AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“The same.” I chuckled dryly. “A little worse, but mostly the same.”
“That must be so hard on your parents.”
“I’m sure it is, but he insists that they’re fine.”
She hummed softly. “Having met your father, that doesn’t surprise me. He’s always been a very sweet man who loves your mother very much.”
I agreed but let the topic drop. Discussing my mother and her many phobias was never a simple topic for me. While Marcella had never judged, talking about my parents’ business to anyone made me uneasy.
Instead, I smoothed the blankets around Darius and settled more comfortably in the rickety chair next to his bed.
“I don’t know if I’ve told you, but I’m so glad he picked you.” She chuckled when I glanced back at her. “I don’t know if that’s something I’m supposed to say, but if you’re going to be my daughter in law, I feel I should tell you that there is no one I want my son to be with more and I’m so happy it’s you.”
Flooded by the tangled knot of guilt and happiness, I lowered my gaze to the hand resting under mine, the long fingers too still. I couldn’t seem to let go. He’d become an extension of my arm, an anchor keeping me from drifting. I hadn’t used the bathroom since the day before when changing my blood-soaked dress. I hadn’t eaten or drank anything since the party. Holdinghis hand was the only thing I was capable of doing. All other essential, human duties seemed pointless.
“I think we might be cursed,” I told her quietly, but with a weak chuckle that was supposed to make light of the comment. It didn’t.
“Why do you say that?”
How did I explain to anyone the back-to-back series is misfortunes every time we almost had a chance? I was beginning to believe I was actively going against God himself trying to be with this man, which sounds insane, but valid.
So, I tried. I gave Marcella exact timeframes of every time Darius, and I were almost there just for some force of nature to get in the way. I even told her about Volkov because at that point, with everything that happened, there was no way she wasn’t going to figure it out.
To my surprise, Marcella laughed. “Sweetheart, that’s not a curse. That’s the realities of being with a Medlock. It’s like a rite of passage. I can’t explain it exactly in words a normal person would understand but let me put it to you this way.” She straightened slightly in her seat and leaned forward. “When Darius’s grandfather was arranged to marry his grandmother, she was kidnapped and held for ransom for two weeks by a rival family. She wound up getting shot at the wedding in the middle of the church by her own sister, then he was hit by a car trying to get her to the hospital.”
“Oh my God,” I mumbled, horrified.
Marcella put up a hand. “There’s more. Every Medlock woman has had to endure a series of tests, as Darius’s great grandma would say, to make sure they’re worthy.”
I scoffed. “Great. A series of random pop quizzes I wasn’t prepared for.”
“But you’re doing great,” she assured me. “I wish I could say it eventually stops, but…” she gestured to Darius. “Being inthis life isn’t for everyone. It takes a strong, stubborn woman to endure the highs and lows.”
“I keep hoping this is all a really bad nightmare, but I’m too scared to close my eyes so I know I’m awake.”
All humor vanished from her pretty face, and she sighed. “I didn’t sleep for a month after Alex was shot. I’d doze off and jerk awake reaching for him.”
“What did you do?” I heard the smallness in my voice, the weakness.
Marcella shrugged. “Nothing. There’s medication, if you want to try that. I found it only made the nightmare worse. I felt trapped in my dreams, watching him get shot over and over again, and not being able to wake up.” She shook her head slightly. “I went to a therapist. I don’t think it helped. Plus, with people like that, people like doctors and priests who take an oath to only keep your secrets until it’s something unethical, it’s hard to be honest, you know? It defeats the purpose, and having friends, even friends who understand can be a risk. No amount of loyalty will keep some people from stabbing you in the back. You, Lavena and the girls got very lucky with your friendship.” She sighed, giving a little flip of her shoulder. “In the end, you’ll find the thing that gets you through.”
“What’s yours?” I asked.
“My thing?” I nodded. “Boxing.” She laughed at my startled expression. “I don’t do rounds with other people, but I like punching things until my arms hurt and I’m sore and tired. It helps my … rage, I guess.”
I liked that idea. I liked the thought of hitting something until I couldn’t feel my arms. That was what I wanted to do to the people responsible. I wanted them to hurt, to bleed and beg before they died.
“I want them to suffer,” I heard myself say out loud.
Marcella didn’t ask who, nor did she seem surprised. “They will. I can promise you that.”
I shook my head, watching the slow rise and fall of Darius’s chest, but I didn’t explain. I couldn’t. I didn’t know how to put into words the raw, violent rage building up inside me. I didn’t know how to tell her I could picture exactly what I would do to the people if they were in front of me. I didn’t think she’d ever look at me the same way if she knew how slow I would make their deaths, how brutal.
I sighed instead and changed the topic. “You didn’t seem surprised when I mentioned Volkov.”
Marcella grinned. “You will learn that despite there being so many of us and some of us are better at keeping our secrets, there is very little you can hide, especially from us women. We will figure it out one way or another.” She suddenly broke off and checked her watch. “Shoot! I had a tea date with a friend today. I have to call her.” She rose and pulled her purse strap over her shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”
I watched her rush out on her velvet, black pumps. The two men Alexander had hired to stay at the door stepped aside to let her pass and immediately returned to their positions blocking the entire door.
