Don't Leave Me

Chapter 1-The ugly truth

"Kora..." My mom's eyes widened.

My dad got so pale I thought he was going to pass out.

"We were just..." He began trying to explain, but nothing else came out.

"Who's Kane? Who is he trying to kill?" I demanded explanations.

They looked at each other, expecting the other one to answer. I knew they were having a silent conversation, trying to decide who to answer and how much they should tell me.

"Hello?" I waved my hand in their face. "I'm right here. What the hell is happening?"

"Maybe you should sit down." My dad looked at me with so much pity and fear in his eyes, I instantly sat down. This was serious.

"We need you to know how much we love you. You're everything to us. And before we begin, we need you to know we tried our best to give you the life you deserved; to keep you safe."

I nodded, urging them to continue.

"We should start by saying we're not your actual parents." My mom said. She gave me a moment to let everything sink in.

I felt the ground slipping from underneath me. Thank God I was sitting down.

"What?" I asked.

Maybe I heard it wrong, maybe...

"Your real parents were Aurora Thompson and Alexander Curtis, our best friends. They died the day you were born. Xander took a bullet for her when Kane tried to kill her on the day of her wedding. She was nine months pregnant. She died giving birth to you." My mom explained.

"We know this is a lot to take in..."

"Maybe we should tell you a bit about them?" She suggested.

I remained silent. Nothing felt real anymore. I could hear them talking, but it all felt like a dream.

"Well, their parents were best friends, they grew up together. He was seven years older than her. When he got into college, his family moved away. And when she turned 18, she moved in with them. That's when we met her. Anyway, long story short, they had an epic love story; it was dangerous and sad, but beautiful. That's how you came about. Then they died. But before your mother passed, she asked us to take care of you. To take you away from everything. Because, you see... Us, Xander, Aurora, their families, all of us were part of the mafia. They wanted something better for you, a normal life. But that has to change now. That's why we're telling you all this. Kane is free from prison. He was released early due to good behavior. But the rumors are that he's been asking about you. And that can only mean one thing. He's coming to finish what he started. He's going to kill you." I've never seen my dad so serious.

"That's why we have to send you away. There's a boarding school in England, St. Veronica. It's the perfect hiding place. Nobody will find you there. You'll be safe until we take care of him."

"You can try to argue, but we made up our minds. This is the safest option. You have to leave." His voice was hard, but I knew he wanted what was best for me.

But it was so much to take in. I was so angry. How could they hide this from me? And a boarding school? Seriously? And they were acting like I had no choice in the matter?

This is my life. I can't just leave everything behind and move across the globe. Everyone I loved was here, I couldn't leave them.

And my real parents... they were dead. I didn't even know they existed. My feelings were so mixed, I felt overwhelmed. I couldn't breathe anymore.

But to think of it, it made sense. I looked nothing like my parents. Both had brown eyes and here I was, blue-eyed. My mom had blonde hair and my dad brown hair and mine was an intense black color. But I never even thought about this possibility... I never thought I wasn't their daughter. I never thought they would hide this from me.