A Little Bit Married

Dark Skeletons

My eyes widened as I turned sharply to Gray. He was leaning back, his eyes cold as he slowly swirled a glass of wine in his right hand.

"Gray," Aunt Althea spoke up for the first time as she slowly pushed her chair backwards, then stood up. "What are you doing?"

"What I deemed fit," Gray answered, then raised his head to look at her. "I gave everyone who does not like it an option. No one is obligated to live with me."

Aunt Althea slowly shook her head. "This... your father would be disappointed, Gray. You are ruining the only family you have left and for what? For your new wife?"

I looked up to Aunt Althea, a wave of sadness washing over me. She wouldn't be wrong to resent me now since it seemed like everything Gray was doing was to protect me.

"I don't care what you think. You have homes. You have no right to force me out of mine. And how dare you talk about family, Althea? My new wife has been more of a family than the three of you combined."

"Why?" Aunt Althea asked. Her voice was calm and shaky, and her eyes glistened with tears. "What did she do that we haven't done? Would she have stayed with you when you lost your parents? Would she have stayed with you when you went to prison? Would she have stayed with you when you lost your mind and..."

"None of that would have ever happened had it not been for you!" Gray's voice was octaves higher than his normal pitch now, his eyes wide.

He wasn't relaxed anymore, veins popping out of his forehead. He stood up too, his fists clenched as he met Aunt Althea. He easily towered above her, and I feared something would happen with how high on emotions the both of them were.

"How dare you say that to me? You, Althea, you made all of that happen. I went to prison because of you and that snake over there. You put me in that hospital because you hoped I would stay there. You think I don't know about your little affair bastard? The child you hid from everyone? The same one you keep stealing from me for?"

My face drained, but so did Aunt Althea's, and her expression was all that I needed to see to know that he wasn't lying. I turned to Aunt Maureen, and she seemed just as shocked. Samantha was too in her feelings to notice anything else.

Gray broke into a laugh, then shook his head. "What? You didn't think I knew? That I have an uncle. My father's brother that he never knew about? The same one you hope my house, my money, my assets go to? You think I care for your facade? You think I care for the fake love you show me? You are the worst of them lot. You cheated on your husband decades ago and now... you think I, Gray Gavin, will pay for that?"

Her teeth gritted hard, and she suddenly grabbed the collar of Gray's shirt. "How? How did you..."

"If you don't want to stand in court next to Samantha, back the f**k off."

The table went silent, and she seemed to regain her senses, before slowly releasing his shirt. He took a step back, then grabbed his glass of wine and chugged it down.

"It doesn't feel good, huh? You forced yourselves into this house after my parents died, and for the first few years, tried to take control of everything we owned. It doesn't feel good that I grew up, huh? "

Aunt Maureen slowly moved closer, then pushed the paper to Gray, her eyes wide. "I am moving out by sunrise. I will not stay with an ungrateful bastard like you. I hope she runs you dry, and you come back begging for your actual family."

Gray gave a small laugh, then shook his head. "If you decide to move out, do it tonight."

"What?"

"I am the owner of this house, and I don't want you staying in it without paying for another hour. You are choosing to move out. Do it right now."

Her eyes darted between me and Gray, and she shook her head. "I knew that girl was trouble the moment I saw her. Not only did she..."

"Move the f**k out!" Gray screamed, grabbing the glass next to him. He threw it across the wall, and it shattered into pieces, shards of glass raining down close to where Aunt Maureen stood.

Her eyes widened in shock, and she seemed to have gravely underestimated just how much he resented her.

"Gray..."

"You do know how to run your mouth, huh? After tormenting my mother every day of her life, you think you are going to do the same to me?"

"That was the only way to groom her into a proper woman!" She retorted, screaming. "That is the only way she attracted a rich man because I groomed her!"

"If you want to groom something, buy a f*****g horse. Or a snake. You already groomed one well. You will do well with another."

"Gray," Samantha suddenly said, then moved, her lips parted as she tried to catch her breath. "Please, let me prove to you. Let me make you forgive me. I beg of you. Please. Don't do this to us."

I bit down on my lips as he slowly turned to her, his lips turned up in an unkind smile.

"Make arrangements to leave my house tonight. I don't even intend to rent a space to you."

She grabbed his hand as she skipped over me, but he yanked his arm away so hard that she fell forward unto the table, pushing some of the plates to the floor.

The noise was loud, and I flinched a little, my chest heaving. I had expected a lot from this dinner, but nothing in my imagination could have prepared me for this. It was a complete disaster, one that I haven't even come to terms with mentally.

Aunt Althea grabbed the paper and tore it up, and then let it go on the floor.

"I am leaving tonight."

Gray didn't reply and simply pulled my hand, helping me out of the seat.

"I hope the rest of you are that swift," he said simply, before walking away, pulling me with him.