Chapter 42
Avidya
After lunch, while Zachariah helped his mom and brother clear the table, Violet and Naomi made themselves scarce. My hands instantly began to sweat as Carlos moved to sit beside me, and Kent moved to sit across from me.
My heart pounded in my chest a hundred miles per hour, or at least it felt like it.
“Are you sure you want to be in this life? In this family?” Kent asked out, his dark eyes penetrating my own.
Why was he asking? I was here, wasn’t I? I had a few chances to leave and I hadn’t. Didn’t they know that?
“Yes, I’m sure,” I said, my voice only a bit shaky. I never did well with confrontations.
“You want things that Zach doesn't. I can see that need, desire, to want more,” Kent said, not afraid to call me out on it.
“I can live without what I want, as long as he’s there with me,” I said, willing my bouncing knee to stay still beneath the table.
“If you need a way out, come find either one of us. Anytime,” Kent spoke. Then lower, “I helped your mother, and I can help you. No one but us will ever know.”
“Just don’t bring up that little fact with Zachariah,” Carlos stated. “What he doesn’t know won’t kill him.”
“Why? Why are you offering . . .” I was unable to say the words.
“A way out?” Kent finished for me. At my nod, he went on. “Because I know who you are. I know what Cody wants from you. I know the threats that are out there. What I’m not sure about is if you will survive till justice is served all around. I don’t want to see a young girl like you brought down to your death because of my grandson and his wants.”
“He’ll protect me,” I stated with wide eyes.
“Oh, he certainly will. Don’t you dare doubt that,” Carlos said. “He loves you. Everyone can see that. But because he loves you, that makes you an even bigger target. He’ll die to protect you rather than die to protect me or his brother now.”
“It’s not a bad thing, exactly,” Kent added on. “You just have to watch your back. If it gets too much, know you have a way out when it’s needed.”
They both left, leaving me to my thoughts for a moment. What was I to say about that? I knew Rachael had a way out, I just never would have guessed that Kent was the one behind it. But now, thinking about what she had written in her journals, it made sense. You’d have to know people to have people help you hide away from the world.
Would I need to do that? Would I be willing to do that?
On the way home after a not so bad luncheon, Zachariah was a bit quieter than usual. I thought his grandparents were sweet. A bit overwhelming, but sweet all the same. They meant well.
I was quieter too, but given the men’s talk with me, who wouldn’t have been.
“I noticed my grandfather talking to you after lunch,” Zachariah said, pulling me out of my thoughts as we entered farther into the subdivision where he lived. Where we both lived. It was still hard to call his house my home, too.
“Yeah,” I answered. “Just wondering if I was marrying you because I wanted to.”
“Of course, he’d want to know that,” Zachariah said, not surprised. “He did the same thing with Melio when he married Violet. Given, she wasn’t putting up with anyone second guessing what she wanted.”
Time seemed to freeze as Zachariah gripped the steering wheel hard enough to turn his knuckles instantly white. My eyes widened as I watched out his driver’s window. The oncoming car didn’t stop, didn’t even try to stop as he hurled straight into us.
My heart froze within my chest in fear.
The driver wanted to hit us.
I couldn’t look away as my head, with my body following, fell into the door. I watched as Zachariah cussed as the airbags exploded, cushioning his head as it almost hit the steering wheel. It happened so fast.
The windows cracked, shattering everywhere. Pieces flew around as the car skidded to the left, hitting another car on my side and forcing my body towards the right.
Bam. Crash. Bam. Thud.
My heart beat in my chest. I couldn’t tell if it was too fast or too slow than what was normal.
It felt like hours before the car slowed to a jarring stop. I bounced in my seat.
There was blood splattered on my clothes as I tried to take stock of what happened. Shattered glass was stuck in my hair.
Zachariah groaned in pain, his head laid against his broken window. The door was smashed inward I noticed as I glanced over him. Blood poured from the gash in his head. His arm had a piece of thick glass stuck right below the elbow.
My own arm felt numb, now that I thought of it.
Looking down, I saw my arm at an awkward angle, the pain instantly hitting me like a semi-truck.
“Vidie,” Zachariah groaned out, calling for me.
I couldn’t answer as I sat frozen. What was I to do? I froze in shock and fear.
As the seconds ticked by, my head began to throb in time with my heart. Bile rose in my throat as sirens reached my ears from the distance. Then, there was yelling. Shouting. Lights.
“Answer me!” Zachariah shouted.
The was a pop, like a silencer on a gun would give off. The small little sound among so many others caused my gut to drop to my feet and the bile to completely disappear as the fear took hold of my body.
I could hardly keep my eyes opened as I looked out my window as the mess that was made. Another car that had smoke leaking from under the hood wasn’t all that far away, the front angled towards me. There stood a man in a black mask, hiding his face, holding a gun in his hand, aiming at me. Or was it aimed at Zachariah?
Oh God! Where are you?
Another crack echoed in my ears as the pain hit me tenfold.
Then . . . . nothing all at once.