CHAPTER 33: Good riddance
A frown became painted on his face as he sauntered down the stairs. He was gonna teach that bitch a fucking lesson.
“Where is Jackie?” He demanded, blowing up in anger.
“I’ll go get her,” Vee smiled, rushing upstairs. Of course, she knew what was coming. Her mom already filled her in on who he was.
Moments later, she came back with Jackie who followed her behind with a look of apprehension on her face. What could he possibly want?
“How dare you, bitch!” He rushed to her, grabbing her by the neck and lifting her with one arm.
She chocked, trying to break free from his grasp but couldn’t. Breathing became an impossible thing and with each passing second, she could the life drain from her body. Was this how she was gonna die?
“Dad…” She croaked, calling for help. He was about to help her out when Dionne held him back, giving him a ‘don’t you dare’ look.
He flung her roughly to the ground, causing her left arm to twist from the fall. She cried and coughed profusely as she tried to regain her breath. The pain she felt on her arm was unbearable.
“I should really kill you right now! Do you know what you did? Do you know what you made her pass through? When I met Riri she was about to be devoured by wolves! If I had been just a millisecond late, she would be dead by now!” He yelled, his fury reaching its peak.
That fact that Riri almost died scared him as much as it angered him. What if he hadn’t been there earlier? He hated to think about what would have happened if she had died. Jackie mustn’t go scot-free, she needed to die!
His eyes flashed red repeatedly and the urge to kill her almost overwhelmed him. Not now. Soon! She would suffer first.
“It was not my fault! I didn’t mean for any of that to happen. I just wanted to show her my special place! My mom used to take me there. I just wanted…”
He laughed, cutting her words short. “What do you take me for? A fool? Do I look like a fool to you? You fucking did that on purpose. You were well aware that that forest was haunted! You wanted her dead, didn’t you? How dare you lie to my face?” He bellowed. She even had the guts to lie! Fucking witch!
“Yes, I did!” She yelled, rising to her feet and holding her arm. “I wanted her dead. I wanted her gone from our lives? I should have just killed her myself instead of waiting for her to be killed by a beast!”
“How dare you? You ungrateful and conniving bitch!” Dionne slapped her. “The only person who needs to be gone from our lives is you! We should have just left you to die in that hospital when your mother died!”
“Don’t you dare bring my mother into this! Have you ever treated me like your daughter? It’s always about Riri. Riri this, Riri that! When is it always about me? I hate you Dionne! You don’t even deserved to be called mom!”
“Don’t you dare speak that way to my wife!” Nate retorted, giving her a hard smack on her cheek.
“Dad?” She held her face in stupefaction and wept. He had never ever raised his hands to slap her in all her years of living with them. She always thought of him as a weak man but she never expected he would actually slap her!
Dionne was stunned by her response. She didn’t just treat her like a daughter, she doted on her like a mother did to her baby. They were times she had to neglect Riri just to make her feel loved. They were a lot of things she ignored, sacrifices she made.
Some of them she regretted. One of them was letting her bully her daughter repeatedly and turning a blind eye to it. She hated herself for it. She felt like a bad mother. How dare she say she never treated her like a daughter? She hadn’t been there for Riri but she wasn’t gonna let that ever happen again. No one would ever bully her daughter ever again, not on her watch!
“You know why I wanted her dead? It’s because she acts like she’s so perfect. She’s everyone’s favorite but she’s not perfect at all, she is so dumb and naive. I wonder what you all see in her! I wished you had let those wolves devour her so I can take her place in your life! She doesn’t deserve you!” She screamed like a demented woman.
“Who are you to tell me that? Riri is far better than you. You’re just a greedy bitch who is overwhelmed by jealously and hatred. You are nothing like your mother!”
“You have no right whatsoever to speak about my mother!” She barked. “You don’t know her! Don’t act like you do! And I hate it when you all compare me to my mother. We are two different persons, we can never be the same!”
