Secrets And Demons

Chapter 6

I fidget with my hands. "What do you mean sir?" I ask with a shaky voice.

He looks at me with a frown. "What did Ryan say to you?" I think for a moment before I answer.

"He said that..." The man tenses next to me as he pulls away from the pavement and I clear my throat. Do I need to tell him exactly what he told me? Or can I twist the story and leave a few details out?

"He just told me that something happened a while ago..." he raises an eyebrow and I sigh. "I know better than anyone to ask for an explanation..."

"What do you mean by that?" He spares me a glance full of skepticism. His bald head catches the light from the lights that we drive past. His bushy eyebrows are furrowed and his mouth is set in a straight line.

I sigh deeply. "I, myself have a dark background that I prefer not to be asked about." Jack looks at me as if contemplating whether or not to ask me about my story. On the inside I'm pleading with him to not ask me.

He scratches his chin before throwing me another glance. "What is so bad about your past?"

I laugh nervously and begin to rub my hands together, as if it is going to give me strength to answer the question I dread. "Answer me Mia." He says in a warning tone.

I feel a sweat break out on my forehead. "Uh. Well. Uhm..." I can't put a sentence together to describe my past. I mean how do I?

"I'm not repeating myself. I need to know who Ryan is getting involved with. So tell me." He turns his head to me and I see the harshness in his dark eyes. "Now Mia!" He screams at me and I yelp.

I pull myself together and ramble some words that I know will hopefully be enough of an explanation. "I'm the only survivor of a house fire which my father set and killed everyone in my family." I let out a breath that I didn't realize I was holding.

He slows the car down to a halt and turns his head to me. Looking at me. Scanning my face for any lies. I feel something wet on my cheeks and I realize they are tears. I wipe them with my hands roughly, to get the sign of weakness off of my face.

He grabs my hands suddenly and pulls them away from my face. I look at him both in shock and confusion. He inspects my hands and turns them over, my scorched hands showing that I'm not lying.

He lets go of my hands and I immediately start to rub them together. His face changes and he turns his head back to the road. He starts driving and there is a complete silence between us. The tension is so bad I'm sure you'd be able to cut through it with a knife.

I give him directions to my house and soon we arrive at the sad looking house. His headlights light up the house with broken windows and pieces of wood hanging off the house.

I open the door but the door is still locked. I look at Jack waiting. He sighs before looking at me. "Sorry. I just need to protect him." I frown slightly. Why does he need protection?

I don't say a word. He unlocks the door and I climb out with the grocery bags. I don't turn around. I don't look back. I walk to the door of my dilapidated home.

The headlights only start to turn away after I get inside. I open the door and instantly little Vicky is crushing herself against my legs. "Hi there my little Vicky." I say to her as I ruffle her dirty blond curly hair

She mumbles something I can't hear so I bend down and place the bags on the ground as well. "Sorry, what did you say?" I ask her gently.

She pulls back a bit and rubs her stomach. "I'm hungry..." she says softly. "But mommy needs to eat." She whispers into my ear and my heart aches. A 7 year old shouldn't have to think they need to give up their own food for her mother.