Smoke and Mirrors (DE)

55. Family affair

Joseph walked into the kitchen buttoning up his dress shirt to see where Grace was at with her breakfast. She was sitting at the dinner table of their other home in New York quietly, zoned out.

" Why haven't you ate yet?" He asked, seeing she hadn't touched the bowl of brown sugar oatmeal he'd made for her almost ten minutes ago.

Grace slowly looked over at him from where her eyes were fixated on the wall. " It's hot," She said simply, barely above a whisper.

" It ain't hot no more, you need to eat,"

Grace just stared at him making Joseph clench his jaw as he looked down at her— her hazel eyes red and weary.

" I'm not hungry," She said quietly.

" Grace you need to eat—,"

" IM NOT HUNGRY!" She shouted, her voice cracking as her bottom lip quivered. Her eyes began to well with tears as she looked away from him and back at the wall where she'd previously been staring.

Joseph inhaled through his nose and exhaled through his mouth, pulling the dining chair next to her and taking a seat. It had been a week since she had found out that Prie had been killed and it was if Grace were just a shell of a person now. Grace had never experienced a death so close— her father passed before she was even born. Prie was her bestfriend, her sister, the other half of her— it felt like a piece of Grace died with Prie.

" Baby you need to eat, our daughter needs to eat you can not do this— you need to take care of our baby," Joseph stressed.

It was killing Joseph inside to see Grace in such pain knowing he's the cause of it. He didn't think about Grace, Emily, Nia or Kash when he pulled the trigger— he was only thinking of the way he felt at that moment. Killing Prie was something he'd have to live with on his conscience for the rest of his life, it was one of the very few things he felt regret for. Now he was having to deal with the consequences— mending Grace's broken heart.

" I can't—, I feel so sick," She croaked out as tears rolled down her rosy cheeks.

Joseph clenched his jaw, swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat as he looked away from solemn eyes. Every time she looked at him it felt like she could see right through him— like she could see the truth of what he did. Joseph grabbed the lukewarm bowl, mixing the oatmeal and getting a small spoonful.

" Open—," He said softly.

Graces bottom lip quivered as she opened her mouth, allowing Joseph to feed her. With his free hand, he wiped the tears from her face as she chewed. He felt disgusted with himself that he could ever hurt Grace so bad— and if he could take it back he would. Not because he felt bad for Prie, but because he felt bad for his wife.

Hearing her screams when Grace first found out was almost traumatizing, Joseph couldn't get them out of his head. They haunted his dreams for the first couple nights— it was gut wrenching. Grace was too delicate for this, losing her sister literally broke her. This was something Joseph would have to take to the grave because Grace would never forgive him— she'd never look at him the same again and he couldn't have that.

He finally felt like the villain Max always told him he was— he finally felt like the villain Max made him to be.

Joseph continued to feed her in silence, scrapping the bowl for the last bite and eating it himself as he could tell she was done.

" I don't want to go," She said, her voice fragile. " I just want to go to sleep— I don't want to go,"

" Grace we have to go— you need to say bye to your sister. I won't let you stay home,"  He said.