Chapter 124 MY EYES, MY POOR EYES!
AMARA’S POINT OF VIEW.
Grabbing my basket, I tried to conceal my excitement at the thought of finally leaving my father’s mansion for my mother’s house. Other people might call me crazy; hell, those kids at Ravenscroft High would probably think I’m a fool for leaving the life of luxury that comes with being my father’s daughter. But I’d take cramping in my small room back at my mother’s cottage, like a house, any day for the miserable life of sadness and gloom behind these walls.
I grabbed the basket of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and ice cream I had made, and placed them in my much bigger basket with a wide smile on my face. It felt like I hadn’t seen my mother in forever. I missed her warm hugs, her soft hands as she tended to the flowers in her garden.
I really missed my mom.
‘You have to get her flowers, Amara.’ I said internally as I placed everything properly so it’d look beautiful.
I pushed back the tears that threatened to spill, squared my shoulders, and put on a false nonchalant expression before walking towards the door. However, just before I could step out, I heard the slimy voice of my stepmother calling from behind me.
“Going somewhere, Amara?” I winced at the sharp tone of her voice. I specifically made sure to wake up earlier than usual because I didn’t want to see her face before I walked out of this mansion. I swear she’s bad fucking luck for anything that breathes and lives on the earth.
Sometimes, I felt as though flowers would suddenly wither away and die just by her passing beside them. The toxic witch.
But instead of letting her know just how I felt about her, I placed a sugary smile on my face and spun on my heel so I could face her. Dad wasn’t around, so I’d have to be a much bigger snake to get away from her and make sure she didn’t suspect that I was going to see my mother.
“Yes, I was going to see Sloane,” I said, maintaining that fake smile to the point where my cheeks almost hurt from how far I stretched my cheeks.
“Well…..are you sure you’re not going to see that….” She sighs and rolls her eyes for a moment before she says, “Mother of yours.” My grip on the bag tightens at her tone and the way she regards my mother, but I do not lose the smile.
“I’m not supposed to see her today.” She stares at me for a moment, her eyes narrowing suspiciously, before they dart to the fancy basket in my hands.
“What is that?” She asked, her hand gripping the staircase as she descended the stairs.
“It’s nothing special….just something Sloane says she wants from me for our picnic,” I replied, lying through my teeth. On a normal day, I wouldn’t have to do this…But I needed her not to suspect where I was going,
Last night, I was going about my usual business of sneaking itching cream into her lotion bottle when I accidentally knocked a box over. In that box, there were a couple of letters in it, but one struck me straight in the heart with a pressing nudge to see what was inside it.
From what I read, she was working with someone to kill my mother in a couple of weeks… There was no definite date; just that she would kill my mother for some weird fucked up reason.
No one else knew about this but me, so I had to get the fuck out of here as soon as possible. Fuck that!
I have to get the hell out of here right now so I can warn her, and possibly my dad….that is, if he ultimately believes me.
“Hmm.” She sighs, stopping in front of me. She stood close….too close. So close that I could smell the wine coming off her tongue. “I really hope you’re not up to something stupid. I wanted to set you up with one of the most prominent families in the state, but you just had to screw things over, and be with that boy.” She spits, her eyes filled with malicious venom, but I didn’t say anything. Instead, I smiled widely and said;
“Sloane must be waiting for me. I have to hurry up and leave.”
Her eyes run over me once again, the distasteful expression on her face growing stronger until she says, “As usual, your taste in clothes is… off. You’re nothing that should be expected of a daughter with a father such as yours, but what else should I expect….you’re the daughter of the flower seller on the outskirts of town.” She said with a scoff, “Of course you don’t know good fashion.”
‘You’re one to talk with your mismatched colours of the wrong shade of brown, orange, and yellow all the fucking time.’ The words were right on the tip of my tongue, but instead, I bit them back and focused on the urge to get the fuck out of here as soon as possible.
My mother’s life depended on it for fuck’s sake.
“I have to do now,” I said, my grip on the basket even tighter, as I fought the urge to whack it against her thick head. Her skin was all blotchy and red, so red that the cakey makeup she layered her face with didn’t hide it.
She looked like a fucking horror show, but I wouldn’t tell her that now. I’d wait till she was behind bars before I cursed her all the way to the fucking sun, moon, the entire fucking galaxy, and the Milky Way.
“Go.” She dismissed with a wave of her hand, like she was swatting a bothersome fly. “Don’t be an embarrassment to your father and me. This family can tolerate so much from you until I’ve decided that I’ve had enough.
I smiled at that still and walked out of the house. I didn’t lose the fake smile, not until I shut the door of my car. The second I was inside the comfort of my car, my face lost the botox fake smile instantly. I didn’t waste time.
I turned on the engine and zoomed through the mansion gates. I didn’t say anything or call anyone throughout the drive. The letter I read stated that someone’s car had been bugged with wires so they could listen in.
I couldn’t risk it.
I parked at a spot a bit far from my mother’s house to throw the location off, just in case I was the one being tailed. Grabbing the basket, I placed the bouquet of lilies I’d gotten the night before and started the walk to my mother’s home.
In less than fifteen minutes of me walking like someone was chasing me, I climbed the stairs that led to our front door.
“Mo-“ I started, but stopped at the sound of someone’s moans coming from inside the house.
What the fuck?
I tiptoed further into the house, my heart pounding as I crept to her door, which wasn't properly shut. From the crack, I could see two bodies tangled between the sheets. The black, wavy, full, and long hair was definitely my mother’s… and the man….:
Fuck.
I whispered at the sight of his black hair….the very ones I could recognise from a mile away.
“DAD?!” I yelled, and from the sound of my voice, they turned with wide eyes to stare at me.
“My eyes! My poor eyes!”