Voracious Angel

Chapter 21

Leia was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a glass of milk while her mother was making breakfast. There was something on her mother's mind but she wasn't going to ask about it. Happy emerged from the hallway and kissed Isis' cheek as she handed him a cup of coffee. He leaned against the counter as she cooked talking about their day. Everything seemed normal. Except her mother had killed her father. The neglectful father who never seemed to want to have anything to do with them.

She didn't know how to feel about it. On one hand he was her father and was partly responsible for giving her life. On the other hand, he was abusive and neglectful. Her mother had asked her and her sister what they thought about moving far away from him once their divorce was final and the custody hearings were over. Both her and her sister had loved the idea. They didn't want to be around their father. If he didn't want them around, why should they want to be around him?

Was her mother feeling bad for killing their father? Happy looked over and noticed Leia staring and wondered what was up with the teen. Isis finished with the scrambled eggs and pan sausage and called Ashanti to breakfast. Happy refilled her coffee cup for her before he, too, sat down to breakfast. The table was silent as they ate much like they were the previous evening. Happy wondered how the girl's were taking the news of their father's death or if Isis had even told them yet.

"Mom? Where's dad?" Leia suddenly blurted out, "I mean, we didn't see a body when we left the auto shop last night."

"He's in a resting place. I made sure of it." Happy retorted.

"So...we can't go visit him then?" Ashanti questioned.

"It's best if you don't know where he his." Happy stated.

"Mom?" Leia looked over to her mother.

"Happy's right. It's best if none of us knows where he's buried. I can help you set up a shrine to him in your rooms if you'd like." Isis retorted.

"That's ok. I was just curious." Leia stated.

"Are you sure? I know he was your father..." Isis started.

"You were right. He never wanted us, always treated us like crap. It's why we voted on moving far away from him to start a new life. Why should we be upset when he never even wanted us to begin with." Leia shrugged.

"Leia! He was our dad!" Ashanti gasped.

"He was an abusive, neglectful jerk, Ash. Remember your first school play? You were so excited to get the main female part. Dad promised you he'd be there and the jerk never showed. Mom video taped it so she could show him later and he still didn't want to see it? Remember how you cried? Screw that jerk!" Leia angrily stated with a huff.

"Ok, settle down you two." Isis sighed, "If he would have just walked away and left us alone, I wouldn't have killed him. I know I've laid a heavy burden on you two with this knowledge but I thought you deserved to know what really happened."

"It's ok mom. I've...come to terms with it." Leia sighed.

"But he was our dad! How can you just get over it so fast?" Ashanti asked her big sister.

"Ash, the man never wanted us. Think about that. What would happen if mom had agreed and we went back to Texas with him? The same old sh...stuff would have happened. The neglectfulness. The emotional abuse. Mom made the right decision. I don't want to live with someone who doesn't want me or even loves me. Ash, you gotta start thinking like that instead of just the fact he was our dad." Leia tried to explain.

The younger girl looked down at her plate and moved some of her eggs around. She'd lost her appetite so she excused herself and headed back to her room. Isis sighed knowing it was going to take her younger daughter more time to come to terms with what had happened. As she had told Chibs, she was the more emotional of her girls. She just hoped her children wouldn't come to hate her for the decision she made.