Chapter Text
‘Zara, we’re out of milk again!’ I rolled my eyes and sighed looking up to the heavens.
I placed the money I had been counting back in the plastic sleeve and walked to the doorway
‘Zara! Are you there?’ she called again
‘I'm coming Grace, just give me a minute!’ I shouted down the hallway as she mumbled some curse words under her breath
I grabbed the bag of money and headed downstairs to see the kitchen a mess and my sister leaning over the breakfast counter. Her long dark hair was tied back off of her face, oil and dirt stained her skin from so working hard and for such long hours. She looked so tired and overworked but she couldn’t stop, we needed the money.
‘Count that for me’ I said tossing the money bag at her as she stared at me
‘Why? Do we not have enough or something?’ she hesitated before opening the bag
I watched her count the money out slowly before she realized
‘We have too much, so? What’s the problem?’ she asked shaking her head like I had made a big deal out of nothing
‘I’m wondering why Lilith would give more than my normal wage’ I said grabbing an apple
‘Uh I don’t know, maybe it’s because she knows you have a kid and we need the money?’
‘It just doesn’t make any sense though, she has never even met Malachi but yet she gives me more money so I-‘
‘If I were you I wouldn’t question it. She’s demon scum but we don’t know the half of it, I’d keep my mouth shut and do my job, it’s simple, it’s called surviving Zara, remember that’s what we’ve done all these years after dad died and that bitch sent us away’
‘Let’s not talk about her Grace, you’ll only get mad and I don’t want Malachi to hear you screaming the walls down again’ I sighed taking a bite of my apple
The difference between Grace and I was the simple fact that she was unbreakable, she didn’t give second chances and she didn’t take any bullshit from anyone. I on the other hand, listen to people try to help them and understand and I always end up being stepped on, but things had started to change for me lately.
She saw it as a weakness, I saw it as kindness. She’s my sister, but we are so different.
‘What time are you working tonight?’ she asked with a mouthful of pancakes
‘Nine, but I’m going to go in earlier Lilith said she wants to talk to me about something’ I replied as Grace stopped her chewing and looked start at me
‘What?’ I asked
‘Nothing, it doesn’t matter, I should get back to the car. If you need me to look after Malachi tonight I can, this car is my last fix for today’
‘That would help me a lot, thanks’ I smiled as she gave me a nod
‘Grace, if there is something wrong or you’ve seen something in your visions you’d tell me, right?’ I asked as she pursed her lips in thought
‘You know I would sis I just-‘ Her voice trailed off as she glanced at the doorway leading into the hall to see Malachi holding onto the doorframe with his small star shaped hands
‘Hey kiddo!’ Grace smiled unfolding her arms as he looked from me to Grace cautiously. I gave him a small wink and his blue eyes lit up as he stumbled on his way over to me with open arms
‘I swear, you get cuter and cuter everyday’ Grace chuckled tickling his chin as I picked him up in my arms placing him on my knee. His dark hair had grown so much over the past few months he looked more and more like his father each day.
‘But you get your good looks from your mommy don’t you’ she cooed as I gave her a ‘shut up’ kind of look
‘What? It’s not like he’s ever gonna know him Zara’ she replied as my heart sank I had to face the fact that Malachi’s father was gone, one day he had just disappeared, and he didn’t even know about Malachi, that’s what hurt the most that he would grow up without his dad.
‘Mommy, I’m hungry’ his little voice chimed as I held him close
‘I still wonder how in the hell someone like him could produce such a cutie’
‘Grace, would you stop bad-mouthing him, seriously, I mean it’ I said carrying my son over to the fridge
‘Zara, you have to move on it’s been three years since he left, and you don’t even know why he left’
‘He would have had a reason Grace’ I sighed taking out a bowl of mashed baby food for Malachi
‘You do this every time you still defend him’ she rambled on as I tried to ignore her placing Malachi in his high chair handing him a small spoon watching him wrap his little fingers around it with a kind smile
‘Grace! For god’s sake! You don’t just stop loving someone okay? It just doesn’t go away like that! I don’t know how many times I have to tell you this’ I barked as Malachi’s eyes widened at me. The TV flashed on in the background, goddamn thing still needed to get fixed. But I was glad for the tension breaker
‘We’re just receiving reports of a terrorist attack that has taken place at the Bellevue pier in the western district of the city’
‘Mommy, mommy, I don’t like him’ Malachi spoke pointing at the TV screen
‘No-one does kiddo, Bob Barbas is the biggest shit sack out there’ Grace said turning up the volume as I gave her daggers
‘Don’t talk like that in front of Malachi’ I whispered when Malachi suddenly shouted out
‘SHIT!’
