Light

Chapter 15: Lightning

I gathered the various toiletries and towels, made my way to the small bathroom. It was actually a nice size, bigger than the one at our apartment, and even had a heated towel rail. I placed the colourful bath towel on the rail and it instantly brightened up the plain wall. A bit of colour on the walls would be good in here. Maybe I could get Josh to paint an undersea mural, it would look beautiful with a large mirror reflecting it across the bathroom. I caught myself and laughed out loud. I was interior designing, for my own bathroom? This was too wild to even be a dream. Shaking my head, I climbed into the shower and let the warm water soothe my mind and soul. I wanted to stay in there longer but my stomach rumbled, and I decided to obey its command. Drying my hair with the small hairdryer I found tucked away in the corner of the suitcase, I put the hairbrush on the small dressing. I found a tub of cream, which I hoped was a moisturiser, and rubbed it on my face.

I felt hesitant to leave the room. My room. It still felt weird to call it that, but it already felt like mine. My hoodie was hanging on the hook behind the door, my things were in the bathroom. At the apartment, Mum had more things than me, so she used most of the space. I didn't mind, because I didn't have a lot stuff to begin with. Thinking of Mum not being around to use her things made blood rush to my ears, and I took a deep breath to steady myself. Dad must've found out how she was doing by now. I don't know if I was ready to hear it though. 

I closed the door behind me and made my way downstairs. Luckily I didn't get lost, but I had a moment of panic when I didn't recognise the second flight of stairs. As I walked down the last few steps, I could hear numerous voices and immediately my heart started to race. Without meaning to, I rushed into the living room to see Boyce having a heated discussion with a man I hadn't seen before, and Dad pacing in the room like a caged tiger. Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at me. Dad tried to smile at me but it was so forced that I felt scared.

"Is Mum okay?" I asked in a breath of a whisper.

Dad came over to me and held my shoulders, and I held my breath.

"Mum is fine, Kai called an hour ago and said Lillian's test results came back normal. Her heart is stable and she's gonna be okay."

I was so relieved that I actually felt light-headed. Mum was going to be alright. There was no way I could express how much gratitude, relief and happiness I felt so I thanked God silently.

 Dad still looked worried though and my smile dropped. I was just about to ask him if he was okay, but he looked past me to someone behind.

"Teresa, thanks for coming," Dad said lightly.

I turned to see that Aunt Rosie had walked in. I'd forgotten to call her and t-ell her about Mum, so how did she know? And how did she know I was here?

"Teresa?" I echoed in confusion.

Aunt Rosie looked at me sympathetically. "My name is Teresa Dukas. I work for the EYP organisation as an international translator and infiltrator. I was assigned the role of protecting you and your family."

I clenched my fists and tried not to narrow my eyes at the woman standing before me. What else was going to happen today? I saw Dad shuffling uncomfortably in my peripheral vision and I avoided looking at him directly. I couldn't hear him apologise again even though everything was like this, because of him.

Aunt Rosie, Teresa, whoever she was, cleared her throat and broke the tense silence in a calm tone.

"Holly, I'm sure you're feeling—"

"You have no idea what I'm feeling, so don't pretend like you do."

Teresa's mouth snapped shut and her face reddened slightly in light of her novice mistake. Some infiltrator, I thought to myself with disdain. If she had visited us often, Josh and I would've seen right through her act. I clenched my fists tighter as I recounted her brief hugs and the painful small talk. Now that I thought about it, she was more like a social worker than a family member. I could only hope she was more supportive with Mum.