The slightest noises, such as the ticking of the clock, which she could hear from the living room to the kitchen, or the chirping of the birds outside, which normally sounded idyllic and soothing, the brunette just found them ten times louder than usual as she, filled with panic, sat across from her father, who was rocking his granddaughter in his arms. With a smug grin, he glanced at Cleo before turning his gaze back to the baby and gently rubbing her stomach. By now Mari has stopped crying and looked at the stranger with curiosity.
Only ten minutes had passed that had felt like hours. Cleo's pulse was still pounding like crazy, a big lump was lodged in her throat, and her body felt both petrified and jittery at the same time⸺ a weird mix if she had to judge. It wasn't possible for her to reach for her phone, which was too far away from where she sat. Also, her father's gun was still on the brown wooden table, along with a cup of coffee that he had asked Cleo for. She wouldn't risk him pulling his gun at her daughter again.
"Why are you here?", she asked calmly but firmly, her eyes bore into his dark ones. "You said we have to talk, so there has to be a reason."
"Can't you enjoy the silence for a moment?", the man groaned in annoyance, getting her all nervous again. Yet he sat up straight and put Mari back in the infant carrier before reaching into his pocket to get a bag with crystal out.
Cleo stared at the drug her father crashed to power on her kitchen table, her throat felt dry and yet her mouth started watering at the sight. She has been clean for over a year now. The brunette could easily give Abel his heart pills every day without feeling the need to swallow them herself or to crush them so she could sniff a line through her nose. But seeing her father do drugs in front of her, which was nothing new to her, ignited a certain craving⸺ something Carlos figured out quickly just by looking at her.
To be honest, he didn't do it entirely unintentionally. He could easily have waited a few more hours before snoring the next line through his nose, but he wanted to tease Cleo, making it difficult for her to resist the offer he was about to make. As sick as it was, he missed doing drugs with his little girl and forgetting about the world around him. They always had lots of fun when she stayed with him over the weekends and he wanted that back. Deep down he was a lonely man that craved love and affection. What he didn't understand was that he could've had that all if he would've been ready to change.
"Want a line?", he asked, holding out the bag with the crystal. "I remember how much you loved that stuff."
No matter how many times she swallowed, her throat kept drying out, but a light layer of sweat formed on her forehead. Her breathing became shallow as she clamped her hands tightly between her legs under the table to avoid grabbing the little bag.
"No thanks, I'm clean", she barely whispered, after which she cleared her throat and stared spellbound at the table so as not to have to look at the drugs that Carlos was waving around in front of her face with a shit eating grin plastered on his face.
"Come on, just one line. Can't hurt, right? That's what you always said", he teased, finally setting the package down in front of her. "Or are you into that boring life as a housewife now, huh? You could have made it so far by my side, chiquita [little girl]."
"Shut up!" Lifting her head, she looked at him with nothing but hate. Yes, her eyes were filled with hate and disgust.
Hate was a big word. A word she never thought she'd use to describe her feelings towards her father. And no, she wasn't overdramatic. This man threatened her daughter with a gun and now he offered her drugs while he knew exactly that she was clean. He should be proud of her but instead he wanted to ruin her once again.
"You manipulated me from a young age, you always tried to tell me how boring mom's life is and that I'd have a lot more fun with you just because you didn't want to be alone⸺ because that's what you were and still are. Alone! Despite all your hookers and so called friends, you never really found love when you could have had it all. Mom loved you madly and you hurt her over and over again. You could've been a role model for Enrico, instead you would rather have drug dealers look up to you like if you were some god. You took me to your parties as a teenager, took drugs with me, listened to what your so called friends would do to me if I wasn't your daughter. It was fucking disgusting", she spat at him, every single word dripping with venom. "I should have cut you out of my life much sooner. So say what you want and then fuck off!"
Maybe it wasn't smart to spat all those things at him but she couldn't hold them in anymore. For years she wanted to let it out, tell him what she really thought of him. But she never did⸺ until now. And it felt fucking good to get it all out.
Carlos toyed with the lighter he'd used to crumble the crystal earlier in his hand and eyed his daughter closely. Normally it would make him proud that she can speak for herself. But it made him angry that she was so disrespectful towards him⸺ again. He leaned over the table, his dark eyes always on hers. He quickly wiped away the remaining powder that was stuck under his nose with his thumb and licked it off before the corners of his mouth twisted into another grin.
"It takes a lot of courage to talk to me like that. I would have killed anyone else for a lot less. I guess we all know I'm a shitty father, but you and your brother weren't exactly the easiest children", he said dangerously calm, his voice low and hoarse from the crystal that started to hit. Cleo knew it would only take a few minutes before he'd go batshit crazy, which always happened after he took crystal.
"Why are you here?", she asked through gritted teeth.
Carlos leaned back again, folding his hands in front of him. "A woman in her mid fifties showed up at my house yesterday, said she has some information for me."
"That bitch has some nerves." Cleo let out a scoff and licked her dry lips, shaking her head. The sad thing was, it didn't even surprise her that Gemma would pull such a move. "Tell me, what information did she have?"
"Told me that you and Enrico were looking for a plan on how to get rid of me in order to keep your families safe. See, I don't believe everyone who walks through my door telling me shit. I knew who she was before I even let her walk through my gate. I know you and Enrico wouldn't be so stupid, it was obvious she was lying. But I wanted to hear what she had to offer", he paused, pressing the side of his index thoughtfully against his lips before he continued. "See, she offered me a hundred thousand if I make sure to keep you away from her son. I still wonder what's so great about him that a woman like you would be interested in such an idiot though."
