There's always something or someone that you do not know in your life. Sometimes, it comes to you and spills right onto your pages, or other times; you never figure out who that person is or what that something is. It all depends on you and the person hiding it from you.
"Why are we in the library?" Rylan asked as he plopped down onto a chair. I ignored him, glancing around for a computer. Not many people were in the library, but it was enough for the librarian who calmly read her book from behind the counter. "Ahem!" I looked back over at Rylan, raising an eyebrow. After spending the night at the hotel, we returned to the road and arrived in California in a few days. We were still staying at a hotel until we found my old place.
Rylan leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his navy blue button-up shirt, his sleeves rolled up. He had slapped on a beanie on top of his hat that he bought from a store. His clothes brought out the green in his eyes, the green that was a mixture of the sky and the grass.
I placed a hand on my bare hips, tilting my head to the side. I, on the other hand, was wearing a soft gray crop top, blue denim jacket, and light blue shorts. It was shining outside, and I was not going to be sweating by wearing some jeans and a shirt. I needed to be free from the hotness of the sun.
"That kidnapper is out there somewhere, Rylan." I leaned over the desk, whispering in case someone might be listening. "We can't run forever, you know. I'm going to find my parents, and I'm going to find that enemy. She's in my brain; she's everywhere. Whenever I close my eyes, she takes over my dreams, my mind."
"So, what does going to the library have to do with that?"
"Maybe I can research information or log into my parents' Gmail. Something..." I pushed away from the table and walked over to an accessible computer, logging in. Rylan joined me, scooting his chair over. I opened up at least three Chromes and logged into each one: my Gmail, my mother's, and my father's.
"How do you know their passwords?"
"I'm quite trustworthy when I put in the effort," I answered, shrugging my shoulders. Checking on my Gmail, there were only junk messages. Nothing special, nothing out of the ordinary. I clicked on my mother's and scrolled through hers. Most were also junk messages, while others were for her jobs, especially ones asking where she was and why she had not been working lately. But again, there was nothing out of the ordinary to help. Clicking on my father's Gmail now, he had a bunch of messages, and I could tell he did not know how to organize or delete spam and junk messages.
"He must have something with all this mess..." I mumbled as I scanned everything. Rylan reached out, stopping me from scrolling any further. He pointed to a message that looked like it belonged in the trash.
"It says your name...."
I leaned forward and saw that my full name was on display. This was a recent message from a week ago that he received, and it looked as though he would respond to it but never got the time to. I glanced over at Rylan, who gave me a beckoning look before clicking the message.
To: Nick Joyce
From: Anonymous
June 18th
12:01 P.M.
Hello Mr. Joyce, I won't go on with the sayings of 'how are you' or 'how has your life been' because I know. I know everything that goes on in your life. Every step you take, everything that you do or say. I can see it. I'm not physically there, but I still see everything. Have you forgotten about me already? I hope not because I'm here. I am trapped in Andromeda. Don't you miss me?
I'm pretty sure you don't because you have Arianna. Arianna, the good one. Yet I'm the evil one. Don't you know? She should have been locked away, not me. I should have the perfect life she's living, not her. She doesn't even remember. She doesn't know who I am or that I exist. You wiped away her memory of my existence. You wiped away her memory of who she is. How could you do that to your daughter? Why are you protecting her from who she is? What are you protecting her from? Me?
Oh, don't worry. I'll be coming for all of you. You'll wish you kept me.
I leaned back in the chair, letting the words sink in, but it only collected more questions that were being unanswered. Rylan leaned closer, scrolling to see if there was anything, but there was not. No signing, nothing. She was smart enough not to mention her name, but I'm sure my father knew exactly who it was.
"Look.. your father replied to it." Rylan nudged me, snapping me out of my thoughts. I focused on the screen, reading the few words that my father had sent.
Stay away from my daughter, Fay.
"Fay.... that name doesn't sound familiar," I whispered. I clicked the print button, printing out both of the sheets. It's a first clue to what's going on, not too helpful or detailed, but it's something.
