"BURN OF DEATH" by Sarah Ryniker

STORY LAST UPDATED ON 20/06/2002

Burn of Death Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Epilogue

CHAPTER FOUR

After breakfast, I made my way up to Julie's room. Mama would deal with Karen and Damian. She had enough patience to wait for them to start their begging. I, on the other hand, wanted to get to the bottom of why they were truly here. And my questioning would be for Julie. She would tell me. She was somebody that I could confide in, as well. Somehow I knew that she would not judge me should I befriend her. And I truly needed a friend.
    I knocked softly on the bedroom door. I knocked again when I didn't get an answer. And, persistently, I knocked harder when I still didn't get an answer. Then I heard footsteps and the door lock being unlocked. Her movements sounded jerky, and I couldn't help but know that she was very angry. So I told her that it was I. "Julie, it's me, Gabriella. I was just coming up to talk to you," I told her through the crack between the door and the doorframe.
    Her movements slowed and the door was opened slowly. Her eyes were red from crying. Tears were still in her eyes and trying to free themselves as she stared at me. Then she suddenly shook her head and burst into, what I could only assume, was another onslaught of tears.
    I walked into her room, and shut the door and locked it behind me. I slipped my arm around her shoulders and led her to the bed. I hugged her close, as I often did with Kit when she was upset, until the sobs subsided. She sniffled and then it all stopped. "I'm sorry, Gabriella. I just can't take it anymore!" she moaned.
    I nodded. "Why does your mother treat you that way and treat her so good?"
    She shrugged helplessly. "I have no idea. I can only assume it's because I am such a mistake. She would still be with her husband that supported her very well if she hadn't had me. And maybe all of her kids wouldn't ignore her if she hadn't married my lowlife father. He hasn't had a steady job, ever!"
    "What does that have to do with her favouring Annie?" I wasn't going to assure her those weren't the reasons. It was more than likely a very big part of it.
    "I don't know! I wish I did know! But it's always been a loss cause trying to figure out my mother!" she said, tears choking her words. She took a deep breath. "That's why I've been so anxious to come here. I've been wanting to speak to Phoenix. I just want to know how she dealt with that woman."
    I nodded. "I understand. I'm sure it wasn't exactly simple for her, either. Of course, she has never really told me any of it, so I wouldn't know. But talking to her might help."
    She looked at me sceptically. "No, talking to her will only help get it out. The only thing that will help is being free of that snob that has my mother's undying attention and love."
    I understood why Julie was here now. It made a lot more sense. As to why the others were here, I hadn't figured it out yet. But I would do just that.
    But as I looked at Julie and began to open my mouth to start my inquisition, I couldn't do it. Not yet. She wasn't guilty in this, though I knew damned well the other three were. And she didn't need the added stress of me demanding to know why her family was here. Because only one of them was truly related to me. They weren't my family.
    I was getting up to leave when Julie grabbed my arm. "I know why they love her more and why they are here," she suddenly blurted. "I know you want to know, Gabriella, and I need to tell."
    I sat back down instantly. "Tell then, Julie. Why are they here?"
    "Money," she said.
    Such a simple, little word, I thought to myself. Yet the cause of so many problems. "Money?" I asked. What money were they after? They couldn't possibly get a dime from my mother.
    "Annie is owed half of your mother's fortune. But since it has been withheld from her, not offered ever to her solely, my mother is planning on suing your mother for all of it. She even already has a lawyer. I don't know why, but my mother says this lawyer will put a damper on your mother's life. Why she wants to hurt her, I don't understand. But she does."
    "Do you know who this lawyer is?" I asked. My heart felt like a trapped wild bird trying to free itself.
    "He is my sister Celeste's husband. His name is Mitchell Branch. He gives me the creeps something awful. But Mother is incredibly proud of herself for accepting him into the family and having him to go against Phoenix," she announced, her eyes wide. Those two green orbs were urging me to run and tell Mama what was going on.
    I got up to do just that. "I need to go tell her, Julie. Thank you so much," I said. Then I turned and ran from the room. Something in me was feeling wild, feeling an irresistible urge to get this information out to my mother.
    I found Annie coming up the stairs, as I was about to go down them. "Well, hello, Gabriella," she said, smiling beautifully.
    I wanted to run and "accidentally" shove her down the stairs. My family may have their problems, not even realising they did but they did, but they were still my family. I still loved them, in spite of my bitterness and distrust towards them. And this evil young woman was trying to ruin them. They were trying to hurt Mama. I felt another primal urge to shove her down the stairs. I could even see myself doing it.
    "Hello, Annie," I responded, smiling. I was forcing myself not to start anything just yet. I wanted to tell Mama first.
    "I was just coming up to get you. There is a young man at the door for you. He is awful handsome." She giggled.
    I ignored her, having the feeling it was that jackass Hunter. "Where is my mother?" I demanded.
