In His Presence

CHAPTER 3

“Hey” the voice came soft from behind her while she was making toasted bread. Her head turned quickly to the direction of the voice.

“Hey” she abruptly replied and faced what she was doing like no one was there.

“Hope I didn’t get you startled tho” he added “Uhmm……I’ve actually been wanting to rap with you, hope you cool with it?”

Daphne didn’t say a single word

“Hey, don’t do that. Don’t be a snub right now, ok? I want to rap with you for a second, you cool or not cool?”

He was already getting tensed up by Daphne’s silence. He grabbed her hand, pulled her closer almost immediately and lifted her up to the countertop.

He looked sternly at her.

“Look, I get you, alright? I am not exactly comfortable being here. After my dad passed, my mom said we were moving into a new home and it turned out to be here.”

He paused for a second, “I’m really sorry ‘bout yesterday tho.”

“It’s fine” Daphne mumbled “Can you please let me down now?” She added nervously.

Jason held her down by the laps to avoid her from leaving the countertop. She felt every bit of his warm fingers on her bare laps.

“No, we’re not done talking. I still have a few questions. Did your parents get a divorce?” Over the past year you were at your grandmas, did you have any intel on what was going on at home? Did you contact your mom at all while you were……”

“Enough of the questions” Jason’s voice came to a halt. Daphne swallowed hard, trying to control the tears that were about roll down from her eyes.

“You know what?” She looked sternly at Jason. I have few questions for you as well.

“Why are you here. Why did you and your mom and your brother break into my home and now my mom is nowhere to be seen. She yelled as tears finally began to rush down her cheeks.

“Don’t you dare! You have no right whatsoever to ask about my mom, you f*****g home breaker. Go to hell!!” She screamed the f**k out of her voice.

She stood up from the countertop and ran straight into her room. Leo on the other hand ran down to the kitchen to know what was going on. He knew his mom and step father had already left for work, so there weren’t any chances that the noise was coming from them.

“What the hell was that scream.” Leo inquired

“It was Daph”

“What did you do to her? You remember what mom says? She says we should try to fit in together, don’t tell me you’ve already started having problems with her”

“I was just trying to have a conversation with her, nothing much” Jason tried explaining.

“Oh, you are so damn lucky mom isn’t home, you would have explained better” he responded furiously

Leo walked out on Jason. Jason didn’t have the time to think of his kid brother’s behavior towards him. Rather his mind was occupied as to why Daphne reacted the way she did.

***

A knock came at the door, and a calm voice came after.

“Hey, I made tea. I…uhmm…… I just thought a cup of sweet tea would be a nice way to calm your nerves”

Daphne was so worked up. She had already made it crystal clear to Jason that she doesn’t want to speak to him. So what did he want to her again.

“Look Jason, I had already told you……” she retorted angrily as she sprang out of her bed. She stopped abruptly mid-sentence when she saw who was standing by the door.

That was the least person she was expecting to still see. The butler, Mr Winston. The only servant that her mom ever trusted. She ran towards him wanting to hug him, but he stopped her.

“Hold on little miss, as he fondly called her, let me drop the tea before you make a mess out of it.” He made for the table and dropped the tea.

“Now bring it in, miss”

She cheerfully hugged him like never before, then she whispered, “Can we talk?”

Mr Winston was the only person her mom would always confide in and Daphne knew that when it comes to Mr Winston, she was in safe hands

Standing by the window that faced the garden and watching Daph sip her tea, Winston began with a faint smile.

“The garden hasn’t been mowed for quite a long time now.”

“Oh, so you noticed. I haven’t stepped a foot in there since I got out, I’m patiently waiting until the gardener arrives on Monday so that he can do some mowing.”

“You know, ever since you got locked up in that place, no one has been allowed access to your room except your father and…”

“Mr Winston!” Daphne halted him. “We’re not here to discuss a garden, are we?”

“Sorry miss. So, after I was out for a one week sick leave, I returned to meet an empty house. All the workers were already gone. I searched for your mom and later found her tied up in her bedroom. Tried saving her, but then I heard your dad come back. So I left the room and went back to my work”

Winston took a break and observed Daphne for a while, and surprisingly , she was calm as ever.

“But before I left the room, your mom told me where to find you. No one was allowed there, that’s why I couldn’t visit. She also told me what your father going to do to her.”

“What did he do to her?”

“He sent her to rehab after violently beating her up. But I don’t think it’s rehab as usual” Winston’s facial expressions declined at that moment.

“What do you mean?”

“You know, I started visiting your mom a week after she was taken to rehab. She was doing quite well those first few days. But after a while, she lost it. I guess it’s probably the drugs they make her take. It is soo bad that she doesn’t even recognise me again. She no longer communicates as she does. Daphne, I won’t lie to you but your mom’s condition is as bad as it sounds. I think she is being drugged, and the drugs are already kicking in.”

Daphne clenched her fists soo hard. She didn’t want to shed a tear. She knew that it wasn’t time to be weak, rather it was time to be stronger.

“Well, Mr Winston, thank you very much for this little information, I really appreciate this for real. At least I know how my mom is fairing. But I want to know soo bad is why he treated us that way.”

Winston walked over to Daph and received the already empty cup.

“There’s a lot more to this than you think, but I need you to rest up now, that’s enough trauma for today.”