Call of Caldiria Chapter 3

Call of Caldiria Chapter 3.

             “I can’t wait to try this!” Sean rushes up to the door. “Thank you again, sis.”

             “Of course. Just remember to keep it our little secret, okay.”

             “Yes, yes.” Sean hurried inside. “I will.”

             Veredel took a deep breath as she closed the door behind her. “Now, if I can just get through the rest of the day without any more weird stuff happening to me, and if my head will just calm down,” she rubbed her forehead. I think I can finally get something to try and dull this pain. Ahhhhh!” She cried out as a strong hand grabbed her by the hair and yanked her forward.

             “Where the hell have you been! Were you trying to run off with my son, you little bitch!”

             Veredel clawed at her hair as she looked into the eyes of her father. “I. . . I. . .”

             He threw her to the ground. “Well? Where is he? Do I have to call the police?”  His hands wrapped around her hair as Sean suddenly walked back into the room and looked at them.

             “What is going on?”

             Their dad dropped Veredel. “Oh, nothing. I was just wondering where you were, my boy. It’s almost time for dinner.” He patted Verdel on the head. “I had tried calling your sister, but her phone wasn’t working.”

             Sean looked at Veredel, but she held a blank and emotionless face. “Umm, okay.” 

He backed out of the room.

             Their father then bent down and looked at Veredel in the eyes. “Don’t you dare try and pull anything like this again? If he goes missing like this, I will send you back into the gutter where you belong. You were trash that we decided to bring into our house and raise. I can get rid of you like this.” He snapped his fingers. “Do you understand?” She could smell the beer emanating from his breath as she nodded. “Good. Now get dressed for dinner. Your mother doesn’t want such filthy clothing when you eat.” He rubbed his fat ass as he walked away.

             She snorted. “You only care about Sean, as he is a tax break for you.” She looked down at the ground. “And without your precious boy, Mom would leave your fat ass.” She slammed her hand against the wall. She wanted to punch him for what she had to put up with, but she knew it would only make things worse. Greg wouldn’t stand for Veredel getting out of line.

             She would have tried to get her own place if it wasn’t for Sean. She was worried if she left, the bastard would turn that hatred toward him. No, she couldn’t let that happen. She made her way up to her room and changed into her dinner clothes. She found it dumb that they had to have such things, but her mother demanded that they look nice at dinner. Apparently, she thought that the world should still have a nice formal dinner where people were respectful and social with each other. It was mostly where she would try and get dirt on her life while bitching at her husband.

             When Veredel finally emerged into the dining room, the rest of her family was already eating. “You are late,” her mother said coldly as she took a bite out of her chicken. “Didn’t think you were even going come down to eat, so we started without you.”

             “Of course you did.” Veredel sat down.

             Greg sneered at Veredel. “Don’t talk to your mother like that!”

             “Greg, honey, don’t raise your voice when you have food in your mouth.”

             “But Pamula!” He crossed his arms. “How will I teach the girl manners!”

             “You’re hitting the girl doesn’t seem to work. So let me do my way.”

             “Sure.” He rolled his eyes. “I am sure you talking to her in a stern matter will solve everything.” He slammed his hand down on the table. “What the hell do words do! You need action, woman!”

             As they fought, Veredel picked up her plate and walked out of the room. She didn’t want to be here, especially since her head burned like the midday sun. She decided to sit down in the living room, staring at the empty television screen. It brought her some comfort, the silence.

             “Want some company?” Sean sat down next to her.

             “You don’t have to be here.” She sighed.

             “I want to be here.” He snuggled up next to her. “You look like you could use a friend right now. Your head still hurt?”

             “I. . .” She smiled. “Yes. But it will pass in time.”

             “You always say that. You don’t have cancer, do you?”

             “Who told you about that?”

             “Some kids at school. They said if you get it that, you will die.”

             She arched an eyebrow. “You think I am going to die?”

             “Well, you are in pain a lot.”

             She turned her head and looked at him. “Sean, as long as you are alive, I am going to be here. I am going to try my best to make sure you have a happy life even if mine can’t be. . .” She sighed. “Even if mine is not always the best. I don’t want you to worry about me, though. Okay. Just focus on being happy.”

             “But—”

             “I said, focus on being happy. You are still a kid.” She put her hand on his shoulder. “And you should focus on enjoying that. Now worrying about me.” She forced a smile. “I do enjoy the sentiment, but still, it will pain me greatly to know that you are not happy. 

So please put a smile on that face. For me?”

             He giggled. “Okay.”

             “Now, what do you say that you finish your dinner and go play your game? Hhmm? 

I did buy it for you.”

             His face lit up. “Oh ya. I hear that there are aquatic elf-like people. Sky ships. Four armed brutes.” He sighed. “Oh, it sounds amazing.”

             Veredel laughed. “I am not much of a gamer, but it sounds like a magical world. I am sure you will have a lot of fun playing this. . . Caldiria thing.” She looked back at the blank screen. “I wonder what it would be like to see it with my own eyes. Too bad we only had enough money for one copy.”

             “Well, you could save up for your own game. Or I could let you play it sometime if I get bored.” He stood up. “I am going back to eat with mom and dad.” He sighed. “I don’t want them to get lonely.”

             “Okay. I think I am going upstairs to deal with my headache.” She rubbed her head. “Put an end to it once and for all.” He waved to her as he walked out of the room. “Huhh. I wish he wouldn’t worry about me. That is my job.” She stood up, setting her food on the couch. She slowly walked upstairs and into the bathroom. “Okay, where is the fucking Aspirin.” After a few moments of searching, she finally found it. She didn’t bother to get herself water; she just swallowed it dry.

             But it didn’t seem to help, instead making her migraine worse for a few precious seconds. “That bitch is so ungrateful. We do everything for her, and she just uses us. One of these days, I am going to convince Greg to throw her out onto the street as I am tired of her leeching off of us!”

             “I hate how Pamula tries to hold me back when dealing with Veredel. Oh honey, don’t hurt her; the others might call the police. They might call social services. Who the fuck cares. I can treat my bitch daughter who doesn’t respect me however I please. One way or another, I will get her to listen. She is just soft, and I am toughing her up. It’s slowly working. Why are people jumping down my fucking throat!”

             Veredel blinked her eyes. “What. . .” She rubbed her head as she looked around the room. “I swear I heard my parent’s voices burning inside my head. But. . . that is insane. It’s. . .” She gulped as she noticed blood trickling down her nose. “What?” She used her finger to rub the blood from her face. “I must really be going crazy.”

             She used Kleenex to take care of her bloody nose. If her father noticed it, he would beat her for trying to fake an injury. “I just want to go to bed. I want this crazy day to end.” Veredel stumbled towards her bed, her head still throbbing. “I just want this pain to stop.”