Before I can match her attitude, a voice I haven’t heard in years calls out, “Be nice.”
“It’s not Dad,” she shouts back. “My name’s Seraphim. What’s your name?” The girl rolls her eyes but I’m staring over her head as Ruby walks towards us, wiping her hands on a dishcloth. My sister’s steps falter for a split second, then she’s nearly running at us. She pulls the door wider, gently moving the girl to the side, and wraps her arms around me so tightly I’m going to have bruises on my biceps.
“Dilly,” she says on a breath as she warmly strokes Kane’s arm. “You’re okay. You’re both okay.” She pulls back enough to say, “Come inside.”
The disbelief on her face makes me uneasy after so many years of having no one. There wasn’t any intercession on my behalf when she’s been here, living her life while Kane and I have been through hell. I don’t know who the girl’s parents are, but she can’t be Ruby’s. She was pregnant during the wedding, so the baby would be a toddler, not a teenager. Her attitude is one hundred percent Scarlet though as she narrows her eyes at us.
Kane doesn’t let go of my hand as we enter the house full of light. All the glass at the back of the open-plan space allows sunlight in. It’s split in two with the kitchen at the back and a large lounge wrapping around the large wooden staircase.There’s even toys strewn across the floor at one side of the lounge.
All of it is obviously normal and homely.
So is Ruby as she cups my cheek with tears in her eyes. “You’re alive, Dilly.”
“You sent her deliveries.” My voice comes out choked as I hold Kane’s hand tighter. “It was you. This is all yours.”
My mother said Ruby’s like them. I never thought it meant she was selling people to the orchestrator of my every nightmare. She doesn’t try to insult me by lying as she takes a deep breath then says in the same gentle tone as always, “We’ll talk later. You’ll be hungry.”
Kane avoids the girl as we’re led into the kitchen to sit at a curved booth island. She doesn’t care though and slides onto the rounded seat opposite us while I look around. Everything is normal, shiny. This is the life my sister has been living while I was literally forced to perform for my meals and the luxury of sleep. The first thing to suggest it’s not normal is a large metal closed hook welded to the floor. I can’t stop staring at it as Ruby fusses over Kane’s exhausted face. There’s blood smeared on his cheek around the small cuts and bruises on his temple. She checks him over in the way a mother would, tipping his chin up with the tips of her fingers as she winces. “I’ll call the doctor. Would you like to get cleaned up before he arrives?”
“Yeah, but if there’s hot water, I might not leave.” He smiles weakly.
“Follow me then.”
He kisses my temple as he stands before following her up the stairs. The girl, Seraphim, twists her head to see what I’m staring at, and nods knowingly as she shuffles around the booth to sit beside me. She lightly nudges me with her elbow, leaning in to whisper, “We get put there when we’re bad.”
I slowly move my head, keeping that barbaric hook in view. Ruby is like them, torturing children, selling people while pretending she’s fucking better than everyone. I open my mouth to give her a promise, but she folds in half as she bursts out laughing. “You should see your face. How gullible are you?”
“Be nice, sweetheart,” Ruby warns as she soundlessly walks down the stairs.
“It was a joke, but she’s dumb.”
“Seraphim,” she says low in her throat the same way she would when Scarlet would do something outrageous. “Be. Nice.”
“This house is so boring.” She flings herself back. “I’m never allowed to do anything.”
Ruby sits opposite me and I mouth,Is she yours?
But the teenager scoffs, “See. I told you she’s dumb. She thinks I can’t see her mouth.”
“In personality or temperament?” My sister smiles. “Unfortunately, no. Child? Yes.”
“She reminds me of Scar.”
My niece smiles widely, sitting taller as Ruby sighs. “Well, Seraphim is who Scarlet wants to be when she grows up, so that’s understandable.” Turning to her daughter, she adds, “This is Delilah. Remember what I told you?”
“Oh? I shouldn’t have called you dumb because you’re my aunt. But just so you know, when someone is looking at you, they can see you mouthing at someone.”
“You know who I am?” I ask.
She stares at her mom, resisting the urge to question my intelligence again.
Ruby shakes her head. “Go, do your schoolwork or clean your room until it’s time to eat.”
“Is Dad going to be home soon?”
“Yes. Don’t bully your father.”
Leaning closer to me while directing her full attitude at her mother, she whispers, “See what I mean? It’s boring here.”
