☆☆☆ Chapter 53 ☆☆☆

Spiralling Traffic

I blinked for a moment and took in my surroundings. There were walls on either side of me with pretty portraits of god knows what and soft lights glued to the ceiling way above me. Two menservants passed by. One nudged the other and winked as they did so. And somewhere close, really, really close, I heard forks screech against plates. Dining room. I'm steps away from it, aren't I? Steps away from my in-law and her runaway husband. My in-laws. And Joel and Hilery. Nutjobs. Monsters. Demons. Brat. Gun, gunpoint. Death, not. And Daniel. Sweet, kind, passionate, clingy, and──

"Alright. We have to go in now. I'll stop them from talking to you, okay?" Teresa's fingers were entwined with mine. Like her. Her thumb rubbed the back of my hand. Yes, just like her, yes. "You'll be alright Ane. I promise. I won't let go of you." Into both.

"He's into both, attracted to both. Those of his own gender and those who aren't. Both ways, both! Can you fuckin' believe it? And you're like him. And he's like you. Stupid, stupid me. I read it all Teresa, I read it all in his cute little teensy cursive. I saw the toys. He told me, Tess. He told me a-and I don't know what to do. Stupid, I'm fuckin' stupid. And what the heck am I feelin' I... 'n I know I shouldn't feel this way but... fuck, I fuckin' hate reading... my angel, he's... "

Gone? No. Shut up.

"Ane, sit down. Let's have some tea. Right now. Sit the hell down. Down, I said! Dinner can wait. Isn't this what you wanted?" No. Yes! ...No? "First of all... "

Her dark eyes were onto me and my ringing ears, but it didn't matter, not in the frickin' slightest, 'cuz whether I liked it or not I was already in the room by the time my lips tried to give her any sort of response. My head had nodded a long time ago (god knows when really), thinkin' that I was brave and calm and she was way too hungry to not let it slide.

" ...and you can talk things through with him, maybe it can help you, maybe it won't, but you need to understand that the world doesn't revolve around you. That includes his sexual orientation. This is really personal. So don't put him on the spot. He needs to be comfortable with having an open conversation like that, don't you even dare... "

Breathe in, Imani Ane. Breathe out. Count... Count from one to five. One, two, three, four... There's five heads in the dining room. Five. Five. Teresa. Six. Six. Me. Seven. Seven. It's alright, it's alright. No. In the room, there are demons playing the role of normal people. Demons that batted an eye at hurting me and themselves in whatever way possible with bright, fake smiles on their faces. They're acting as if nothing happened. But it's all good, it's all good.

No. No it's not. Aren't you one of them anyway? A sick demonic monster? Take a good look at yourself before sayin' shit.

My heartbeats pounded on my eardrums, threatened to make my ears bleed. Every beat was loud and deafening and biting the insides of my cheeks did nothing but make it worse. So much worse.

Count from one to five... one to five...

A squeeze. No, two... at the same time?!

I turned my head to the side and once again saw Teresa's eyes on me. They were wide and looking right at me. They asked if I was alright. Obviously I was, but her squeeze told me otherwise. I traced circles on her hand with my thumb and forced a helping of salmon down my throat to not have to make myself say a single thing.

"Thank you for confiding in me, Ane."

And then I felt another squeeze. It wasn't her. Under the table. On my thigh. Daniel. His pale, nervous face was on my other side, dreading the answer to the question his own pair of eyes had asked. 'No, I don't wanna leave. It's all good,' I told them, with every fiber of my being. Something in Daniel didn't let him take my answer seriously. His Ane-antenna or somethin'. He scooted himself closer to me, so close that there was hardly any space left in between us, and reached for my thigh again. This time he didn't squeeze, he caressed. The way his petal-soft palm worked its way up and down my skin let my mind have a few moments to itself. It was slow, gentle. Soothing. In its every movement, there was grace.

Breathe in, Imani Ane. Breathe out. Close your eyes, feel the air come in and out of your lungs. Out, and in. In, and out. Relax your shoulders. Wiggle your toes, then let them rest. Count from one to five...

"Ah, to be young and in love," my so-called father-in-law, Jordan, hummed as he swirled around his deep red glass of Campbell wine. His plate was empty. "Makes your head go way up high in the clouds, doesn't it, my son?" One. "Anything to get their attention, anything to please them," he chuckled into his glass. Two. "And before you know it, your brain turns to mush. It's a wonderful feeling." His nose hung 'round the rim of the glass. "I'm old and weary now, but my memory has yet to fail me, and therefore, I understand." Three. "But I must say what is on my mind, as the old geezer that I am, and you can't avoid me here; you're finally out of that room, so here I must speak."

