Defiance: The Hybrid's Tale

Cassandra Pope.

The door opened with the cling of a bell, announcing my presence to the customers of the dingy diner. Several heads turned to me with frowning eyebrows and chewing jaws. Most of them were loggers and truckers. Surely, an elegantly dressed woman in their midst would draw their curious gazes. They were probably wondering what I was doing there. I asked myself that as I stepped into the establishment. It was the last place I would have eaten at, but at least I didn’t have to worry that I’d stumble into one of my father’s lackeys. Call me a snob, but the place looked horrendous and worthy of being burned to the ground.

It was a typical sixty’s diner with checkered tile flooring, a long bar with stools on the right and faded maroon booths to the left side of the aisle. Tacky white-and-red curtains hung on either side of the dirty windows, which overlooked the parking lot. The odor of burned oil hung in the air mixed with cheap coffee and second-hand smoke. How charming...

I walked down the aisle and dodged an old lady with horned glasses and a pink bouffant that defied explanation. She wore a red-and-white, skimpy server’s outfit that didn’t flatter her veiny legs. She carried two greasy breakfasts to the two bikers, who eyed me suspiciously.

“Good morning, gentlemen here—”

The biddy’s voice trailed off as my eyes caught a young man’s face. He had bleached blond hair that fell on his shoulders and blue eyes that lazily scanned a piece of laminated paper they called a menu. I shook my head when I saw him sucking on a cancer stick.

“How many times did I tell you to stop smoking, Alex?” I announced my presence to him.

Alex’s spine shot straight up in his seat, and then he quickly snuffed out the cigarette. “Sorry, Aunty. I know it is a nasty habit, but it’s the only one I’ve got.” He waved his hand about, trying to dissipate the smoke that wafted over his head.

“Your mother’s not going to approve...”

“I know. I know. How’s she doing?” He asked, taking a sip of coffee from his mug.

I sat down on the bench opposite of him and said, “She’s holding on as usual. But it’s slowly getting to her the closer we get to our goal.”

“Is that why we’re here?” Alex ran his hand through his golden locks.

I nodded and rummaged through my bag, handing Alex the last envelope I needed him to pass on to the councilor. He quickly took it and muttered a few words that made the envelope disappear in a plume of smoke. I glanced around the diner. Luckily, nobody gave us a minute of their day.

“It’s the last of the evidence. Hopefully, Vance will keep up his end of the bargain,” I said with a defeated tone laced in my words.

I was tired of all the crap I had to deal with. Living a double life, placing innocent people’s lives in danger, and licking the asses of those I wanted to stab to death. Alex didn’t need to place his life in danger, but he did it for his mother. He loved her as much as I loved her. I couldn’t wait to hug her...

“Aunt, are you alright?” Alex’s eyes softened with concern.

I waved him off with a smile. “Of course. Just looking forward to having your mother back and in—”

“In your arms?” Alex replied with a mischievous grin. If I had a drink in my hand, I would have dropped it.

“No! Nothing like that!” I quickly tried to dodge the bullet Alex shot my way. “I miss having her in person. It’s not the same talking to her in a mirror.”

“Yeah right. I know you love my mother more than just sister-in-laws.” A twinkle of delight sparked in his eyes.

I scoffed and said, glancing out of the dirty window to avoid Alex’s gaze. “You’re being ridiculous, young man.”

“Is that so? Then tell me this, aunt Cassy. Why are you still doing grandfather’s bidding? I know you despise him with all your heart and you’re trying to take him down. You could have done it years ago if my mother didn’t mean that much to you.

“You’re holding back and trying to save my mother, which means she’s more important than you’re letting me believe.”

He had me there. For so long have I admired her from afar, jealous of my brother for having her when he didn’t deserve or respect her. She was only a trophy for him, a gift of alliance. Aveny needed someone who would give her the world and all of its wonders if she only asked. And I would be that person. But life wasn’t a fairytale, and I had to accept that she’d never be mine.

I sighed and said, “It doesn’t matter, Alex. It’s true. I love your mother with all my heart, and I always will. But at this moment, I have to put my feelings aside and focus on getting her out alive and me not ending up dead.”

Alex hummed and stoked his stubbled chin. Minutes passed before Alex tried to speak, but a familiar voice chilled me to the bone. Alex’s eyes filled with dread as he stared past my shoulders.

“Well, what have we here? Alex... Cassandra! Nice meeting you here, of all places.”

Oh fuck! How did he find us? Cassy, you screwed up big time. My mouth went dry and my heart skipped a gear.

Before I could swerve from the incoming disaster, Alex’s acting classes came to our rescue. His demeanor changed on the spot and he smiled up at his father while I knew Alex despised his father for what they did to his mother.

“Hi dad! Care to join us?” Alex asked his father as he shuffled deeper into the booth, making space for Ethan.

God! Did we really need to eat with this snake? He must have followed me, or Alex. How could I have become so complacent?

Ethan strutted up to the booth and took in his seat. His beady eyes raked me, trying to catch me in the act of betraying them. Cassandra, calm down. You can do this. Just follow Alex’s lead and play dumb. If her brother could do it, she could as well.

“Where’s mom? I called her yesterday, but she ignored my calls.” Alex continued with his act. He must have meant the walking corpse who impersonated Aveny.

Ethan looked away from me and replied, “Oh, she’s just busy. I tell her to call you back.”

“Oh... that’s unnecessary. I just wanted to invite her to lunch. But when I couldn’t get through to her, I called up aunt Cassy and invited her instead.”

Oh, this boy was good! Alex winked at me without alerting his father. I had to swallow down my laughter.

