Chapter 290
Oscar
I don’t even know how long I’ve been locked away. All the voices have gone silent—except for my father’s. Even after his death, Roberto Santos still tortures me. I shift slowly and stifle a groan of pain. The chains rattle against the floor, and a beam of light blinds me for a moment. I turn my head toward the open door and blink a few times to focus.
“I knew I’d find you here,” Angy says.
Alex peeks over her shoulder and curses.
“Seriously? We spent three hours looking for him and he’s been in his closet this whole time?”
Angy rolls her eyes and crouches to enter the small space.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going? You’re not going in there with him.”
“Alex, give us a few minutes,” she says.
“Like hell, I will. He’s dangerous. I’m not letting my wife lock herself in a closet with another man.”
Angy spins around and pushes him in the chest.
“Damn it, stop thinking with your balls and give me a few minutes!” she snaps.
“I said—”
“Alex Urriaga, if you don’t get the hell out of here right now, I swear I’ll shove a gun up your ass and you’ll be spitting lead for a month. OUT. NOW.”
After what I imagine is one of their usual stare-downs, Alex exhales loudly. Angy steps into the closet and closes the door.
“You should’ve listened to her,” I mutter with a grimace.
Angy lights a small lighter and sets it on the floor to illuminate the tight space we’re in. She sits in front of me and sighs.
“Tell me you’re not sitting on a bed of nails.”
I don’t answer, and she mutters a curse.
“Why do you do this, Oscar? He’s gone. You killed him, remember? I got rid of his body myself.”
I nod. I barely remember the moment I tore my father apart with my own hands. I was too young, and he had pushed me too far. I begged him to stop, begged him not to lock me in the closet, but he didn’t listen. The next thing I knew, I was sitting in a pool of blood, with what was left of him scattered across the cabin floor.
“I’m not doing it for him,” I mutter through clenched teeth.
Angy sighs again, and I feel her hand on my chin, making me look at her.
“Then is it because of Luna? I thought she calmed you.”
“I couldn’t save her. I’ll end up killing her if she doesn’t stay away from me,” I say, feeling tears stream down my cheeks.
“We both know that’s not true. The only person safe from you is Luna.”
“I need a correction.”
“No, Oscar. What you need is to get out of this hole. Go hunt down some bastard if you want, but stop hurting yourself.”
“You know.” I stare at her.
“Did you think that after three years living on the estate, I wouldn’t notice your disappearances happened right before some scumbag mysteriously turned up dead?”
She gives a small smile and shakes her head.
“There were times you were sloppy and Alex had to cover your tracks.”
“He knows too?” She nods. “Why didn’t he try to stop me? Why did you both pretend you didn’t know?”
“Because you’re family and we love you, idiot.” She smiles again. “You get so caught up in what’s going on inside your head that you forget those of us out here—the real ones—care about you.”
“I don’t deserve it,” I whisper, and more tears fall.
“Of course you do. Have you ever stopped to think about what would happen if you weren’t part of our lives? My kids adore you. Liz goes nuts every time she sees you, and I’d trust you with their lives without hesitation. Lina, Nacho… Those kids had no one when they came to the estate, and you became their protector.”
She exhales deeply and grabs my chin again.
“Even just once, think about all the good you do for the people you love. You’re not just Monster. You’re Oscar too—and sooner or later, that blind fool Luna will realize no one in this world can love and protect her like you.”
“What if I can’t show her?”
“You never will if you keep locking yourself up in here and punishing yourself for things you can’t control.”
We stay silent for a while until Angy speaks again.
“At least this closet smells better than the one in the cabin.”
I lean forward, pulling the nails from my flesh, and stifle a cry of pain. She’s right. It does smell better here—back then, I had no choice but to piss and shit myself during those "corrections," which sometimes lasted days. The wood absorbed the stench over time.
“I’m ready to come out,” I whisper after taking a deep breath.
“Good, because I don’t think Alex can wait much longer.”
She smiles again, this time with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
“Wanna see how fast he opens the door? I bet in three, two, one…”
The door bursts open, and Angy laughs.
“Never fails. Need help with the chains?”
I shake my head.
“You go. I’ll catch up.”
“Hurry up. Luna found Jackson Black’s location, and we need you to go after him.”
I nod, and Angy leaves the closet. I hear her and Alex arguing in hushed tones as I unlock the shackles.
Stop being an idiot and go find her. Fix things, then find Samuel. I want to have fun with him for months before I kill him.