The Hauntings

Chapter 31

"What are you here for then?" Scarlett asks trying to restrain some calmness in her tone.

She desperately hopes none of the others skip into the kitchen. This man looks like he can incinerate any one on the spot, by the power of thought. 

"To share the cupcakes out that I baked earlier, of course." 

"Who are you going to kill first, then?" Scarlett questions ignoring his very dry sense of humour, which she must have inherited. 

Micheal peers down at this girl. This woman, who looks so much like her. All the raw feelings he has buried away or thought had died with her resurface. He can't pinpoint a single emotion. They are just so jumbled up; love, betrayal, sadness, anger, jealousy, rage. Oh, So much rage. 

This person standing in front of him so courageously, is half of him but also half of her. He thought this would be easy, to confront his daughter and then later massacre all of them. She's half of him. His only daughter. Surely that means something? Should it mean something? 

"You know I was but then I thought of something much better. Why not just kill everyone else in this house and leave you as the sole survivor? My original plan was to do a full-house but I thought I would shower you with some daddy love." He declares proudly, with eyebrows quirked. 

"Well you have a different meaning to 'daddy love'." Scarlett so obviously points out, clutching at her sky-rocketing heart beat. 

This monster of a man can do what he says, there is no denying that. 

"Any preferences then, dear daughter?" he courteously questions as if he is asking her what flavour ice-cream she fancies. 

"How about you don't kill anyone and leave us all alone. If you had an ounce of care for my mother then you could leave her legacy." She tackles with his humanity that is so well hidden. 

"I hated your mother. That's why I want to eradicate any of her sporn and anything related to her." He sharply spits. 

Scarlett stares at this man in shock at his utter disgust and aggression towards his family. Why is he like this?

He's her father. So tall, proud and strong. But underneath that cold, cruel surface she can glimpse that he must have loved her mother, for him to hate her so much today. Perhaps he misses her that's why he is trying to get rid of any remainders of her. The confusion niggles at Scarlett. 

"You miss her don't you?" Scarlett pipes up, her eyes narrowing, hoping she's hit the jackpot. 

Micheal eyes widen a fraction and still but then he smooths out the reaction.

Jackpot. 

"I said, do you have any preference who I slaughter first?" He shouts roughly.

"Stop changing the subject father, you miss mum that's why you can't stand any remainders. It's not revenge at all, is it? It's you, in your twisted mourning ritual." Scarlett folds her arms over her chest in triumph. 

"Shut up!" He snaps. 

"That's why you indoctrinated Francis to think I was in the wrong because you have all this pent up emotions and you don't know what to do with it. Therefore you wanted to convince yourself it's normal, if someone feels the same way as you do." Scarlett's words spill out in the claustrophobic air of the kitchen.

She doesn't quite know where all this wise talk and perspective is coming from but it is evident that it is putting Micheal on edge even further. Is it sensible to do this...who knows? She is walking a very fine line on the death's precipice.