After sleeping for what felt like hours, I groggily sat up and reached for my phone. A pinprick of panic bloomed through my chest as I couldn't feel it anywhere on the bed. Where did I lose it? Mum had saved up for months to get the latest iPhone for me, how could I have been so careless?! I sat up in panic and froze for a moment, taking in my surroundings. As realisation washed over me, my mind caught up with the events of the day. Dad had broken my phone intentionally, and said he'd get me another one. I dropped back on the bed and stared up at the night sky. The stars were few but they looked beautiful, and the haunting sound of the wind only made their light seem brighter.
What exactly was Dad involved in, that he took such drastic measures to avoid any chance of us getting tracked from the hospital? The sloping ceiling of the attic was painted white, and I found myself strangely missing the yawning lion back in my room at Purslane. I searched the ceiling for shapes, and could make out a bulbous eye by the side of the window. It looked like it belonged to a lizard, or a monster of some sort. Kai must've been working with Dad, but since when? I sat up with a sigh and walked over to the larger window further down the room, so I could see the stars better.
The tops of the trees swayed in the wind, being pulled side to side by the strong, invisible force. I stretched my stiff muscles, and decided to get changed into something warmer. The sound of the wind was louder now that I was closer to the window. I closed my eyes and it almost sounded like the rolling waves of the sea. My mind was still trying to process everything, and it was tiring. My chest felt tight every time I thought of Mum, so I tried to stay calm. Regurgitating what I knew wouldn't help.
I spotted the suitcase by the door and hoped that there would be something suitable in there. Rubbing the sleeve of my hoodie, I almost didn't want to take it off. It had served me well for years, and been through it all with me. I laughed out loud at my deep sentiments for a piece of clothing. I didn't ever do clothes shopping so I guess it made sense. Mum would always tell me off about it, saying that I should take more of an interest in my appearance. My stomach sank as horrible images of Mum in the hospital came to mind. I really hoped she was okay, there was so much I had left to say.
I focused on opening the suitcase, the small task proving to be difficult as I fought back tears. There were three clasps, one on each side of the rectangle suitcase, and the clear plastic was still stuck on the clasp at the top. I wasn't expecting there to be much inside, but I was surprised at the weight as I laid it on the ground. The contents were neatly arranged, and I pulled out a folded purple pyjama set, and marveled at the softness of the fuzzy material. The label spelt out a brand name in the Greek alphabet, and I couldn't decipher the letters. Dad must've brought the suitcase with him from Greece, he probably wouldn't have had enough time to shop around once he landed here.
With my interest piqued, I sat cross-legged on the wooden floor, and rummaged through the remaining items. A chic-looking bottle of shampoo caught my gaze, and I tried to read the words. 'ορχιδέα/orchidéa', I whispered the word, unsure of the pronunciation. I guessed it was the Greek word for orchid, which happened to be my favourite flower. Thankfully, there was an identically labelled bottle of conditioner too, so at least my hair wouldn't be out of control. I dug deeper into the suitcase and found another bottle, which seemed like a face wash, but I couldn't even try and guess what the words meant. There were a few more cosmetics and I ran my fingers over the letters, marvelling at the Greek letters. I felt weirdly excited to find out what it said on all of them, as if it were a secret message. I'd need to ask Dad to teach me Greek.
Even though I hoped there wouldn't be underwear in there, I really did need some. The thought of Adrian shopping around, and picking up all these personal things for me made me uncomfortable. I wondered what he had thought when buying all this. There was even a headband in there so I could push my hair back when washing my face. Adrian just creeped me out too much for me to appreciate his thoughtfulness.
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.
"I was just trying to say that I understand that this is all a lot to take in. You've had a tough day."
I stared at her, barely containing the anger that was building with each word she spoke.
"Thanks for stating the obvious, Teresa," I replied with an extra cutting edge to her name.
"We don't have to talk about anything today if you don't want to."
"Oh no, I really do want to talk about things. I need answers. Does Mum know who you really are?"
"Yes, Lillian was aware of the risks, and agreed to let me accompany her to England. I was the safest way your mother could communicate with your father, so we had to protect you and Joshua from the truth."
"Protect us?! You mean, keep us in the dark so we couldn't speak out!" I spat back in a low voice. Even though Boyce and the other man were checking something against a piece of paper, I was aware of their attention on me. Boyce's shoulders were tense. Did he think I would attack Teresa?
"Holly, if you or Joshua were interrogated by an enemy, you would be safe because you'd have no information to give. Torture can make people reveal things that they want to keep hidden with all their heart. It makes a person give in, no matter how much they don't want to. We used a foolproof method."
I turned away from her in an effort to stay calm. It didn't matter now anyway. I was angry at her deception, and at how alone Mum really was for all these years. We'd always thought that she had her sister, but even that was an illusion. Just wait until Josh found out, he had always hated Aunt Rosie.
Dad came over to me and I crossed my arms, feeling like a bratty kid but not caring one bit.
"We've all had to do things we didn't want to Holly, but it was for the greater good. Try to see it from Teresa's point of view. What would you have done in her place?"
"I would've told the people I wanted to keep safe, the true danger that they were in. The interrogators probably wouldn't have even believed us, especially if we didn't know anything! There'd be no need to keep us alive. So we were still in danger regardless of her protective reasons," I replied harshly.
Teresa didn't make eye contact with me, instead tucking a loose strand of brown hair behind her ear.
Dad's phone rang and he answered it quickly. The air in the room changed and I tensed, full of nervous energy all of a sudden.
"No, take all the necessary precautions and come straight here, I'll send you the address."
Dad put his phone on the coffee table and sat down heavily.
"Dad, is everything okay? What happened? Who was that on the phone?"
The questions tumbled out of my mouth in a rush, almost garbled, but Dad understood and rubbed my back comfortingly. He looked at the man with Boyce, and his back straightened.
He turned to me and briefly closed his eyes, as if finding the right words to say.
I held my breath, ready for the blow.
"Josh has been missing ever since we left the hospital."
Thank you for sticking with me through the long wait! I love you guys so much, thank you for being my biggest source of motivation <3 I will do my best to get the next chapters out ASAP!
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Photograph in header by Rei Ohara
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