This World is Outrageous { BOOK 2 }

Chapter 47--Bay

"Mom. I think he gets it."

She glares at me before pointing to Ridge, who stands there in his Jotunn suit. "Why is one of them in our house?"

I look to him and realize he doesn't have a helmet. This is the first time my family has seen what is underneath the helmets of a Jotunn. I'm pretty sure my heart stops.

"Wait," she looks to the twins, dumbfounded as realization clearly dawns on her. "Why don't you two go up to your room? Mama will be there soon."

Evan and Ema glance between all of us as if unsure before doing as told, disappearing up the stairs. Mother doesn't speak until she's sure they have closed the door to their room.

"What the hell is that? A human in a Jotunn suit? Baylee that isn't in the least bit humorous!"

"Mom. Before you go off on a rant, let me tell you what's beneath the helmets of a Warrior."

She freezes. Even in her drunken state, she knows what is under there. She's looking at it now.

"He's a—"

I nod. "Yes."

"How?"

"They take people that have died and use this suit to reboot their systems. It provides a heartbeat for them. I don't know how observant you've been, but Jotunn have voices that are deeper than humans. They are also considerably taller. Their human voices are extracted upon death and replaced with a more mechanical voice that makes the voice unrecognizable. If you study our ally, Peak, here—"

"Ridge," he interrupts.

I roll my eyes into the back of my head. "If you study Ridge, you will see the scar on his throat, indicating they took his voice. The only reason he is remotely friendly is he has yet to be fully converted, making him still human to some extent."

Grace's face lights up and immediately I sense her next question.

"That means Kole is out there!" She squeals with delight, hugging me as tight as she can.

"Mom—" I croak. I look to Casper.

"Ms. Zachary." Casper clears his throat. "You're going to want to sit down for a moment."

+++

Her face changes from sheer delight to absolute terror. She doesn't know what we are about to tell her, but I'm sure she suspects he is guaranteed dead. The only part she won't be able to predict is how he died and who killed him. I'm pretty sure after she hears the news she will die of a broken heart. It's ironic to me that after he died all she did was talk bad about him. But when there is a chance that he might be alive, she's the happiest woman on earth. It's as if those hateful words she said about him never left her mouth.

Once she sits down, I officially feel like hurling. I sit across from her at our dining room table. I take a moment to glance back at Casper and Ridge. Casper comes up behind me and places his hands on my shoulders. I say nothing, I can't. Even if I could, what am I supposed to say? How do you start a topic off about killing your own father?

Casper finally releases my shoulders and I take in a deep, shaky breath. My mind races on how to word the words I am preparing to speak. I want to be sensitive, yet firm. I need her to understand that I had no choice in the matter. I need her to know I had no other choice but to kill the man that was once my father, the man who was once her husband. She has to know how much I blame myself, how the scene unfolds within my mind every single second. I count the time, constantly, counting how long it has been since I killed him. These are things she needs to know, things she needs to understand.