His Daughter

Chapter 24

Greg was tired of screaming. He was tired of crying. Gabbie wouldn't listen to him, staying upstairs the whole time; not paying attention to the ruckus coming from the basement. He felt thinned out, like his skin was stretched too tightly over his bones; his body aching, reminding him of his age or rather, the passage of time. Gabbie would pick up Jenny from her mother, drive here and end their daughter's life. A "Family tradition" she said. He felt helpless, brutally reminded how powerless he'd been so far, not seeing the signs; not reading his wife as well as he'd thought he could.

His throat ached.

His eyes stung.

And his mind would alternate between the horrible scenarios of Gabbie maliciously taking their daughter's life and the still very much alive events of last night. He didn't know what's worse, having been put between two evils ripping his mind until there was nothing left by static.

He hated it... That passive nothingness. He couldn't resist. He couldn't stop her. He had no influence over his child's live. As much as Gabbie's story unsettled him, unveiling some long-existing cult of some sort, Greg would continue to love Jenny and refer to her as his daughter. But what kind of a father was he? He wasn't her protector. He wasn't her caretaker. He'd shown her nothing but a terrifying side of him... an abusive and unstable parent. That's all he was to her now... a monster who raised his hand at his daughter. Was she even suspecting anything? Was Jenny aware she was going to die? Would Gabbie be cruel with it? Or would she just put her to sleep and end Jenny's life without her knowledge; without letting her know how much betrayed she'd been by her own mother?

Considering these type of possibilities scared him. It scared his that somewhere along the way he begun to think of Jenny in past tense rather than present.

Greg bit down on his lip, trying to keep the sobs quiet.

-You shouldn't blame yourself...- he didn't even notice Gabbie coming back. She stood there, hammer in one hand and doll in the other. Her hair was messy and auburn with small blue beads for eyes. She wore a pink dress, clearly made to mimic Jenny's favourite garment, probably waiting at their flat for the owner who will never wear it again. Gabbie send him a sad smile.

- If anybody is to blame it's me... I should have been transparent with you from the start...- she walked up to the wall on the right, where there was still some space for at least four dolls.

-I understand your resentment to me, but you have to accept this... This is bigger than me, you or Jenny. It's about peace. I have seen what it can do... It's the only way...- she continued while searching through the pockets for a nail.

-Day's before Ginny was... taken care of, my dad found a body of a boy in the forest. He was Ginny's friend... I don't know what he was doing there, but it got to him before any of us could; The other half of what Ginny was and Jenny is... ripped him to shreds. There is no running from it. There is nothing you could do to fight back or even hide. Nothing except letting Jenny go.- Gabbie was speaking quietly, knowing that Greg would listen to every word she'd say. She coughed, choking on the debris falling as she hammered the nail for the very first time.

-I am glad we didn't have any casualties this year... I didn't really expect the "toxic waste" warning to work, but I'm not going to complain about it. After all it's an innocent life we are talking about...- she couldn't finish as Greg spoke up.

-Is Jenny not an innocent life?

Gabbie threw him a sombre look.

-No, she is not a life at all. The quicker you let her go, the less it will hurt. She is not a human Greg.- she sighed, seemingly exasperated with his refusal to accept her version of events.