Gaia
Four letters did not change everything. Arthur had told me he loved me, but that was hardly him telling me we were a couple now. I hadn’t told Arthur I was planning to leave my parents’ home, or that I was looking for an apartment. Gabe would be moving too. My mother informed my father, and although he didn’t seem happy about it, he said nothing.
I could feel a shift in the air. My father was around more, rarely leaving the house, holed up in his office. Security at the house had been doubled, my mother said it was for our own protection. She’d been drinking herself into oblivion, and I was feeling restless.
Life went on, and I went back to work. My brother was finally clean and sober, and me, I was playing the waiting game. I knew my father was up to something, and suspected that it involved Arthur, but I’d have to wait things out.
I walked down the corridor and heard raised voices in my father’s office. I looked around , and when I figured it was safe to do so, I pressed my ear against the door. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but it was heated. The voices suddenly stopped, and I pushed away from the door as it opened.
“Gaia, are you all right?” My father asked, looking flustered.
“Yeah, I was looking for Mom.”
My mother came around the corner, looking between my father and me. I glanced into the room and in a chair across my father's desk sat my grandfather. He stood and walked to the door where we stood.
“Grandfather.” I smiled, walking into his open arms. He was older than I remembered, his hair completely grey, his green eyes murky. I’d met my grandfather only twice in my life, the last time when I was twelve. We’d visited him in Greece. He lived on a small island there. He and my mother had never seen eye to eye and had always been estranged, so it was no surprise that he hadn’t been a part of our lives. Seeing him in our home was strange.
“You grow more beautiful every time I see you, Gaia.” I refrained from pointing out that it had been almost a decade since he’d last seen me. “Your father tells me you and Gabriel have been through quite an ordeal.”
“Thank you, Nonno, and I am more than okay, despite everything.”
“Come, let us walk the grounds, and let me hear all about what you’ve been up to.”
The last thing I wanted to do was play catch up with gramps, but I didn’t want to seem rude. I looped a hand through his and led him outside, casting a sidelong glance at my mother.
* * *
My brother had been quiet lately, too quiet, and it hadn’t gone unnoticed. I had just gone to his room, hoping to spend some time with him, when our father summoned Gabe to his office. My stomach turned at the thought of my brother being alone with that monster. Gabe had never been honest about the extent of it, so for all I knew, the abuse was still continuing. My uncle was missing, my mother was quiet, and both my father and brother were becoming more withdrawn by the day. My grandfather’s stay had been extended to help find my uncle. There were meetings with people I’d never met before, and I knew that it was only a matter of time before everything went up in flames.
I waited for Gabriel to come out of my father's office, cornering him as soon as he exited.
“What is going on?” I hissed. “And I am not falling for that ‘nothing’ bullshit you’ve been feeding me.”
“Gaia, for once, can you just trust me? Can you just trust that I am going to do what is best for both of us?”
“You’re working for Arthur, aren’t you?” I asked in a low voice.
“And you’re fucking him. What’s your point?”
I flushed at his comment.
“Just promise me you will be careful. These aren’t people either of us are used to going up against.”
He nodded and walked away from me. I hoped to God he knew what he was doing.
