Shadow of the Beast

Some Truths

The next week of school went off without a hitch. Eryn and I exchanged notes for an upcoming test, I sat with the 'cool kids' at lunch, and I seemed to be making a lot of new friends. I'd managed to get a couple of runs in, early before school, but the time to go searching for answers hadn't seemed to present itself. At least Au t Kate felt comfortable with me going out alone again.

Saturday came, and Eryn had invited me over later to revise and then go out shopping. My credit card from Aunt Kate would definitely come in handy! But when my alarm went off, I was already tying my laces and ready to go. This was the day. I'd rehearsed what I wanted to say to William Wilk about a million times, and as I made the last loop in my laces, I went through it one more time.

I started my run, and felt a slight chill in the air. My breath made a pillar of steam in front if me. I ran on my usual path for a good 20 minutes, and then took the turn off that I remembered leading me to the cabin the last time I was there. A few minutes more, and there it was. 

The birds were chirping, and the sunlight shone down onto the clearing. It looked less creepy this time, in fact it looked more like a homey little cabin, and I noticed a picnic table in front that I hadn't seen before. There was a large, old, blue truck parked on the left of the cabin. This meant that he was home. I took a deep breath, walked up to the front door, and knocked.

I heard a shuffle inside, and William opened up the door. He wore an old t shirt, checkered pajama pants and an old pair of slippers. He'd just woken up, but when he saw me, his eyes instantly widened, as if he knew what was coming. 

He stepped away from the door and motioned for me to come in, but I remained firmly rooted to the spot. 

'You knew' I spat out. 'you knew who I was and you said nothing. Is it true!?' it felt like steam was coming from my ears. 

'You'd better come in' he said. I shook my head. 'Please' he said firmly. 'you clearly have a lot on your mind, and the doorway is no place to discuss it all.' 

I relented, and stepped inside the cabin. He walked over to the kitchen and turned on the kettle. 

'Now what is it that you thought I "knew"?' he asked absently. 

This further fueled my anger. 'You knew I was Violet' s grand daughter, and you said nothing. Is it true that you got her pregnant? Are you... Are you my grandfather?' I tried to keep my composure, but I felt the tears welling up in my eyes. This man was a predator who raped an underage girl. And sickeningly, I was related to him. 

His head fell.' it wasn't like that! I loved a violet like a daughter! ' he said. 

'You SICK f**k! Like a daughter, what kind of person does that. She was FIFTEEN!!' the anger was back,and it took every fibre of my being to stop myself from slapping this old man across the face. 

'Please, I need to explain.' He sat down, and I saw the tears in his eyes as he spoke. 'Yes, I could see that you are Violet' s grand daughter. A blind man could see it. You look just like her.' he put his head in his hands. 

'What happened... It wasn't like that at all. I loved my wife, I never would have done anything to hurt her. I loved Violet too. Even Violet's parents knew I would never hurt her. But she was really like a daughter to me. Her and her sister both.' he was choking back the tears. I wanted to hate him, but I found myself wanting to hear what he had to say. He handed me the cup of coffee he'd made for me, and I sat down on the chair across from him

'So.. So what happened?' I asked, my voice a little calmer. 

'Violet was always such a happy little girl. She loved to play out in the woods and come and visit at the cabin. She was always playing make believe, and I'd listen to her stories and reenact some of them with her. She was like my own little girl, and it felt like we had our own little make believe world that no one else understood.' he sighed.

'There was nothing dirty or sinister about it, she just brought back the light inside me that extinguished when my wife and I found out that we couldn't have children.' he took a big sip of his coffee, and stared into the dark cup for a few seconds before continuing. 

'When she became a teenager, something changed in her. Her active imagination was still there, but the happiness was gone. She would confide in me about all the strange things that were happening to her, and she always told me that nobody understood her but me. I.. I know how it must've looked, this 32 year old man, hanging out with a 15 year old girl, but she just needed a friend and that's what I was to her. I never saw her in any other way than as a young girl who I loved like a daughter, who needed some support and guidance.'

I felt my body relax as he spoke. He seemed to be telling the truth, and he had a lot of heartbreak to get through. 

'So, nothing happened between the two of you? Did she ever tell you who my mother's father is?' I asked. 

The words seemed to rip through him my blades. This large, old man in front of me broke down and started to sob. 

'It wasn't my fault! I didn't know what was happening!' he fought the words out. 'I'm not a pedophile, I never would have touched her knowingly!' by now he was struggling to breathe through the tears. 

I didn't know whether to be disgusted or to feel sorry for him. But one thing was for sure... I needed to know more.