Daniel's hand clenched on my thigh.

It was done out of impulse, and I knew why.

Daniel wanted to be free.

He wanted nothing to do with his family's winery, and in some way or another, Jordan was seconds away from bringing it up. Something I had no idea 'bout 'til not too long ago, when I read his handwritten feelings. He wanted to be a seamstress. Its male equivalent. He wondered if 'tailor' was the proper word, but he preferred 'seamster' 'cuz a tailor's job is sometimes misunderstood, whatever that means. Roger, of course, knows of this. He knows of Daniel's plans of someday confronting Jordan 'bout it, too, and of Daniel's search for an apprenticeship. He knows of whatever Daniel did last summer. He knows of Daniel's absolute hate on bacon and of how it's only ever in his mouth when we're at Opera's 'cuz I offer one to him every time and he loves me and doesn't want to be rude over the one thing I drool over besides him. Yup, he knows of every single little thing there is to know about my boyfriend. And I don't know jack. I have to learn things on my own. Stop.

Roger obviously knows who the hell Robin is and I obviously don't. Stop it right now.

He obviously knows why Daniel likes to drown his hair in gel so goddamn much when he looks perfectly fine and cute and beautiful with his natural waves. I said stop.

He obviously knows how exactly Daniel met and fell for me and I obviously don't. Stop it!

He obviously knows my boyfriend likes dic── ENOUGH!

Daniel's face couldn't possibly be any more paler than it already was. And he was as stiff as a rock. But somehow he managed to force his hand into loosening up on me as he waited for Jordan to speak. Slowly but surely, he worked his way up and down my thigh again. "For the first time in a while, I had time on my hands at the estate. I had meticulously prepared the business side of things for this vacation of ours, enough for it to handle itself for a while without much to worry about, and therefore, when I came back there, I had the chance to check our accounts and records── " Count from one to five. "Ah, yes, Joel!" Start, now.

The fourteen-year-old demon jerked upwards at the mentioning of his name like a startled little animal. Faked it, obviously. One. "Yes, sir── Father?"

Jordan smiled. "Wilfred says hello. He misses having you around at the estate, teaching you how it all works, making the wine step by step, hands-on and all. I hear you have been doing a splendid job. I have watched you, too. Makes me proud."

"Oh." The skittish look on his face almost made me believe it was genuine, but remembering the cold glare he had given me at the hotel stopped me from falling for the act. No demon does that shit for real. But it did make me feel a little better, seeing him behave as if something had crawled up his spine. I needed that. And someday, he'll get what he deserves for scaring the heck out of me. "Thank you."

"Can you get to the point with Danny, my lovely husband?" Fiona hummed. The tone of her voice didn't sound all that merry. Two. But who can blame her?

"Daniel, my son, over the short period of time you've been here, your accounts have gone off the rails. You will understand this better when you're older, but budgeting is important. It is a smart way of life. It applies to everything, from a business standpoint to your daily life, and even your children and children's children. You pass down the wealth, not drain it. Think of the future." Jordan put down his glass. "I checked the payroll here. Son, I am old and weary, but I remember the cap we had agreed on as if it were yesterday. You passed it by five── "

"I've been meaning to ask, Danny, where is that one kind young man with patches on his skin── "

"Jeremy── uh, Jeremiah?" Daniel sighed and let go of me. His hand had already slid under his seat by the time that my brain had the chance to process it. "He quit last year."

"Oh no, why? He was so determined to stay! What a bummer, I have been looking for him everywhere!"

Daniel was nothing but a rock-hard statue now. "I... I don't know."

Three. Four. Five. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. One... One... One, two, three, four, five. Five. Five, four, three, two, one... zero. Zero.

Good, good. Now, think of your happy place. Happy thoughts.

Okay, happy thoughts. Dad's long fingers, nails cut and perfectly maintained, hovering over the keys. His back faces me, and he's hunched over the piano. He's breathing in, breathing out. It's lunchtime. Mom's at his side, her head's resting on his shoulder as her hand rubs his back, and Teresa's making sandwiches in the kitchen. I'm begging him to play already 'cuz if he didn't, I would go find some fun elsewhere. At the park. Happy thoughts. The day's warm and bright, some birds don't know they're too late for the early worm. Happy, happy calm thoughts, yes.

