[Alice]
For a few minutes there was silence. Agnes said nothing, and neither did I, even though we knew our dad was getting impatient.
"I asked a question, didn't I?" He called out in a calm but deadly voice. I would have flinched, or be quivering in fear now but those times were gone. Times when his very presence did nothing to me other than to raise the airs in my body, and cause fear to cascade through every single cell I had. Times when I would sit in my room, and listen to the helpless cries of my mother as she got beaten up by the same man who was supposed to be her husband and her protector. Now, I was taking full advantage of my supposed new title. A title I'd rather spend the rest of my life running from than to accept. But he doesn't know that does he? Till he does, I'd be the seventh wife of the Mafia King, and be accorded the respect that is due to anyone in that position.
"She was speaking about school," I said simply, almost nonchalantly, and gave him a level-eyed look, as if daring him to complain.
"And what about school was she talking about?" He pressed further, and I took extra care to not snap at him. Since when did he care? I mean why is he still here?
I knew better than to think that he had come because he felt remorseful, although his showing up was surprising but not the reason I suspected had made him come.
"It's late, you should come home, and get some rest," his words were directed to me.
I knew it! I knew he wasn't remorseful. He was far too full of himself to feel remorseful or act it, unless as in my case, he stood to gain from it.
"I want to stay here with her," I said in a tone that was caught between being timid and sassy. He turned to my sister the next instant.
"Come on, Agnes, you're going to school tomorrow." Our father called but Agnes was shaking her head in disagreement. Of course she knew how much of a risk she was taking at the moment but she shook her head still, until our father took a few calculated steps towards her, with his hands lifted to strike her.
The sudden arrival of a nurse at that moment distracted it, and I let out a sigh, berating myself. I had the power to stop him, and I had kept mute during the little drama that had unfolded between Agnes and the monster we call a father. If the nurse had not arrived at the time she did, I would have sat there like some weakling, and watch him strike Agnes.
Maybe I was yet to fully understand the privileges that comes with being the chosen bride of the Mafia King. I made a decision at that moment to explore and utilize these privileges to the best of my ability even though I was getting away in a few days.
The nurse, a young lady walked up to mother who still laid unconscious on the bed. She had a penlight with which she checked mother's pulse. And the penlight made click- click sounds as she pressed on the button a few times, creating a minor distraction in the room which Agnes would agree with me was very welcome.
"Now, get your stupid self out of this place, and into the car," Father ordered Agnes who flinched fearfully at the suddenness of his harsh voice. The penlight was not distraction enough as it seemed .
Agnes turned towards me for the shortest of time, her eyes were glassy from the tears which had gathered, and were yet to be shed. I thought about Agnes spending the night in the empty house with no one but father, and I felt the need to exercise the privilege I now had.
"I want Agnes to stay with me," I said, loud enough for father who was already near the door to hear me. He stopped suddenly on his track, and turned slowly towards the direction where the voice had sounded from, the direction where I stood with my hands pressed at my sides.
"What did you say?" He asked, and waited for a reply from me. But I wasn't afraid to repeat what I had said, I was done cowering in fear of him.
"I want Agnes to stay with me tonight, and if she wants to she will go to the house early enough tomorrow to get prepared for school." I replied, ignoring Agnes who was blinking at me to stop talking. The room became suddenly quiet and tensed. The nurse, sensing danger stopped what she was doing so that even the click- click sound which acted both as a distraction, and as a sign of normalcy ceased. I sensed the stiffness in her even though she wouldn't turn towards our direction or even move any part of her body.
Father's bloodshot eyes were fixed on me but I did not flinch, instead I stared back at him in a daring manner. I only lowered my gaze when my eyes began to water from not blinking, and tears were threatening to pour.
"You can keep your sister company," Father said in a very low voice after some time, and in the next moment, he was gone, but not before casting one, long, unconcerned look towards mother. I waited for the squealing I knew was coming but there was none.
Agnes must have taken father's attempt to strike her to heart, I thought. I was about to call out to her but the click- click sound made by the penlight continued a few seconds after father left the ward but not for long.
She turned an expressionless look towards my direction, and I raised an eyebrow, prodding her to say what she wanted to.
"She is still unstable," the nurse began, and I nodded slowly. I wasn't surprised in the least. " Her pulse keeps rising and falling," she added, and then hesitated. There was more she wanted to say, I was sure, and with the way she hesitated, I could tell that it was a rather personal question she wanted to ask or a private or even offensive remark.
"What happened to her?" The nurse asked with concern, and while I contemplated between telling her the truth or not, Agnes provided an answer.
"She was dealt with by her husband," Agnes supplied. She sounded as if "her husband " in her statement had no linking with her. As if the same person who was the patient's husband wasn't her own father.
The nurse casted a surprise look towards my direction, and I stared back at her. There was no point feeling ashamed for someone who didn't give a fuck. I couldn't blame Agnes for saying what she said. She was obviously still angry with father. I was too but the thought of getting away made it difficult to show it now, plus I had begun to defy him although a little. It would be selfish of me to condemn Agnes' choice of words, she had no other defense against the monster.
"She is your mother, right? The nurse asked, voicing her confusion, and I bit down a laugh. Agnes had successfully confused her so that she wasn't sure if the woman laying on the bed was our mother or a relative.
"Are you new to to this Mafia?" Agnes asked the nurse instead, ignoring her own question, and she nodded.
"You'll learn," Agnes replied on a sad note. The nurse, now sensing that the answer to her last question would not be provided, got her things, and stepped out of the ward. When she got to the door, she paused. Agnes was saying something to her.
"She's our mother," Agnes said. "You'll learn," she added, and the nurse left the ward right after.
Agnes turned to my direction once the nurse had left with a completely different expression about her. She had given up her sad look, and was bustling with excitement now.
"That was amazing!" She squealed, and I wasn't sure what she was talking about until she continued, mimicking me this time.
"I want Agnes to stay with me tonight, and if she wants to, she will go to the house early enough tomorrow to get prepared for school." Agnes mimicked, and I couldn't bottle up the laughter that bubbled out of me.
"I didn't sound like that" I countered, laughing more.
"You didn't, you sounded more fearless and daring, and even though I was scared for you, I wished you would continue. You should defy that monster more often, especially now that you're a Mafia queen." Agnes replied, and winked at me.
"You're crazy," I replied, still laughing. I was suddenly missing her even though I was yet to get away. I felt my eyes beginning to water, and stylishly wiped off the tears that was threatening to pour any moment.
"You can keep your sister company," Agnes continued, lowering her voice so that it came close to father's, and sounded just as scary. She was busy mimicking father, and didn't notice that I had wiped off tears from my eyes,which was a relief.
I didn't want her fussing over me.