The second I felt Jon's arms embrace me, I started bawling like a baby.
I dug my fingers in his shirt and heartbroken sobs escaped my mouth
My will to control myself was gone, I felt hurt, betrayed and thorn apart.
This whole thing meant so much to me and Victor and Caleb just needed to destroy it.
I was so close, I stood on the stage, why couldn't we just have started playing.
Why did we stop and read Caleb's messages.
My own childish desire to let my brothers, my family, see what I could do made me suffer so much.
I was weak. The happiness I felt, when I heard my brothers would make it felt disgusting.
I never was strong or brave, I relied on them, all the time it wasn't me. It was always them.
Everything I could do, I wanted to do was because Victor made it possible for me.
And he took it away as quickly as he gave it to me. The freedom of a normal teenager was gone.
I doubt that I would ever sing again, that he would let me. The thought of myself singing again felt unrealistic, like a lie.
"Lil, princess, it's okay." Jon's soothing voice sounded so far away.
"She will drive with us, I won't let you pull such a stunt again." Victor commanded, I felt his hand on my shoulder again.
It made me sob even more. Like a movie, every time Victor pressed against my shoulder run through my head.
All the times Simon did it rushed through my head too.
I was frightened, so frightened I couldn't even stand still. I was a mess.
"You scare her, I don't want her to have nightmares, because of you." Elijah stepped in between us, grabbing Victor's hand away from me.
"She drives with us, now that he's here, we won't do anything wrong." Xander said with confidence.
It was quiet, I turned my face into his direction. His puzzled expression was directed to the ground, then he slowly looked up, his gaze stopping at my knees.
The bleeding stopped, but the blood dried was all over my legs.
"See you at home." With this words he opened the door and went into the car. Caleb followed him, his face always directed to the ground, ashamed.
When their car drove off, I finally relaxed.
"We were too late, Lil. I am so so sorry." Jon swayed me in our hug.
"We didn't know Caleb was still so attached to this man. He really betrayed us." Elijah sighed, his hand run through his hair.
"I don't even know who he is!" I exclaimed in distress, shoving myself back into Jon's chest.
Letting out an outraged scream. "This is so stupid!"
"Mood swings." Xander whistled to lighten the mood.
With my puffy eyes and my red nose I turned around, facing him.
"Are you kidding me?" I looked him straight in the eyes. I was too busy to hold myself on two feet, I didn't notice Elijah opening the door of the second car for me.
I looked up to him, he gave me one of his cheeky grins, when I turned myself to Xander once more, the bruise on his cheek made my urge to hit him disappear.
"Did Victor hit you?" I worried, a sad expression formed on my face.
Xander just laughed. "This is nothing, I jumped at him. I am lucky that I only got one punch. This was a suicide mission." He laughed loud.
It really seemed like it did not bother him at all.
"Doesn't it hurt?" I asked, as I got into the middle seat of the car.
The twins sat left and right next to me, while Jon went in next to the driver.
"This baby bruise?" He scoffed, eyeing me, when he saw my worried expression he only mumbled. "It hurt at first, it's a bruise, but now it's fine."
"I'm sorry." I whispered, fidgeting around with my fingers. "It is my fault."
"Xander likes it to get beaten, he is that kind of person." Elijah tried to lighten the mood, only to get a glare from Xander.
"Fucking bullshit." He groaned out, rolling his eyes.
A small smile appeared on my lips.
"So who is this guest?" I asked, I was sick of this secretive game.
"He wants to say it himself, sorry we can't tell you." Jon stated, giving me an encouraging look.
"Well, is he important? Because I wear a Princess Peach costume and there is blood on my legs." I popped my lips, not really comfortable facing anyone looking like this.
"Wait, you're injured?!" Elijah gasped, as well as Jon.
Jon turned around and stared at my knees in disbelief, Elijah just started babying me.
"How did this happen?" Xander cringed, with furrowed eyebrows.
"Victor let me fall on the ground." I simply said.
"HE DID WHAT?" Jon's voice startled the driver for a second. "THIS IDIOT OF AN IDIOT. WHEN THIS MAN IS GONE I AM GOING TO YEET HIM AGAINST THE GROUND!"
"Wow, I never knew Jon could scream." Elijah whispered in my ear.