Then his posture changes in an instant, turns proper. His foot now hovers on a pedestal. And then he begins. The keys play a wonderful song, and dance with Dad's rhythm. Mom kisses him, and I go over to Teresa to give her a hand. Peace.

Thank you, Dr. Connor. Can I have a butterscotch now?

"Fiona, my lovely wife, I wasn't finished with what I had to say."

"I know, sweetheart, but I couldn't help it, I just had to ask right then and there! He had taken great care of me the last time I was here and... "

"That sounds amazing, Fiona, too bad he's gone. Maybe he'll come back someday," Jordan commented half-heartedly, picking up his glass and swirling it around as he had done earlier. His droopy pair of emeralds were analyzing the depth of the wine's color, but his ears were sharp, waiting for the minute Fiona's words turned to shells of themselves to continue with his own. "Funny how you wanted to live here, son, and I thought it would allow you to gain some experience with general management. Sometimes people work better when thrown to the wolves, or so they say. Guess it doesn't work with you. But that's alright. People learn in many different ways. Through higher education, for instance. Something you have yet to do." Again. Let's do it again, Imani Ane. Breathe in, breathe out. "Anyways, two of those five have the same last name. Mayflower. Teresa and Imani. Hmm. What a coincidence. Isn't Teresa the name of Ane's sibling?"

Breathe in. What's he mentioning this for? Breathe out. What the hell! I'm doing it wrong.

Daniel, the beautiful, handsome statue, fixed his throat. "It is, and you know it's not a coincidence."

"Oh?"

"She's a── "

"I'm a maid here," Teresa pitched in, stabbing her salmon with a fork and giving me a soft squeeze. "So is Ane. Imani Ane." Amazing.

"My my, what a surprise. Hello there. I didn't see you coming." Jordan raised his glass up for a moment and sipped from it. "How wonderful, Daniel. You married your maid. How wonderful. I understand, she's... beautiful. A breath of fresh air. Us Campbell men, we're simple like that." He chuckled. Fiona's fork clashed with her plate. "Not to be a bummer, but the paperwork for the marriage is missing in our family records. Be sure to send the copies over soon. Newlyweds or not, over two months have passed since the first day of our vacation, so no excuses── ah, yes, she stabbed someone. Never forget. Hmm. Did you have her sign a prenup, I wonder... "

Daniel cowered and tucked a golden lock behind his ear, but there was a fire in his eyes that conflicted with every other part of his body language. I couldn't read it.

Someone put their utensils down in such a way that it made everyone stop breathing, just 'cuz of how loud it was. It made me jump a little but once I saw who it came from, a comforting sigh left out of me.

"How dare you," Teresa barked, right as Daniel's lips parted. Everyone turned to her. "She's been through enough." Amazing. That's my sister, yes she is. My god, my god I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry for everything. You're amazing, sis.

"Bah! Ane is a fine young woman," Fiona barked. "She is still figuring things out. She may have stabbed someone and there's a therapist involved, but she is a fine, strong young woman. It's not like you were around to understand anything, Jordan." She huffed and crossed her arms. Glared at Jordan. Anything to pick a fight with him, 'cuz does she really side with me? Does she really like me? And should I care? Why am I happy 'bout people defending me if I know fully well that I'm a fucked-up person? Shut up, Dr. Connor would say otherwise. You're trying and that counts as something good. No it doesn't. "She will give us lots of grandkids to spoil. Let her be. Let us all be. And you do as you please, as always, Jordan."

One... two...

"'Someone,' huh. D'you mean Jade? It's okay, you can both say her name. I know what I did, and to whom," I heard myself spit. "I'm not proud of it but there's no point in sweepin' it under the rug like that. She's your daughter."

"Ah, Ane, you're here as well! My sight must be failing me. Hello hello, it has been a while. Pleasure to see you again," Jordan exclaimed. Wrinkles upon wrinkles formed on his face and the longer we looked at each other the more weird it felt. The last time he saw me, I was covered in his daughter's blood and staining his son's clothes with it. There was nothing nice 'bout his greeting. Three... Four...

I gave him a smile that called on his bullshit. Five.

Teresa ignored him and picked at her salmon. "Jade is doing well. I was told she'll be discharged soon── "

"We know, Teresa, thank you," he breathed. "We're making arrangements to institutionalize her as soon as possible in the best psychiatric hospital in our region. She will be there by the end of the year. However, if all goes exceptionally well, it can happen as soon as next week."

