20 Reign

I kept thinking and thinking.

How was I not able to remember him? What he told me took a toll on me. Why was it so hard for me to remember anything when I was a child. I only remember moving to Florida when I was eleven. Anything before that was blank.

I never really troubled myself to ask about it, but now that I think of it I couldn’t remember a thing. I knew that if I asked my mother she wouldn’t give me a straight answer and I needed answers. I knew Grandma was the only one who would tell me.

So I got up from my bed and dragged myself downstairs, determined to find Grandma and demand answers. Finally reaching the living room I only saw Tyler with my brothers Matt and Joe, they were all so focused on the television with each their own controllers in hand. The trio were surprisingly quite which was unheard of especially when they were in the game zone.

“SCORE!!” Matt screamed with his arms up in the air. Yep, I knew it. The silence wouldn’t have lasted long.

“You dipshit what I don’t seem to understand how are you keep wining every round.” Joe glared at him throwing his own controller on the floor.

“Cause I’m awesome. Need I say more?” He grinned back causing me to roll my eyes as Joe was about to answer him back.

“Guys.” They all turned to me “Where’s grandma?” I impatiently asked. Matt suddenly got off the couch and crouched as if to look for something under the couch.

“Grandma? Grandmaa? Are you there?” Joe and Tyler started laughing making me only groan out of Matt’s stupidity. I knew they weren't ever going to give me a mature answer, so I simply left the living room without a word. My brothers are idiots.

Before I reached the kitchen I heard her infectious laugh. When I entered the kitchen I saw that Ana and grandma were both covered in flour laughing their hearts out. It brought a smile to my face. No matter how old grandma got, she’ll always have a young soul. As I got closer, grandma looked at me as if trying to determine whether I was in a mood to join the fun.

I wasn’t. I really wasn’t.

“That’s enough for today. How about you go have a bath before your mother sees you and gets a heart attack.” Grandma smiled down at Ana. Giggling Ana quickly ran out of the kitchen.

I sighed as I sat down on one of stools closest to me. I let my arms rest on the island that stood still in the middle of the kitchen.

”Oh dearie, what is it? You seem so distraught.” Concern masked her eyes as she turned to wash her hands.

“Why did we move to Florida?” I finally managed to ask. She stiffened at my sudden question. She didn’t even turn to look back at me. She just stood there.

Frozen.

She eventually turned off the running water before it filled up the faucet she was complaining about the day before, as she turned around her expression was unreadable.

”Not here.” She Whispered. I followed her lead as she walked to the other side of the kitchen to open the massive glass door that faced the beach. She slide the door open and walked out.

She pushed herself to sit on one of the wooden deck chairs that have been there for way too long. I followed her every move.

“Have a seat, Cookie.” I did just as I was told. We sat there both in different worlds. Me trying to prep myself for what I was going to hear, while grandma closed her eyes as her lips quivered sporadically. I didn’t want to push her at all, as much as I wanted to know I didn't think I could bare anymore grim details of the secrets my family hid for so long.

I looked up at the sky, analysing it as a way to calm myself down. The glowing medallion wasn’t there, yet the sky wasn’t cloud-covered either. It seemed empty yet peaceful, something I was not at this current moment.

It was only when grandma cleared her throat that I actually dragged my attention away from the waves to look at her. She looked drained as if all of the happiness that was once there was stolen from her body.

“Harmony.” The fact that she used my name to begin with struck me. I just knew this was serious, she never called me by my name. “As hard as you’ll find it to be, you have to promise me with everything you hold dear, that no one will know about this. I know it’s difficult thinking everything will be much more simple if you were to just ask your mother to explain, but honey it isn’t.” I didn’t even get to respond before she continued.

“You were only eleven when you moved to Florida. It was sudden, yet it seemed it was the only way for all of you to have a new beginning according to your parents. Before you moved, you used to live in a small town called Reign in Illinois. Your childhood memories, first everything was wa-as ther-re.”

She lifted her frail hand up to her mouth to cover up the sob that escaped her mouth. My heart ached seeing my Grandma like this, but I just couldn't bring myself to tell her to stop. I needed to know.

"Since your parents got married they were the most popular couple in that town. Whoever knew them wanted to be with them, whoever personally didn't, wanted to be them. Anyone who needed help found their way to William, knowing that without a doubt he would find a way to put that smile back on their faces.

Everything seemed so great. Life was good, that was until your mother unexpectedly ended up pregnant out of the blue while William was away in France and has been in France for about six months before that. I still remember how everything changed after that. My William came back from France about two months since your mom figured out she was pregnant. She did try to hide it though, I knew that much because I decided to stay with my grandchildren while William was away but nothing she did could fool me. Regardless of me being your grandma she seemed to forget I am a mother too." She let out a loud sigh as if she was grateful to have finally finished up the introduction to my family's messed up history book.

"One night your mother exploded and decided to come clean, she told William about Christopher. She told him everything. He was so angry, he broke almost everything he got his hands on in the house. Thank god your siblings were at a sleepover or else I honestly think they would have been traumatized being so young, thinking the world was filled with fairytales. That night I walked in on their screaming match to see the hurt in my son's eyes. He was so hurt that your mother would even think about being with another man. Things were said that day that could never be taken back. Both my son and Evelyn were wrong to say those things. I simply walked back to my room and listened in silence.

Days and months came and rushed after that. William was barely home, while Evelyn barely left her room. I couldn't bring myself to leave while everything was falling apart right in front of me. Before we all knew it, you were born. Regardless of my son's pain, I was there. The moment I laid my eyes on you I-" She grabbed my hand into hers not continuing her sentence before she made sure my eyes met hers. "I fell into such a haze. I was in awe, you made my heart melt. You were just brought into the world minutes and you stole my heart." She raised her hand to wipe my tears away. I didn't even notice I was crying. She gave me a few minutes to calm myself before she pulled her hand away.

Ethereal

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