Vengeful Soul by Emma Creed
Itwiddle my locket between my thumb and finger throughout the entire service, doing my best to hold everything together. I should be crying, I should feel sad, but I don’t. All I can feel is fucking fury.
Fury at them for leaving me, and angry at everyone here for staring at me with the same pathetic look on their faces.
Aunt Justine arranged for close friends and family to come back to the house after the service. I’ve kept myself busy serving up cups of coffee and slices of cake. I’ve stared vacantly back at guests and nodded at their kind words without absorbing a single one of them, right up until the last one of them has left.
Even Auntie Justine—who’s been staying with me since the night I came home from the hospital without them—will be leaving soon, and I don’t know if I’m relieved or disappointed that I’m going to be left here alone.
“Are you sure you're gonna be okay here by yourself? You could always come and stay with me.”
“I’m fine. Julian will be back soon,” I assure her.
“Julian should have been here today,” she tells me bluntly, raising her thinly plucked eyebrows.
Aunt Justine may be my mother's sister, but they are nothing alike. She’s sharp tongued and has a no-nonsense approach to just about everything, even death.
“I’m not ready to leave the house yet,” I change the subject before looking around me. I grew up within these walls, each room contains their own happy memories, and right now that’s the only comfort I have left.
“Well, you give me a call when you’ve thought about what you want to do.” She presses a tight-lipped kiss to my cheek, before seeing herself out and leaving me alone in a house that now seems far too big.
I touch my fingers to my graduation photo as I pass it in the hallway. We all look so happy, three sets of smiles, all anticipating a happy future. And my chest feels heavy with sorrow when it sinks in a little deeper that I’ll never see them again. They are actually gone now. Buried deep in the ground with only me left here as proof of their existence.
My life had been shaping up exactly how I dreamed it would. I’d just started working for Dad's real-estate firm, me and my fiancé Julian had been planning to move in together. Mom and Dad had even started to accept the fact that we were together.
Neither of them were happy when I told them I was dating Dad’s business partner’s son. I guess the age gap was their biggest issue. Julian being in his thirties and me only twenty-three. Dad also felt betrayed by the fact we kept our relationship a secret for so long.
But, just like everything else I’ve ever done in my life, eventually they supported me.
Everything was on track. I was happy. That’s when fate decided to take it all away from me.
Me, Mom, and Dad were meeting Julian and his parents for dinner to celebrate our engagement. I should have been with them in the car that night, but I’d been held up at the nail bar so I told them I’d meet them there.
Their accident happened on the way to the restaurant, and my life was spared because of a manicure.
I clear away the paper plates and stack the glasses into the dishwasher. I almost regret telling Aunt Justine that I’d take care of all the mess myself to get rid of her quicker. With the room empty of people, there’s a much bigger mess than I thought. Still, I guess it’ll keep me distracted for a while.
I take out the trash, and when I glance down the street, I see something that makes me stop in my tracks. We don’t have neighbors out here and I don’t recognize the old rustic truck that’s parked a couple hundred yards away from the house. The shadow from the tree above it makes it too dark to get a good look at the driver, but I’m certain whoever it is doesn’t belong around here.
I make sure to lock the front door when I get back inside, and then quickly finish clearing up the kitchen. When I’m done, I head upstairs for a shower.
I’m unzipping the black dress I’ve been wearing all day, and just as I’m about to let it fall to my ankles, I hear a creak come from the landing.
Slowly, creeping toward my bedroom door, I open it just enough to peer through the crack.
There’s nobody there, so I open it a little wider and then jump in shock when I feel a hand snatch my hip and tug my body.
“I’m so sorry, baby.”
I breathe a sigh of relief when I recognize Julian’s voice.
“Where have you been?” I pull back, suddenly remembering how pissed I am at him. I have every right to be mad. I needed him today and he wasn’t there.
“I hopped on the first flight I could after they canceled mine this morning,” he explains, stroking his hand through my hair, and looking disappointed in himself.
