The Beastie and his Princess

Chapter 10

I tried catching my breath as my father stepped away from me, obviously having enough of me. He stumbled over to the couch, taking another swig of his beer. Hesitantly, I tried my best not to limp over to him. He eyed me in the corner of his eye, grunting as I decided to sit just far enough away from him. 

Gulping, I looked up at my father. How in the world was I going to do this? I could feel my heart trying to beat out of my chest, desiring to know more about my mother's death. A soar of determination washed over me, and I looked him dead in the eye.

"How exactly did mom die?" It was blunt, and I wouldn't have to strain any longer deciding how to ask.

I internally winced as I caught the dead look in my father's eyes. He harshly dropped his beer, a few drips of it bouncing out onto the couch. I started to back away as he reached for me. "Stop moving," he demanded. Hesitantly, I slowed to a stop.

He simply turned to get a better look at me. Testing me. "Why do you care?"

I snorted, immediately regretting doing so as he reached to pull at my hair, "I-I just do. She's my mom too. I deserve to know," I whispered, clasping my hand around his hand that was pulling strands of my hair out of my scalp.

He pulled me closer, trying to be intimidating as he glared at me. It worked, "You don't need to know."

I was never going to get a straight answer at this pace. It was already 4:56, I only had around an hour to get ready to meet Ryder. I was going to have to sneak it out of him. "It's because you called to have her killed, wasn't it?" I knew I was way off, but I was hoping that it would get a reaction out of him.

He would correct me, and that's exactly what he did. "You little b****!" He growled as he pulled more at my hair. I cried out as he did that, feeling a headache coming on. "How dare you!"

"Or is it because she snuck out to find him? Maybe she was in love with him, asked the man to kill her to get away from you," I provoked him.

"Damn you Ryile!" He slapped me. I kept quiet, waiting for him to stop cussing me out. Finally, he threw me back to the floor, taking another swig of his beer. "You don't know what happened that night," he grunted.

"Then tell me!" I shouted. "What harm is it going to do to me now, huh? She's gone! There's no way I can change that!"

He sighed, plopping himself back onto the couch. He set his drink down, staring at the floor. I resisted the urge to yell at him, seeing that he was seconds away from breaking.

He rubbed his temples, and I watched in awe as a single tear dropped from his eyes.

I hadn't seen the least bit of genuine emotion from him in...forever.

I stayed quiet, not wanting to ruin the moment. 

"She did love me," he whispered. I let him continue, already able to feel my stomach beginning to turn. "...Before me, she had been involved with a bad man. When I came into the picture, he wasn't happy. Melinda left him, and she and I became a couple.

"But he was always there. He always watched her, and I could tell he didn't like it when she was pregnant. When I went into the police force, I did everything to keep Melinda safe. But...it wasn't enough."

So, this man-he was in love with my mother? And..killed her? But, why? Why would you kill the one that you love?

"He had tried to get to her before, but I was always there. Then, she went to go get your damn cookies. I thought it would be okay to let her go alone. I could tell she was getting tired of my over-protectiveness.