Page 42 of Vile Emotion
Godric’s death was supposed to remain a secret, buried as if he did something to this town or set it on fire just for existing.
“What did he ever do that was so bad to you people? What is it?” I ask but he’s doing his very best to ignore me. To act like none of this bothers him but it has to. “He was someone’s child, you know? He doesn’t deserve whatever you guys did to him.”
“I didn’t do anything to him!” He growls in my face but I don’t step back.
He isn’t scary at all to me, I’ve seen worse and have experienced more hate than he can throw my way.
“Yes, you did.” I nod. “Look at me, old man, you may not have killed him but you sat there and you did nothing. You covered it up for who? And for what? For some random kid who doesn’t even live here or someone who you know wouldn’t do the same for you? He was innocent.”
“Innocent? Godric Crowne was anything but…” the disdain in his voice is abundantly clear. “Wake up, he was the town drunk. There was nothing great about him and there isn’t going to ever be!”
“What is your problem!” I lash out when I was supposed to be keeping it in. “What could that child have done to you that was so bad? He didn’t even do anything! How could you be so evil and cruel?”
“He pissed off the wrong family. I warned him! I warned him! I warned him!” he yells repeatedly.
Sara runs in the room and tries to calm her dad while I stand there flabbergasted at his statement, he covered up Godric’s death because he pissed off the wrong family. My eyes dart around the room, looking for something to give Alaric. Something to keep him sane enough so that he doesn’t go off the deep end then it feels as if someone grabbed my face and turned me to the far side of the room. Before I can ask who it is, I see Godric again, I haven’t seen him since I found out who he was. He stands there smiling at me like he always does then he calls me over to the picture.
I should be scared but I’m not. There’s something about him that is comforting and I know that even as a ghost, he won’t hurt me. It’s a weird sensation of comfort but I’ll take it. I’ve never felt it before in my entire life. I take a deep breath and walk towards where Godric is standing.
I stare at him for a moment, he looks different. His hair isn’t in the low-braided ponytail, it’s in two plaits that are down to his waist. He smiles at me and in them, I see Alaric. They’re spitting images of each other but they had different mothers, I wonder how much they resemble their father.
“Focus, Juli.” he says and I nod.
My eyes go to the photo and I analyze each person in the picture until I see a guy who looks to be in his mid 20s with blond hair and a smug attitude. I touch the photo and something tells me to further investigate the photo, there’s just this instinct. Turning it around, I unclip the back of the frame and out falls a photo. There’s no sound coming from the room as it drops to the carpeted floor but the thud seems to echo through the room. I stare at it and my eyes widen at what I’m seeing right now. It’s a picture of Godric, laying on what I’m assuming is in the room he died in. His hair is shaven off, there are bruises all over hisbody, cuts all over, and a bullet wound on his left thigh. I pick up the photo, staring at it then at a smiling Godric. He’s such a sweetheart and my heart further breaks for his demise.
“Who did this to you?” I whisper because that’s all I can manage as I’m shaking. I can feel my entire body trembling as I try to keep it in.
Seeing Godric like this, breaks me apart. He didn’t deserve this. He was murdered.
“I don’t know but thank you, Juli. Thank you.” He says as he begins to fade away as my eyes further blurs from the tears in my eyes. “Take care of him. He’s lost so much…”
“I don’t know if I can.”
“That’s okay. No pressure.” He smirks and winks as he fades away.
I want to break down and cry but I can’t. I can’t cry right now. Without thinking about what Sara and her father will do, I walk out to Alaric waiting in the car. He didn’t want to stay in the house. When I spot him, he’s leaning against the car. My first instinct is hiding the picture but I don’t want to do that, he has to see it.
“What did that old fool say?” Alaric asks.
“I’m sorry, Alaric.”
Handing him the picture is about all I can do to make this right for Godric. Alaric draws in a breath at the sight of his brother like that. He doesn’t say or do anything but then after a moment of silence, he nods. “Get in the car, Juliana.”
“Wait, what are you going to do? He’s old, Alaric. He’s old!”
“Get in the FUCKING car, Juliana!” He yells as he runs a hand over his head and exhales. Alaric places the picture in his pocket.
He stares at the house for a moment but doesn’t move forward to get in, he takes his suit jacket off and tosses it on the hood of his car, instead of going to the house, he marches up tothe sheriff’s car and punches until her window is shattered. Then he moves on to kicking her windshield in. He doesn’t stop there, I watch as Alaric destroys everything he can outside of the home on their property.
After that, he breathes in and then out. I watch his back muscles move as he does all this. Then he walks over to the suit jacket putting it back on. He grabs a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and lights one up.
Watching him brings back what Godric said,take care of him… he’s lost so much.
I can’t do it, Godric. It can’t be me. It just can’t.
30
Seeing the picture of my brother just hurt and laying there almost lifeless sent me into a frenzy. Into something inside of me that made my world dim even more. The last time I felt this way was when I lost Carmen and my children.
