Entanglement

19 - The Meeting Pt.2

"What?"

"Oh, nothing-" he looks back at Jay again, "nothing like that."

Techno.

No, that doesn't make sense.

Whoever got Techno was going for you and...

"Wait, so..." you clasp your hands together in front of you. "Do you know who killed Jerry? If you had the time to get me out here, then-"

"Of course," he answers calmly. "It was me."

Your eyes shoot up to his, shock evident on your face.

Do you bother asking why?

What answer could he possibly give...

"He started to disobey me. It was his time."

You feel a knot form in your stomach.

"Plus, I've been planning on having you replace him for a long time, sweetie."

"Don't-" the word flies out of your mouth on reflex. You squeeze your eyes shut before continuing the sentence. "Don't call me that."

The man looks like he just realized how nonchalant he's acting about literal murder. He lowers his head and voice. "Nothing like that is going to happen to you."

You look at the door. You've already threatened to walk out of here once, you probably can't do it again.

Nothing like that is going to happen to you.

"I don't believe you."

"I'm the most powerful man in Florida. No one dies unless I want them to."

"Tell me then, oh powerful one, why was my roommate back home inflicted with the same exact poison that killed the man that you just admitted to murdering?"

His face drops. "What are you talking about?"

"What do you mean what am I talking about?!" Oh, there's that tone again. "Someone I care a lot about almost fucking died because he made the mistake of living with me while my dad, apparently, was out here plotting a goddamn family coup and murdering his fucking brother!"

The room falls silent. Even the noises from the kitchen cease.

You bring your voice back down. "Someone's already tried to kill me, dad, so no. I'm not going to take any position you've laid out for me or align myself any more than I already have with this fucking place."

The looks he gives you is proof he had no idea about Techno. His realization that he's not in as much control of this situation like he thought he was. You sit with anxiety as you wait for him to find a response. If what you've been told about him is true, he's not going to be mad about you raising your voice, he's going to be mad because you knew something he didn't.

"You have a roommate?"

Fuck.

This is who you thought your uncle was, he's the one you kept quiet to about Techno.

"N-not really, I just- he just needed a place to crash-"

"He? Wow," he leans back. "What else have you been lying about to your dear-old-dad?"

"You're alive!!" You stand up in a huff. "I don't... I don't know what possessed you to think I would be okay with all of this shit, but I'm not. I came to Florida to find a fucking antidote for the fucking poison that infected my fucking friend, okay? Not to eat dinner and catch up with the literal root of all my childhood trauma, so-" You don't know where the courage to say all of this came from, but the two men's faces are mirroring each other's shock. "So I'm going back to California to continue living my life and you're not going to stop me."