Our Sick Inheritance (editing)

Ch 86 (colin) - What Have I Done?

Colin couldn't believe what just happened. He had never fought with someone like that before and if she hadn't used the banister as leverage she might have been able to tackle him to the ground and kick his ass. It was the imbalance of their weight together that threw them over. But it was his strong arm that held him to the iron and wood. Once they lost their balance Stacy didn't have a chance.

Panic and fear arose in his chest with the intensity of a rocket shooting into space.

Colin immediately regained focus and ran down to Stacy. He held her head and patted her cheeks.

"Wake up Stacy, honey, wake up." Colin said, but he knew she was gone. Colin held her in his arms as he cried and cried.

He didn't know how long he sat there but he stood up and picked Stacy up to carry her to Tessa's room where he laid her on the floor next to Tessa's bed. It struck him as the both lay close together how similar they looked. Again it struck him that Stacy could have easily been Tessa's daughter. It was unbelievable how Stacy looked so much like Tessa at that age. That is two girls in this town, Jolene and Stacy, whom he didn't even know existed were Tessa replicas. It was his punishment for what he did to Dana Colin knew. He had nothing to do with Jolene and didn't understand how this city felt smaller than a ski resort all of a sudden. He didn't mean to break Stacy's neck, with the struggling and anger, her fighting him off was more than a regular teenager usually knew to do and that made him nervous. Colin ran into his bathroom and vomited.

He replaced the dagger in the sweatshirt and went downstairs to grab the sweater or anything else that would tell Stacy had been in his home. He didn't even look at Tessa since he brought Stacy into the room. Each minute that went by the more disgusted he was at what he had done. He stared down at Stacy. Teenagers weren't his thing. He only treated her special to get information on her genetics and his daughter. Now he wished he had never invited her in. Even though it was an accident his anger gave way to punishment that only Tessa and Anna deserved.

"What was I supposed to do?" He asked but didn't wait for an answer as he left the room not locking it behind him.

He knew he had to talk to his son. Immediately he called Nate who picked up on the second ring.

"Nate I need you here now, something horrible has happened." Colin said in a rush.

"What, with whom, Anna? I've been watching her. She is in Utah at a hotel." Nate asked worried.

"Why the fuck is she in Utah?" Colin said. He was so busy with Stacy that he hadn't thought to look up where Anna was heading.

"I don't know yet."

"Ok son, I'll deal with her in a minute... please... I've done something horrible and I need you here now. Don't tell anyone you are coming." Colin said then started to cry. Suddenly his body felt sicker than it had the first time he went through cancer.

"I'm on my way." Nate said then hung up the phone without saying goodbye.

Colin sent a quick message to Anna and asked for an update just to see what she was going to tell him this time. He was going to have Nate retrieve her immediately but first they needed to figure out what he was going to do about Stacy. If it weren't for Stacy he wouldn't be so angry with Anna because he wouldn't have known all of the details of Anna and her brother Jake. Colin had wanted to ask Stacy what Anna's plans were if she knew them before she left, but Stacy never made it out the door.

Now he knew however, that Anna had no intention of going on a quick trip to gather stuff for their island. It had all been a ploy. The fact she was driving alone pissed him off. Colin was hoping she would adjust and accept her new home but knew better. Nothing was easy with Anna and he knew he couldn't take the chance. It was always a battle in his head where she was concerned. Did he take care of her like she was a child for the rest of her life or let her grow up to be an adult? He had to constantly find a balance. Sometimes he felt like a person watching the discussions of others in his head. It is a wonder he functions normal at all. He shouldn't. He laughed out loud at his own joke, trying to hide the guilt of sending her away when he knew she was like fragile glass. At least to him she was. He knew he should have made her stay home.

Colin was so upset by what he had done that he didn't want to involve Anna or let her know what was going on until he got her home. They had to get to the island and immediately. It didn't matter how angry he was at Anna, this was one of her friends. She would never forgive him. His guilt clouded his judgment and decided he had to trust Anna until Nate collected her like a bounty hunter.

Colin moved Stacy's car to his private garage nobody was allowed in that he didn't bring in himself. He had to make sure there wasn't even a trace of Stacy for the evidence would send him to prison and that isn't where he wanted to die. Colin grabbed Stacy's purse and checked her phone. There were messages from her family wishing her well on her trip. Her brother Jake wrote that Anna had lost a ten thousand dollar bet and was still hanging out with him. This angered Coin greatly and he bit hard on his lip. Jake had sent another note today wishing her well on her trip. Lastly two of her friends let her know they were heading to Portland for their hotel and would see her soon. Colin's panic intensified at the knowledge that Stacy was meeting friends. By the look of her messages he knew Stacy was loved and would be missed.

He wished Nate would hurry, but wasn't sure if he was flying or driving. He put the sweater and Stacy's purse in the room with her body and Tessa. Colin saw Stacy's ghost standing in the corner of the room with a look of fear on her face when she saw that he could see her. Colin wasn't sure if she understood what had happened because her death had been so quick. He was hoping she would move past reliving it and step into accepting who she was now, a spirit to guide the path of life.

"I'm sorry." He said knowing it didn't matter but meant it anyway.

He shut the door behind him without locking it then he cleaned up the kitchen and washed all of the dishes that were used. Colin could hear Stacy's screams for several hours after in his head and echoing through hallways as he felt like he was running around erasing an existence. Though he had no intention of this happening, it was only to his benefit because there was no way to cover up her discovery of the dagger in Nate's room. He heard Tessa at some of his thoughts and he ignored her so as not to indulge in her cruelty. Now he just felt remorse and fear, which was something that Tessa couldn't ever understand to feel.

Only a few days until the move and his family couldn't stay out of trouble enough to make it happen! He was furious and sad all at the same time. He threw up again but didn't take more medicine. He still had too much alcohol in his system and he needed to be able to think clearly when Nate got here.

In his bathroom he looked down at the handle and noticed the drop of blood on his shirt. He touched the side of his cheek where Stacy had scratched him. This wasn't good he worried. It was evidence against him. He went into the bathroom to look at the mirror. A two-inch long scratch was cut into his cheek. He removed his shirt and pulled out cleaning supplies from the cupboard and started to clean his cut. A noise on his right started him and he swung his head to the sound. His heart slammed hard against his chest in triple succession as Tessa stood staring at him with a big knowing smile on her face. Colin refused to look at her in the mirror as he quickly cleaned his cut and tried to focus his thoughts on the task at hand.

Colin showered then cleaned up anything he could as he waited for Nate. He didn't even bother to pour another drink. He had been planned on burying Tessa tonight but things had gotten out of hand and now he had no idea what he was going to do or what was in store for him. With the threat of someone coming around to ask about his daughter's bad behavior, with a young girl in his closet, it was more than his body could handle. Colin turned off all of the lights downstairs and left only a few trees of the garden on, he crawled into his bed and waited for his son to arrive.

He thought about maybe keeping Stacy wrapped in plastic to rot into the hidden room, but he knew Nate wouldn't be able to handle the smell. Since Nate just bought the Washington resort from Colin's friend, he knew him and Kayleen would be at the house more often. Colin didn't want Kayleen to have a whiff of what Colin had done so that option was completely out. He could bury Stacy in the ground with Tessa but didn't want to risk his property being searched.

No he had to put Stacy somewhere else, Colin thought.

He lay on his bed and closed his eyes.

When he woke, he woke to Harmony lying next to him on his bed. He knew the door to his closet had been closed but now was half open and the private room door was unlocked. Colin woke fully and started to feel panic.

"So am I the only one being lied to or are you familiar with what is going on?" Harmony asked.