“We can no longer accommodate you in this house since you’ve now become a threat to my daughter.” Nate said calmly, before continuing in a more hostile tone,
“She barely survived today, what happens tomorrow or the next day? You may end up planning something even more treacherous that may eventually lead to her death. My wife and daughter will help you in packing your things. My wife and I talked about this and we already arranged for an accommodation for you and you will be sent a monthly allowance every month. You can do whatever you want with your life now. And you leave tonight!”
“Dad…” Surprise washed over her face.
“Also, stay away from Riri at school. We want you as far away from her as possible. Good thing, she’s almost done with her studies so she doesn’t get to see you everyday,” Dionne added.
“Come on, Ivy, it’s time we evicted the witch!”
“Yippee, finally!” She screamed in joy and followed her mom to Jackie’s room to pack her belongings.
Inching closer to her, Blake whispered into her ears. “One more thing, don’t try to ever do something like this, ever again. Don’t even think of trying to harm her else, I won’t hesitate to kill you!” His words caused a patter of cold shivers to run down her body.
“And I mean it! Don’t think I let you go, I will make sure you pay for what you did!”
“Are you threatening me?” She questioned, trying to act all bold on the outside but on the inside she was practically shaking in fear.
“It’s more than a threat, it’s a promise. A promise I plan to keep!”
*******
Her eyes opened slowly, her vision was blurry at first but it soon became lucid. She glazed at the ceiling like it was the most interesting thing to stare at.
Her muscles felt sore and her body was weak. She could barely move her hand. Mustering all the strength she could gather, she managed to sit up. She stretched out, cracking her bones and it created some kind of relief for her.
Getting off the bed, she moved to her bathroom with sluggish and groggy steps. When she was done taking her bath, she put on a ripped denim bum short and a yellow baggy T shirt.
She combed her hair and packed it in a messy bun. She got out of her room and proceeded to kitchen where she met Vee cooking.
When she sighted Riri, she ran to hug her. She was stunned by the sudden gesture, Vee never liked hugs. She was never the emotional type. She liked to keep her emotions to herself and never let anyone see them. But right now, her face carried different emotions. Fear, concern, love, hate, happiness and relief.
“Morning, Riri. How are you feeling now?”
“I’m great, I guess. Has something gotten into you?” She questioned in confusion. She was acting weird.
“Nope, I just wanna hug you.” She tightened the hug. “I was so scared. I thought you were going to die. I thought I would never see you again. I thought you would never be there to bully me anymore.” She cried.
“Vee I’m here now, ain’t I? I won’t die so easily. And no worries, you are not gonna escape my teasing.” She smirked.NôvelDrama.Org holds text © rights.
Vee chuckled. “Good thing Jackie is gone…”
“Jackie? I thought she got lost in the forest. I was gonna ask Dad if they had found her. I was worried…”
Vee pushed her away. “You’re so naive. Worrying about someone who wanted you dead!”
She was confused. “What are you talking about?”
“It was all a setup. She only brought you into that forest to kill you. That forest is haunted by an unknown beast. Any one who goes into it once it’s 7pm sharp dies! You only survived because your professor was there in time.”
She fumed. “That bitch! So that was her plan all along. It was all just an act and to think I actually felt sorry for her.”
“That’s Jackie for you, she’s a back stabber. She doesn’t mind hurting so many people just to get what she wants. Good thing she’s gone now, we can finally live in peace.”
“She’s gone? Where to?”
“Mom and dad arranged for an apartment for her. She left last night.”
“That’s a relief. Good riddance.”
“Where is mom and Dad?”
“Went shopping for your birthday party. They didn’t want to disturb you so they left without telling you.”
“Oh, so I guess, it’s just me and you now. How can I help?” She offered.
“The food is almost ready but you can join me in setting the table.”
“Okay. But why is there so much food? This would be more than enough for all of us.”
“We have a visitor,” she replied.
“What visitor?” She questioned, mystified.
The door bell rang. “That should be mom and dad.”
“I’ll go answer it.” She left the kitchen and headed to the sitting room to open the door. Once the door was opened, mom and dad walked in and she didn’t fail to shower them with kisses.
Some else walked into the sitting room and she stood there bemused, her heart racing in her chest and butterflies storming her stomach at the mere sight of him.
“Drake?”