Married to the Devil

Chapter 35

'No one hates anyone that much to pull something this elaborate.'

For what had to be the umpteenth time Cass' words related in my head.

The worst part of it was that I was starting to believe her.

An image of Derek's hurt expression played in my head. The memory of him was slowed as if played at a snail's pace.

'You cheated on me.'

I had. I had cheated on him. And I'd felt terrible about the whole thing. Even now I still did but his hurt is in no way able to compare with my own.

What Derek did was unforgivable. But if want entirely his own fault. There were two in this charade, the other being Evelyn Reed.

I stood up quickly and took the stairs down my apartment to my idle car. It was time to face Evelyn.

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"Derek!" I shout-whispered.

Somehow his father seemed hear me instead of Derek and whirled around. The suddeness in his movements mixed with his intoxication was enough to make him wobbly on his feet.

"There you are you son of a bitch." He rasped.

Derek stood firmly but I could see the tremor of fear roll his spine.

"Don't call my mother that," Derek said rather quietly.

His father chuckled, "Speak up boy, this ain't a nursery."

I crawled out from under the table to examine him. His father had an unkept beard and unruly brown hair plastered to one side of his head. Thankfully he didn't carry a beer bottle in his hand or he might think of throwing it at Derek. He wobbled from foot-to-foot restlessly.

This man was a completely different person from the man I'd had dinner with and sat across my table from some months ago.

His gaze shifted from Derek to behind him, me.

"I see you've brought me a present," He slurred, eyeing me up and down.

I shivered under his gaze and took a few slow steps backwards. In contrast he wobbled forward.

Derek threw out his arms, as if he was going to hug someone, and his father stopped. "Don't touch her."

He laughed, "Out of my way boy, I'm taking what's mine."

Fear pooled in my abdomen from the statement and a shiver crawled over me that made me shudder.

"Like you did with Lilianne?" Derek asked, a slight waver in his voice.

His father stopped in his tracks and turned his attention back to Derek.
"Don't you dare speak that name in this house," He said, stretching out the 's' in every word.

"Why not?" Derek asked, suddenly angry.

His father turned to pick up and unbroken beer bottle from the living room table. He screwed off the cap take a long swig.

The silence resounded through the room on repeat and left an odd energy through the air.

Derek's father let out an angry sigh, "She was a slut, son. We all knew where she'd turn up."

"Where she'd turn up?" Derek repeated, "Or where you put her?"

"What?" He asked, dark smoke clouds practically floating out his nostrils.

"She's at Mark's place, completely wasted and doing drugs because of you!"

His father surged forward, an angry growl errupted from his chest. A quick upper cut connected with a smack in Derek's jaw. Derek struggled against him and landed against a wooden beam in the living room doorway. He tripped his father and sent him spiralling to the ground.

Derek's father got up and spotted me, cowering at the scene in front of me a short distance away. He smirked and ran towards my direction, earning a shriek from my lungs.

I stumbled backwards and tripped over the table leg that I had his under a few seconds before. My heels and elbows connected hard against the ground.

"Hello sugar," Derek's father drawled suggestively as he towered over me.

My body shook from the way he looked at me. He wanted me. And he was going to take me.

"Get away from her!" Derek shouted and grabbed the back of his father's T-shirt.

With one strong pull, Derek managed to yank him away from me, to my relief. I felt slightly better when his father wasn't looking at me like I was a piece of smoked meat ready for picking.

My hand flew to my mouth when I saw Derek with blood running down his mouth from where his father had hit him. His father wiggled out of Derek's grasp and punched him in the face.

I shrieked for him to stop but he doubled again and again for the gut of his son.

Derek looked at me, withered and hurt, "Kate, run!"

He had to tell me a second time because I was frozen from the scene. And I ran. I ran all the way back to my house and listened to the grunts, groans, and shouts that came from the house across the street.