"Gods, it's about time," my boyfriend muttered, giving his father a clean glare. Nobody seemed to pay attention to that except for me, or they just didn't care enough.

I closed my eyes and listened to the beats of my heart. They weren't pounding on my eardrums anymore but something was wrong and I didn't know what. The blood flowing through my veins was lukewarm and there was nothing holding me back from doing whatever the heck I wanted to do, but something was wrong. Was it something that had nothing to do with me? Was it my surroundings? The people around me? The air?

Out, and in. In, and out. Relax your shoulders. Wiggle your toes...

No. No, no, no. Something was off in the air and it made me want to puke.

"For now, we have to send her off elsewhere. Anywhere. As soon as she's discharged." Fiona. "Yes! Hilery, my sweet honeycomb!" Hilery looked up and blinked. Her eyes were child-like and free of any blame, bright and cheerful. They were just as beautiful and as charming as Daniel's. A fuckin' ruse. Gross. "How about the all-girls school you used to go to? What's the name?"

Oh. That's it, it's this family. They're all strangers. They're all wrong and twisted and with a screw loose.

And Daniel is forever cursed to be a part of it, whether he likes it or not. The charm in his emerald eyes, the prettiness of his button nose and pink lips, the golden shine in his shy, wavy locks, his delicate, soft hands, the little bits of freckles here and there that I've kissed so passionately, and even his height, maybe even his moles, it all belongs to them── it brands him as a member of the Campbells. Their blood flows through his veins. What does that make of his mindset? Is their wickedness hereditary? Or were they victims of some form of mental poison given to them in separate moments of time?

...Is Daniel okay?

Oh you know, trust me. Since day one. Even more so now. All those pictures. All those written things. He's told you! But you're not ready for it so you hide, hide, hide. Shut up. Always passing it off and excusing it as──

Shut up. (One, two, three, four, five. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. One.. three.. five... )

You're fucked-up too. Never forget.

Was this how it had always been, or is it that I just never spent enough time with them to know? Or is it that I'm able to pick up on these things now, and they flew over my head before? Or is it a mix of everything? This dinner makes it hard for me to breathe. Everything feels kinda... airtight.

Hilery's attention wandered about as she tapped her lips with a delicate finger before replying to what Fiona had said. The small red earrings peeking out of her locks screamed for my attention. Two months ago I wouldn't have paid any fucking attention to 'em but now I can't unsee what they stood for. The mere sight of them is disgusting. "I don't know Mom. I can't remember. It was sooo~ so long ago!"

"How can you not? Come on kiddo, you're the one who begged to go there, remember? Think long and hard. Mommy wants to know!"

"I'm trying! I'm trying really, really hard!" the snake whined. "But I don't know, I don't know! I really don't know. Maybe it's not a good idea. They liked me, but they won't like Jade! I just know it. She's so mean!"

"Hilery this is the best idea I can think of. We can't have that sick thing running free. We're sending her over there. Tell us the name, it's not that hard!"

Ugh. Here she comes, with her stupid, fake tantrum. "No, Mom, no! I don't remember. School starts soon anyways! Why can't Jade stay! She's mean but she's my sister and I love her with all my heart! I'll be so lonely without her it's so not fair— " Bullshit.

"Mary Hall Girls Academy," Jordan blurted, with a sharp edge to it. Hilery's jaw, I kid you not, dropped. Before I knew it, a rush of excitement had my lips curving. I'm no expert in Snake, but Hilery was definitely caught off-guard. She was basically slapped right across the face and she couldn't hide it.

This must be a lil' taste of what justice is. I frickin' love it.

"I meant to tell you this long before we came here, but one day I happened to be near the campus and I couldn't help myself. I had to check out the school my dear daughter was boarding at for just shy of a year. I'm sorry to say, Hilery my darling, but they lost your records. I don't know how it's possible." The Campbell patriarch shook his head and picked up his glass. "It's ridiculous. It almost felt as if you weren't there. Nobody knew your name, save for the headmistress. It's a funny thing. Jade has traveled all around the world, learning from places I can hardly pronounce, and yet, her records are... hmm. Exhaustive. Surely an American boarding school can do better, right?" He filled his glass with more wine. "But anyways, when the time comes for you to apply to universities, it'll be quite the hassle. I told them to keep digging, let's hope they find something before then."

Hilery stared at her plate in silence, shook and pale. I looked over at Joel and though he was better at hiding it, there was something obvious written all over his childish face: fear. For once in their disgusting, immoral lives, their masks were off. Whatever's going on here is something wicked. Wicked good.

