Page 8 of Sins Of The Father

"And they also betray you at the drop of a hat," he said, almost under his breath but it was loud enough for me to hear. Who the hell hurt him?

"I trust she will do this because she hates Judd. He's the one who ordered her husband killed."

"Fuck me, the Gallo's are a seriously fucked up family," he uttered. "I can't believe you left us for them."

He realised what he said as soon as it was out, and he looked at me apologetically.

"I know, but at the time, it was better than the alternative. I didn't think he would become his father in a matter of a year. He always swore to me that he hated who his father was."

"I guess we never really know who someone is," he said. It made me think someone had hurt him and hurt him bad. That made me so angry that someone could hurt Caleb. He was the kindest soul I'd ever encountered, unless you had made my father want to hurt you then he never missed.

Caleb pulled into the Bianchi compound and pulled into the garage. I grabbed my backpack and headed inside. Caleb hung back, probably to tell my father where we were. I was just waiting for him to come and give me a lecture, but this had to be done and she was the only person I would be able to get that shit off and not have it traced back to me.

Heading down the hall to the outside doors that would lead down into the gardens that Clare had replaced all my mother's flowers with her own. The greenhouse sat unused because Clare really didn't care about gardening like my mother did. It was partially overgrown, and weathered due to lack of use, and it would be perfect to set up my little experiments. I had already hidden mortar and pestles out here, mixing bowls and my old lab chem kit from high school so I could brew the concoctions with ease. Clare wouldn't come out here, and I definitely knew my father wouldn't. I pulled the jar out and the printout I'd gotten from the library yesterday afternoon after I used their computer to find a recipe for hiding the bitter taste, and I got to work.

* * *

The sun shonethrough the glass of the greenhouse and turned it into a near furnace, but I was almost done with my first concoction. It smelled bitter with just a little bit of sweetness. I'd combined both the belladonna and the oleander into this one. It was going to be potent as all get out. As I let it stew, I went outside for fresh air, removing my mask and hanging it on the back of the door. Caleb was sitting up on the back porch, probably watching to make sure I wasn't going to blow myself up.

I headed toward the house and sat down next to him on the porch.

"How are you going in there?" he asked me.

"It seems to be cooking along quite nicely," I replied. "Do you really care or are you worried I'll poison myself?"

He chuckled, and it let the tension lift from his shoulders. "The offer is always there. No one is going to know it was you if you let me take him out."

"I got to do this, Caleb. I don't want my kid to think you need a man to take care of all your problems."

"Makes sense," he said. "I didn't think you would want your kid to know you're going to murder her dad though."

"She saw him, Caleb. She saw what he was doing to me. That was the last straw. I can't let her know that it's okay for a man to abuse his wife. I witnessed it myself. I saw what my dad did to my mum, the after effect, btu I heard the screaming. I heard the walls being punched in. It's traumatic for kids."

"I didn't know your dad did that," Caleb said. "He's never touched Clare in anger."

I sighed. I'd come to the realisation a while ago, that they had just been so mismatched and both hotheads. It didn't make it right, but I knew Clare was good for him.

"I asked my mum why she never tried to poison my dad. She had the means to, but she never did. She told me she still loved him. Sometimes love isn't enough to keep you together and the best thing is to part. I don't understand that kind of love, but she didn't have any mean things to say about him even though he hit her."

"It kind of sounds like he hit the wall more than he hit her," Caleb said. "You heard walls being punched, right?"

"Well, yeah."

"He probably punched the wall, so he didn't have to punch your mum. He tried to stop himself because he knew it was wrong. That's where your dad and Judd differ. He punched you and for that, he should be fucking drawn and quartered."

I smiled at his reply. "And you think my poison is medieval."

"I never said that," he answered. "I just don't think you should need to bloody your own hands."

"Nor should you."

"Mine are plenty bloody," he replied. "There's no way I can replenish my soul before judgment day."

"You're a good guy, Caleb. One of the best. You've nothing to fear, believe me."

"There's a lot you don't know about me, Callie."

"You made yourself so gruff then. It was kind of a turn on. Too bad I didn't run away with you back then, hey?"

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