Tobias: Book One of the Cantrell Brothers Series

Chapter Ten

“Mommy?” she whispered, looking through the miniscule crack in the door for any sign of her parents.

She remembered Daddy kissing her,but then he had left. She didn't understand why he was crying. Clutching Teddy to her princess pajama covered chest, she opened the door as softly as she could, knowing that Mommy and Daddy's door wasn't quiet when people opened it.

Red was splattered all over the walls, bits of grey chunks slowly dripping down. She saw Mommy laying on the bed, but her chest wasn't moving and there was more red leaking down. Daddy was slumped against the wall on the floor, and the room was starting to smell like copper.

Teddy trailed behind her as she walked closer. “Daddy,” she whispered, “Daddy, wake up.”

There was something wrong with Daddy's head, it was covered with red and a part of it was missing. That's when the screaming and crying started. Like a light switch being flipped, it had finally registered with her that her parents were dead. She had watched a lot of shows when her parents were gone; this was exactly like one of those but worse. So much worse.

Jane woke with a start. Sweat was coated all over her while her heart was practically beating out of her chest. With shaking hands, she pushed the damp, brown tangles from her face. It took her awhile, but eventually, the annoying tears subsided and she calmed down.

The nightmares had been happening ever since she could remember. Maybe if she had only completed her therapy sessions, she wouldn't be having them, but it was too late now. She supposed that she could always go back, but now was not the time. Maybe once she was more financially secure, she would; but until then, it wasn't going to happen.

It looked like she wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight. Checking the clock, she noticed that it was 3:16 in the morning, a little later than the other times when she had woken up to the nightmares. After pouring herself a glass of water, she walked into the living room; her feet padding along the wooden floors the only sound.

She couldn't wait to see Tobias tomorrow, even if it was because he had an appointment at the Clinic. Just a few hours ago, they had been fishing at the marina. Usually, she hated going fishing, but with him, she just didn't want it to end. They had caught a couple of small sunfish, but other than those few morsels, nothing. She had been sitting on his lap as they talked and cast out their lines. With every little shift that he had made, be it from breathing or just when he laughed, she had felt everything, making her willpower to wait until Saturday that much weaker.

It had been a wonderful night, and she wanted more, so much more. When he talked about his family, it was always with the highest respect and affection. She wished she could say such wonderful things about her family, but she couldn't. The aunt and uncle that had taken her in were gone. Her uncle, Stephen, had been put in a nursing home a long time ago shortly before his ex-wife, Renee, had passed away, leaving Jane without a family. 

Well, that wasn't exactly true. She did have a family, but those were the people on her father's side, the people who hated her. All of them, even her other rleatives, had believed her grandmother that a seven-year-old helped her mother kill her father. She couldn't imagine anything more absurd than that, but people were idiots, she supposed.

Oh well, she thought, might as well read Stephen King before it's time for work.

                                                                           ***

“Yes, Mrs. Mastile,” Jane muttered into the phone. “I'm at work right now, so I really can't talk until later.”

“No, I think they'll give you a few minutes. Anyways, I'm paying for all of the bridesmaids, the bride along with the groom and his men to all freshen up with the help of my people. The bridal party will be getting makeovers and such. The groom party will just be given cleansers for a smoother shave. Also, everyone, including your date, must wear something pink,” Karen's mother-in-law spoke into the phone. Well, it wasn't exactly speaking; it was more like an angel was resting on her tongue and was speaking through her.