His Darkness, Her Safety

Chapter 4: Aaron

Grace joins her son in my spare bedroom while I stay out here on the couch. My thoughts race, doing whirlwinds in my head. I wanted to talk to her about it now, but I couldn't figure out how to handle the situation.

I don't know the extent of what John did to her, but it has been tearing her apart. It shows in her eyes. Her eyes that used to be the brightest, most hopeful shade of green.

It is painful to watch her go through this again. After being abused by her birth parents before being adopted by my family... I can only imagine how she feels. A huge part of her life has been damaged by abuse.

She needs some time to get herself together. And as bad as this idea sounds... It would probably be best for Lake to go spend some time with his grandparents.

Our parents would take good care of him. They have always loved children, especially Lake. After all, he is their only grandchild.

Lake could forget about what happened with his dad and have a good time. Grace could spend some time to work on herself and calm down. It would be best for both of them.

As for me? I have to step up to the plate. I can't exactly be the silly and playful brother I have always been to Grace. I need to protect her and take care of her. Although that would mean that she'd travel with the Ghost Adventures crew. Zak had never met her. Neither had Billy or Jay. Of course I'm worried about getting her involved in our investigations, but she'd be safe from John.

Grace comes out of the bedroom and sits beside me on the couch. "What was it that you wanted to tell me? I can't sleep," she mumbles.

"I think it would be a good idea for Lake to stay with mom and dad for a while. He could forget about everything that has happened and just have a good time."

Grace looks at me in absolute shock. "Why do you think he would be better off there? He is my son. I can take care of him perfectly by myself!"

I put my arm around her, pulling her to my chest. "You can hardly take care of yourself, Grace. It would be best for both of you. You need time to get your thoughts together and not worry about anything."

"I'm fine, Aaron."

"Look at yourself! You're hardly the same person anymore."

She gets unusually quiet and zoned out for a while. "Okay. I understand. Maybe it would be good for us both... But this is not going to be longterm. One week at most."

I sigh and nod. "One week. I want you to stay with me for a while too. You'll have to come on our investigation this week too."

"Aaron... I really don't want to be hanging around guys I don't even know."

"Trust me, you'll be safer than you have ever been."

She nods. "Alright. I agree to go."

"I'll go by your apartment tomorrow morning and pack a bag for you. Then we can drop off Lake at mom and dads."

Grace sighs, covering her face with her hands. "This is stressful."

"I know... But it's for the best. Now you should really get some rest. We fly out to Tennessee tomorrow afternoon."