The Killer Among Us

Chapter 2

Three days before the abduction

When I entered the dining room, all eyes were suddenly on me. There were five people in total, all sitting at a beautifully placed table, all seemed stunned by my visit. I recognized my sister immediately and smiled at her before scanning the rest of the table for familiar faces. Sitting at the other side of the table was her good friend Helena, dressed up like always.

When Aria's eyes found mine, she immediately put on one of her best smiles and gave me a calculated nod. Don't get me wrong, I was excited to see her. Funny enough, I did not expect her to be there, which is why it took me a while to get on track with what was happening. Helena, however, seemed quite indifferent to my arrival and so she just took a nonchalant sip of her drink. Frankly, I did not care much for Helena either. All she was to me was a friend of Aria's, who I had to drive to football practice on many occasions.

My uncle Joe was also seated at the table, napkin carefully placed on his lap and mischief in his blue eyes. Joe is quite the character - always knowing people's business but never quite getting involved. After my father passed away, I was glad to have him around. He smirked at me and then carefully moved his eyes to the head of the table.

Sitting there was a man I had never met before. His eyes widened in a sort of surprise I couldn't quite decipher. Slowly, he placed his hands on his knees and got up with a low grunt. I instantly noticed that he was dressed well, in a pair of grey dress pants and a black dress shirt. His brown hair was combed back and he was wearing a seemingly expensive gold watch that perfectly went with his dark tan. He made his way towards me, seeming comfortable in my house.

"Jacob. It is so good to finally meet you," he extended a hand. Unsure of what else to do, I shook his hand. I noticed that he was quite strong, shaking my hand with just the right amount of pressure.

"And you are?" I asked bluntly and without thinking about it, letting out a breathy embarrassed chuckle. Without having to turn, I already knew that my sister was  shooting me a disapproving stare.

"I am your mother's new husband. Gregg," he said in response, a little less polite. Gregg put his hands on his hips and shifted a little when my mother finally spoke from the doorway of the dining room,"Why don't we eat first and I will explain everything to you after, over a nice cup of coffee?"

Not that I usually know how to handle myself in awkward situations but this time was even more complicated. A mixture of disbelief and confusion caused me to give in to my mothers request and so I sat down next to my uncle Joe, who gave me a firm pat on the shoulder. "Good to see you, boy," he said as if I had not just disappeared for four years.

The casual chatter of the evening resumed and we ate without further conflict. Not being a guy for small talk, I didn't really contribute to the conversation and just carefully ate what my mother put on my plate.

A little while later Aria and my mother cleared the table and everyone moved to the living room. The lit fireplace gave the room a cozy feel. With it's cream rug and a white sofa and all our old family pictures, this room felt like a preserved artifact of my childhood.

Everyone sat either on the sofa or on armchairs and I chose to stand by the fireplace, needing to keep some distance.

Until this moment I kept the thoughts of my mother getting married without telling me out of my mind. However, as they walked into the living room together with Gregg having his arm around my mother in a comforting manner, I couldn't help but wonder.

"Why did no one tell me?" is what echoed in my mind with increasing volume. It drowned out all the common sense I had left. I didn't pretend that I had a good relationship with my mother. Heck, it was far from one. However, getting married to another man without telling your son seemed like a kick in the guts to me.