Onto That Dangerous World

Chapter 38

WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature reade

MARIE STEPHEN(ISABELLA)

SIX MONTHS AFTER.

I was numb. Emotionally, I had shut down. After Anthony's death, things changed, everyone changed.

Gianna had lost a child, that sort of pain, it would take a long time to recover from, if she could ever recover from something like that.

Edwin, these past months had become distant yet suffocating at the same time. Emotionally, he was distant although he did have his brief moments when he would open up. I think in some way he feels responsible for his brother's death. But in a situation like that, Edwin had no control over the outcome. There was nothing that he could have done.

I didn't know how to handle Anthony's death. Anthony had tortured me, he had abused me, and had done horrible things to me. Yet I didn't have any satisfaction from his death.

I had watched the life leave his body. I had my hands stained with his blood, but I didn't feel a thing, not satisfaction, not regret, or sympathy or sorrow. When it came to Anthony, it was as if my emotions refused to function. They refused to tell me the truth.

Garrett didn't die that night, but he had been badly injured. He's okay now. He was still watching over me.

I missed James every day. In the short time that I had known him, he had become more of a brother figure towards me. James was the big brother I never knew I wanted, but wished I had.

My heart bled for him. He died without ever being reunited with his sister. I hoped wherever James was now, he could look down and see that his sister was alive and she was okay.

I never told Garrett or even Edwin about James and Victoria. It was too personal, too much. It was a secret I would take with me forever. If I ever saw Victoria again, I would tell her about her brother and how hard he had tried to find her.

Edwin had given me more freedom, like he had promised. But freedom came at a cost. I wasn't allowed anywhere without him or Garrett present. I wasn't even allowed to be alone with his mother. Edwin had changed over these months, he was colder, harder.

I always preferred going out with Garrett. With him, it was easy to forget that he wasn't with me. He would walk next to me, but he would never touch me or say a word. I appreciated Garrett more, unlike Edwin, who hovered over me, sometimes it was suffocating. He was almost possessive, no, he had become possessive.

Edwin called this freedom, but it was anything but. I couldn't leave the house without his permission. Garrett couldn't even come with me for a walk in the park without getting Edwin's approval first. They wouldn't even tell me the security code for the door. This wasn't freedom, it was only a better prison cell.

When Anthony died, Edwin never let me attend his funeral. But, today after months of begging him, he had finally caved in.

I thought, maybe if I had the chance to say goodbye, I might be able to finally feel something, even anger I didn't care I would welcome it.