Dictator s Daughter (4 page)

She locked the bathroom door hoping Sean
would be gone for more than a few minutes. After taking care of
business she moved to the sink to wash her hands and examined
herself in the mirror. Her face was still a mess. Her swollen eye
had greatly reduced, almost back to normal thanks to Sean and his
constant vigil of keeping an ice pack on it during the first few
days. The blue and purple bruises had evolved to yellow and green
giving her cheeks and neck a putrid color. What must Sean
think?

Sean. Wow! She thought about the first day
she arrived when he entered the room. She’d stared into his dark,
caring eyes and discovered a sense of goodness all the way to the
bone. His unselfishness and devotion to her needs for the last week
further confirmed her initial judgments. But there was more, Sean
was an incredibly handsome man with his lean muscular shape and his
dark hair and those eyes. His nearness was intoxicating and she
could gaze at him all day long. Just thinking about him gave her
goose bumps; and that was saying a lot after what she’d been
through in her short life.

She shook her head back and forth in an
effort to shake the thoughts out. She had to focus. She had a
purpose and would not stop until she completed it. But still, maybe
once she had, perhaps she would come back here, to this house, to
this family, and live the life she had always dreamed of.

She rubbed her face hard with her hands and
felt the aches of her bruises and winced at the self-inflicted
pain. The movement of her arms made her ribs hurt too. Her itchy
chest brought her mind back to reality and she carefully removed
her zip-up sweatshirt and reached over to the left shoulder of the
pad suit and uncovered the zipper. It started up at her collarbone
and zipped down the front of her shoulder and then turned and
followed under her arm and then down her side. The suit was
complete with padded short sleeves to give the illusion of biceps.
Once she had the padding opened up, she examined her body in the
mirror.

“They really did a number on me,” she said in
an exhale of disgust. She had more bruises than unhurt skin. It
repulsed her to look in the mirror. This was definitely the worst
beating she had ever received and she was glad she’d been
unconscious for most of it.

She had an ace bandage stretched around her
breasts to help flatten them out as much as possible and she knew
better than to try to take it off. Her injuries and limited range
of motion would make it impossible to wrap it back on. Instead, she
used a comb and gently scratched at her itches through the bandage.
She smiled at the thought of having to ask Sean to help wrap her
breasts.

Downstairs, Sean checked the kitchen for his
mother but he couldn’t find her. He wandered through the house, but
still couldn’t find her anywhere. So he went to the kitchen and
fixed some food for Eli.

Sean prided himself on being self-reliant and
independent. He knew his way around the kitchen and he could make a
mean beef stroganoff. There wasn’t any household duty that
intimidated him. As he finished making an excellent turkey
sandwich, he heard his mother and father coming up the stairs from
the basement.

“Well, I just don’t think this will work,”
Sara said.

“We have to try,” Paul replied.

“Shouldn’t we tell him?”

“No,” Paul said, “at least not yet.”

Then they emerged from the stairway. They
both looked at Sean with a static charged silence and a moment of
awkwardness, and then Paul quickly changed the subject as they
continued on through the dining room. Were they talking about him
or Ryan? Sean’s curiosity tried to get the better of him, but he
put a halt on it. If they didn’t want to tell him something, there
was probably a good reason.

He took the plate of food up to Eli and as he
opened the bedroom door he saw Eli trying to walk out of the
bathroom. He was using the cane to support his injured left leg,
but was having difficulty because of his injured left hand.

Sean hurried over to the table putting the
plate down and rushed over to help. “Hey, you’re supposed to let me
help you with walking.” Once he had helped Eli over to the bed,
Sean handed him the plate of food. “There you are, Mr. Tough
Guy.”

“Thank you,” Eli said.

“I made it myself, hope you like turkey,”
Sean beamed proudly. He felt like a big brother helping out a
grateful younger brother. Ryan had never been grateful toward Sean,
ever.

Lyndee came to his bedroom door holding the
cordless phone, “Sean, its Chandra.”

He thanked Lyndee and took the receiver.
“Hello?”

