Shackled by Lies

Chapter 2

I had barely even fully stepped into the workshop yet when a bucket of water was shoved into my arms by a young boy who looked beyond pleased with the job he had done. He was dressed in shorts and a shirt and was practically hidden behind the oil that was covering his entire body. Even his face had streaks of it all over the place. His light hair was sticking up on a few places while his blue eyes showed his joy at simply walking around at the workshop.

"Grandpa said to give you that." He stated proudly.

I might have found him cute if it wasn't for the fact that I did not have a real great fondness for children. They just represented a really bad past.

"Grandpa?" I questioned curiously.

My question was answered almost at once when Mr. Hanson stepped out of his office that he shared with my grandfather. The man looked exactly the same as when I last saw him more than four years ago. By the puzzled look on his face, it was clear that he did not ask my grandfather what I looked like now.

"Tommy, there you are! I've been calling you for an hour now. If your mother knew you were running around in here unattended to, then I'll be the one getting it from your grandmother."

The kid laughed in delight at the man's words and I watched in fascination when the elderly man ruffled the boy's hair with a fond smile on his face. The kid giggled and didn't need to reply when my grandfather turned a corner with a bright smile on his elderly face.

It's something I didn't see too often and something that disappeared the moment he saw me.

"Don't be so strict with the child, Aden. I was just sending him on some errands around the warehouse out back." My grandfather's eyes settled on the bucket of water I still held in my arms and gave a slight nod. "I see he handed the water to the correct person. Angel, why don't you get started on cleaning the workshop up? We haven't had it cleaned out in a rather long time."

I nodded mutely at my grandfather's cold tone of voice before offering a stunned Mr. Hanson a slight smile and then walking off, leaving them to talk.

I started a few feet away in the corner of the workshop with the mop in hand when I picked up on my grandfather's words he was sharing with his long time partner.

"Yes, she arrived here a couple of days ago. Today was her first day of school."

"Why did you make her start working today? I'm sure she would have appreciated at least a few days off so she could catch up on her school work and adjust to the changes." Mr. Hanson sounded confused and I felt his eyes on my back for a moment before my grandfather snorted in disbelief.

"I took the girl into my house, I'm sure that's enough from my end. She can be thankful that I even called her up after what happened and she should consider herself lucky to actually have a job at this moment in time." My grandfather's harsh words were not unexpected and didn't hurt me either. I knew he had a reason behind being so cold towards his only granddaughter.

Deciding I didn't want to hear any more of the conversation, I reached into my back pocket of my shorts and pulled out my phone before plugging in my earphones and letting the music fill my mind, making everything else drop away into oblivion. I continued working in silence for the rest of the afternoon until I got to one of the cars that were being serviced.

I found one of Dan's old friends leaning over the hood of the car while tightening a nut. I frowned at the guy's face for a full minute trying to remember who he was exactly. He was one of the guys who went out of their way to hit me in the hallways back when I was a kid. I think he felt my gaze on him because he finally looked up from his work and gave me a questioning look. I replied with an eye roll before turning my back to him and ignoring his existence for another few minutes.