Heart Me

31

"Dad, you need to let her go!" Chris insisted. He barely had any sleep thinking about Benedict's revelation. "Let Iris go..." He whispered. Benedict had yet left the house despite the need for blood.

"Chris... stop." He asked. He had been thinking about it in the basement where it was safe for him to spend the day. "I'm dealing with my thoughts, my paranoia and the fact that you know everything."

"But you told me!" Chris exclaimed. His eyebrow curled. "And the rest you made me envision it. I am begging you, dad. Let her go. If mom finds out, she's gonna hurt Iris, you know that." His heart accelerated at the thought. "This can't go on," Chris's voice crackled slightly through the connection, but the urgency was unmistakable. "You have to let her go. Keeping Iris there, against her will... it's not right. You know it isn't."

Benedict remained silent for a moment, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the wall. He was torn between the ancient bond that tied him to Iris and the undeniable truth of his son's words.

"Chris..." Benedict began, his voice low and measured, yet carrying the weight of his internal struggle. "You don't understand the full extent of this. It's not as simple as letting her go."

Chris paced his room, his grip tightening around the phone. He could hear the restraint in his father's voice, the way Benedict danced around the truth. It only fueled his determination.

"Then make me understand, dad. You can't keep hiding behind these half-truths. If there's more to this, tell me. But holding her captive... that's not the answer."

Benedict exhaled slowly. He closed his eyes, his mind racing to find a way to articulate the inexplicable connection he felt without revealing too much.

"Chris, there are forces at play here that even I can't fully explain. Iris is..." He stopped. "I don't remember much of my human life. I don't lie about this, but I remember her... Can't you see what that means? Letting her go isn't just a choice... it's a risk."

Chris stopped pacing, his body tensing as he heard the hint of uncertainty in Benedict's voice. He was used to his father's confident, almost imperious tone, but this was different. He seemed afraid of something, and Chris had never seen him afraid of anything. He could not even picture his father afraid of something.

"You're afraid," Chris said softly, the realization dawning on him. "You're afraid of what will happen if you release her."

Benedict's grip on the phone tightened, his knuckles turning white. He was unused to such vulnerability, especially in front of his son.

"I'm not afraid for myself." He admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'm afraid of what this connection means... for all of us." Chris's brow furrowed, his frustration giving way to concern.

"Dad, whatever this bond is, it can't justify keeping her prisoner. Mom is gonna hurt her if she knows. We both know this. I don't think you want anything to happen to her, right?"

"You mother is not gonna do anything." Benedict breathed.

"You don't know that!" Chris exclaimed. "Mom is unpredictable."

A bitter smile tugged at the corners of Benedict's lips. He could hear the conviction in Chris's voice, the earnest belief that there was still a choice to be made.

"You think I haven't considered that? That I haven't weighed every possible outcome?" Benedict's voice grew harsher, tinged with the weight of centuries of experience. "But some bonds, once awakened, can't simply be severed. Releasing her could have consequences none of us are prepared to face."

Chris felt a cold dread settle in his stomach. There was something more here, something his father wasn't saying.

"Then why let me see it, dad? Why give me these visions if you didn't want me to know?"