Page 19 of Twisted Lies

I thought death would be worse than this. Sure, the not being able to take in any air sucked ass, but now everything seems so peaceful. That is until I surge to the side as I roll, coughing and breathing much-needed air. I open my eyes to see I'm still in the library at my grandfather's house.

"Mom!" I try to call out, but my throat is sore and hoarse.

"Shh…" I feel her hands on me from behind as she caresses my head.

I roll to my back again, resting my head on my mother's lap. I look up as she looks down. "Where is he?" I whisper.

She looks to her right and I follow her line of sight to see my uncle lying beside me. The flagpole that used to stand in the corner is now impaled through his side. I look at my mother and relax my body for the first time in years.

"We have to call the police," I tell her.

My mother shakes her head with her eyes bulging.

"You won't be in trouble, Mom. It was self-defense," I say and then wince as I sit up. "We need to call them before Lyle gets back."

I can tell by the expression on her face that she had forgotten all about the henchman. My mother then moves over to Liam and searches his pockets until she pulls out the key to the library door and holds it up to me. I grin, and she goes to stand, but I stop her.

"Wait, Mom," I tell her, and she turns back to me. "It's been twelve years. Do you think I can get a hug from you?"

I watch the tears form in her eyes, and for once, they are happy tears. She then pulls me into her and gives me one of the mom hugs she used to give me when I was little. With one arm around my back, her other hand holds the back of my head as she holds me tight, and I'm taken back to all those years ago.

"Everything is going to be okay, Mom." I pull back and look her in the eye. "Are you ready to go home?"'

Grinning, she starts nodding, but then it turns into a shake, and the grin is gone. I'll bet I can tell you why. I wasn't the only one who watched those home videos of my father and Ryan. Liam liked to watch them as he used my mother, making her watch them as well. Forcing her to watch her husband fuck her son’s wife as the psycho fucked her would make me feel the same way, I guess.

I cup my mother's face, making her look at me. "They will be happy to see us, Mom. They love us. We need to take our lives back, and this is the first step. I'll be right beside you."

She continues to shake her head, only this time she opens her mouth and speaks. "C-c-cay-l-ley."

Cayley, my little sister. Will my father be okay with my mother bringing a child from another man home? You know what, it doesn't matter. If anything, Mom and Cayley can live with Ryan and me. After all, Dad will have his hands full taking care of his father because I'm bringing my grandfather back with us, too.

"Do you know which boarding school she's at?" I ask my mother, but she shakes her head sadly. "Hey, it's okay. We will find her and bring her home, too."

I can still see apprehension in my mother's eyes, but it's to be expected. She's been gone a long time, and a lot has happened to her. Hell, who knows if she and my father will stay together? One thing is for sure, I'm not leaving her behind.

Twelve

After calling the police, my mother and I had gone to Liam's office after locking the library up, and Mom showed me where to find his gun. Not wanting to take any chances in case Lyle returned before the authorities showed up, I tucked it in the back of my jeans and went up to tell my grandfather the news. Of course, Liam was his younger brother, so my grandfather was upset, but only because it saddened him that Liam had lost his way. In the end, he said that it was for the best. That way, Liam couldn't hurt anyone else.

Grandfather was apprehensive about coming to live at the Manor, but he agreed to give it a shot as long as my father was on board with it and as long as Cal could come and continue caring for him. I had no issue with that, so once it was settled, I asked Cal to step outside in the hall with my mother so I could talk to my grandfather in private.

I remember the conversation like it was just yesterday, but in fact, it was two weeks ago that my mother and I were able to escape that hell. I sat in the chair I always sat in to talk to my grandfather. What I had to say wasn't going to be easy. Taking his hand, he knew something was wrong. This was after I had already told him about his brother. He was patient with me as I sat there, collecting my thoughts and figuring out how to tell him.

"I have something that I need to tell you, Grandpa, and it's going to upset you, but I want you to know that none of it was your fault, and no blame is being placed on you."

"What is it, Beau? What did Liam do?"

"It's about Pretty Bird…"

"Liam's whore?"

Grinding my teeth at the term, I know Grandpa doesn't know her name, so I swallow and proceed to tell him, "She's not a whore, Grandpa. Please don't call her that. She has a name."

"I meant no disrespect to the woman. It's just what she was referred to as…"

"I know," I say quickly and sadly. "I just wanted you to know that she isn't who Liam said she was."

"Oh? How do you know who she is? She's been here years longer than you," he questions.

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