Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 86226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
I don’t know what it is about this house, but it feels as if I’m suffocating. I want nothing more than to leave... even though I can’t. And Phoenix wants nothing more than to stay. He seems to get comfort from the darkness of our home.
I don’t understand what’s happening. I try to talk to Phoenix, to get him to open up and tell me what’s wrong. But he just closes himself off. I can see the sadness in his eyes, but I can’t seem to reach him. He’s too far away.
My heart aches for him, yet I know I can’t fix it. I have to stand by helplessly as my son struggles through this pain that he won’t or can’t put into words. No matter how hard I try, my words always fall on deaf ears. It’s as if he’s surrounded by invisible walls that I can never seem to break down.
Sometimes I hate this place. The walls seem to be closing in on me more and more each day. I can feel the darkness of its secrets seeping out from the shadows. I want nothing more than to leave, to escape this feeling of being caged. But at the same time, I’m not ready to leave my children.
My son’s always watching. Studying. Maybe Phoenix knows something that I don’t. Maybe he knows why we can’t seem to escape this place. All I know is that his sadness seems to be rooted in this house, and I don’t know how to help him.
I’ve tried to be strong for him, but it’s hard. I feel like I’m failing as a parent, like I’m not able to provide him with the comfort he needs. I just wish I knew what was going on inside his head. I’m just trying to do my best, and yet it’s not enough.
I fear for the future. I fear for what will happen to my son when we finally leave this place. Will he be able to find the happiness he deserves? Or will the darkness of this house follow us wherever we go?
As soon as I’ve closed the journal, I place it back in the hole. Wiping a tear that falls from my eye, I fight the urge to run upstairs to the attic to give the man a hug and tell him I’ll be the sunshine to his midnight, but I’m not sure that’s even possible.
Chapter
Fifteen
Phoenix
“Come on, brother. I thought you left this place,” Apollo says as he enters the attic, inspecting every inch with his judging eyes. “I thought you were hiding out in that apartment of yours in Seattle.”
“I still have the Seattle home,” I say, “but I like it here better.”
Apollo heads over to the window and stares down at the land below. He doesn’t need to tell me he’s staring at the tree of forgiveness for me to know where his eyes are locked.
“I don’t see how you could. I don’t know why anyone in this family would want to keep coming back to this house.” He turns and looks at me. “How long have you been here?”
What he’s really asking is if I have been here in the attic the entire time he was with Daphne while they created their demon child.
“There weren’t any cameras in your room, or the study, if that’s what you are wondering,” I say. “The last thing I wanted to see was you with her.”
“Careful,” he warns, subtly telling me that attacking his wife is not a good idea.
I have no desire to fight with my brother. “I’m glad you’re here. You are saving me a phone call.” I lean against the edge of the console with my arms crossed. “I need you to help me hunt down Ani’s ex. I want him killed. Actually, I want to do it myself.”
Apollo turns his head slowly, his eyes narrowing. “You’ve never been the killer in the family, brother.”
“Ares is dead, so it’s not like I can ask him to do it.”
He nods slowly. “Still. Killing someone isn’t in your nature.”
“It is if it means keeping Ani safe. Guaranteeing it. My job in this family is security. So I need to do whatever it takes to make that happen.”
“Ani isn’t family.”
“Close enough,” I counter.
Apollo remains quiet for several moments, studying my face. No doubt he is reading just how serious I am. “The ex is dead. No need to worry about that any longer.”
“What do you mean dead?” I ask.
“Dead. Let’s leave it there.”
“No. We aren’t going to leave it there. How do you know he’s dead?” Ani made no mention of him no longer being alive, and surely she would know if that were true.
“It’s a long story,” Apollo begins with a sigh, “but Daphne asked a favor of me. For her sister. She wanted the ex to be killed, and after what I saw he did to Ani, I made it happen.”