DRAMA NOVEL ONLINE Chapter Chapter Seven: Greene County
Chapter Seven: Greene County
MAXIMILLIAN never shed a tear when his parents died on two separate occasions. He didn’t even panic when the family business almost went bankrupt and didn’t even flinch the Bismarck Group’s demanding board of directors questioned his ability to salvage the company. Max even dared the good-for-nothing motherfuckers to liquidate the company’s assets because he wanted nothing to do with them and their doubts regarding his competence. He didn’t even falter when Maine was rushed into the E.R. before because of her asthma!
There are things in life that he had handled quite well, even the life-threatening ones. Maximillian was praised for being level-headed under pressure. He never shed a tear in his life since he became the man of the house.
Well, until Erin disappeared.
His heart clenched in his chest as he embraced Maine in his arms. His sister sobbed and clung to his shoulders for support, blaming him for letting her believe that Erin was schizophrenic.
Maximillian’s head throbbed, his ears filled with loud ringing as if his head was about to explode.
Hyacinth told him about this before.
“One day, you will sense Erin’s disappearance from your future with a throbbing headache and loud ringing in your ears. When that moment comes, I want you to be relieved.”
He wanted to break something. Obviously, he’s not relieved. He wanted to punch-oh, he wanted to kill someone!
The fury and rage rose inside him to an alarming level that his ribs contracted and burned. He struggled to breathe, gripping the corner of Erin’s chair.
“Dad, I-I’m scared...”
Those were Erin’s last words. And it shattered him into pieces, leaving him struggling to pick up the shards of himself that had scattered everywhere.
“Max, Erin’s gone. She’s gone for good, and I didn’t believe her stories. I thought she was ’schizophrenic. Oh, I hate you for lying!”
Maximillian’s jaw clenched. As if a short prologue, his mind showed him Erin’s smile that resembles Maine’s. Her laughter whenever she chokes on her pancakes. Her rebellious glare on him as he limited Maine’s maximum credit for shopping.
Erin was stubborn, intelligent, and a hellion. A Bismarck, through and through. His daughter. His flesh and blood.
And she left a hollow in their hearts.
JEAN hid her cake under her desk and greeted the grumpy Maximillian Bismarck as he leaped towards his office with his earth-shattering strides.
“Good Morning-”
“Jean, follow me. Now!”
Jean practically jumped out of her swivel chair in shock and followed the furious man. When they entered the office, he removed his coat. “Contact Ms. Sinclair. Now. Tell her to come here.”
“W-Why? Hyacinth said it is only for an emergency-”
“This is a fucking emergency! Call her, damn it!”
Jean searched her pocket and fished for her phone from there. “I will call Philip. He knows where she is.”
“I need her address.” Max paced back and forth, combing his unruly hair to the back of his head as if it could somehow tame his frustration.
“Max, I will not call her until you calm down. What did she do? Why are you so upset?”
“Erin’s gone...and only she can bring Erin back,” he said with a tormented voice.
Jean gasped at the news, then regarded him with concern. “Is Erin in danger? What happened.”
“No. But Hyacinth can bring her back. Don’t ask questions, Jean. I’m pissed.”
Jean nodded and didn’t question him any more. She dialed a number on her phone, then talked with someone and asked for Hyacinth’s number and address.
“Philip said she’s in Greene County and is now working in a coffee shop. Honestly, I don’t get why Hyacinth loves to move from place to place, especially to work in coffee shops.”
“Call my pilot. Tell him to bring the helicopter to the building’s helipad. Now!”
HYACINTH’S eyes are swollen with spent tears. Her head ceased throbbing and she felt in the marrow of her bones that she just lost something-someone. She came to care for Erin so much even if they only had been together for a day.
But, now, that future is gone. Erin’s gone.
She can bring Erin back but that would be selfishness. It would be better if Erin didn’t exist. Erin’s abilities will be far too dangerous for a kid and the world is not yet ready for the possibilities she might present. She can’t bring back Erin. The only thing left to do now is to forget about her and act as if Erin didn’t exist.
Her low spirits were gone unnoticed by the customers. It also helped that she is a stranger to everyone where she now lived, for nobody cared to ask what is troubling her. They probably thought that she was just homesick or something.
Greene County is the perfect place for people who wanted to live their lives or just simply restart everything. It is a good thing that Philip chose a place with only a few people and a quiet neighborhood. She’ll be needing the tranquility of the place someday when she’s old and wrinkly.
It is almost closing time and she helped the waitresses lift the chairs to the table. Hyacinth shivered when the coffee shop’s glass doors opened and the doorway let in a cold night breeze.
“We’re closed, Sir,” Hyacinth said while she mopped the tiled floor. There’s this stain that she can’t remove no matter how many chemicals she had put on it.
“I know. That’s why I’m bringing you back to Sutton.”
That voice. It’s impossible.
She felt her whole body turn into stone.
“Hyacinth? Who’s that? Do you know him?” A waitress named Stacey asked, intrigued by the presence of a handsome man inside a small coffee shop. Or, maybe, the woman was just trying to look out for her. Hyacinth heard from her colleagues that creeps and burnouts tend to cause mischief in restaurants or shops if it’s near closing time.