"He can and he will." Jon assured himself.
The rest of the drive was quiet. Nobody said a word anymore.
I bit the insides of my cheeks, thinking about who I might meetin a few minutes. It gave me the creeps.
The driver parked in front of our house. He wished us a good night, I thanked him and wished him the same before leaving the car.
I hope mine will be as good as his.
Our house looked as clean as usual, a lot of men stood in our hallway. Black sunglasses, black suits and very bulky.
I followed my three brothers into the dining room. The room greeted us with various smells, our table was filled with so much food, my eyes widened a bit.
When I gazed at the people sitting around the table, I saw Caleb, Victor and an unknwohn old man.
I gazed at him for a brief second, his face was very smilar to Jon's and Caleb's.
His gray hair was comped to the side. His also gray beard looked clean and stylish, while his black suit made him look dangerous.
"Who do we have her?" his voice was raspy. "The famous run away."
He looked me over from head to toe, while the others sat down already, I still stayed near the door frame.
"Introduce yourself." Victor's eyes pierced thorugh me.
"I am Lilith." The only words that left my mouth, but it didn't feel like my own words. I felt weird.
"I know who you are." His tone was mocking, his glances at me felt humiliating.
"You are?"
I was pissed, so pissed.
All the sad emotions and the grief inside me, bunched together to anger. This man wanted to see me so bad, so why is he acting like I invited him over.
"Snotty brat." He called out. "How are you talking to me? Don't you know who I am?"
I stared at him like he was denusial. Is this man serious?
"No, sir." I pressed out with a forced smile, because Jon looked like he is going to piss himself. "I have no information at all."
He cackled. "I am Victor Charles. Former Head of the Clover Company once named Charles Company."
I blinked at him, everyone gazed at me like I was supposed to react in some curtain way.
"So...?" I inclined my head.
"I am the grandfather of your brothers, the father of their mother." He raised his voice at me.
"Its nice to meet you, really, but why am I here, when I had a performance today?" This was a joke, right? Making me come here, just to meet their grandfather that didn't like me for some reason.
"Lilith!" Victor warned me, his finger pointed at the free chair.
I ignored him.
"I wanted to see how my grandchildren are and check if their new sister would be a bad influence on them." he paused, looking at my dress once again. "I see."
"Grandpa, Lilith is a very nice girl, she wouldn't be a bad influence." Jon gave him a smile.
His finger hit against the same spot of the the table over and over again. He was thinking, his face was in a grimace.
"Oh, she is a bad influence." he laughed, as if Jon made a joke.
What was going on with this man?
"I visited her parents, when her father confessed to me, that he cheated on my sweet daugther." he hissed.
"Mom passed away, before Lilith was bor-" Elijah raised his eyebrow, when he heard the word cheated.
"Silence. Did I allow you to speak? This attitude." he murmured. "Now where was I? Right."
He licked over his lips, before our eyes met again. "Because your father couldn't do it himself, I delivered money to Lilith's mother. Well, her husband and her mother were very lousy people, walking around in dirty sport clothes and I think her husband was always drunk when we met each other."
He laughed alone, he looked like he enjoyed thinking back on it.
"Lousy man, but funny man." He snorted. "So I did a background check on them. They both had alcohol and drug problems. When I saw pictures of their house, nasty I tell you!"
He shook his head in disappointement.
While I couldnt believe my ears. This man new it all. He knew about their illegal doings, about how we lived, how I lived.
Since ever.
I tried to process everything as fast as I could, the informations sank in and I thought I would through up right in front of him.
"So I will check up on you often in the future, we don't want her to turn into a junkie and be a nuisance for you guys."
The room was filled with silence.
Everything went by in slow motion. I grabbed the first plate that I could snatch and threw it with all my strength in the direction of this old man.
I screamed with all my heart, tears filled my eyes, while I couldn't take another straight thought.
All this pain, this anger. All this hurting and all the tears I spilled living in this hell house could have been stopped.
He could have saved me when I was still a child, when I was still naive and happy.
"I WILL KILL YOU!" I roared my lungs out, I was ready to grab another plate, but one of the many bodyguards grabbed my hands and pulled them behind my back.
I tried kicking with my legs, I trashed around in his strong grip. "I WILL DRAG YOU TO HELL WITH ME!"