‘Great, thank you very much Grace!’ I said as both Malachi and Grace began to chuckle which only made him repeat the word even more
‘He’s three years old and now he knows how to say shit, how the hell am I supposed to get him into a good kindergarten now?’
‘Kindergarten? Oh Zara you’ve got to be kidding me, that kid isn’t ever going to public school, he’s a demon, do you not remember when we we’re younger and what his dad was like in school?’ she asked as I bit my lip she was kind of right he was a bit of a menace and ended up being thrown out
‘Yeah, your face says it all’ she said shaking her head with a smile looking back to the TV
‘Police are asking the public to remain vigilant as further attacks could take place anywhere, anytime, when you least expect it’ he finished as the footage of a big wheel rolled down along the docks through the crowd
‘You know what makes me laugh? Is the fact that that shithead is probably the one who caused the problem in the first place’
‘Can’t say you’re wrong there’ I answered wiping Malachi’s face with a damp cloth
‘Makes me sick’ she sighed before opening the side door heading down into the garage.
Later on that night I was changing Malachi for bed while Grace talked on the phone to her one of employers demanding more pay for her job.
‘I don’t care what you’re saying, I know my rights’ it went something along the lines of that
‘You be a good boy for mommy okay, Grace is gonna look after you tonight’ I smiled brushing his hair back from his eyes
‘I don’t want you to go to work’ he pouted as I kissed his pale cheek putting him into his cot as he stood up holding onto the bars of his crib
‘Mommy has to go to work to get money so we can buy food and toys for Malachi’ I smiled as he sighed lightly sitting back down looking defeated before grabbing his blanket
‘I’m gonna read you a quick story okay? Then I have to go’ I reached for a book from the old bookshelf when I heard him stir
‘Tell me a story about daddy’ he whispered as I froze facing the bookshelf I swallowed hard and took a quiet breath
‘That story is too long Malachi; I’ll tell it to you another night, how about Peter Pan? You like that one don’t you?’
I brushed a stand of my blond hair behind my ear and sat down on the rocking chair across from his cot opening the first page when he spoke again
‘Why does Grace not like daddy?’ he asked looking at me through the bars his blue eyes staring at me contently
‘She does like daddy, she was just a bit grumpy today she didn’t sleep last night’ I nodded as he made an O shape with his mouth thinking again of another question to ask
‘Is daddy a ghost?’ I frowned and closed over the book
‘No Malachi’ He came closer to the bars to look at me ‘Sometimes I think he is outside my window’ he said as I glanced quickly to the window wondering where all this was coming from
‘Why do you say that?’ I asked walking over to the window looking down into the front garden, there was no-one there just some leaves and an old tire Grace had tossed outside in one of her tempers. The city lights flickered in the short distance as I looked at my watch; I was going to be late.
‘Malachi’ I whispered going over to the cot kneeling before it
‘What does the man look like?’ I asked curiously
‘Uh, he looks like a ghost, he has hair is white’ he whispered with a nod like this was a big secret
‘White you say?’ I replied quite confused
‘Yeah, but you said that’s not daddy’
‘No no, that’s not daddy sweetie, maybe you were just dreaming, but I will keep an eye out for the ghost okay?’
‘Okay mommy’ he said as he lay back down in his cot getting comfortable under his blanket.
‘Hey mommy, I think you’re gonna be late if you don’t leave now’ a soft whisper came from the hallway; I turned to see Grace stuffing her phone into her jeans pocket.
I kissed Malachi softly on the head and closed his bedroom door over behind me
‘Is everything alright? You look a bit off she said stepping back
‘He just told me that sometimes he sees a ghost outside his window, it kind of freaked me out’
‘I wouldn’t worry about it, honestly it’s probably just his imagination, if it was something weird I would have sensed it by now’ she replied making me feel a little more at ease
‘I should get going, any problems call me’ I smiled giving her a quick hug before grabbing my change of clothes and heading out to work.