“Yes.” he replied in a feeble voice, while Grandpa looked at him in disappointment over what he just heard. “For what it’s worth, Tim ... I am sorry. And just for the record ... the others made it very clear over the last week.”
His words resounded in my head for a few seconds. I would have to see how true they were. Though, at that moment, I was pretty sure it was just more of the same. He didn’t apologize because he was sorry. He apologized because he, too, noticed the way Grandpa was looking at him, and, in his usual calculating ways, determined this would be the best thing to say in order to appease Grandpa.
“Now, my drink is empty and I’m starting to feel it. So, Aaron, if you would please take your wife back, I need to lay down for a bit.”
Hearing me say that I needed to lay down caused Claire to jump up on her own, but, instead of going away, she insisted on helping me up from the sofa and leading me to the door. I stopped when I felt my stomach rumble and knew I would have to put something in there, regardless of having lost my appetite during our little confrontation just now.
“Do me a favor? Order some pizzas. With cheese in the crust!” I said, as I just grabbed whatever cash I had in my pocket and dropped it on the table. I didn’t realize that I had just casually thrown them four-thousand dollars, until I heard a quiet “Holy...” from Grampa when he counted it off.
“Kiddo ... How much did you take from those guys?” Gramps asked, still counting the money.
“Little under two million dollars.” I wearily answered as Claire continued to lead me out of the living room and up the stairs, not missing a step herself while Logan spat his beer all over the table and Aaron dropped his drink.
Chapter 11
Her bedroom door was closed when we passed it, but I stopped for a short moment when I could faintly hear the voices of all the women comforting a loudly crying Ava, producing unintelligible words I probably wouldn’t even understand if the door was open. The sounds alone made it clear that my sister was not just engaging in some girly attention seeking, but rather full blown ugly crying. Nonetheless, instead of even thinking about going in there, I couldn’t help but wonder about the difference between her and me. More than once, I was the one crying alone in my room with none of them giving a flying fuck about it, but when the princess was sad, half the family jumped into action.
Me stopping in the hallway seemed to prompt Claire to start her explanation for Ava’s emotional display.
“When you gave her that present, it must ha...”
“I really don’t give a shit.” I interrupted her in a deadpan voice.
I didn’t like the disapproval I saw in her eyes before I continued my way to the bedroom, but I ignored it. The longer I stayed out of bed and argued with them in my current state, the worse this would get. So, I just took my pants off and crawled under my covers while groaning over the pain my movements caused.
“What are you doing?” I asked, as Claire immediately started undressing herself.
“Can’t I stay, Baby? I know you’re angry ... but I want to hold you just a little longer.” Her voice was quiet.
The pleading tone instantly curbed most of my anger. It was sweet, in a way. And it seemed honest. But it also ticked me off a little, because she seemingly had missed my predicament. In my prevailing mindset, this was yet another display of them only thinking about their own needs and wishes.
“Claire ... I appreciate the thought. I really do. But I have a broken rib and a fucked up arm on my left side, and a bruised kidney and another fucked up arm on my right side. So, unless you’re planning to roll up like a cat and sleep between my feet, I’ll have to be in this bed alone for now.”
I had to suppress a smirk when I saw her actually look at my feet for a split second before looking me in the eyes again.
“Okay, Baby. I love you.” she said, after giving me a kiss on the forehead.
Then she just stood there, like she was waiting for the answer I couldn’t give without lying, and watched me close my eyes.
“Good night.” I mumbled instead.
I didn’t know how long I actually slept, because I had no idea at what time I crawled into bed, but it was dark outside when I jolted upright, panting heavily, and covered in sweat. My heartbeat was hammering up to my throat, my hands were shaking, and my body trembling. I Jumped out of bed and searched my surroundings. Not finding anything unusual, I looked through the window overlooking our driveway. It had happened almost every night since Bill and I went to Austin, so I knew what I had to do before I could calm down again.
Slowly and determined to make as little noise as possible, I made my way through the house. Carefully stepping into every room of the house to make sure everything and everyone was safe, and make sure the room’s windows were firmly closed while not showing any entry marks.
I found Maggie and Danielle sleeping soundly, cuddled up with Ava in her bed. Claire and Aaron were lightly snoring in their bedroom. Logan did the same alone in his own room, while Granny and Grandpa were enthusiastically snoring in the guest room.
I continued to check the rest of the rooms, doors, and windows, paying extra attention to the big patio door in the living room, and relocking the front door just to hear it actually lock. But, unlike all the other times I woke up in this state, I was still feeling uneasy after I had walked through the entire house.
Back from the basement, I paced through the living room for a few minutes, trying to figure out what I was missing, until I decided to get myself another drink, hoping it would help. I knew that fear was (probably) irrational. I also knew that waking up like this in the middle of the night wasn’t exactly a good sign, and using alcohol to combat it was downright stupid. But I thought it would pass once it really settled in that we were safe.
Holding my whisky glass, I suddenly realized what it was that kept nagging me. I couldn’t find John! Everyone else was accounted for, only he was missing, and after finding his wife and daughter in the house, I would have expected him to be around as well. Sure, he probably just preferred his own bed over crashing on the sofa or sharing with Logan, but I wasn’t exactly thinking rationally at that moment, so I decided to shoot him a text.
I knew by then that it was half past three at night, he would be in deep sleep right now, so I was reluctant to call. Then I remembered that my phone was busted, which meant that I couldn’t send any texts. After unsuccessfully trying to just calm down once more, I grabbed the landline and called him, my anxiety growing slightly with each ring tone that went unanswered. Finally, I heard his tired voice.
“Walker residence?” I could almost hear him suppress a yawn and rub his eyes.
“John? You Okay?” I asked, immediately feeling embarrassed about waking him at that hour over my own shit.
“Tim!? Yeah! Why, what happened?” Shit. The tiredness had instantly vanished from his voice, and was replaced with alarm.
“No! Everything’s fine! Sorry. I just ... I couldn’t find you when I made my round, even though Maggie and Danielle are here. I thought, maybe ... I may ‘ve ... overreacted. Sorry, again.” I stammered, trying to explain my reasons without admitting to what actually went on in my head.
“Oh. No problem. Don’t worry. Everything’s fine. Thanks for checking, though!” Fuck, that was embarrassing!
“Yeah. Well, sorry for waking you up. Good night!” I said, greatly appreciating him not asking too many questions.
For a few minutes after the call had ended, I remained in the dark living room and watched a cat walk around our backyard. I was pulling down a single panel of the blinds, so I could watch it without exposing the rest of me standing there and scaring it away, while sipping my drink. Suddenly, a voice ripped me out of my funk. When I spun around, I saw Danielle leaning against the doorframe leading into the living room.