Twisted Legacy

[7]

Avery.

Where am from whistling at night can be a cause of bad luck. The same goes for screaming.

And yes, I did whistle at night. As for screaming, well, my nightmares took care of that.

I did not believe in superstitions but that scream could only mean one thing and I was not having it.

No really, what was the most plausible explanation?

My younger sister was watching a horror movie?

Delusional much?

The only teen in this house was me, and horror movies did not scare me enough to scream that loud.

Not to add that the scream did not come from me.

Paula came out of my great grandma's room tears in her eyes holding an envelope.

I ran up the stairs and met her halfway. Her lips were trembling she could barely speak coherently.

My mind was running a thousand miles per second.

Faster than a high-speed train.

Three particular words were making a relay in my head.

Please don't say it. Please don't say it. Please don't say it.

"Lady Veronica is gone." She finally said.

Could've left my curiosity brew for a second.

Doesn't change the message though does it?

Funny how I kind of expected the news and yet I was frozen in place.

I could've sworn she was out of the woods some days ago.

My thoughts had made an effing arena in my head. Half of them trying to imagine a life without her.

The rest trying to come up with an escape plan.

She was the only one who somewhat stood between my grandpa and his cruelty.

He was her son after all. Nothing would stop him now.

He was almost healed and had surgery about two weeks ago.

His aggression towards me would be twice as much given I got him in the position he is in right now.

The images of that particular day are stuck in my head. They replay every time I close my eyes.

In slow motion.

The way he went rolling down the flight stairs, my hands frozen in the air trying to process how and who they had just pushed.

The sound of bones cracking as he settled close to the last stair, Paula calling 911, the ambulance arriving and taking him away.

Great grandma getting a heart attack after receiving the news.

Back and forth, it never stops.

It was a rising tide that I couldn't tune out.

I had to stomach the upheaving waves but my shattered shards of glass had been burning out of late.

One could only take in so much.

I was no superhuman.

I felt someone place a hand on my shoulder and flinched.

"It's just me Av," Paula said comfortingly.

She is Grandma's nurse.

Was.