Chapter 55

When I left Miles’s bedroom, I did not want to go downstairs to inform him I would be staying with Maisie until she fell asleep. He was busy torturing Bram, and I did not want to add to his fury. When he killed Vincent and Oliver, his face was an emotionless mask. When Bram insinuated that Miles had been hurting Maisie, he became enraged. Speaking about Maisie sparked something in Miles that was deranged.

Bram’s screaming did not stop while I waited in the hallway. Miles could easily kill him, but he wanted him to suffer. I had no idea how long the torture would last.

After a few minutes, I knocked on the bedroom door before opening it. Maisie had changed out of her dress and into a white nightgown. The lace was yellowing, but I recognized it as the one Clara used to wear when she was pregnant. She was standing in front of the mirror and threading her fingers through her blonde hair as she undid her braid. I closed the door, but Bram’s noises were not any quieter.

Maisie ran her fingers through her hair as she walked over to the bed. She pulled back the blankets and laid down. I crossed my arms over my chest as I watched her settle onto her side. The lamp caused shadows to flicker across her face, but her eyes were open as she stared at me. Bram’s cries were becoming weaker, but they still echoed through the room. Maisie sighed as she cradled her stomach.

“Joseph.” Her voice was soft. “Are you scared of him?”

I let out a deep breath and uncrossed my arms. She had a small smile as I walked over to her and sat on the edge of the bed. I reached forward and placed my hand on her stomach. I had not touched her in months, so feeling the small movements of my grandchild made my heart flutter. Hopefully, this baby would not be sick like Briar.

“Joseph,” she said to regain my attention.

“Am I scared of Miles?” he asked, and she nodded. “No, of course not.”

Bram let out another ear-piercing scream. Maisie flinched. Her eyes closed and her muscles tightened until the sound ended. I continued to rub her stomach and feel the baby move. She had a brief moment of crying earlier when listening to these screams. Thankfully, she had managed to control herself. We taught her not to let her emotions takeover, and she listened.

The screaming came to a sudden stop. Did Miles finally kill him? Would there be a bloody mess downstairs? Maisie let out a deep breath, releasing the tension from her muscles, and opened her eyes.

“Are you scared of Miles?” I asked.

“No,” she said. “He would never hurt me. He would never hurt us.”

“Exactly,” I said. “This is just to keep us safe.”

Maisie placed her hand over mine, keeping my palm against he stomach. I sat in silence as I watched her close her eyes again.

“Do you think it is done?” she asked.

“Try to get some rest,” I said. I was unsure, and I did not want to lie. If Bram’s screeching returned, she could start panicking. “You do not need to worry about what is happening downstairs.”

The house was silent, and I could only hear some movements in the kitchen. Maisie had a small smile as she slightly nodded her head. Her breathing turned deep and rhythmic as she fell asleep. I waited a few moments before pulling my hand out from underneath hers, and she did not react. I adjusted the blankets around her body. My fingers ran through her soft hair, and she let out a soft sigh. I turned off the oil lamp and flooded the room with darkness.

When walking down the stairs, I prepared to see the kitchen splattered in blood. I told Miles he would have to clean any mess, and I intended to follow through with the threat. I was tired of having to scrub this kitchen with bleach.

Surprisingly, there was only a few crimson splatters on the floor. Miles was sitting on one of the kitchen chairs, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees as he stared at Bram’s mangled body. His limbs were broken and twisted at odd angles. The only bleeding came from Bram’s mouth. As I stepped closer, I could see that his teeth were missing.

“How is Maisie?” Miles asked, but his eyes did not leave Bram.

“She is asleep,” I said.

“She is calm?”

“Calm enough to be asleep.”

He nodded as he rubbed his hand along his jaw. His attention was focused on Bram’s twisted and broken body.

“We should go bury him,” I said.

Miles raised his head to look at me, and his brows were furrowed.

“Bury him?” he asked. “Why would we bury him?”

My stomach twisted into a tight knot as I took another look at Bram. Miles had dismembered Oliver’s body and had Maisie serving us his meat for the past few months. When I found out, he made me believe that this was a temporary solution to our hunger. Was he suggesting we do it again?

“We need to bury him,” I said, raising my voice to sound more stern. He could not try to order me around. “His body needs to go into the ground.”

