Looking Everywhere But The Grave

Toby could endure any humiliation, but he could not stand anyone insulting his mother.

And that necklace, the one thrown away, held the sketch of our 'dream home' and a lock of my hair.

A sudden fire surged through his small frame. He shoved Mila to the ground and slapped her hard across the face.

I rushed forward, shouting anxiously:

Toby, don't hit her! They'll throw you out, and you'll never have a home again!

It's okay, I wanted to tell him. I'm already dead, so their words can't hurt me!

But he couldn't hear my voice, his little face contorted with rage.

Just as the slap landed, the bedroom door flew open.

Donovan, enraged by the sight, burst in and kicked his son, sending the small boy flying.

"What are you doing! Mila is your sister! Who gave you the right to hit her!"

"Is this how Hazel raised you?!"

Toby, already weak from his fever, slammed his back hard against the wall, his small face twisting in pain.

"Mom never taught me this! She started it! She stole Mom's memento!"

The small child didn't know what it was, only that it was the only thing I had left him.

Donovan let out a furious laugh.

"Memento? She's not even dead and you're talking about mementos? What, is she practicing for her own funeral?"

"No wonder you turned out like this!"

A cunning glint flashed in Mila's eyes as she covered her face and wailed even louder.

"Daddy, is my face ruined? It hurts so much..."

Hearing this, Donovan strode downstairs.

When he reappeared, he was holding the silver necklace.

"Was it for this?"

"Let me tell you right now, I will not allow anything of Hazel's in my house!"

Toby screamed:

"No!!"

But it was too late.

He slammed the necklace against the marble fireplace. The pendant shattered instantly, spilling the folded sketch and the lock of hair inside.

"That was my mom's... She's already dead! Why? Why did you have to take away the last thing she left me!"

"I don't want a dad anymore! I hate you, Dad!"

Donovan froze, the color draining from his face.

Ivy entered just then, catching the last sentence.

"Toby, how could you say that about your own mother?"

"She didn't take good care of you, and we don't blame her for that, but you can't just lie and say she's dead. Are you trying to make your father sad on purpose?"

The shock gave way to a white-hot rage fueled by betrayal.

He went berserk, smashing everything in the room.

"Why doesn't someone like Hazel just really die!"

"To think she'd stoop to such a vile lie, and even teach a child to deceive me! How could I have been so blind, so stupid, to ever love her!"

"Deceiving me once eight years ago wasn't enough, now she has to do it again! She's hopeless!"

The air instantly froze.

Outside, the rain poured in sheets.

The silence in the room was absolute.

I closed my eyes in despair.

It had been eight years. I never would have thought Donovan's resentment could run so deep.