Chapter 35: Chapter 35

Chapter 35: Caught in a Landslide

Kendra’s P.O.V:

“Thanks for coming with me,” I told Daniel as we walked side by side, out of the Doc’s cabin.

When I’d first arrived for my appointment, which Daniel had so generously made, my hands had been trembling, I was sweating like a pig and feeling like I would pass out at any instant from an anxiety attack. My first instinct had been to call Grace and spill the beans and beg her to come with me to the therapist so I could have some mental support. But it had been Daniel who’d picked up the phone, telling me that Grace had a bad headache so he was letting her sleep in. So, I begged Daniel to come instead.

Surprisingly, he’d shown up within twenty minutes, looking tired and worried and he’d held onto my hand when I’d first entered the Doctor’s cabin. After the preliminary round of questions, I’d been able to relax enough that Daniel had no longer been needed inside the room. It was a good thing because there had been things that I wasn’t ready for people to find out yet.

“No problem,” Daniel patted my hair with his hand. “How are you feeling now?”

“A lot better,” I told him honestly. “Dr. Maxwell was so easy to talk to. I didn’t think I’d ever say this about a shrink, but the guy’s pretty cool.”

“I’m glad you liked him.” Daniel smiled as we turned towards the exit. “But you do know that you’ll hav-“

“You!”

I froze mid-step as that single, rage filled voice echoed through the hospital walls. Panic began to rise instantly and I tried my hardest to not let it show on my face as Daniel turned to look at me and his face turned to one of concern.

“Kendra? What’s wrong?” Daniel touched his hand to mine but I flinched away, regretting it instantly when his frown deepened.

“Nothing.” I told him, glad that my voice hadn’t wavered. “Let’s just get out of here.”

“Running away again, little witch?” This time the voice spoke from right behind me and it threatened to crumble my legs from under me. Thankfully, Daniel wrapped his arm around my waist to keep me steady.

We both turned to face the woman standing behind us. She was shorter than me by a few inches but we had very similar facial features, not to mention the same blue eyes. But while my hair was blonde, hers were pitch black but with the same corkscrew curls. “Hello, aunty.” This time, I couldn’t hide the tremors.

“Oh, don’t you hello me, you bastard child!” She sneered, the wrinkles around her mouth deepening to make her look older than she actually was. “You should never have existed! You and your bitch mother! You should be the ones dying in this wretched place, not my poor, innocent brother!”

I grit my teeth together so I didn’t snap at the woman, but it was hard not to. This had been going on for years, blaming me for something I never did. And the more time that passes, the bitter she gets. “Your brother,” I spoke through gritted teeth and clenched hands. “Is my father. And he was never as innocent as you claimed him to be.”

“How dare you!” My Aunt, Renee, screeched at me, drawing attention in our direction. “Your mother is the reason my brother has been here for thirteen years! You’re filthy, vile witches! You should’ve been the ones to get burned!”

She raised her hand and brought it down on me, but before she could hit me, two hands blocked her attack, one belonging to Daniel and the other to...“Victor?”

“If you haven’t noticed yet, this is a hospital,” Victor said in a sickly sweet voice. “And if you cause any kind of violence here, I’m afraid I’ll have to call security.”

Aunt Renee took a step back, appalled that someone would stand up for me. But then her lips tilted into a snide smirk. “Ah! Little witch indeed. How many bed-rats do need to defend you?”

“Oh, she doesn’t need anyone to defend her.” We all turned to look at Grace as she walked over to us in a teal coloured body suit and her hair in a high ponytail. “But we’re not just her bed-rats, we’re her family. And family stands up for each other.”

Aunt Renee’s scrawled deepened, she knew she was outnumbered and no one was on her side. Muttering cusses under her breath, she turned and left the hospital, her heels clicking on the marble floor like a hammer on my heart.

I collapsed on the floor as soon as Aunt Renee was out of my sight, my entire body going numb. I could hear everyone around me, but I was unable to speak, unable to move.

“Grace? What are you doing here?” Was the first thing Daniel asked as he and Victor supported my weight.

“I went to visit Tory at work but he got a cut on his hand from an iron sheet so I brought him here to get a shot.” Grace answered. “But what are you doing here?”

“I...” I heard the hesitance in Daniel’s voice before he told them the truth. “She needed therapy. She’s become an alcoholic and it was affecting her health. It was her first day at therapy and I decided to bring her here because she needed the mental support...I guess I can see why.”

“Kendra?” Victor spoke to me then, rubbing his hands up and down my arm. “Can you stand? Are you okay?”

I felt myself give a slow nod, but that was all I could do as Daniel and Victor pulled me back on my feet and Victor instantly wrapped his arms around me, giving me a kiss on the forehead. “Come on, let’s get you home.”

We’d walked a good few feet towards the exit when Grace’s voice rang out from behind us. “Tory?”

Victor turned to face her with a curse muttered under his breath, but he didn’t let go of me. “I’ll call you later, Grace. I promise. But right now, I need to be with Kendra.”

With that, we walked out of the hospital and Victor hired a cab. I guess the cat was out of the bag already.