“Burying him would be a waste,” Miles said. “We cannot starve, especially since Maisie is pregnant. I have keep my wife and child healthy.”

“We are not eating Bram.” The words were completely absurd. “Oliver was different. This was my brother.”

“He was not our family,” he said. “You said he was no longer a Wilcox.”

I let out a deep breath and ran my fingers through my hair. Bram did abandon us, but could we do this?

“He’s just another person,” Miles said. “He did not care about us. He wanted us to leave our home.”

He stood, and stretched and rolled my shoulders as he walked toward Bram. He reached down and grabbed his body. When he threw him over his shoulder, his broken limbs moved in unnatural ways. Miles was going to do this, and there was no way for me to stop him. The colour drained from my face as he turned to glare at me.

“Are you not going to help?” he asked.

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Miles, I do not think we should keep doing this. We need to bury him or burn the body. We cannot keep-“

“Are you going to be emotional?” Miles cut me off. “Either help me or stay inside.”

I sucked in a deep breath as I watched him turn and walk toward the door. With Bram hanging over his shoulder, he struggled to get the key off his neck. Each movement caused Bram’s arms to flop like every bone in his body was broken.

Bram’s words echoed in my ears. His goal was not to abandon this family, but he planned to destroy us. Moving to the city tore apart his family, and now he wanted to ruin my family. He wanted us to sell our home so we could ruin our lives in the city.

To me, Bram was no longer a Wilcox. He was no longer family, but it was hard not to see him as my brother. We had grown up together, but once our parents died he decided he was too good for us. I had spent over forty years trying to take care of Bram, but he did not listen to me. He ruined his family with his bad decisions. I needed to take care of my own family.

I pulled the chain off from around my neck and pushed past Miles. I unlocked the door without looking up at Miles. I stepped onto the porch and held the door open as Miles carried the body outside. Without a word, he walked toward the barn. I was frozen as I watched him disappear into the darkness. A dim light poured out from the open barn door.

My knees wobbled as I stepped off the porch. The closer I came to the barn, the tightness in my chest increased as I struggled to breathe. Flashes of the image of the pile of bones filled my mind. I nearly vomited at the sight, and I doubted I could watch Miles dismember Bram without gagging. Chewing on my bottom lip, I waited for my nausea to disappear, but it did not lessen.

If he wanted to do this, that was his choice.

I turned and went back toward the house. After locking the door, I avoided looking at the few crimson splatters as I went toward the staircase. My craving for a glass of whisky returned, but there was no bottle anywhere on our property. I groaned as I ran my hand over my temple and tried to push away the horrifying thoughts of what was happening in the barn.

I stopped outside Miles’s room, and my body moved before my mind could think. I pushed the bedroom door open to see Maisie had not moved. The moonlight cast shadows across the bed, but I could see her eyes were closed. As I stepped in, the floor creaked under my feet, but she did not stir. I got onto my knees beside the bed and grazed the back of my knuckles along her cheek. Maisie’s eyes barely opened. Would she remember any of this?

“It’s all okay,” I said, and my voice wobbled. I spoke to calm her, but it was really to reassure myself. Maisie confessed to me that she suggested the cannibalism to Miles. Did any of this bother her? “We are okay. Our family is only needing to do what we need to do. This is for our survival.”

“Joseph,” Maisie’s voice was a slight moan.

“You are right,” I said. “Miles would never hurt us. Bram was no longer family.”

Speaking to a barely conscious Maisie was calming the tightness in my chest. Hearing the words made it easier for me to breathe. I could justify what Miles was doing in the barn.

“We are a family,” I said. “You, me, Miles, and my grandchild. We only need to care about ourselves.”

My fingers ran along Maisie’s cheek and jaw. Touching her was slowing my pounding heart.

“I saved you,” I said. “I brought you into our loving family. I promised you that we would keep you safe, and we are always going to. Miles is not bad. He loves his family.”

I stayed on my knees and rambled for longer than I anticipated. Maisie’s eyes barely opened as she listened to me calm and reassure myself. When I heard the click of the kitchen door lock, I got off my knees. I quickly pressed my lips against the side of her temple before I crept out of the room. I made it back to my bedroom before Miles came up the staircase.

My thoughts were no longer racing as I laid on my bed, and I managed to fall asleep.