“Hi Sean, it’s been a week, I miss you.”

Sean glanced over at Eli and quietly said
into the phone, “I miss you too.”

“What was the big emergency with your new
crosser?”

“Oh, it’s a young boy and he’d been severely
beaten.”

“That’s it?” she asked rather
impatiently.

“Really-badly-beaten,” Sean reiterated.

“Can we get together yet?” She didn’t seem to
be phased by Sean’s comment. Well, that was Chandra for you. If it
didn’t directly concern her, she wasn’t all interested.

“Well, I’ll have to talk to my mother about
getting together,”

“Why?”

“Because she needs to be able to take my
shift, I’ll call you later.”

“I hope you realize how patient I’m
being.”

“You are very patient,” Sean reassured
her.

“And how lucky you are to have a patient
fiancée?”

“Yes, I am lucky to have you.”

“Good. Maybe our engagement should be longer
than three months.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because, what would normally take other
people three months to plan, will end up taking us nine.”

“I’m sorry, Chandra.”

“You always say that but I don’t know you
mean it.”

“I really am sorry, Chandra. Look, I’ll go
check with my mother and call you back.”

“Fine, goodbye,” Chandra steamed and hung up
the phone.

Sean pulled the phone away from his ear and
pressed the off button.

“Who was that?”

“My fiancée,” Sean said staring at the
cordless in his hand.

“Your fiancée? I didn’t know you were
engaged.” Sean noticed Eli’s voice had a surprising ring to it.

“Yes, I am.”

“But you didn’t end your call with an ‘I love
you’. Don’t engaged people say stuff like that?” Eli took a small
bite of the sandwich Sean had given him.

“Well, she hung up on me before I could say
it,” Sean defended himself.

“Your fiancée hung up on you?” Eli asked
incredulously with a hint of a smile tugging at his mouth.

“Well, not exactly like that.”

“I have always imagined when two people truly
love each other, they would always say ‘I love you’ no matter
what.”

“Well, you don’t know Chandra like I do. I
know she loves me, she just loses her patience now and again.”

“Hmm.”

“Finish your sandwich. I’ve got to go find my
mother.” Sean left the room feeling a little frustrated. He and
Eli’s first real conversation between each other had left him
angry; angry at Chandra, angry at Eli, but most of all at
himself.

Without even meeting Chandra, Eliwese could
tell what kind of person she was. The one-sided phone call exposed
Chandra’s true self; selfish, manipulative, domineering and
abrasive. She had him wrapped around her finger. Eliwese knew the
type; that type of people, both male and female, had surrounded her
all her life.

What Eliwese hadn’t ever seen or experienced
was someone like Sean; kind, compassionate, thoughtful, gentle, yet
strong and dependable under dire circumstances. He had integrity,
manners and a good heart; plus he was gorgeous! Eliwese thought to
herself that this was the kind of man she had always dreamed of
finding but, because of her father, would never get. She had
resigned herself to merely dreaming of someone wonderful, convinced
that such a man existed only in fairy tales.

The most frustrating part was this amazing
man was going to settle for Chandra when he could have so much
more. Perhaps Chandra’s looks were off the charts pretty, Eliwese
didn’t know, but beauty fades. Chandra would never appreciate Sean
for his qualities. She seemed the type of girl who would always be
unhappy with her man.

If the opportunity presented itself, she
would point out his fiancée’s bad qualities. Hopefully, she could
plant some seeds of doubt in his mind about her. Eliwese wanted to
make sure he didn’t end up with this spoiled controller; but, at
the same time, she knew Sean was the one who had to make the
decision in the end.

Eliwese finished her delicious sandwich,
savoring every bite simply because Sean made it himself. She sat on
the edge of the bed planning her agenda in her mind. Her purpose
for crossing was foremost in her mind and she would be successful
no matter what. She had mentally prepared herself to do whatever
was necessary to succeed.

Failure wasn’t part of her vocabulary.

She just needed to figure out a way to
accomplish her goal without bringing harm to her mother or
sister.