“Hi, Stacey. May I take Ms. Sinclair home? We have a situation regarding our daughter.”
Hyacinth finally dared to look up from her mop to meet Maximillian Bismarck’s gaze.
Her heart ached a little when she realized that it is the same thickly-lashed eyes that Erin had. It is the same vibrant-blue, almost bioluminescent irises.
“We will talk outside. I will get my stuff.”
“No need. You will go back to Sutton City with me.”
Hyacinth faked a laugh. “Please, Mr. Bismarck. Stop it.”
“Maximillian. My name is Maximillian. Call me Max.”
“No.”
His eyes, similar to Erin’s, threw daggers at her.
“I just lost my daughter, Hyacinth. Stop complaining.”
“No, Mr. Bismarck.”
Maximillian Bismarck never takes ‘no’ for an answer. “Hyacinth, let’s talk outside. Now.”
“No.”
Stacey giggled and grabbed the mop from Hyacinth’s hand. “Go with your man, Hyacinth. Get the sap out of the log, girl. Off you go.”
Hyacinth hissed under her breath and stormed outside the shop, desperate that Mr. Bismarck will leave her alone.
“I brought my car. Come with me.”
“No, thank you.”
“I said ‘go inside the car’, Haya.”
She stopped walking and turned around to face him. “No, Mr.Bismarck. No! You will not go here and seduce me to bring Erin back. I will not sleep with you. Not now, not ever. Suck on that!”
“Do you really not care about her? Because she lived under my roof for only two weeks and it’s not enough for me, Hyacinth. I want her to exist.”
“You knew how great her abilities are, Mr. Bismarck. You knew that it will be dangerous for her. This is not love, Mr. Bismarck. This is selfishness!”
She was screaming at him—no, scratch that—he was screaming and spitting the facts for her benefit, trying to convince herself the same thing... that whatever they desired to happen would only cause chaos.
She wanted Erin to exist, too, just like he does.
Max stepped closer until she was within his reach. “It is selfish, I know. But you can’t deny that she’s a part of both of us.” He reached for her hand. “Help me bring her into existence again, Haya. Only you can do that.”
She shook her head, defeated, mourning. “No, Mr. Bismarck.”
“She told me you never cared about her. I am beginning to think it’s true. You disappeared from her life and left her. She thought that you never cared.”
“Why can’t you just accept it? She’s a product of an entangled thread. Whether I care about her or not is irrelevant.” Hyacinth closed her eyes firmly, trying to suppress her growing frustration. Oh, she deeply regretted informing him of Erin’s existence!
If only Hyacinth brought Erin to Greene County with her. Erin could’ve disappeared in peace. She won’t have to exist in this cruel world where their fate is always bound with danger and people’s greed.
Maximillian stared at Hyacinth’s enraged face and this is the first time he ever saw her in a different light. He came to Greene County with a mission to convince Hyacinth to bring Erin back into existence. That is, of course, initiating a carnal relationship with her as soon as possible, before it’s too late.
It has to be today...or this week. He needed to make sure Erin will exist.
“Snap out of it, Bismarck. I’m not sleeping with you.”
“No, Hyacinth you will. Tell me what you need and I’ll provide it. Anything.”
“For god’s sake, Mr. Maximillian Bismarck! Don’t make our futures chaotic by agreeing to the outcome of the accident. I’m not gonna bring Erin back. She’s not supposed to be here, anyway.”
And then Max saw it in her eyes. Pain. Longing... for something that they can’t afford to have.
For their daughter.
“Erin’s last words before she left, do you want to know? She said that she was scared. Maybe she’s scared that she might fade into nonexistence without knowing that you cared for her as a daughter. You do, Hyacinth. You cared. Your eyes were still red from your tears.”
Hyacinth’s breath shivered as her eyes looked at the fields behind him. “How can I bring her into this world and put her in harm’s way? I don’t want her to suffer as I did.” Her voice trembled and her cheeks glistened with tears. “Please, Mr. Bismarck, let her go. It will hurt at first but you will move on.”
He shook his head and pulled Hyacinth’s wrist. “You shouldn’t have let me know of her existence. You should’ve lied to me.” Max gripped Hyacinth’s wrist with force. “Erin had made my sister happy for a while. The kid gave me a much-needed distraction from the heavy workload. But I want her to stay for good, Ms. Sinclair.”
Hyacinth shook her head. “No. I can’t allow you to do that.”
Max pulled her into his arms. “Look at me.”
Hyacinth did. His eyes resembled Erin’s so much that she trembled with grief. He looked so damned much like Erin that her heart felt like it is being wrung.
“You want her to exist, Hyacinth. I could sense it. I know that Erin connected with you, too, or you won’t allow the kid to stay overnight in your house. Bring her back, please,” he begged, his voice low and faltering with emotions.
Hyacinth couldn’t deny his statement. She wanted to see her kid again. There’s something about the girl that made Hyacinth’s heart full and content as if she had just drank a glass of cold water on a hot summer day.
Even if she wanted to see Erin so badly, she would never dare interfere with the threads again. Hyacinth had been glad that she was able to return things to normalcy. She would be a fool to interfere with fate because of selfishness.
Hyacinth had been so busy crying and thinking about her daughter that she didn’t notice Maximillian’s head slowly descending on hers.