Page 12 of Tank

Walking away, she didn’t know what to do about her sister. Looking at her watch, she realized that the house was going to sell in thirty minutes. Hoping against everything that she had, Serenity hoped that the house would go for at least what it had been appraised for. And that was three hundred grand. Looking up at Sherman, she asked him not to bid.

“You don’t want to live in the house?” She said that they could find something better. That if they did win the bidding, Beth was going to go over the edge. “I think she’s about there already. All right. If you want me to stay out of the bidding, I understand. I’ve never seen someone so hyped up about money before. I mean, it’s like she’s going to really kill you if she doesn’t get it all.”

“I think she will.” He asked her if she was serious. “I believe that I am. She’s scaring me. It’s nothing like she’s ever done before, so I’m not sure what to think about her. It’s like nothing else matters but her getting money.”

She didn’t want to be around when the house was sold. But if it went for less than the three hundred thousand dollars that it was appraised for, then she would be able to decide if it went for less. She didn’t know what she’d do if Beth had a say in it, too. She might make them go to the million that she wanted, and there was no way that the house would go for that much.

As the noon hour came closer to being the time to auction off the house, she found herself in the bedroom that she’d been using since she’d arrived. It was empty of anything that had been in the room; someone had taken out all the furniture that had been in the house. But she stood there waiting until someone came to find her until the bidding was over. She didn’t know what she was going to do, but hiding right now felt like it was the best thing that she could do.

Sherman joined her, and she was glad for that. She looked up at him and told him that she was nervous. He said that he had her and that he’d make sure that Beth didn’t get near her. As the auction began, she heard the auctioneer announce that the house was going up for bidding. She lay her head on his chest, and he held her. She didn’t know why, but she felt safer in his arms than she had at any time in her life.

Serenity didn’t know if it was the mate thing or not, but she had never felt so secure either. As the auction went on, she closed off the sounds around her. This was it. It would either sell or not, and that would be the end of it.

“It’s done.” She nodded but didn’t move. “Do you want me to check on things for you? I can go and talk to Ben, the auctioneer. I’ll just find out what it went for and go from there.”

“Not yet.” He said again that he had her, and she was all right with that. But someone came into the room where they were, and she stood up. It wasn’t Beth for which she was happy, but one of his cousins. He told her that the bidding was over and that the house had been sold. He didn’t say for how much, for which she was grateful. Now all she had to do was to get through the rest of the day, and she’d be able to sit someplace and think. She was about as stressed out as she’d ever been before.

~*~

Sherman, as he started calling himself, watched the young woman who was running around making sure that things were selling. He didn’t know what she was saying to people, but it looked as if she wasn’t pissing them off. That’s all he cared about: that this was a good sale for Serenity. She needed this as badly as he needed her.

“What are you staring at? Me? I could show you a good time if you were to forget about my sister. I’m going to be rich when this is all over.” He told her that he was here for Serenity and no one else. “So you say now. You’ve not gotten to know me yet, and that’s going to be the best thing that has ever happened to you. Besides, Serenity isn’t going to put out until you marry her. That’s what I learned from the other guy she was engaged to.”

“So you really did take him from her. I bet you hurt her badly with that move.” She waved him off as if it didn’t really matter to her. “Do you have no heart at all when it comes to your family? You do realize that they’re all you have left, don’t you?”

“I couldn’t care less if they were both dead. Helen is gone, and now all I have to do is wait for Serenity to pass on, and that will be the end of all my family. Did you hear that Helen actually gave me a tumor? While I was sitting there with her in that hospital room, she breathed on me or something, and now I have to have surgery to get rid of it. However, I’m not going to do it. I know for a fact that this is all Serenity’s fault. She told the doctors to say what I had so she could take all the money.” She looked confused and looked around like she had no idea where she was. “Where is Helen? I’ve been looking for her most of the day. She should be around.”

“Helen passed away about three months ago now.” She nodded but looked confused still. “Are you all right?”

“I don’t know where I am.” He touched his hand to her arm, and she looked at him. “Who are you?”

“Sherman Savage. I’m…” He started to say that he was engaged to her sister, but thought that might set her off again. Instead, he told her his name again and asked her if she was all right. “You were telling me that you went to the doctor recently. What did he tell you?”

“That I have a brain mass. That they were going to see if they could operate on me.” Confusion seemed to be dragging her down. The woman looked weak and unsure of herself. “I’m supposed to have tests again. But I don’t know where it is.”

He didn’t talk to her, fearful of saying something that would set her off again. Leading her to the chairs that he’d brought for Serenity and himself, she plopped down in the chair like she had no bones to hold her up. Sherman began looking for Serenity. For the same reason, he didn’t bring up that they were engaged, and he didn’t bring up the fact that her sister might need to come to her. Reaching out, he decided that he was going to keep her away.

“Don’t look towards the big tree in the yard.” She asked him what was going on. “Your sister has had a meltdown. Something is wrong with her.” He told her what she’d been saying.

“Helen did the same thing in her final hours. She’d been losing things and forgetting stuff since they told her that she didn’t have time to live out her life. Do you suppose that she’s having the same trouble?” He said that he didn’t know but was worried about her. “Do you think we should call an ambulance for her?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never dealt with her before. For all I know, she could be like this all the time.” She said that she didn’t know either. That the only time she spoke to her; they argued. “That’s why I think you should stay away. Whatever is going on with her, she’s calmer than she was before. I’m not saying that it’s your fault, but you are a trigger for her for some reason. If she doesn’t get any better in, say, half an hour, I’ll call for someone to come and get her. She might be having more trouble than we think.”

Serenity agreed with him, and the two of them talked about Beth. Not a conversation that he wanted to have long distance, but it was better than Beth trying to hurt Serenity again. He didn’t know what his dragon would do if she were to hit her again. Just as he was going to go and get Beth something to drink, she looked up at him.

“Do you know me?” He told her what her name was. “Then who is Helen? I was supposed to meet her somewhere, but I don’t know where. She said that it was all right for me to leave her when she was sick. That much I do remember.”

“You’re sick too, remember?” She shook her head and looked around again. “I’m going to call you an ambulance and see if they can help you. You’re going to be all right. All right?”

“Yes, that might be for the best. I don’t know what I did with Helen. She was supposed to meet me somewhere because it was important.” He said he’d get her help. “All right, you do that. I’ll just sit right here and wait for them.”

He called an ambulance, but not before clearing it with Serenity. She said that she’d not come to him until she was being cared for, but she was worried. He told her that he was as well and wanted to make sure that she was getting the proper care that she needed. Sherman decided that he was going to let Beth do most of the talking so that they could get a better understanding of what was going on. As soon as they pulled up, Beth got up to get inside it.

“I don’t know where I am. I don’t know my name again. This nice man has been helping me.” He mentioned what her doctor had said, and she nodded. “I have a brain mass. I got it from my sister.” She looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking her head. “No, that’s not possible I was told. I got it from somewhere. But it wasn’t my sister.”

They handled her with kid gloves. As soon as she was buckled into the ambulance, he told them that she’d been arguing with her sister, and this is how she was acting. They said that they’d take care of her, and he was glad. He was afraid that if she came around too soon, they’d let her stay with him, and he had no idea how to handle her.

As the ambulance pulled away, he, having told them that she’d been all right up until about an hour ago, he held onto Serenity until she pulled away. She’d been crying, and his dragon wanted to reach out and take vengeance on Beth in the worst sort of way. She was the cause of all this, and he wanted her to pay.