The brunette just rolled her eyes at her father's last comment. There was only one reason why her father wasn't a fan of Jax. And the reason was very simple. Jax wasn't afraid of Carlos and hadn't been intimidated when he'd paid him a visit almost two years ago. Her father has never been able to handle it well if someone wasn't afraid of him. Carlos wanted to be feared. From everyone.
"I have to say, Gemma really does have balls. She must really hate me when she shows up at your house and even tries to turn my own father against me", Cleo stated, a bitter laugh vibrated through her chest.
"Yeah, I don't really care what that bitch has to say. But I do care about the money. See, I could use some of it at the moment, that's why I'm here. You're coming with me, either voluntarily or I have to force you to do it", he tapped on his gun, showing her that he meant it. "Pack some shit for yourself, the baby stays with Jax."
Speechless, she stared at her father, seriously concerned about his mental state. Did he really think she would just come along and leave Jax and her kids behind? She had hoped her father would know her better, but apparently not.
"You would actually ruin your daughters life for a hundred thousand? That's low, even for you", she muttered under her breath. Disappointment and sadness added to the hatred she felt for him. "I'm not coming with you. Hurt me, shoot me, I don't really care. I'm not giving Gemma what she wants. Oh, by the way, do you really think she has that much money? She's playing with you and you're too blind to see it just because money is involved!"
"Ah, come on, don't be so dramatic. I'm not ruining your life. You can have your freedom back", he winked, smirking with a shake of his head, surprised that his daughter still hasn't touched the drugs. Maybe she was stronger than he thought though. "I really don't want to hurt you, babygirl, but I will if I have to. Gemma has the money, it's already in my safe."
Cleo's facade was beginning to crumble, making it harder and harder for her to pretend to be strong. She was close to tears, knowing that her father was serious. Either she would come with him or he would kill her⸺ whatever decision would be made, both meant that she had seen Jax, Abel and Thomas for the last time this morning and that her daughter was about to witness something horrible that she'd hopefully not get traumatized by. And all of this because of Gemma⸺ because Cleo hadn't listened to the matriarch's threat she made a long time ago.
"Then go on. Do what you have to do", she let out a shaky breath, tears fell down her face as she looked at her daughter before looking at her father again. "Can I hold her one more time, please?"
"You made the wrong choice, Cleo", Carlos sighed, shaking his head in disappointment while grabbing his gun. "You became so fucking weak, it's almost embarrassing to call you my daughter. And I never said I'm going to kill you, I said I'm going to hurt you."
He then aimed the gun at Mari again and Cleo quickly realized how her father wanted to hurt her. His psychotic laughter filled the kitchen as he saw the pure shock written all over her face, his finger slipped on the trigger.
Cleo's protective instincts kicked into high gear and within seconds she was standing next to her father, knocking the gun out of his hand. Since Carlos hadn't expected it, it worked.
"No one hurts my kids, not even you", she spat angrily, bending down to grab the gun.
Carlos took advantage of the moment and gave her a kick in the pit of her stomach that made her yelp out in pain and sink to the ground. He stood over her now when she crawled over the floor to get the gun. Carlos lashed out with his foot that landed in her face, almost knocking her out completely, and then put his foot down on her wrist so that she couldn't reach for the gun. He didn't care about the cracking of her wrist under the weight of his foot, he actually put some more weight on it, making Cleo scream in pain.
He squatted down, brushing some hair out of her beautiful face that was halfway covered in blood from the big laceration on her forehead that he had inflicted on her. Her whimpering and begging woke nothing in him. Probably because the drugs made him numb and feel nothing at all, which made him even more dangerous.
"I loved you more than anything, still do. But you're such a disappointment, Cleo", he sighed deeply, reached for the gun and pressed the cold steel against her temple. "Sleep tight, mi hija [my daughter]."
"I don't think so." A loud shot made Cleo flinch hard, blood spattering in all directions but mostly on her face, making her wonder if she was already dead or not. But instead of her, it was Carlos whose body slumped lifelessly on top of her. She had heard Enrico's voice, but she was so weak from losing so much blood that she thought she had just imagined it.
Mari's loud crying, triggered by the shot, assured Cleo that her daughter was still alive. She was so relieved but too weak to move. The brunette lay trembling and whimpering under her father, whose weight was suffocating her. However, Enrico quickly heaved the older man down from her and knelt down next to her. Pain, concern and fear in his eyes as he saw Cleo lying on the floor, completely exhausted and in shock, blood all over her face and not only the blood from their father.
"I'm here, everything will be fine", he whispered reassuringly, carefully laying her head on his lap and grabbed the kitchen towel from the kitchen sink to press it on the profusely bleeding wound while dialing 911.
If he hadn't spontaneously decided to visit his sister and niece and give them some company, both of them might be dead by now. When he saw his father's car outside and then saw the bag with the groceries on the ground, he knew something was wrong and had quietly entered the house with the spare key Cleo had given him for emergencies. Just the thought of what would have happened if he hadn't come in time drove him crazy and if he could kill his father again, he would do it.
⸺
authors note; Hey guys! I think a few people have missed the last chapter [chapter 37] since it didn't reach as many people as usual and I think some people missed the update notification. Maybe check out if you read it, it's important so you understand what's going on in this chapter. By the way don't forget to check out my last graphic chapter! Have a nice day. 🖤