“So, not only do you fail to call me and tell me that, but you decide to give me a heart attack too. How’d you even get in here?” I’m certain I locked the front door.
“Back door was open,” he tells me, lifting me onto his body and hooking my legs around his hips.
“Come on, you can’t stay mad at me, not today. I wasn’t there for you and I feel really shit about it, but I’m here now and I’ll do whatever it takes to make it up to you.” With his head buried in my neck and his lips kissing the dip in my shoulder, it’s hard to stay mad at him.
“Anything?” I check.
“Anything,” he assures me.
Julian may be ten years older than me, but I’ve never noticed the age gap. His slightly greying hair is the only thing that gives his age away. He’s the kinda guy women swoon over, and he’s ridiculously handsome and charming with it. I know I can be high maintenance at times, it’s hard not to be when you’ve been treated like a princess your whole life, but Julian seems to enjoy making me happy.
Work has kept him out of state for the past few days, with Dad’s sudden passing and his own dad close to retiring, he’s really had to step up and start managing some of the other offices. He must have a lot of stress on his shoulders.
“Take-out from The Olive tree and a bottle of something expensive, and I may consider forgiving you.” I put on a brave face for him and lay down my terms. I need a distraction from everything that’s happened these past few weeks. If I act fine, surely it’s only a matter of time before I start to feel fine.
“Grace,” Julian places me down with a serious look on his face. “I hated thinking about you being alone today. But I’m here for you now. Let me take care of you. Sell this place, move in with me.”
“We’ll talk about it over my mushroom risotto,” I promise, placing a kiss on his cheek before I shoo him out the door. I haven’t eaten anything all day, come to think about it, I haven’t eaten much since the accident happened. Perhaps knowing they are at rest now has relieved me enough to actually think about eating something I’ll enjoy.
“As you wish.” Julian kisses me again before he rushes back out, and I get on with my shower.
I think about what Julian said. It’s not that I’ve gone off the idea of living with Julian. He’s kind and loving, he can offer a woman a lifetime of security. The company’s doing well, and I know his father has already given over half his shares to him.
But when I agreed to marry him, I never thought I’d have to say goodbye to this place. I figured we’d still visit my parents on weekends. That our kids would play on the swing that Dad put in the huge oak tree out back for me when I was a kid. Thinking about leaving this place now seems far too overwhelming.
That being said, I’m gonna need Julian now more than ever. Unlike my friends, I made it through college without needing to get a job. I’ve never paid a bill in my life. My parents have always taken care of those kinds of things. And if I ever ran out of allowance, I simply rang Daddy and asked for more money.
Mom and Dad have left everything they had to me. I just don’t have the first clue how to manage it.
Stepping under the stream of water, I let the warm jets wash the stress of the day off my skin. I’ve been all cried out of tears for days now, spent the past two weeks living in a shell. But today I made both my parents a promise. As I lay a rose on their caskets, I promised that I’ll make the best of what they’ve left me with. That I would remember them, be grateful for them and celebrate their lives rather than mourn their death.
And now that I’m alone again, I’m starting to wonder how I’m going to stick to my word.
I get out of the shower and dry myself off, pulling on a tank top and some pajama shorts before rough drying my hair. In the end, I wind it up in a high bun on top of my head. If me and Julian are gonna be living together soon, he better get used to seeing me like this.
“You’re back quick, don’t tell me you forgot your wallet.” I force myself to sound upbeat again when my bedroom door opens. But all the blood under my skin chills when I look up and the man staring back at me through the mirror isn’t Julian.
This man is tall, and sturdily built with a stern look on his face. Dark eyes seethe treacherously into mine and I feel the danger expelling from them.
He wears dark jeans with a black hoodie pulled over his head, and I watch his tongue slowly move over his thick bottom lip when he sees that he has my attention. My eyes dart around the space in front of me, trying to locate something to defend myself with but as I move for my hairbrush, I realize I’m too late. And as soon as his rough, heavy palm wraps around my throat and crushes, I know I’m in a whole lot of trouble.