    "She left to go have lunch with Richard. She said she'd be back in about an hour or so." Peachy. Mama had left. "Now, don't leave your young man waiting," she said, smiling as if we had some big, girly secret amongst us.
    Just to escape her, I passed her and went down the stairs. When I got to the door, sure enough, Hunter was standing there. He was smiling widely, as if he was some gallant knight coming to court a lovely lady. I glared at him. "What do you want?" I said, walking up to the door and leaning my arm on the door, ready to slam it in his face.
    "I just spoke with your mother," he announced. "Heard that girl telling you that your mother left to have lunch with Richard. But it's a little early for lunch."
    "Where are you getting at?" I asked. "Just get to it, please."
    "She asked me to come get you. She's at the graveyard. She said it was the only place she'd ever get you alone."
    Mama was at the graveyard? I quickly walked out of the house and left with Hunter. "Did she say why she wanted me alone?" My bitterness disappeared with my curiosity and excitement.
    "She said something about the people being there and you knowing why, or finding out why. Something like that." Boy, he really listened and paid attention well, didn't he?
    We were just about to get into his car so we could drive to see my mother when a fancy black Mercedes pulled into the driveway beside his car. Hunter and I both turned to look at the man that so arrogantly got out of the car. His eyes were blue, blue like my own blue. He was a handsome man, but his eyes warned me not to trust.
    "Can I help you?" I snapped.
    His eyes shined at me, looking me over. "You must be Gabriella. You are beautiful!" he said, almost as if he was proud.
    "And you are strange. What do you want?" I instinctively took a step back, only to realise how close Hunter was to me. I ran right into him. Yet I'd rather be this close to him than a step closer to the man in front of me.
    "I am Mitchell Branch. I am a lawyer for the family staying with you. I have come to serve your mother some papers." He said it as one would say, "I have come to have tea and stay for a short visit." It meant nothing to him. He didn't even know my mother. How he knew my name freaked me out farther.
    "I'll take those." I felt the urge to attack once more. I often did when anger began to make its way through my veins.
    "I'm afraid I can't give them to you," he laughed. "But it is polite for you to ask." He actually had the nerve to pat me on the hand as if I were a mere five-year-old.
    "I didn't ask, and I wasn't being polite. I somehow know my mother would rather me give them to her than you."
    "Don't be so sure." His arrogance was written all over him.
    "And don't think all women will fall all over you. My mother is not here right now, so I will give her the papers." I took a step closer to him this time, standing up to him.
    He laughed again. "I will come back later, then." He got back into the car and drove off.
    "The nerve of that guy," I muttered.
    "You're telling me. What papers is he going to serve your mother, anyway?" Hunter asked.
    "Annie, the young woman that answered the door, is my mother's cousin. She is entitled to half of the family fortune my mother inherited. We are being sued for everything. Mama sold the house and if they sued us for that, it could only cause more trouble," I warned him. After all, it was his home now. His family had bought it.
    "How can she sue you for more than her share?" He opened the passenger side door for me. I looked at him and shook my head. I knew he was being polite, and by the looks of it, had been taught to open car doors for girls. It just seemed rather amusing to me.
    "It was never offered to her. She can use my mother's husband's financial stability and the lack of her own to prove that she needs the money more than my mother." I sat down in the seat and he came around and got into the driver's side.
    He nodded his understanding. "Yes, I suppose I can see how that would work. Your mother doesn't know, yet?"
    I shook my head. "No, but when I see her, I am going to tell her everything Julie told me." I sat quietly until we arrived at the graveyard. I then jumped out and ran up to her.
    "Gabby!" she said. "Have you talked to Julie? I need to talk to you about something, too, but I want to know what you have found out." How did she know that I had meant to talk to Julie? She knew me better than I had thought.
    "They are going to sue you, Mama. For everything you've inherited," I announced. Hunter stood by the car, politely not coming up to be nosy. I was starting to figure he wasn't truly that bad.
    "Annie," she muttered. I knew she had come to the realisation of why they had come. "I am so stupid! I should have known that was why they had come."
    "Karen says that the lawyer they have will really blow your mind. Julie told me that he is Celeste's husband. I met him on the way here. His name is Mitchell Branch. He's an arrogant jerk," I blurted out in one breath. I felt better. I had needed to get that out.
    Mama looked at me as if she had just seen a ghost. I even looked behind me, feeling spooked. Her face was amazingly pale. "What?" She looked away and swallowed hard. Then she looked back up at me from where she had sat on the ground. "What did you say the lawyer's name was?"
    "Mitchell Branch. He is married to your half-sister, Celeste." I had heard about Celeste. She had put Mama through a lot of hell when they had been kids.
    "Oh, God," Mama said and rose from the ground. "Oh, God!" she cried out again and then she ran from the cemetery, from me.
    I watched her leave, not understanding what was happening. Why had she reacted so strangely? Worry came over me. Then suspicion. Mama would only act that way if she knew something. And she had to have known something of what I had told her.
