Page 52 of Drowned In Silence

“Mom!” Spencer yells, dropping his bag and running to her. He’s always been a momma’s boy. He picks her up and swings her in a circle, it would look like a lover’s embrace if I didn’t know any better.

“Oh, I’m so glad you guys are here! Put me down, let me meet the newest member of the family,” she tells Spencer, patting him on the shoulder as he sets her down on her feet. “You must be Dynah.”

Dynah looks to me as I nod and press my hand in the small of her back, nudging her to say hello.

“Uhm, yes. Hello, Mrs. Martin,” she mumbles. She looks like she's about to take flight. Nervous, flighty, and unprepared for hellos. Dynah holds her hand out, but mom wraps her in a warm embrace instead. Her entire body locks up as her eyes try to find me.

I step behind my mother, letting my eyes meet Dynah’s. She’s scared, unsure about being hugged by a stranger.

My fists clench as mom hugs her tighter, Dynah stares at me above her head.

“Enough,” I growl. I can see how uncomfortable it is for Dynah and I hate to see that look on her face. I’ve never raised my voice, let alone complained about something my ‘Mother’ has done, but it doesn’t stop me from stepping in between the two and pulling Dynah into my arms.

“Okay, okay. Come on. Let’s get you three home. I made dinner and I can’t wait to tell you everything!” Mrs. Martin squeals.

She still doesn’t know that I’m aware of who me and Dynah really are. I won’t betray Spencer like that even though he lied to me. He obviously had his reasons, and I have mine, no one else needs to be bothered at the moment.

I just want to grab something to eat and get to the church as fast as possible. Like someone read my thoughts, we’re all ushered into the car and taken to their home.

“Dinner is on the counter, children. Me and Mr. Martin have places to be. His car is in the garage. You're more than welcome to borrow it if you decide you don't want to stay here tonight. We will sit down tomorrow hopefully and talk,” Mom tells us.

“You said you wanted to talk now, not later,” I say rather loudly and with an attitude. I don’t want to wait another whole night to get answers from her. I can’t. It’s been long enough.

“Yeah, I know. But something came up with a friend and they need us. It won’t take more than a couple hours if you want to hang out and wait,” she says, grabbing her purse and slinging it over her shoulder.

“Ugh, whatever,” Spencer answers, sitting down at the dining room table on the other side of Dynah. We cage her in, protecting her from our parents.

“Don’t be mean, Pen. Let them go,” I mutter under my breath, hoping he will hear me. His eyes find mine as he nods in understanding.

We all know the only place we are going after this house is that fucking church. It’s Sunday and we have plans for that slimy fucker.

“It was… uhm… nice to meet you, Mrs. Martin,” Dynah speaks up.

Mom smiles at her before following my father out of the door.

“What the fuck, Elliot?” Spencer asks, standing up andpacing the dining room. “Do you think they know that you know that you’re–”

“Step-siblings?” I fill in for him. I’m not ashamed, especially since Dynah isn’t. We wouldn’t even know if it weren’t for Spencer. Honestly at this point, I should be thanking him. “I doubt it. Honestly, Mrs. Patterson must have fallen out of the shower or something again. We can wait for them to come back, or we can go to the church and get this over with. This is the least of our problems and they can wait. It’s up to you guys.”

“I just want to get my Father over with. I just want peace,” Dynah says, grabbing my hand under the table and squeezing it. “I had a lot of time to think on the plane, and I’m not mad anymore. Not at you two. I just want this to be done with so I can move on– so we can all move on.”

I smile at her and look at Spencer.

“Sounds like a plan. Let’s eat something and head to the church. He should be unoccupied and ready for us. Are you ready for the next game, Little Raven?”

“Yes,” she replies with a smile. “I’m ready to fucking play.”

Church Service

Dynah

We walk up tothe front of the church, the stained glass window shining in the moonlight. It’s quiet outside tonight, the air is frosty but still heavy on your lungs. I take a deep breath, inhaling the cold air and feeling the burn in my chest, letting thoughts run through my head.

“Are you ready, Little Raven? I know this is different. Spencer’s hereandthis is your Father. Can you be a good girl and finish this with me?” Elliot asks, grabbing my hand and rubbing the back of it with his thumb.

“I’m ready. Let’s just get this over with.” I look over to Spencer, who’s holding a small hatchet and his jaw is set in stone.

We don’t actually need him here, but he was adamant about coming to make sure we finished the job.He wanted to look through files in the back rooms of the church, something about birth records and more paternity papers.