Stripping Callum (Last Hangman MC Book 6)(2)
Unfortunately for her and for me, she never coped with the loss of her sister. She was so concerned with taking care of me and helping me through the emotional grieving process that she never got to grieve, and she started drinking.
In the beginning, I didn’t really notice a difference. She was often sad, but she would be a bit happier at times. That didn’t last long. She was still taking very good care of me and making sure I was a happy child, as much as I could be, but she wasn’t happy. She was putting up a front to make sure I wouldn’t worry about her, but I was. I knew she was crying herself to sleep every night. I don’t know if it was the alcohol or the depression she was slowly falling into, but it was heartbreaking. I didn’t want her to know because I didn’t know how she would react, and I was just a nine-year-old child.
Things were steady for a couple of years. She was still drinking a lot, but she was slowly coming out of her depression. We were doing more things together, and I enjoyed those years. She wasn’t going out at all. She cut everybody out of her life when my parents’ died and devoted her life to me and Jack Daniels.
She really worried me the night of my eleventh birthday. She was on another one of her drunken nights. Everybody had left my birthday party, which was just a dream for any eleven-year-old little girl. Pink stuff everywhere, cake, friends, pool, and a pi?ata. We’re not Mexican, but what kid doesn’t enjoy a papier-maché figure filled with candies and treats?
At the end of the night as I was going to bed, she pulled me to the patio and sat me next to her on the big double-seated swing.
“Annabella, I want you to promise me something,” she said stroking my strawberry blonde hair.
“What is it, Lili?” I cuddled into her side.
“If I ever try to hurt you, you have to promise me you’ll take what’s in the safe in your bedroom closet and leave without looking back. Go as far away as you can.”
“What do you mean, Lili? I know you’ll never hurt me.” I looked up at her, confused.
“Your grandfather, mine and your mom’s father, was a very mean alcoholic and abusive man. I never drank because I never wanted to end up like him, but I feel like I’m becoming him more and more every day.”
“You’re not. You’re lovely and nice to me.” I took her hand and squeezed it.
“Thank you, baby girl. I just, I hope I’ll never become him, but in the eventuality that I do, please promise me you will leave.” She let go of my hand and stroked my cheek.
“I can’t, Lili.”
“You have to promise.” She squeezed my cheek gently.
“I…I promise.” I swallowed hard and looked at the saddened expression on her face. It’s breaking my heart to see her so sad all the time.
“Thank you, Annabella. The code is your birthday backward. There’s enough in there to hold you some time and get you some place safe.” She sniffled and kissed my forehead.
“I don’t want to leave, Lili.”
“You don’t have to leave, not now. It’s just if I ever hurt you. I’ll never be able to forgive myself if I do.” She broke down crying, and I followed suit.
The prospect of losing the only family I had left was breaking my heart. My aunt was the only person left on my mom’s side of the family, and father’s family disowned him when he decided to marry my mom.
My father was born into a rich family and they had big plans for him, but he fell in love with my mom and fought to be with her. Even when his family threatened to disown him, he never backed down and married her. He didn’t care about losing the privileges that came with the family. He wanted to be happy, and that meant marrying my mom.
I didn’t want to think about that conversation, and that night I went to bed with a heavy heart. I was a really anxious kid as it was, but that talk didn’t help. I tried to keep it together. It was hard in the beginning, but as life went on, it was slightly easier.
I was witnessing my aunt going deeper into her depression, and her alcohol consumption was getting worse. After I turned thirteen, I don’t remember ever seeing her sober. She wasn’t mean or anything to me, she was just in a constant inebriated state, and I hated it. I wanted my carefree Lili back, but she was long gone.
She was taking me places less and less. I could have friends over, she didn’t mind as long as we wouldn’t require her to interact with us. The only things we did together were celebrating our birthdays and the holidays like Christmas and Easter. She was still throwing me parties for my birthday, which I’m grateful for; it made me feel more normal on those days as I could be carefree.
Things took a turn for the worse when I turned sixteen. We had a boys and girls party at her house, and we were having fun and messing around like any sixteen-year-old kids would. Everything was grand and jolly during the day, but once everybody left, she started yelling at me that I was an ungrateful slut who was using her just for her money and to get boys to like me. Apparently, she caught me making out with Jason in her office, where she keeps her alcohol stash.
I didn’t understand what she was going on about and why she was so mad; I still don’t know to this day. We had a huge fight after that. I kept trying to get what was wrong out of her, but she wouldn’t tell me and was just shouting things that made no sense. It took me a few minutes to realize that she was completely shitfaced. I agreed with her, not wanting to antagonize her even more, and I went to bed.