Beckoned Through The Dark

46 // Abigail // Cutting Ties

"What are you doing here?" I dragged my breath as I stood in front of the ebony girl.

"Claudia, I'm not here to fight. Is Bridgette home?" I asked tiredly.

After the encounter with Lesego and Clay, I didn't want any more problems, and Claudia was exactly that. This girl was so hateful and immature, she was always looking for a reason to attack everyone around her.

She crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame. "She's not here," she said bluntly.

"Okay, any idea where I can find her?"

She scowled at me like I'd just offended her. "What's your business with my mother?" She asked. "One minute you are fighting her, and the next you are best buddies."

"Listen, Claudia. This is a matter of life and death, and I really need to speak to Bridgette."

She shrugged. "I'm not my mother's keeper."

Great!

I chortled, on a brink of tears. "You know what, I don't have time for this. Just tell her I was here when she comes back." I turned around and walked away.

"Abigail," she called just as I reached the gate. "She went to the forest to look for meds."

I nodded my head, and said with gratitude, "thank you."

As soon as I stepped out, Lesego's house came into view. It was so strange walking past it and seeing that it was nothing like it used to be, it looked almost lifeless and haunted.

Karabelo had that effect wherever she boarded.

I wore my hoodie and then jogged down the street, towards my mother's place.

I'd parked my car far away from here and walked to avoid any suspicion in case I ran into Karabelo, I didn't wanna see that girl at all, and the reason I made it out here was because Funeka told me she had left.

Otherwise I wouldn't have come to see Bridgette.

I had to see my mother because she was way past her due date.

I tried telling her that this was a punishment from her ancestors, but she did not believe me.

She didn't want to go to the hospital, because she was a fugitive of the law.

I think that's what freaked her out when I told her that I was married to Ryan, she probably feared that I would tell him everything about her and land her in jail.

"Abby!" My little sister threw herself at me the moment I walked through the gate.

"Hey, Nana. How are you?" I ruffled her hair.

"I'm fine," she said.

"Good, baby. Where is mommy?" I asked even though I already knew she was in the house; she was probably expecting me.

"Sisi, can you play with us?" My younger brother asked.

I looked at him without even blinking. "No, sweetie. Not today." I walked into the house before anyone of them could request anything else from me.

Suddenly being in this house made me sick, I couldn't believe it was built on lies and that I'd been part of them for so long.

It was a huge single storey house with about eight bedrooms if I wasn't mistaken. All the rooms including the bathroom, kitchen, and sitting room were big; and to say the furniture was expensive would be an understatement, it was costly and fancy.

It was such a perfect place from an outsider's eyes, but I'd grew up here and I knew there was no such this as perfection.

A family portrait on the wall caught my attention in the passage.

As I stood there, I felt a rush of emotions, it took everything in me not to pull it all down.

The first thing that caught the eye when looking at the picture wasn't the smiles on everyone's faces, or the neat manner we were dressed.

It was me.

The strange, light-skinned girl that looked nothing like the rest of the family.

Nomalanga was dark-skinned, and so were her kids, they even looked like her and her husband, while I looked nothing like anyone on that portrait.

The tears I'd been holding back since this morning, started pouring.

My eyes blurred with tears, and I clenched my fists, feeling like punching into the photo frame until nothing was left of it.

"Abigail." My entire body went rigid as if I'd just been poured with ice-cold water.

Hearing her voice made me want to run out of there and never look back, nor ever return.

As if sensing my thoughts, she said, "Please don't leave."

I slowly turned around, my legs feeling like they were gonna give way to the floor.

I slowly walked into the sitting room where she was seated on the double-seater couch with her feet on the armrest while her husband massaged them.

Nomalanga was a big woman, yes, but she'd put on extra weight due to the pregnancy, and even worse now, because her entire body seemed to be swelling.

Her fingers were so huge, her big phone looked small in her hands.

"I was about to call you," she said in a hoarse voice and placed her phone on the side.

I slipped my hands into the pockets of my sweater and stood in the middle of the room. "What do you want?" I asked bluntly.

Her husband glared at me. "Don't forget who you are speaking to, she's your mother!" He scolded.

I raised my index finger in warning. "You stay out of this."

He stood up aggressively, his veins popping. "How dare you speak to me like that in my house?"

"Honey, please forgive her, she's just upset." My mom quickly intervened. "Abigail, you need to calm down."

"Calm down?! You want me to calm down after everything you did?" I yelled, angrily wiping my tears.

"I'm not the one who got married in secret!" She countered as her husband helped her to sit up before she could roll off the couch.

"Is that supposed to justify your share of lies? You ruined my life!"

I really shouldn't have come here, this was a terrible mistake, but then again, I couldn't just leave her hanging when she needed me the most.

She may not be my biological mother, but she raised me.

"I just came here to let you know that the medical staff will be here in a week's time...that's your estimated due date."

Hopefully! I thought.

"Are you going to be here?" She asked hopefully.

The hell? I don't know why she couldn't understand that I wanted nothing more to do with her. I want her completely out of my life.

She lied to me for twenty-six years and turned my life upside down.

The only reason keeping me here right now was that I firmly believed that it was wrong to punish children for their parents' sins.

I didn't want any of her children to get caught up in this mess, but sooner or later I'd have to break the news to them.

"Do me a favour and take down that portrait, as a matter of fact, erase me from your life because I don't ever want to see you again."