Forlot: Thunder Will Come Down - Book Twenty-Seven

Chapter Two

"Cindy! It is me. Your favorite cousin. Please let me in."

The hairs on both of my arms stood. I could not believe my ears. I hoped that I was dreaming and pinched myself. No. No, I was not. My least favorite person in the world besides Ava was on my doorstep.

"I knew that we should have moved far away from Forlot," I hissed under my breath. "Then again, what would be the point if Ava and Diversity can find us with ease?"

No way would I allow Diversity in my house. And I would definitely not allow her anywhere near the children. She would have a field day if she made the discovery that they are white. It was bad enough that she bullied Caleb for what he is. If she bullied Cal and Tamara, I would fight her and throw her out of the house.

My cousin knocked on the door. "Are you not going to answer the door, Cindy? You know that you cannot avoid me forever."

"Just give me a minute or two. I am setting the table for dinner," I lied.

I leaped off the couch and picked up my daughter and hurried as fast as I could to my son's room. I pushed open his bedroom door and saw Cal awake and out of his bed. He was sitting on the floor with his legs crossed and playing one of his video games on his television. It was his favorite racing game.

Cal did not notice me standing in the doorway because he was too invested in the game, so I said his name loud enough for him to hear. He broke free from the trance and faced me.

"Hi, Mommy. Is it time for supper?"

"No, honey. Not yet. Dad has not returned, but he will shortly. He is probably on his way home as we speak."

"I hope so, Mommy. I am starving!"

I narrowed my eyebrows and put a finger over my lips. "Shh."

His face saddened, and he covered his mouth. His voice was muffled, but I could still hear him clearly. "I am sorry, Mommy."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, honey. I just want you to keep your voice down because I do not need a certain somebody to hear you or your sister."

He jumped and ran to me. He wrapped his arms around my legs and whimpered. "I do not want the bad man to shoot me."

I stroked the back of his head. I do not like when my children were scared. "It is okay, Cal. No bad man with a gun is on our property. It is just a relative of mine."

He glanced up at me. "Then why do we have to be quiet?"

"She is toxic and will be a bad influence on you and Tamara." I set Tamara down. "Cal, I have an important job for you. Please stay in here and keep an eye on your sister. I will come for you two when my relative is gone."

"Okay, Mommy."

I bent down and kissed their foreheads before exiting and locking the bedroom door. I stumbled back down the stairs and to the front door. I gripped the doorknob and hesitated for a moment. Then I pulled open the door. There she was. Diversity. In the flesh.

I rolled my eyes. "I cannot believe that you are here."

"Believe it, Cindy," Diversity answered. She had on this disturbing smile, one that could kill if it were possible. "I can tell that you are not thrilled to see me."

"I am never in the mood to see you or touch you or talk with you. How did you escape the asylum? And how come your skin is flawless? I am aware that Ava caused black and purple scars to form on your skin."

"You would be surprised of the medicines that they have available in the asylum." She pushed past me and stepped into my house without permission. "I was prescribed a new medication that was strong enough to reverse the damage and pain that Ava caused. No purple or black marks. No itching. And my strength and powers have returned."

"That is wonderful and all, but you need to leave my house and get off my property."

She spun around and tilted her head to the side. "I just got here, Cindy. We have not seen or talked to each other for over a year."

"I got news for you, Diversity. I liked it that way. Not once did I miss you. I loved the fact that I had to neither see you nor talk to you. Those were among the best days of my life. Besides spending time with Caleb and his sister and cousin."

"Wow. Just...wow. You are still with that white boy. You should receive a medal for marrying a young man who is white."

"How did you know that we got married?"

She brought her face close to mine. "Ask Caleb. I would have never known that you two got married if he had not sent me a wedding invitation."

"Caleb Night sent you an invitation? Now I know that you are lying because Caleb would never do that."

"And why not, Cindy? Why do you not think that he would do such an act of kindness? He is supposed to be the nice guy after all, loving everybody regardless of what they are."

"He could not have sent you an invitation because I told him not to. I was uncomfortable with you knowing that we were getting married. Heck, I was afraid that you would cause a scene at our wedding. Thank gosh that you did not even attend."

"I would have never ruined your wedding. You are my cousin, and I care about you."

"You do not care about me. Remember when Marty and I planned on getting married? You and Marty and Destiny lied and manipulated me for weeks."