Protecting Her(120)

The parents of his friends took him to his swim practice and basketball games and football games. They offered to help because they felt bad about what happened to Rachel. But it wasn’t their job to take care of Garret. It was mine, and I didn’t do it.

Knowing I couldn’t help him with his grief, I did as Charles suggested and sent Garret to see a child psychologist. He didn’t want to go, but I made him, and it ended up being good for him. After months of counseling, Garret was feeling better, and it gave me hope that I, too, could someday feel better and move on from this tragedy. And the first step in doing that was to be a father again. Rachel and Garret had always been the only light in my life. Rachel was gone, but Garret was still here and I needed him as much as he needed me.

But just as I’d committed to spending more time with Garret, my father retired and I became CEO of Kensington Chemical, which meant I couldn’t cut back on my hours. So I still worked all the time, but I took breaks from the office to pick up Garret at swim practice or to have dinner with him. It wasn’t ideal, but at least I was seeing him more.

Then something happened that took me away from him once again. The organization told me I had to marry Katherine. If I didn’t, they threatened to do something to Garret. I knew they wouldn’t kill him. He’s one of us and they want him to be a member someday. But they could do something else to him, like scare him or injure him. Or they could kidnap him and make me think it’s real so that I go out of my mind trying to get him back. They’ve done that to some of my fellow members who didn’t cooperate with their demands. It’s all fake, but the parents don’t know that until they do whatever it was Dunamis asked them to do. It’s just another way for them to control us.

I would never let them do anything to Garret, so I married Katherine, as I was ordered to do. Katherine insisted we live in a mansion and she didn’t like any of the ones that were for sale, so we ended up building one. It’s 18,000 square feet, which she said was too small but I refused to make it any bigger than that. And despite Katherine’s objections, I built a wing onto the house that was just for Garret. It has an indoor pool, a basketball court, a small movie theater, and a room with a massive TV and arcade games. Garret was so upset when I married Katherine and made us leave our old neighborhood, that I wanted to do something to make it up to him. I wanted him to like living here. But he doesn’t. He hates it. And he hates me.

He wants his old life back. He knows he can’t get his mother back, but he wants to live the way we used to, in a normal house and a normal neighborhood, not in a mansion that’s isolated on several acres of land and hidden behind an iron gate.

Now he has to go to a new school. It wasn’t my decision. The organization is making him go there because it’s where some of the other members send their children. It’s also where important people who aren’t part of organization send their children. People who could prove to be useful in the future, either in my business or personal life; lawyers, state politicians, and influential people in the community. I’ll make connections with these people through Garret and his friendship with their children. I’m using him, I know, but my father and the organization have given me no choice.

This is how things are done in our world. Our friends are chosen for us and we don’t associate with people who can’t benefit us in some way. I tried to escape that world when I married Rachel, but now she’s gone and I’ve been sucked back into it. Garret is getting older and I’m under constant pressure from my father and the organization to get Garret immersed in this life. The other members’ children have already been living it. They grew up in mansions and have always had fake friends, but this is all new for Garret and he doesn’t like it

“Sir, can I get you something?” the maid asks.

I just came downstairs and am standing in the living room deep in thought, worried about Garret.

“No. I’m fine,” I tell her and she walks off.

That’s another change Garret isn’t happy about. Being waited on by the hired help who follow us around, constantly asking if we need something. I find it annoying as well. I shouldn’t, because it’s how I grew up, but now I’m used to doing things for myself.

Katherine has never done anything for herself, so she insisted we hire people. We have two maids, a team of gardeners, a driver, and a cook. I hired Charles as our cook. Katherine protested, but I wouldn’t back down. Charles is like a brother to me and Iike an uncle to Garret, and he was a huge help after Rachel died. There was no way I was letting him go. I upped his salary and offered him a room in the house we built for the live-in help. He stays there during the week, then goes to his own house on the weekends.