delirium (sequel to apathy)

22

  22

Mom's hand was shaking, and I could see her trembling slightly. In her eyes, I could see fear, unmistakable fear. This wasn't the Mom I knew at all. She had simply..froze. Tears welled up in her eyes, and I squeezed her hand, trying to get her attention. Her attention didn't waver though, her eyes still locked on Martin.

It didn't take rocket science to be able to tell what kind of effect Martin had on her. He gave her chills, right down to the bone, even though he was merely standing a few feet away from her. I had never seen her like this; this wasn't the Mom I knew. 

This woman was weak, fearful; as opposed to strong, fearless. 

Martin affected her deeply, the tension being so thick between them that you couldn't even slice through it with a chainsaw. It was like how Jose described it to me, Martin had a strong hold on her. It didn't matter if it had been years since the whole ordeal, Martin still had a tight grasp on my mother. The things he did and the words he said were forever etched into her memories, and I realized that the reason Mom didn't tell me the whole thing was because she didn't want to hurt any longer. 

Martin stared right back at her, his expression softening. His gaze dropped, unable to look at her far too long. His attention shifted over to me though, and I instantly felt uneasy.

He looked exactly how Mom described him. He didn't look insane just by looking at him, in fact, he looked perfectly normal. Tattoos covered his neck, a more distinctive tattoo being a cross with a knife going through it. His demeanor simply made you uneasy, though, and I could see clear as day why Mom was so afraid of him.

The nauseous feeling in my stomach hadn't left, and I already knew that part of the reason was because of the things he's done to my Mom, and the major fact that I had absolutely no clue why he needed to see us. Didn't he understand that my family had it out for him? He was taking a gigantic risk here. To me, it's a stupid move. 

"You're even more beautiful then the last time I saw you, wow," he said, almost in awe.

Mom didn't say a thing, and I squeezed her hand once more. I got her attention, and she looked down at me, simply pulling me closer into her, where she kissed my temple. Martin's attention returned to me, and his eyes widened, looking me up and down. "Holy shit, Amir? You've definitely..grown."

"Cut the bullshit Martin, what do you want," I heard Ramiro growl. Just from the tone of his voice you could tell that he wanted to tear Martin to shreds, and I wouldn't blame him for doing so, either. Martin sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I just wanted to say that I was sorry," he said, "I heard by word of mouth that you all were here, so why not apologize? Plus, I wanted to talk to Monae."

"You aren't going anywhere with my daughter, Martin."

"This is important," he said.

I looked towards Grandpa, and he didn't budge, neither did Ramiro. They simply looked at Martin like he was an abomination, and it was true, but it didn't take much to tell that they hated him with every fiber of their being. I would too if I was in their position.

"I'll go."

Mom's voice took me by surprise, and I looked at her, like she had lost her mind.

"Mom, no-"

"I'll talk to you, only if Amir is with me," she told him, cutting me off. Grandpa and Ramiro shifted their attention to her, looking at her the same way I was. I heard Ramiro mumble something, which made Grandpa step back.

"You sure you want to do this, Princess?"

Mom looked back at Grandpa, giving him a soft smile. "Yes Daddy, I'll be fine."