Spare Me

16. Grandma

I twirled the photo in my fingertips. My mother, she was the girl in the photograph. She was the woman in the middle of the pentagram. I thought back to the day that found the photo. Then like a hammer to the head, an idea shoot in my head, one I totally forgot. Grandma would know. Grandma would know what she was doing, who was with her. I grabbed my laptop and went onto google maps. The vertical blinking line waited in the search engine for me to start typing. I typed in Sunnyvale's elderly home and waited and my cursor swirled in a circle. Then screen changed to a 30-minute drive from here to grandmas. I texted Ethan to come pick me up. He replied with a short kay. And I waited downstairs.

"Oh hey, I was wondering where you were," Spike said almost running to me.

"Well I've been in my room thinking about how I'm going to get my revenge on you," I sneered

"What are you talking about?'' his words were convincing but the side smile on his face told me he knew what I was talking about.

"Oh let me refresh your memory, see I got a massive hangover, your fault then you told Ash to scream at me," I said tapping my finger against my head.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," he said hiding his smirk.

I sneered at him and then the door opened.

"I'm here," Ethan sang, coming up behind me.

"Hi Ethan," I cooed

"Ugh please stop with the googly eyes, it's gross," Spike said disgustedly

"Here's an idea find yourself your own place to stay because dad's gonna come home soon and you always start something," I stretched out the words to make it sound more dramatic.

"Hey, I'm good as long as he does not-"

"Bring up mom, bring up jail, bring up any past fight," I counted each point on my fingers. He glared at me and turned me to the door.

"Weren't you going somewhere?"

"Yes, come on let's go, Ethan," I sighed.

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Don't get me wrong I love my grandma, who doesn't? But We have never had a good bond, she doesn't like being around me, for a reason I don't know. She doesn't like Spike either but that's self-explanatory. She adores ash though, she's the only one she actually treats like a human being. After she went into group home living. So needless to say I was nerves, my last visit with grandma wasn't the best and definitely the worst. A shiver took control of my body and I felt Ethan put a warm, comforting hand on my knee.

"Why are you so nervous?" he asked like a punchline to a joke. I rested my hand on top of his and let out a shaky breathe.

"Me and my grandma well things aren't that great, I don't know it's-it's almost like she's scared of me, doctors say it's just a way to live with my mom's death, that she needs someone to blame," I shook my head and looked up in the mirror. Ethan glanced at me once in a while. I let out a fake laugh.

"Funny thing is she knows what happened at refuses to tell the police, dad...me.." my voice went to a whispered and I threw my head back into the seat. Tear threatening to break through.

"I'm sorry onyx," Ethan whispered. I looked at him conversion painted my face.

"Sorry? Sorry for what?"

What did he have to apologize for? I haven't done anything wrong. Or he has and you don't know. My heart sunk with every possible thing he might have done.

"I'm the one person you should be able to feel happy with and I just can't make you happy enough to forget everything bad," he murmured.

My heart glowed warm and bright. That was it? He thought I wasn't happy? He made me happier than anyone, he didn't know my past, about Jack, about the awful things I used to dream about.

"Oh, ethan you don't have to apologize! I should be thanking you when I'm with you,i-i feel like you're the only one that doesn't look at my some freak,"

A small smile crept its way on his face.

"I'm glad to hear it because we're here," I looked up and was surprised to find that the car was parked in Sunnyvale's parking lot.

"Grandma?" I whispered while tapping the door. The door creaked open slowly. My poofy white haired-brown eyed-paper thin, grandma sat in front of a bunny-eared tv.

She Looked over at us, and I tried to swallow a lump that was gaining in my throat. Her happy eyes went scared in the second she looked at me and if possible my face dipped into a frown.

"Who let you in!" she gasped, her voice cracked.

"They-they um, I-I" words ran around my head but none reached my mouth.

"Hi Onyx's grandma, I'm Ethan," Ethan reached his hand out to her. She smiled and took his hand.

"Please call me Joanne," her voice was much sweeter and her face was light up with a smile. "So how do you know Onyx," she sneered my name like it was poison.

"Onyx is my girlfriend,"

Her eyes widen in horror, and I sucked in a breath.

"Grandma I know you don't like it when I visit but I had some questions about mom,"

She turned to me and nodded her head. I shakily pulled out the photograph I found a few night ago and handed it to her. She glanced at the photo and glided a finger over mom's face.

"I almost forgot how pretty she was," she whispered

"Grandma why is she in the pentagram?" I pointed to where my mother was in the center of the pentagram.

"Bad, bad things," she muttered.

"What bad things?" I asked taking in a breath.

She shook her head. I glanced at Ethan, he nodded his head telling me to keep going.

"Is the old house grandma?"

"It is isn't it, I remember when your mother would run around in the sprinklers in the back yard, during the summer. She didn't care how old she was," her eyes were glassy, I didn't mean to make her cry!

"Do you know who took the photo?" I asked clearing my throat.

"Probably her friend Alice, I never liked her she was trouble. But no matter what I said, your mother never left her side.after......after what happened they thought they could make it better," she shook her head in shame.

"Grandma back up, what happened?"

"The car crash," she said it so horrified, you think she had a gun to her head. I could tell she was about to crack.

"Ok grandma, one more question," she nodded her head," who is this?" I asked pointing to the shadow behind mom,

"Your father, bad! Not safe! Fire! Fire!" she yelled. I stood there and gaped. I felt Ethan grab my hand and lead me away from my answers.