throat. She had no idea what to say.
Nannie stepped forward, and gave Kristy a hug. "I love you. Don't you ever forget that."
"What am I supposed to tell everyone," she asked.
"I assume that your mother and Watson are going to take care of that," Nannie said. "Now go take care of Emily. She's going to need you."
"Okay," Kristy said, reaching up to brush back tears. If only she hadn't stayed home today. Going through the motions as school would have been hard, but nothing could be harder than this. She couldn't bear to watch Nannie go.
"I love you," Nannie said again, closing the door behind her.
Kristy watched out the window until the Pink Clinker had backed out of the driveway and had drove out of sight. Nannie was gone.
And so was much of her hope.