Ten days had passed since Eli arrived, ten
long days and nights without so much as a clue to his life in
Rendier. His wounds were healing nicely and the swollen eye was
nearly down to normal but the further Eli’s health progressed, the
tighter his lips seemed to become. Getting him to talk about
himself or his life was impossible and the frustration was growing
within Sean.

Chandra hadn’t let up about getting together
and she would be joining him for dinner this evening. Sara didn’t
want Sean being away from the house for too long, so going out for
dinner was out of the question.

Sean wasn’t looking forward to her visit for
a couple of reasons. One, the mystery surrounding Eli had him
unnerved; why weren’t there any news reports, warrants or even any
private investigators searching for him? Two, Ryan was missing most
of the day lately; where did he go and what was he doing? And
three, Chandra exhausted him; her endless chatter about wedding
choices and who to invite stressed him out. She constantly
criticized how Sean’s parents had so much of a say in his daily
life; but more than that, her self-absorbed attitude left no room
for anyone else. She reminded Sean of Ryan with her ‘the world
revolves around me’ mentality;
hmmm, maybe
they
should be
engaged.

Dinner came and went without a hitch, well,
without any major hitches. Ryan wasn’t present, and Sean noticed on
more than one occasion his parents spoke in hushed voices about his
absence.

Lyndee looked positively radiant because
she’d received a letter from her boyfriend, Brock. It had been
several weeks since she’d heard from him personally. He lived in
Densfield, a good fifteen hours away, with Grandma Elsie and
Grandpa Zach Bronson. Brock had been a crosser in the Cutler home
two years previous and he and Lyndee had fallen in love. However,
the heat on his head hadn’t ever lessened and it wasn’t safe for
Lyndee to marry him. Brock defected after Victor’s soldiers raided
the insurgent underground; slaughtering any and all they could
find. Brock, being their leader, was to be publicly executed the
next day but was able to cross the border successfully with the
help of a mysterious turncoat.

Because of the sensitive nature of Brock’s
past, the fact that most of Rendier viewed him as the next leader
of their country once Rawlings was ousted and that Lyndee was in
love with him led Grandma and Grandpa Bronson to the decision of
volunteering their home to Brock for his protection.

**********

Sean helped clear the dishes from the dinner
table and took them to the kitchen. As he put them in the sink,
Ryan sauntered in the back door.

“Where have you been?” Sean asked.

“None of your business,” Ryan said rudely as
he walked over to the leftover food on the counter and started
picking at it.

“You know, if you’d actually do your job
around here, things would run smoother.”

“Maybe I don’t want this job.”

“This job is your life, like it or not.”

“Maybe I want a different life,” Ryan said as
he carelessly dripped some gravy down the front of his brown
leather jacket.

Sean looked at it and shook his head, “Right,
like you’re going to find another job paying as much for the little
amount of effort you’re used to giving.” Sean’s frustration level
was about maxed; he was tired of watching his own father pick up
the slack and do the duties of two people all because Ryan wouldn’t
do his share.

Ryan took the whole platter of leftovers to
the small table and sat down, “Sean, haven’t you ever thought for
yourself?”

“What do you mean?”

“All our lives, we’ve been stuck doing what
Mom and Dad want us to do. We haven’t even had a choice in the
matter. We are expected to eat, drink and sleep crossers, all
because it pays well. Well, I’m tired of it. Hell, I don’t want the
crappy life. You and Lyndee are stuck here and can’t get out.”

“I’m not stuck doing anything I don’t want to
do. This is our family business. It’s been handed down,”

“Oh don’t even start with that ‘proud to help
crossers’ sanctimonious crap! You are a
drone
doing
everything mommy and daddy tell you to do. Your personal life… Ha!
You don’t have one. You fiancée won’t stick around; she’ll get
tired of it, just like all your other girlfriends. Personally, I
want a real life; one I am in charge of.”

“Ryan, you seem to fail with everything
you’re put in charge of. Without Mom and Dad to give you orders and
direction, you’ll flounder out there in that great big world. And
one more thing, don’t call me a drone. I choose this lifestyle; I
like helping people.”