Secrets Can Kill

Chapter Twelve

"Do you like snow? Or are you more of a tropical person?" Jay asked me. I hated the heat. I hated everything about it. Sweating was gross and I hated sun burns.

"Oh I'm definitely a winter person. Hot weather isn't really my thing. Plus I love the snow. I like making snowmen and snow angels and having snow ball fights. My dad and I would always do that on snow days and go sledding and stuff when I was little. It was fun." I said smiling at the memories. I missed my dad. I was an only child and my mom never really cared to pay attention to me. He was all I really had. I frowned but continued walking.

"You really miss him don't you?" Jay said. I nodded.

"My dad was the only person that cared about me. After he died, my life just kind of flipped." I said. We arrived at the spot and Jay pulled me to sit on a log with him. He wrapped me in his arms and I took in the surroundings. We were in the middle of a field. There was the forest behind us and an open space covered in snow in front of us. The tops of the trees were sprinkled with white and it all looked like it could be in a snow globe.

"So what do you want to know?" He asked. I looked at him and hugged him.

"Everything."

"You ask me a question then I get to ask you one okay?" He suggested and I nodded.

"Sounds good. So is your dad like king of the Underworld?"

"Yes. He's the highest power that exists for the afterlife in this area. Different rulers for different areas of the world. He controls who goes where after they die. It's a difficult job to do and it takes up 100% of his time. I knew that which is why I don't want the job. I died when I was 18 so I never got to live out my life. But I wanted to which is why I came back. My father didn't start hunting me down to take over for him until recently. I think he's just tired of the job because it is so demanding. He wasn't always a terrible man but the Underworld changed him into a harsh dictator, just like his father." He said frowning. "How old were you when your dad died?"

"I was 11. It was hard for me to understand. I switched my group of friends and, that was when I started, you know." I said. I didn't like talking about self-harming. I never brought attention to it and tried to avoid confrontation about it as much as possible.

"I'm sorry." He said looking at me sadly. I didn't want him to feel sorry for me.

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault so you have nothing to apologize for." I said forcing a smile. "When did your parents die? And where is your mom?" I asked.

"One question at a time Kayc'." He said smiling. I blushed and looked down. He chuckled. "Alright well for starters I was adopted. My birth mother died when she was in labor with me. My father, the king, died shortly after. He was in a mining accident. Maybe the reason he hates me so much is because I was the reason my mother died. I was put into an orphanage for a few years until I was eight. By then I had lost most hope anyway. Orphanages back then were different. They weren't so friendly. Kids were mean, adults were worse. They didn't feed us much either. When I got adopted, it was like a turning point in my life, or so I thought. Those parents were extremely wealthy. They bought me everything I could imagine, but I still didn't love them. They were never around. I was always with a nanny but it was still better than the orphanage. One night, they both came home wasted from some uptight party. They could barely walk. I was their only child. I knew that my adopted father was a bit, aggressive with my adopted mother and he would hit me from time to time. But back then women and children had no rights and it was normal to take a beating. So we just had to deal with it." He said looking down. I listened to his every word. "Sorry I'm dragging on a bit." He said.

"No, no keep going. I'm interested." I said. He sighed and nodded.

"Well that night, after the party, I heard them come in the front door and I hid. I knew my father would hurt me. It happened a lot and when he was drunk it was just to let his anger out, not even to punish me. That's why they tried buying my love. I hid under my bed. He came in my room and he found me. He hurt me for hiding and even worse when I screamed. I was terrified and I just cried until it was over. I thought it was over until my mother came in. I thought she would save me but..." He took a long pause. I rubbed his shoulder.