Fruitloops | ✓

t h i r t e e n

Chapter 13: I wasn't a burden

Joseph stared at me in shock when I smacked the letter down onto the coffee table. Creases were now formed on the letter due to being in my back pocket too long.

Vince and I sat side by side on the brown leather couch, while Joseph sat on the single arm chair.

"You're not here for financial help, are you?" he asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Nope."

"Should've known. You too hate me providing money for you guys," he sighed.

"Well?" I prompted, raising an eyebrow and crossing my arms across my chest.

He sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose. His forgead was now full of creases and wrinkles.

"There's no way out of this, Seph. Just tell me," I said.

"Your dad was an undercover for the FBI, that's why he faked his position as a property agent. Property agents move around a lot, that's why he chose that, because if Zak ever called, he could lie and say he's out. On a mission with a really big mafia, so big that they needed at least five undercovers, his cover was blown. In fact, all their covers were blown. They suspected there was a mole in the force. The roles were soon reversed. The mafia they were after were now after them, slowly killing them and all their families. They would kidnap all of them, the whole family, before slowly killing their dads who were the undercovers, then kill their wives to let the children watch. Then all together. They didn't do it easily though. Pieces of them were scattered around a certain area, mostly near that family's home.

"Philip broke off all ties with you and your brother, even the system at the HQ didn't show that you two were related. Many people have the last name Waldorff, so it was hard for the mafia to ever track down the two of you. Soon, your dad was the last left in the undercover team. The rest were all dead. Your mom begged for him to allow her to leave as well, but he wouldn't. Kelly was stuck in between, really.

"It was painful for your mom to leave, trust me. She cried to Megan for a whole week, just stuck in between. Soon after, she begged Megan and I to take care of both you and Zak. We didn't want to, but she kept begging. On her knees, might I add. She didn't want to leave Philip. She couldn't. She said if he died, she'd die too, mentally. Kelly said you guys had each other, and she knew Zak would grow up to be an amazing older brother. So she left."

My vision started to blur and my lips trembled, letting out a whimper in the process. A lump in my throat started to form as Iprocessed everyone he said.

I teared for the other families, for my parents, for the kids that had to be mentally scarred for at least an hour before getting chopped up like meat. This mafia sort of took Texas Chainsaw Massacre to a whole new level, honestly.

Which person in the right mind would chop up parents in front of their child? In fact, which person in the right mind would chop up people?

Vince's hand found mine and squeezed it, as if to comfort me. I squeezed it back, needing the warmth and care he supported me with.

"She told us that he had written a letter. Whether you'd find it or not. And you did."

I braced myself for the answer I was about to get to my question.

"Are they... Are they still alive?" I asked, trying extremely hard to swallow the lump in my throat.

Joseph looked at me solemnly. Then cleared his throat. Then looked down.

It felt as if I was in a really small area, like an air vent, and the walls were slowly closing up. The oxygen in the surrounding air was stubborn, not wanting to enter my lungs. My tears didn't make it easier as well, for when you cry you tend to heave a lot for more air.

I released Vince's hand as much as I didn't want to and covered my face with both my hands. The tears were now unstoppable, much like a waterfall.

They were gone.

What they didn't know is that I had forgiven them. And they never would.

Dad left to protect our family, but mom didn't want to leave because maybe that's what true love is.

I wasn't a burden.

Dad left without explaining because Zak would never allow dad to leave just like that. He'd cry for them to take us with both mom and dad.

Strong arms encircled my body and I buried my face into Vince's chest. My arms wrapped around his waist and he tightened his hold around me.

This would've been really awkward if I were crying because Joseph was sitting right there. In this situation however, all I craved for was Vince's hold and warmth. It was comforting. He was comforting.

"Where?" I croaked, my voice muffled due to Vince's hard chest, "W-Where are they buried at?"

"The local cemetary," I heard Joseph say.

"Lyssabelle, you must understand that we had to uphold the promise though they were dead," Joseph said, as if reading my mind.

"I know," I mumbled.

Vince's hand was now rubbing my back in a circular movement as I stayed under his hold. The tingles made me feel a pinch better, but too much.

My parents were dead and buried in a cemetary so close to my old house that I didn't even knew. What kind of child would that make me? Sure I didn't know they were dead, but what kind of people doesn't tell a child that their parents are dead?

I wasn't mad at Joseph or Megan however, because they kept their promises. Even though they knew that we were upset, they kept it, and that showed loyalty.

I guessed it was the way you see it. They could be really, really selfish because after all, they were dead and that's the cold hard truth. But when you look at it from a different angle, you could tell that Joseph and Megan were great friends to mom and dad because they kept such a huge promise.

Nonetheless, this was too much.

Today was too much.

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Author's Note: a little Vince and Lyss moment in this! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. The next chapter will be up as soon as possible, I'm just working on planning it out.

What are your opinions on this chapter? x