"Lilith!" Jon stood up, taking my face in his hands, trying his best to make me stop trashing around. "Lilith! Calm down!"
The old man stood up from his seat, his horrified expression gaped at the shattered pieces of the plate. I missed him and then plate hit the wall behind him.
"Grandfather, I am so sorry, I don't know what's gotten into her!" Victor looked so vulnerable, running to his grandpa's side, taking his arm to help him stand straight.
"Jonathan, step away." he commanded him, his voice full of hatred towards me.
The bodyguard grapped me by my neck, so I wouldn't turn berserk again.
"I should put you into jail, runs in the family, huh?" he scoffed, grabbing my face and pressing down on my cheeks.
Now I see why Victor acts like this, he got it from his grandfather.
"You know what, fuck you." I spat into his face. "You could have saved me from this people, but you ignored a child in need, you are the one that should be put in jail."
"What nonsense is this girl pouting?" he pushed me away from him.
"Let my sister go, now!" Xander got up from his seat. He pulled me away from the bodyguard, holding me into his arms.
"Xander William Clover!" he gasped.
"Grandpa, hear her out." Calebs voice disgusted me, I looked into his direction.
"I dont need help from a traitor." I mumbled, not sure if he heard me.
Xander helped me stand up straight, then he held my hand in his.
"You knew about the drugs, the alcohol, the condition of my house. So let me ask you this, because we arent idiots here. They didnt spend the money you gave them on me, so how did I grow up? What do you think?"
He didnt even try to say anything, he furrowed his forehead. This man never thought about me, his only goal was to make me stay away from his precious grandchildren.
The tears in my eyes rolled down like a sea of sorrow. They didnt stop, the came down my chin, dropping down on the floor.
With my hands I forcefully wiped them away, only to have more come out of my eyes.
"He hit me, hit pushed me, he kicked me, he spat at me, he threw plates at me, he grapped my face, he pulled me by my hair, he pushed me down the stairs, he pushed me up the stairs, he locked me up in the basement." I took steps towards this man, after every sentence I made, I took a step towards him, making him stumble. "He touched me. And for gods sake I hope he didnt rape me, but I cant even remeber. So if I am a bad influence."
I paused looking down on my feet, and then pointing my finger at him. "It is because you didnt help me."
After my outburst the old man commanded all of my brothers to go into their rooms.
Though Jon and Elijah struggled to leave me alone with him, in the end they couldn't do anything against his words.
One of his bodyguards brought us tea and the old man looked very happy about it.
He changed his mood faster than Victor, what amazed me.
"Now Lilith, let's talk about you. Maybe without plates flying around." He chuckled, stirring with his spoon in his tea. "Rosehip tea tastes best with lots of sugar, doesn't it?"
I only nodded and put some sugar in my tea as well.
"You may think I am a rude old man, child, but everything I do is to protect the family I have left." He sounded sincere, but this didn't make my frustration disappear.
"So I am not a part of your family?" I gazed up to him, seeing his movements slow down.
"We are not related by blood." He stated.
"I didn't ask if we are related by blood, sir. I asked if I am not a part of your family?" I corrected him.
"You are the sister of my grandchildren. The love child of my son in law." He huffed making his face wrinkle.
"You didn't answer my question. Do you see me as your family or not?" It made me tired to talk to him.
"I never saw you as family, no." He said with a sternly expression. "You are more a task."
"I see, so you are a nobody to me." I stood up from my seat, making my chair screech. "You are not my grandfather or anything else, so there was no need to be here for me today. You are not in the position to order me around, when you see me as nothing!"
The anger inside me made my head hurt, it was his fault that my life was like this.
Maybe he couldn't control Simon's actions, but he still stood by and the worst is he didn't let me sing my song.
"Child, sit down. I am still a elder you should respect." He rolled his eyes.
"Respect is for those who deserve it, not for those who demand it!" I exclaimed. "I respect my elders even if their rude, but I will not respect someone that does not deserve my respect."
I wanted to walk out of the room, but the words that left this mans mouth made me unable to move.
I am suprised as well, another chapter in only one day and it got so long aah! Call me speed.
Don't forget to vote and comment about your thoughts to this chapter! ♡
Xx Mary