"Whoever this Fay is, she must be quite dangerous if your father does not want her near." Rylan followed me from the library as I stared at the words again.
"And I must know her... but how? And what did she mean by, 'I'm the good one and erased memory?'" I stopped walking. Rylan placed his hand on top of mine, and it had not occurred to me that I had started to shake slightly. He turned me toward him, pulling me into a big hug.
"We're going to find out, okay? We're going to find out everything, and we're going to go back to our normal lives." He whispered, stroking my hair. I closed my eyes, relaxing a bit.
"I do hope you're right..."
...
"Let's go inside my old house."
"WHAT!? Are you insane!? I'm sorry, but I thought we would look around near your house, not exactly inside the house. Sorry to break it to you, sweets, but your house is haunted. Looking at it gives me chills. We are not going in your old house and being like in those horror movies where we die from whoever died in that house and is haunting us." Rylan shook his head, his eyes wide. I rolled my eyes, starting to walk over to the old house.
"One, calm down. Two, it's not haunted; it looks like it. Three, Fay is not even dead, just insane, and four, she could be in there with my parents." I said before turning toward him to see if he was following, which he was. "Please, Rylan, you have to help me. We already got this far, and we're not even close." I never told him that Fay had told me exactly where I needed to go. All I mentioned was that we needed to start with my old house. So here we are.
Rylan looked at me before looking back over at the house. He hesitated, staring at the house before running his fingers through his hair.
"Fine... fine, I'll help. I'll always help you, Ari."
Even though it looked as if someone had just lived here, when I went to try and open the door, it was already unlocked. A chill ran down my spine, causing me to shiver. Everything was empty, almost looking brand new, but there seemed to be this ominous vibe flying throughout the house. Stepping into the house, I looked back to ensure Rylan followed.
"Are you sure you want to go in here? What if this is a trap of hers?" Rylan asked as he stepped in, closing the door behind him. I raised an eyebrow, a smirk appearing on my face.
"So, you agree that Fay must be in here?" I tilted my head. Rylan narrowed his eyes at me but shrugged his shoulders. "Stubborn... Come on." I started walking, memories of my childhood flowing in my brain. Nothing looked different except the colors of the wall stripping away and a broken stair we had to step over. Our footsteps echoed throughout the house despite trying to be quiet.
"I'll check out these rooms; you go check out the other ones." I motioned down the hall before starting to go the other way.
"Woah! Are you crazy!?" Rylan grabbed my wrist, yanking me back. I hit his chest with a grunt and glared up at him.
"The hell!? What are you so jumpy for?" I stepped back, putting my hands on my hips.
"Do you not watch horror movies!?" Rylan asked. I nodded my head. "Then you know that if the group separates, someone dies. That's not good, so I'm staying with you."
I groaned, running my hand down my face before narrowing my eyes at Rylan. I look into the empty rooms, seeing nothing but more stripped walls. I could not pinpoint the smells in each room, but it didn't soothe my stomach.
"Let's go to the basement..." I walked out of the bathroom, glancing away from the mirror. Luckily, nothing was written on it, but it was a bit shattered, as if someone was mad and smashed their fist into it. Rylan hurried after me, hopping over the broken stairs again.
"You guys had a basement? I feel like we should not go there." He caught up to me just as I headed down another flight of stairs to the basement. I stopped, slowly turning toward him as I grabbed his hand.
"Stop being a wuss and man up. Come on now.." I dragged him down the stairs before stopping at the brown door. The basement must also be empty, but for some reason, I had a feeling that it wasn't. I was not going to turn around now because if my parents were down here if Fay was here, I would do something about it. The sooner I finish this, the sooner I can get my life back.
Taking a deep breath, I squeezed Rylan's hand tightly before turning the knob with my other hand. Stepping into the room, I felt the wall for the light switch and flipped it. Rylan's eyes widened at the scenery in front of us. My breath caught when the door slammed, and the familiar voice crept around us.
"Welcome; I did not think I would be seeing you so soon."
"Now.... this is becoming like a horror movie..." I mumbled, frozen in my spot. Rylan slowly nodded his head in agreement.