My cheeks were starting to hurt from how much I was grinning. Yes, some justice has been served, and my god, it's fucking delicious.

"Ah, Hilery, did you know? I visited Dorothy— Joel, you've met her, haven't you? She's a good friend of Wilfred's, I'm sure he must have introduced her to you... Ah, nevermind, you don't have to answer that. I know you have. She was barely able to contain herself, she spoke so highly of you! Seriously, you are making this weary old man so very proud." After a sip from his glass, Jordan was good to go at it again. "Did you know? Dorothy, that selfless old sweetheart, she adopted an adorable bundle of joy not too long ago from some teen in a group home, apparently, and my my, that adorable child's smile, it can melt away anyone's heart. And oh, his eyes, the light in those green little things! It's no wonder Dorothy looked so happy." No matter how intimidating it sounded, gold, literal gold, was comin' out of Jordan's mouth. It didn't mean he was a good person, though. Not like anyone is, you toxic freak. "Anyways, I am saying this because the child reminded me so much of you, Hilery my darling. Give or take a few freckles. You were the most adorable little thing. Your smile, ah, it was so radiant— it blinded everyone from all your little antics, or so the nannies said. So adorable. Ah, how time flies."

Burn, baby, burn!

That was it for the snake. Her chair screeched behind her and she was gone, just like that. I had to slap a hand on my mouth to not laugh. Teresa and Daniel's eyes were onto me, but they had nothing to say about it. Speechless, they were.

And then Joel's chair screeched behind him. He stood tall (figuratively, obviously) and with a glare that could kill he turned to his father, though I couldn't for the life of me take it seriously 'cuz he was so tiny and weird and all the laughs in my throat wanted out.

"I hate you," he growled. "And you can go ahead and tell Wilfred to go fuck himself."

And then he was gone, just like that, to chase after the snake like the sack of shit he is!

Jordan must've found the situation just as funny as I did 'cuz he scoffed. A crooked smile crossed his wrinkled face too, until it turned to a whole laugh. In that moment our minds were one and the same. One and the same with a wrong and twisted Campbell with a screw loose. Can you believe that? I can't either! Yes, I totally can!

As he wiped away a tear, Jordan said: "Wow. Did I say anything wrong?"

"Wait, hold on, what is going on? Hilery... ? What... ? A child?" Fiona gasped, with a hand on her chest. She flipped her head to her husband's side and I swear her updo wobbled. Her mouth was wide open and stuttering some words in between English and whatever the hell her native language was and honestly it made me lose it. Something hot and sticky flew out of my nose as I laughed and Teresa finally let go of my hand to (unfortunately) grab a hold of my shoulders.

"Ane, it's okay. I'm right here with you, calm down."

One, two, three── oh screw it. Calming down for what? I'm not freaking out! I'm not angry! This is funny as hell, simple as that!

"Nothing. Nothing, my lovely wife," Jordan said, wiping his mouth with a napkin. He then tossed it on his plate and I don't know why I found that so frickin' funny, but I found it frickin' funny. Hilarious! Maybe 'cuz of how he flicked his wrist? Goddamn it, life is so beautiful I hate it! "Dinner is over. We have been here long enough."

He grabbed his bottle of Campbell wine and left, leaving me cracking up so bad I snorted and couldn't breathe and oh shit how my stomach hurt and hurt and hurt!!

◆◆◆⧪◆◆◆

Author's Note (A/N):

Hiya there, it's me again; Indigo Ivy── the author of this story. I've come again to ask you some questions. This chapter has a lot going on and I want to make sure it makes sense in some way. If it doesn't, I will do my best to rewrite it. I also want to note as a refresher that my characters' actions, thoughts, and values are not reflective of my own.

What do you think Ane might be going through in this chapter? How do you think she feels?

What do you think of this chapter, is there too much thrown at you at once? Are there too many factors to keep tabs on?

What do you think of this story so far?

What questions or problems do you think still need to be addressed in this story? What more is there left to do for Ane's story?

Who's your favorite character(s) so far, and why? How about the opposite?

This is it, peeps. We're near the end of the second act of Ego's Trap, and with its end, the third and final act will fly by. I'm so excited! How about you~ ? Honestly, I can't believe you've come this far. I still can't believe you read beyond the first chapter, haha! How has Ane not frustrated you enough to rage quit?

Thank you for reading, voting, commenting, sharing, following, and/or just in general being here <3