164. Reunion

Hollow Creek, present day...

They finally made the trip to Hollow Creek despite Joshua’s protests. They’d been trying for a while now to get him to see his parents, and every time they were supposed to go he’d cancel at the last minute, using work as an excuse.

For Michaela, sitting with him at the back, the drive was too long. She wasn’t sure if she liked him anymore. At first she thought she did. Or maybe it was her guilt at play. But over the past few weeks, she’d caught him doing things that had quickly changed her mind about him. Things like watching her through the keyhole on her door. Yes she’d caught him red handed on a few occasions. Once he’d also ‘accidentally’ walked in on her while she was in the shower.The way he ogled her parents too when they were kissing was just creepy.

Michaela didn’t think of herself as a prude, and she liked that her parents were still affectionate after so many years together, but she didn’t get excited when she saw them making out. Joshua though, on the times she’d caught him watching them, had seemed enthralled, like he too was part of the action.

His behavior made her uncomfortable and she wanted to tell him to stop, but she didn’t know what to say to him. She’d thought of telling Cameron, but she knew he’d kill Joshua if he ever found out he’d seen her naked, no matter how accidental it was.

“You look lovely as always, Michaela,” Joshua’s voice interrupted her thoughts. She jumped guiltily, wondering if he could read thoughts yet. She hoped not.

“Thank you, Joshua.” Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. She regretted turning him, regretted Hollow Creek, and not for the first time since he walked into her life, she wished he’d just disappear. She hoped when his parents saw him they’d convince him to stay with them.

And they did try, over a breakfast of waffles. Joshua though was having none of it. He liked Bridgeport, loved living with J.D. and Krimsyn and his 'Sire' as he affectionately referred to Michaela.

“But Josh, we also miss you here. We need you around the house, your father hasn’t been well,” Mrs. Clarke tried persuading him.

“Mother,” his harsh growl stunned everyone, “I am NOT coming back to Hollow Creek!”

J.D. decided to jump in then and clear the tension. “Don’t worry about him Mrs. Clarke, we’ll look after him. He’s an amazing boy.”

“See,” Joshua turned to his parents with a smirk. “I’m learning so much from J.D. and Krimsyn. I think it’s best if I stay with people who are like me. They understand me.” And that was the end of discussion. Joshua left then to check on his old friends, he promised he’d be back in time for their drive back to Bridgeport.

Michaela helped Ellie clear the dishes while her parents spoke with the Clarkes about Joshua. She had an ulterior motive though for helping; she wanted to learn more about her fledgling. Maybe if she saw him through his family’s eyes, she’d learn to like him again, and maybe she’d discover she’d just been overreacting, seeing things that didn’t exist.

Talking to Ellie though didn’t uncover anything new. Ellie loved her big brother, she missed him dearly and sometimes she wished she could come up to Bridgeport and live with him. But she could never do that to her parents; they were already heartbroken over losing him.

“Did Joshua ever do anything to make you uncomfortable when he was living here?” Michaela decided to cut to the chase; it was obvious the nice approach wasn’t going to get her anywhere.

“Like?” Ellie asked. It was brief, and barely noticeable, but Michaela had seen the way Ellie had tensed up at her question. There's a story there.

“I don’t know. Weird like come into the shower while you’re in there. Spy on you through the keyhole. Or ogle your parents when they kiss,” Michaela laughed, trying make her questions come off as a joke.

“Like some kind of peeping Tom you mean?” They were sitting on the stoep now, staring at the neighbor’s house across the street.

“I-Uh-Eh,” Michaela stuttered. Put like that, it sure sounded sick.

“He’s not like that! Josh is a good boy. He’d never do anything sick and twisted, and I can’t believe you’d ask that about him!” Ellie yelled at her a little too defensively in Michaela’s opinion.

Before she could press on and dig deeper, Ellie ran up to the house and almost collided with Krimsyn and J.D. at the front door.

Mr. Clarke could see his daughter was upset, and he tried to get her to tell him what was wrong, but she ignored his anxious questions as she disappeared inside the house.

“What did you do to my sister?” Joshua asked from behind her.

Michaela slowly turned away from the commotion at the door, and appraised him, “Nothing. We were just talking.”

“Why don’t I believe you?” Joshua was smiling, but his eyes were as cold as ice.

“I don’t know and quite frankly I don’t care, Joshua. I’m going to say this once and once only, I know what you did. It’s sick. And I hope you don’t carry on with it,” she hissed at him and ran to the car. She wanted to lock the doors, but that would just raise her parents’ suspicion, they were still talking to the Clarkes on the stoep, Joshua’s parents were obviously making it hard for them to leave.

She curled herself up into a small ball in her little corner when Joshua jumped in beside her.

“No one will believe her.” He told her, the crazy smile forever present on his face.

His words filled her with dread and fear, and raised more questions than she’d had before she spoke to Ellie. Though his statement scared her, she’d never give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d gotten to her.

“For your sake, let’s hope you’re right because Cam will destroy you if you ever tried anything like that on me again,” she told him.

“Or maybe, I’ll kill him first,” Joshua retorted. “Now, wouldn’t that be something?”

Michaela shook her head. She wanted to say something, anything to wipe the smirk off his face, but Joshua was on the ball.

“I think it would be in your best interest to be nice to me. After all you robbed me of my life. You owe me,” he continued.

“You forgave me,” Michaela reminded him.

“I told you what you wanted to hear.”

“You’re sick!”

“That’s purely subjective,” Joshua retorted.

When she didn’t have a comeback for him, he hurtled on. “This is how it’s going to work, your parents like me and I like them too. And I love you. But Cameron I don’t care so much about. I understand that you think you love him, and I’ll give this thing you have with him a chance, it will soon run its course. I’m a patient guy, but don’t push me Michaela.”

“Or what?” She challenged him.

“Or you’ll lose what you think is dear to you.”

“You don’t stand a chance. Cameron is way older than you and more powerful; he’ll kill you before you can even blink. My parents will too. The only reason you are still breathing is because I feel responsible for what I did to you. But you, too, shouldn’t push me.”

Joshua kept quiet at her words, thinking, mulling them over. He obviously decided there was some truth in her threat and he didn’t fight on.

“I’m willing to forget this conversation ever happened. I won’t tell my parents that you’ve been spying on me and them if you promise me here and now that it’s the last of it.”

“I promise.” He thrust out his hand so they could shake on it.

Michaela reluctantly took it, allowing the devil to buy her silence. 

As much as she wanted to believe his promise, she couldn’t. She’d seen the evil in him when he’d threatened her. And that kind of darkness doesn't just go away with a shake of hands.

But for his sake, Michaela hoped he wouldn’t force her hand…