Chapter 6
Karen woke up from sleep with a loud piercing scream.
She scrambled to her feet, totally drenched in sweat, loud and painful labored breaths rushing through her lungs.
At first, she couldn't find her bearings, she frantically kept looking around as if to be certain Samson's ghost was not lurking somewhere in the house.
Immense relief tore through her veins when she realized it was just a dream.
Thank goodness, it was just a dream! But really what sort of dream was that??
Samson had been dead for the past 6 years and not once since he died had she dreamed of him till now.
What message could he be relaying to her?
She became scared again just thinking about it.
She quickly left the living room and headed to her bedroom in deep thought.
Avery was reading a short novel in her room when she heard her mother scream.
She got up to find out what could be wrong.
From the top of the stairs, she looked around carefully but saw no signs of a burglar in the house.
She realized Karen must be having a nightmare when she heard her mumble loudly "Please don't hurt me, forgive me, let me live" over and over again.
'Was this what pregnancy did to women?' Avery wondered.
'Did pregnancy make a woman become irrational, unstable and temperamental?' If so, she wouldn't like to experience it.
On her way to the bedroom, Karen got startled seeing Avery at the top of the stairs.
"Avery, what are you doing there? You frightened me" Karen remarked, placing a hand on her panting chest.
"I heard a scream and I...."
"Nothing's wrong" Karen hurriedly interrupted her "I just had a little stomach upset, that's all. Avery, prepare something for yourself to eat. I won't be able to cook or eat anything this evening and don't worry about me, I'll be fine"
"Okay mom but what about Mrs. Emma's offer?"
Karen was about to refuse Avery outright but then, she recalled the horrifying nightmare and she shuddered.
Was this why Samson came to her?
She hesitated a bit, thinking about what reply to give this annoying child.
She sighed deeply "Tell Mrs. Emma to come and see me when she can. I need to hear from her myself and I shall come to a decision after speaking with her. Is that okay?"
"Okay, thank you mom"
"You have disturbed me too much this evening, now leave me alone"
Without waiting for Avery to answer, Karen entered her bedroom directly.
Avery was very happy. She had guessed right that Karen wouldn't totally refuse her.
She went straight to the kitchen to prepare herself a simple meal; if she didn't, she would go to bed hungry.
A cold war between Karen and Fred in that house meant that for as long as their issues remained unresolved, Avery would have to cook her own meals as well as go out as she pleased and even so, she must return before Fred got back from work.
The best line of action to adopt in this uncertain times was to steer clear of Fred and his shenanigans.
Avery hurriedly prepared a veggie sandwich and lentil soup and headed back to her room.
If Fred met her there when he got back; transfer of aggression would be inevitable.
She heard the front door opening just as she entered her bedroom.
On his part, Fred was having a real hard time sorting out his feelings.
He wasn't opposed at all to having a baby but he felt it wasn't the right time yet.
All he had ever wanted in life was to become super rich, marry the love of his life, have many children and leave behind lasting legacies for them.
Then Samson happened!
Ever since Samson appeared, Fred's world got upturned and even after Samson's death, his life was still upturned!
Samson stole his shine, his place, his woman, his life!!
If it wasn't for Samson, he would have long married Karen and made many babies with her!
If it wasn't for Samson, there wouldn't be Avery (Samson's offspring) competing with him for Karen's affections!
It was Samson that turned him into a demon; he wasn't like this before.
The list went on and on.
Everything was definitely Samson's fault!
He never for once regretted causing Samson's death and if given the chance, he would gladly do it again!
The company he was managing was the small business Samson had set up for Karen just before he died.
Fred couldn't even get the company to break-even after all the years he took charge of it.
It seemed virtually impossible for him to rise from Samson's shadow and become someone of note in his own right!
Thoughts of failure weighed heavily upon him making him fall into depression.
How ironic did it seem that even now, he felt he wasn't financially stable enough to have a child but Samson's daughter in about 4 years time would inherit great wealth that he, Fred, could only dream of!
Even in death, Samson was still laughing at him!
He sighed deeply as he opened the door to his house or preferably Samson's house!
Even now, he was living in Samson's house!
Fred had redecorated every inch of the house and removed every unwanted memory of Samson.
He had chosen another bedroom in the house as he hated the thought of sleeping in the same room Samson had once slept in.
The only memory he couldn't rid of yet was Avery.
He couldn't get rid of her just yet because she was still important in his scheme of plans.
He still needed her else he would have long sent her to join her father.
He could hardly wait for the much awaited 4 years to end, for him to get his hands on everything that he believed rightly belonged to him.
He believed Samson's legacy was his compensation for all the years Samson made him suffer.
He wasn't really ready to face Karen yet.
Presently, he couldn't give her what she wanted and he didn't want her to see this side of him.
He plopped down on the living room sofa exhausted beyond words and promptly fell asleep.