WOUNDED

16. The Will

            Numb,that was the perfect word to describe her current state. She was not feeling anything at all. It was like she had split into two people. The first one was watching everything from above, seeing everyone move frantically and sharing their grief and sadness. Then there was the other one on the ground,hollow and numb at the troubles of the world.

She had not shed a single tear since leaving the hospital. She had surprisingly coordinated with the hospital management, signed all the papers and had even made the necessary arrangements for her dad to be moved to the appropriate facilities.
       
The only time she'd snapped was when the head doctor in charge had asked where she'd like for the body to be moved to. She could not accept them disrespecting his dad by reducing him to just a body and not referring him by his name. After everything was complete she'd gone back to the house, where Jenny upon seeing the look on her face had screamed her head off and hidden in the bedroom all day. She had then called her family and very calmly informed them of the tragedy. To think that she was bearing worse news than last time,she didn't even feel the nervousness she'd felt then.
      
Her father's will was being read today. It had been two days since his passing and they were meeting at his place. Susan had wanted the meeting to take place at her house which Alex had no patience for. She could attend or not but either way everything would go as planned.
        
By 10 am they were all seated in the living room waiting for Susan to show up. "We'll be starting in 5 minutes whether she'll have arrived or not." Alex informed everyone already getting irritated by her tardiness. They had scheduled the meeting to start at 9.30 but here they were still waiting for her. The lawyer had arrived and was seated at the lone couch with papers on his lap.
      
Alex had also invited two of his dad's close friends as witnesses. "You can go ahead and start, we can't waste any more time." She informed the lawyer after 5 minutes had passed. Seated next to Jenny, she had one arm around her for support. She needed it to survive the deadly jaws that was her family.
         
"Ok I guess we'll start, first and foremost I'd like to give my condolences to all of you for your loss. I've known Dave for a long time as a friend and a business partner and I can confidently say that he was in no doubt a good man." Mr Martin, the lawyer as he'd introduced himself was  addressing them. "I came to see him when he was sick and not even the sickness could rob the goodness of his heart. With that said,he did make the arrangements concerning his properties and with no furth..... He was cut short when Susan rushed inside.
      
"Sorry I got held up for a little bit, traffic and all that. Why would you even start without me, I am the wife." Squeezing herself between Samantha and Janice,she called out to no one in particular. "Ex-wife mother, and the meeting was supposed to start at 9.30. You can proceed Mr Martin." Alexis couldn't help but sneer at her mother.
      
Surprisingly for once Susan chose to keep quiet and not respond. "Alright as I was saying, a month ago he called me and made his arrangements and adjustments which I have with me here. So I'll start with giving out these letters. The first one is addressed to Miss Alexis Stevens, the second one is to Miss Jennifer Michaels and the last one is to "All my children. It's to be read out amongst all his kids."
        
Alex took the three letters, giving Jenny hers and retaining the rest. They could read later, the faster they finished this meeting the better. She could already feel the glares directed at Jenny and herself and they had only started. Within the next 30 minutes the will was read, which surprisingly took longer than she'd expected.
       
Her dad had more property than she knew. By the time the lawyer and the two gentlemen managed to slip out of the house, chaos had descended. To say that her mother was pissed off was an understatement. The only thing she had gotten was her current house. She was writhing and Alex quickly helped Jenny escape the room unscathed.
       
Coming back to the room, she couldn't even tell who was talking and who was silent. It appeared things hadn't gone as they'd expected. Her dad had left Jenny his house and a large amount of money which she had refused to accept with tears. Alex was going to make sure she got everything. She was deserving of everything than any of them and no amount of glares and words from her mother and sisters was going change that.
       
Her sisters had been given enough money to help them start life which was accessible only at the age of 23. Samantha had thrown a fit at that but Alex was glad and hoped that by then she'll have grown more responsible. Her dad had left her more money than any of them and a house down coast that she didn't even know existed. Alex didn't think for once that she deserved it. No amount of money was going to bring her dad back.
        
Knowing that unless she intervened the arguments would very well take the whole day, Alex raised her voice to get their attention. "The plans will go as planned, the burial will take place on monday and we'll be assembled at the funeral home by 9. Now if you don't mind,this is a time of grief and we'd very much appreciate silence.
        
Thanks y'all for coming.