Page 38 of Drowned In Silence
“Time to see what’s going on,” I whisper to my reflection in the mirror. The tattoo on my chest seems to wink back at me as I turn with the box in hand. I know It’s a figment of my imagination, but I can’t help but smile back anyway.
“Elliot?” Dynah calls from the living room. “Where did you go?”
“I’m in the bathroom, Little Raven. Give me a second.”
She mumbles something from beyond the closed door as I shut all the voices out of my head and open the lid to the box.
Papers. Adoption papers from when I was taken in by Mr. and Mrs. Martin, a blood test that says I’m clean and clear of all diseases, and one more paper that makes my heart drop to my stomach. The top of the page reads ‘Paternity Test’ and I drop it back into the box after I read it, close it tightly and leave the bathroom.
“Elliot, are you okay? You look pale,” Dynah asks from the couch.
“Yeah… Yeah, I’m fine. No worries.” I rush back into Spencer's room, toss the box back into the closet, and shut everything up behind me. When I come back out, Dynah is looking at me like I’m a mad man. “I’m fine. Everything’s fine.”
“Uhm… Sure you are. Wait, is this some kinda serial killer thing that you do? Run into other people's rooms, snoop around, find things you don’t want to see, and then lie to me? Because if so, cool… If not, we should talk about it,” she sits up and folds her legs beneath her. “Elliot?”
I’m looking around the room. Everything’s spinning. My mind, the room, my heart. It can’t be right. This isn’t right. It makes so much more sense.
“Elliot, you’re scaring me,” she trembles.
I step over to her at the couch and place my hand on her cheek, rubbing my thumb against her. “I’m okay, Little Raven. Everything is okay.” I lean down and kiss the top of her forehead right as Spencer walks back in the front door.
“You,” I growl at him, making eye contact over Dynah’s head. “How dare you…”
Liar
Elliot
He drops the groceriesat his feet, throws his hands up in defence and takes a step back.
“Woah, bro. I told you I went to get groceries. What happened?” He says with mock empathy. He takes two more steps back out of the front door and onto the porch.
“I can’t believe you,” I growl again. I let go of Dynah and step around the couch, never taking my eyes off of him. Once I get face to face, I take both hands, lay them on his chest and push him off the porch. He lands on his ass in the sand, looking at me with fear in his eyes.
I’ve never once made him feel the full strength of my anger. He’s never seen how I can flip a switch and become more unhinged than usual.
He scatters to catch his footing, slowly crawling backwards in the sand that battles to swallow him whole.
“I don’t know what happened? What's wrong, Elliot? Why are you acting like this?” Spencer yells from beneath me.
“You don’t know why I’m mad?” I scream at him, my head tilting to the side and my eyes pinning him down with anger. “What’s in your closet, Spencer Martin?”
His face pales more than possible, his skin turning a greyish green. He stops looking at me and lets out a broken sigh.
“Elliot… Spencer? What’s going on?” Dynah asks from the doorway.
“Go back inside, Darling. I’ll be back soon. Lock the doors, let no one but me in. Not evenhim,”I tell her, pointing at Spencer.
“Elliot?” She says, frightened and scared.
“NOW!” I yell, whipping my head to her and letting Spencer get a chance to run. I walk back up the porch and grab her by the back of the neck, pulling her forehead to mine. “I have to take care of this, Little Raven. You stay put. Please. I don’t usually beg, but I will now. I’m begging you to be a good girl and stay in this house. Do you understand?”
Her tears fall from her cheeks, and I wipe them away with my thumb. She nods and steps back from me, holding the door handle and looking at me like I am possessed.
“Stay,” I command her, before I turn around and walk off the porch, pulling my knife– that always remains in my pocket– out, and hunting Spencer.
It doesn’t take long for me to find his hiding spot behind some trees along the beach's edge. Footsteps in the sand arealways a tale-tale sign of where a person came from, and where they go.
“Oh, Pen,” I call out sweetly into the forest. “Tell me about the paperwork I found. Tell me that you haven’t beenFUCKING LYING TO MEfor almost 19 fucking years!”