has my guards falling down, and Tom appears in the
doorway behind her.
“It seems the Wicked Witch has returned!” Tom shouts with
his arms in the air. I try not to focus on the wicked smile across his face and
instead turn my gaze to Anastasia.
“Anastasia, tell me what’s wrong!” She’s about to poke me
one more time on the upper arm, and in self-defense I put my entire hand over
hers. I gently curl in her finger and grab the other fist when she raises it to
hit me. I’m not sure what I did, but apparently it was truly awful.
“You stole my father, you son of a bitch!” I blink a few
times, and then the worst thing of all comes out of Tom’s mouth.
“Don’t go calling our mother names!” I want to snort and
laugh at the same time, but now is not appropriate. Still, she must see the
glimmer in my eyes. Anastasia wrenches her fists out of my hands and points in
my face, hers nothing but a blaze of fury.
“This is not going to fly! I will take you to court over
this!” I still have no idea what she’s talking about, but nod anyway to appease
her. It’s not working, and Tom’s raucous laughter behind her is not helping me
get my head straight.
“Could you just sit down like a normal person and explain
this to me? I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about!” I didn’t
mean to shout, but the words tumbled out that way. The poor woman takes three
steps back from me, and I see tears starting to brim in her eyes. “Oh God,
don’t cry. I’m sorry. I’m not losing it. Okay, maybe I am a little, but if you could
just sit down and explain this to me, maybe we can fix it?” There, that’s
better. A lot less shouting and she’s squaring her shoulders as I knew she would.
Without another word or poke, Anastasia marches into the
kitchen with her clinking shoes and slams her purse onto the table. She sits
down in a kitchen chair, and when she doesn’t shout at me I sit down across
from her. I would ask her if she wants tea, but I think a hot beverage in her
hands right now is a bad idea. I like the flesh on my face.
“How could he do this to me? I mean, I’m his daughter !”
She’s not shouting anymore. It’s at a level I might call yelling. Then she says
in a lower volume, “I don’t even know you, and I’m supposed to share all of this?”
My flesh grows cold, and for a second I think that maybe I
should have left the thermostat where it was at. Then I glance down and see
that there are goose bumps all over my flesh, and it’s not the air that’s
caused this reaction. It’s the fact that she said the word ‘share’.
“What do you mean, share?” I’m not sure if it’s my thought
or Tom’s, but it pops out of my mouth on its own accord.
“My father left this entire property to the both of
us. The complications that arise from two parties owning a piece of property
like this are insane! I spent over an hour talking to the attorney to
understand this. If I decide to sell this place, you can either buy me out, or
we would have to go to court. That is if you didn’t want to sell, or vice
versa.” I try to derive from that statement whether she actually wants to sell
this place or not. But I don’t think that’s what she’s upset about. I think
it’s the thought that her father actually considered putting me in the Will in
the first place.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know about this.” If looks could
kill , I think to myself. “Look, if you want the property all to yourself,
I’ll just sign a document stating that it’s all yours. I swear.” It’s not
working. Maybe there’s nothing that I could say that would make her feel any
better, so I just keep my mouth shut.
“And you’ll just hand all the money that was left for you
back, too?” My mouth goes dry as I stare at her. I’m flattered her father
actually cared about me so much he would treat me as if I was one of his
children, but the fact is that I was not.
“Yeah, if you want it you can have it.” Tom
doorway behind her.
“It seems the Wicked Witch has returned!” Tom shouts with
his arms in the air. I try not to focus on the wicked smile across his face and
instead turn my gaze to Anastasia.
“Anastasia, tell me what’s wrong!” She’s about to poke me
one more time on the upper arm, and in self-defense I put my entire hand over
hers. I gently curl in her finger and grab the other fist when she raises it to
hit me. I’m not sure what I did, but apparently it was truly awful.
“You stole my father, you son of a bitch!” I blink a few
times, and then the worst thing of all comes out of Tom’s mouth.
“Don’t go calling our mother names!” I want to snort and
laugh at the same time, but now is not appropriate. Still, she must see the
glimmer in my eyes. Anastasia wrenches her fists out of my hands and points in
my face, hers nothing but a blaze of fury.
“This is not going to fly! I will take you to court over
this!” I still have no idea what she’s talking about, but nod anyway to appease
her. It’s not working, and Tom’s raucous laughter behind her is not helping me
get my head straight.
“Could you just sit down like a normal person and explain
this to me? I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about!” I didn’t
mean to shout, but the words tumbled out that way. The poor woman takes three
steps back from me, and I see tears starting to brim in her eyes. “Oh God,
don’t cry. I’m sorry. I’m not losing it. Okay, maybe I am a little, but if you could
just sit down and explain this to me, maybe we can fix it?” There, that’s
better. A lot less shouting and she’s squaring her shoulders as I knew she would.
Without another word or poke, Anastasia marches into the
kitchen with her clinking shoes and slams her purse onto the table. She sits
down in a kitchen chair, and when she doesn’t shout at me I sit down across
from her. I would ask her if she wants tea, but I think a hot beverage in her
hands right now is a bad idea. I like the flesh on my face.
“How could he do this to me? I mean, I’m his daughter !”
She’s not shouting anymore. It’s at a level I might call yelling. Then she says
in a lower volume, “I don’t even know you, and I’m supposed to share all of this?”
My flesh grows cold, and for a second I think that maybe I
should have left the thermostat where it was at. Then I glance down and see
that there are goose bumps all over my flesh, and it’s not the air that’s
caused this reaction. It’s the fact that she said the word ‘share’.
“What do you mean, share?” I’m not sure if it’s my thought
or Tom’s, but it pops out of my mouth on its own accord.
“My father left this entire property to the both of
us. The complications that arise from two parties owning a piece of property
like this are insane! I spent over an hour talking to the attorney to
understand this. If I decide to sell this place, you can either buy me out, or
we would have to go to court. That is if you didn’t want to sell, or vice
versa.” I try to derive from that statement whether she actually wants to sell
this place or not. But I don’t think that’s what she’s upset about. I think
it’s the thought that her father actually considered putting me in the Will in
the first place.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know about this.” If looks could
kill , I think to myself. “Look, if you want the property all to yourself,
I’ll just sign a document stating that it’s all yours. I swear.” It’s not
working. Maybe there’s nothing that I could say that would make her feel any
better, so I just keep my mouth shut.
“And you’ll just hand all the money that was left for you
back, too?” My mouth goes dry as I stare at her. I’m flattered her father
actually cared about me so much he would treat me as if I was one of his
children, but the fact is that I was not.
“Yeah, if you want it you can have it.” Tom
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