    I stood by my father's gravesite, confused and suspicious. Secrets were circling around my head in a fast pace. The scary thing happened to be that my mother knew exactly what was going on. And I had a feeling that I would have to find out for myself. I knew she wouldn't tell me.
    I slowly walked back to Hunter's car. He stood up from where he leaned against the car and looked at me questioningly. I sighed. "I think I'm going to walk home, Hunter. I have a lot to think about. Thank you for driving me over here." I didn't give him a chance to try talking me into riding with him. I turned and began to walk in the direction of the house.
    As I walked away, I went back into the files of my memory. Misery and bitterness swelled up within me. Secrets. They were enveloping me more so now than they ever had before. Yet they had always been there. My mother had always hidden herself away from us, in fear of us finding out her secrets. Perhaps that was why she was so distant. I felt bitter towards her. But more so, I felt scared. Fear of what was about to come came to wrap tightly around me. Everywhere I looked reminded me that my family life was about to take yet another drastic change. And it was not about to be for the better. And it wasn't me being pessimistic that made me think that way. It was an intuitive feeling deep in my heart.
    I didn't realise that I was crying until Hunter pulled up beside me in his car. He drove on slowly beside me before asking, "Are you okay?"
    That's when I felt the cool breeze against my wet cheeks. Confused, I wiped at the tears. "I think so. I don't know. Maybe."
    "Let me drive you back, Gabriella," he said.
    I sighed, and for one of the first times in my life, I gave in. I stepped off the curb and into the car. "I just don't understand it all," I muttered softly to myself, looking out the window.
    "Understand what?"
    I jumped. I had already begun to get lost in my thoughts. I hadn't realised I had said anything out loud. "Just family matters." It was the only thing I offered to him. Why should he care? It had nothing to do with him. He was trying to be nice, but to me there was a point where someone was being overly nice, trying to be your shoulder to cry on. I didn't need to cry on anyone's shoulder.
    He didn't ask after that. He drove on in silence. I could tell he pitied me. I felt my defences rising. My wall began to rise to block everything out, especially the "sympathy" from others, which was nothing more than somebody pitying you. They didn't know what it was like to have the perfect family, yet be such an imperfect family.
    When he drove up the driveway, my heart began its normal pounding in anxiety. I took a deep breath and placed my hand on the door to get out.
    "I know how you feel about people comforting you, Gabriella. It's obvious. But I know that people do need to talk. Everyone needs a friend to lean on. You can trust me. You can talk to me anytime you need or want to. You know where I am."
    I looked away from him and finished getting out of the car. I walked up the walkway to the house, nervousness making me shake. I didn't know what I would walk into when I stepped over that threshold. I knew it couldn't be good. Mama wouldn't have ignored what she had been told. I knew chaos would have erupted by now.
    I was stunned to walk into complete silence. It seemed that nobody was in the house. It was so quiet. It had an empty, deserted feel to it. It gave me the chills. I felt as if the ghosts of the past were the only things vacating the house at the moment. It felt almost as if those very ghosts had taken over the people that had once been here. I tried to stray away from such morbid, creepy thoughts. Yet no matter how I tried, the thoughts became stronger.
    I felt too nervous to call out anyone's name. I simply began my search for them by quietly ascending the stairs. I felt a shake of my nerves every time the stairs creaked. Never had the house stayed so eerily silent.
    I came to what was Julie and Annie's guestroom first. I stopped and knocked on the door gently. Nobody answered, so I continued my way towards my mother's room. I knocked on the door and heard her call. I was partially relieved to hear the sound of another voice, yet her voice held none of its usual strength. It sounded small, defeated. It sounded so empty.
    "Mama?" I called softly, opening the door gently. "What's wrong?"
    Her cries were not sobs, but I could tell she was crying. In the dull light of the lamp on her nightstand, I could see the tears tracing down her cheeks. She wasn't looking at me; she just stared at the wall, as if her whole life was about to be torn even further from her reach.
    "Go find something to do, Gabriella. I know you find your life nothing to smile about now, but trust me, my dear daughter; it is about to get by far worse. And I am so sorry," she said. With that, she turned completely away from me.
    I was so chilled by her voice, by her choice of words, that I turned and left the room quickly. I stepped down the hall faster than I had walked up it before. I wanted to get away from it all. All of these secrets were taking my mother down. And it was so absolutely frightening. For no matter how my feelings were mixed about her, she had always been so strong. Never had I seen my mother as weak as she had been just then. And it brought to light what I had already begun to feel. My family was about to slip even further from my grasp. And there would be no saving us then.

Burn of Death Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Epilogue

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