Thirteen Minutes Only || Horror

Part #5

"F-ford?" She stuttered.

The familiarity of the name set her world ablaze. In flow of air to her lungs froze and she forgot to blink, forgot to breathe until a hammering heart, desperate for oxygen, generated a searing pain though her chest. Her lower lip quivered so bad that it provoked a sharp strain in her jaw.

"I knew you'd recognize that name. This is going to make explaining things sooo much easier." He says, almost sang even, reappearing into sight and the view of little Max's face scrunching in terror hints on the fact that he's probably visible to all three of them right now.

The things that mom never told me- the things she would've never told me.

Her gaze fell upon the crumpled figure of her mom on the floor, pulling her knees to her chin but theres something else too that she notices. Dread. In those ghostly wide eyes.

"Did you even ever love him?"

Wha- Jules is about to cut to inquire when he speaks up before she even got a chance finish reacting to a something as random as this.

"Jason Ford?" 

He presses on again with a twisted face Jules did not like the look of. Her instincts suddenly switched sides. She was not liking how everything was an enjoyable game for him and besides, how was this even related to any of this.

"Hmm?"

What was wrong with him?? Her mother clearly did not want to answer and yet this monster was cornering her into it. Jules felt a pang of sympathy for her mother but because of everything he had gaslighted her with, she chose to dust it off. Guilt replaced the sympathy and she faltered. 

Who even was the bad guy here? Wouldn't turning her back on her own mother- her only family save for little Max- be enough to label her as a repulsive, selfish daughter? She, herself, had not been the only one suffering, after all.

Right now, she hated everything happening because nothing would be spared to be called 'normal' ever again. They would never be normal again. They would always be abnormal.

Had she known, she would've instantly chosen to run from him forever and pretend things were normal. How willing she was to just sit at the dining table with the rest of her family and act fool as if nothing was wrong. Suddenly, she felt as if bartering her own sanity for this so called treasure wasn't an unfair trade at all.

"At some point, I might have but..." Her mother finally found the right words and the energy to force them out of her raw throat because she herself didn't know what the answer was or what sort of an answer was appropriate to be given.

At 'some' point I might have... 

The words replayed in her head over and over again like a ghostly whisper and a million thoughts fired up inside her brain as if someone had just lit a dozen firecrackers.

If she never loved dad, then did she ever love me?  Could I have been the reason dad died?  Her breaths hitched at the train of her gruesome thoughts. I mean it could have done something- I was dumb, stupid, little I-

"But?"

Jules gulped. The linkage of her continuously never ending thoughts broken and rage rising, only she didn't know who it was directed at; her mother for keeping so much from her when she should have known, the hellish being in front that apparently had a gender and was recognized as a 'he' for wrecking her bond with her mother and ruining sleep for her every fucking night to scare the shit out of her just because he wanted to meet her??? Like, what sort of bullshit even was that? And lastly nor could she spare herself for being this atrociously oblivious to everything occurring up till now.