Vee levelled her mother with a dirty look. “I’m a grown woman, I’ll do what I like.”
“Not so long as you’re under this roof,” Sylvia countered.
“I’ll move out then,” Vee said.
Victor gave a disdainful laugh. “Oh, you will? And where will you go? You have no money, no job. You’re lucky we let you stay here what with all the trouble you bring.”
“The trouble I bring?” Vee shouted before she launched her glass at Victor’s head. He moved out of the way, but he wasn’t quick enough. It hit his chest then smashed down onto the floor. “You’re the one who raped your own daughter when she was just a child, resulting in the birth of a son whose life you make even more miserable than mine.”
The words seemed to hang in the air for a moment before a voice asked, “Is that true?” They all turned to find Noah standing in the doorway.
“Get out,” Victor spat. “Your sister is drunk and spouting lies.”
“Is it true?” Noah repeated, looking to Vee now. She nodded sadly, like she’d been carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. A storm raged behind Noah’s eyes as he turned his attention to his father. “I knew you were twisted, but I didn’t think you were this sick. I’m going to tell everyone exactly what you are.”
“You won’t tell a soul,” Victor threatened, advancing on Noah, but Noah was too fast. He ran for the back door and disappeared outside. Victor chased after him and so did I. It was dark out as Noah traversed the cliff and ran down onto the beach. He ran so far, he ended up in the water. Victor caught up with him, and there was a struggle. Victor gripped Noah by the collar of his shirt with one hand and punched him in the head with the other. Tears streamed down my face because I knew what I was witnessing. This was the attack Noah spoke of, the one that resulted in Victor’s heart attack.
I wished I could change history and stop all this from happening, but I couldn’t.
Victor pushed Noah down into the water while Noah struggled.
“Let go of me! Please, I’ll drown!” Noah begged, and a sense of déjà vu hit me. I’d heard this plea before while sitting on the beach. It seemed like echoes of the past were constantly trying to break through to me.
“You deserve to drown. You’re a curse on this household.” Victor said, using all his strength to push Noah’s head under the water. I couldn’t believe he was going to kill his own son to keep his horrific secret. But Noah began fighting back harder than before, and he broke free of Victor’s hold. He punched him and shoved him so hard Victor fell onto his back, clutching his chest. His eyes were wild and desperate as Noah stood over him, realisation suddenly dawning that Victor was having a heart attack.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he said in panic. He went to him, trying to pull him up. “Help!” Noah yelled. “Somebody help!” But it was too late. Victor was gone. Sylvia and Vee came running down onto the beach.
“What’s happened?” Sylvia questioned, her eyes anxiously going to her husband who lay still in the water. She ran to him, trying to feel for a pulse. “You killed him,” she screamed accusingly. “You killed him!”
“I didn’t,” Noah protested. “It was an accident.”
Vee stood with her arms around herself, staring at her father’s limp form as though frozen in shock. Somebody was crying big, heavy sobs, and it took me a moment to realise it was me. This was the most tragic scene I’d ever witnessed.
In the next moment I was back in Ard na Mara. Sylvia stood in the hallway, whispering to Principal Hawkins. “I need to get rid of him,” she said desperately. “He’ll tell everyone the truth about Victor and about Veronica being his real mother. He’ll tell them how I knew all along. My reputation will be ruined.”
“We won’t let him. I’ll be a witness at the trial. I’ll tell the court I was here that night and saw Noah attack Victor. He’ll be sent away for a long time.”
“You’d do that for me?” Sylvia said, taken aback.
“Of course,” Hawkins replied. “I’d do anything for you.”
“But what about Veronica? She was there. She could deny your claim.”
Hawkins rubbed his chin. “I know a doctor who’ll write a prescription if we pay him a little extra. We can keep Veronica drugged up and out of it until the trial is over. You said yourself she’s been so depressed she barely leaves her room. With enough pills and booze, it’ll be easy enough to keep her there.”
The figures before me faded to black, and I was back in the present. I sat on the floor, my back flush with the wall. My heart was pounding away in my chest as I tried to make sense of what I’d witnessed. Had I just seen into the past again?