“Why didn’t you call me?” Ethan asked, visibly annoyed at his son. His left eye twitched in response.

Alex scoffed. “I did, but you too ignored me, as you always do. So don’t get mad that I invited my favorite aunt out for lunch. I just wanted to catch up with my family, those who still want to make time for me.”

Ouch! Playing on the fool’s emotions... smart. Make him squirm.

And so he did. Ethan fiddled with his collar, avoiding Alex’s gaze as if it would turn him into stone. I had to hand it to Alex. He knew how to handle his father. The poor fool had no chance to begin with. What bothered me was why he came here? Did he follow me or Alex? Either way, we had to be more careful in the future. Luckily, Alex was no longer needed as a courier. Let’s just hope that my brother didn’t get smarter and start snooping around.

After two excruciating hours tied down by my brother’s suspicious stares and venomous comments, the impromptu lunch date finally ended. I breathed out a sigh of relief as the February sun warmed up my skin. Spring was about to bloom, and the weather wasn’t as harsh as a couple of weeks back.

As we reached Alex’s car, I gave him a hug and a quick kiss on his cheek. “Take care of yourself and good luck.”

“For what, may I ask?” Ethan’s irritating voice slithered into the conversation.

I glared at my brother. “He has four assignments to hand in for college. You would have known if you cared.”

Alex said nothing, nor greeted his father. He just hopped into his car and barreled out of the parking lot with screeching tires, cutting off a truck in the process. Soon, Alex’s car disappeared down the road. The moment I backtracked to my vehicle, Ethan grabbed my arm.

“What are you up to?” he asked. His brown, muddy eyes bore into me, seeking the deception hidden in my eyes he so desperately craved for.

“This is getting boring, brother.” I ripped my arm out of his flimsy grip. “You should get another hobby other than seeking non-existent conspiracies under every rock.”

Ethan sneered and said, “And you want me to believe that you came here,” he pointed at the godforsaken diner, “to grab a bite with my son?” He scoffed. “I don’t think so.”

He was right. I would have never stepped into the place and never would again. I needed to brush my teeth and take a heavy dose of Pepto Bismol. Somehow I had to fight off the ill effects of the garbage I had to shove down my throat. The diner was a danger to anyone who ate there.

“Believe what you want, Ethan. The reason I came here was because Alex didn’t have the time to drive three hours to the mansion where he wasn’t welcome. I met him halfway and unfortunately, this place was the only establishment for hundreds of miles.

“Now if you can excuse me, I have to get home and barf my guts out. The aftertaste of their greasy food is driving me nuts and I don’t have time for your games. Why don’t you go and screw your lifeless wife if you don’t have better things to do?”

I strutted off and climbed into my car. Looking back in the rear-view mirror, I saw my brother walking off into the surrounding forest.

***

Three uncomfortable hours later, I strutted into the mansion with one goal in hand, to burn out the disgusting taste in my mouth. As I neared the bar in the living room, I grabbed the nearest bottle of alcohol, which was bourbon, and threw a heavy shot in a glass. The bourbon disappeared as quickly as I poured it, burning away the oily aftertaste of hamburger meat. I placed the empty glass back onto the bar and made my way toward my room. All I wanted was a hot shower and a hot meal that wasn’t deep fried in stale oil. Before I reached my bedroom door, I snapped my fingers at the young servant girl. She squeaked and rushed over to me with her eyes nailed to the floor. I sighed and rubbed my eyes. Goddess, my father needed to get his ass handed to him. Treating the people who worked for him as slaves made me sick. It was a wonder that nobody tried to poison him yet.

“Y-Yes, mistress...” the girl said with a shaky start.

I reached for her chin and raised her head. Her chocolaty brown eyes held fear in them as she stared at me. She started shaking.

“Don’t be afraid,” I said with a smile. “I just want to ask if you can give my dinner order to the chef.”

The young girl relaxed her shoulders and smiled a bit. “I will mistress. What do you want for dinner?”

“Let me see... ravioli lasagna with spicy Italian sausage,” I said. Just thinking about it made my stomach growl in anticipation.

The girl bowed. “Very well, mistress. I’ll see to it.”

“Thank you.”

The girl scurried off. I then opened the bedroom door and walked into the room. The mirror was empty. Weird... Aveny usually waited for me, but this time she wasn’t there. However, the reason became apparent when my eyes latched onto Victor’s prick, standing up loud and proud.

“What the hell are you doing here, Victor?” I hissed, rushing up to my bed.

Victor lay on my bed, naked, with an enormous grin on his stupid face. He must have been proud of himself, but it infuriated me to no end. My supposed fiancé didn’t get the hint that I didn’t want to have sex with him. However, that soon caught the attention of my father, who nearly chained me to the walls of his dungeon. He clarified, with the obvious threats to my life, I needed to do everything in my power to keep the creep happy. Let’s just say the things I had to do... I shivered at the memories.

Victor was a sex addict who screwed everything that had legs. He didn’t care that I had caught him several times already. It seemed to fuel his libido even more. What made matters worse is that my brother encouraged his behavior as a means of getting back at me. It seemed that my brother struck again.

“Come,” Victor said, holding his hand out to me.

Bile burned my throat as I stared at his hand. I hated my life, but what choice did I have? After nearly three months, I still didn’t have the means of freeing Aveny from her prison. I had to wait for the councilor to contact me. When that was going to happen, I had no idea. I already played my part and handed him all the incriminating evidence I had on my father. Now I had to wait for Vance to do his part. Which meant that I needed to wait and keep my father and fiancé happy, and that meant...

I groaned internally and hesitantly took his hand. Aveny, forgive me...