Omission

In an Instant

The man who could only be Riley's grandfather was imposing, to say the least. Rivaling Brad in height and surpassing the man by lightyears with gravitas, all Riley wanted to do was hide from this man. His commanding, reverberant voice, exclaiming "Excuse me?" only cemented Riley's instinct to cower.

His mother's hand on his shoulder acted like an anchor.

Riley gulped, because though his grandfather's question was rhetorical and directed at his mother, his piercing eyes stuck Riley to the wall as though he was a frog set for dissection. Wanting desperately to run away, Riley shifted on his heels, discouraged when the wall behind him collided with his shoulder blades. Nowhere to go. And even if there was anywhere to go, he didn't think his mom would let him go long enough to escape.

The rest of the family resembled statues at this point. Even Andy seemed aware that something of importance was happening.

"My son. His name is Riley."

Where once those words would have made his heart sing, Riley was positively terrified of his grandfather, and thought that maybe, just this once, he should have been Brad's nephew instead.

The domineering man stepped toward him, and the ghoul yowled in his head. His spine pressed roughly against the drywall, and Riley prepared himself for an imminent attack, whether physical or emotional. Clenching his teeth together, he tried to make his jaw stop trembling.

Surely his mother wouldn't let his grandfather attack him?

Have you checked her track record for defending you lately? Here, let me pull up the score sheet, and, um, let's see, carry the one, subtract the remainder, and hmmm, a big fat nothing! I wouldn't be surprised if she pushed you into your grandfather's clutches.

But the closer Roy Lawrence got to him, the more disarmed the man became with features softening and eyes clouding with confusion and sadness.

"Is he...?" Abruptly, the oozing dominant tone turned subdued. "Is he Keith's?"

Riley flinched, both at the mention of his father/abuser's name, and at being referred to in any way belonging to the horrible monster of a man.

"Yes, he is Keith's son."

Thankfully, his mom appeared to be taking care of the verbal part of this confrontation. Because Riley didn't think he could speak even if he needed to yell "FIRE." Her hand eased its pressure, fingers rubbing him in an attempt to comfort. Riley appreciated it, though it was minimal help.

Riley's grandmother, Ellen Lawrence approached quicker than her husband, breaching his circle of comfort. Though while Roy took big, heavy steps that oozed dominance, Ellen nearly glided over the polished wood floor. Again, Riley was keenly aware that there was nowhere for him to go.

Still, neither grandparent spoke, until Ellen came up and stood uncomfortably close to him, eyes searching his face as though he was a puzzle that needed solving.

Then, a twinkle overtook her pale features.

"You have the Lawrence eyes and ears," the woman spoke fondly before opening both of her arms as wide as they would go.

"Come give your Nana Ellie a hug." And the woman pulled him into what was the warmest, most inviting hug that Riley had experienced in recent memory. For a moment, he thought he felt his mom's hand pull back on him, and even heard a weak protest.

"No, he doesn't like to be-"

But Riley didn't care to hear anything else. The woman was squeezing him as hard as she possibly could, he imagined, and Riley dropped his guard enough to raise his own arms and hug back. Her hands rubbed up and down his back, and she swayed them back and forth lightly.