LILLIAN
DAMIEN pulls his arms away from my shoulder and slowly backs away. "What type of weird shit is your pops on? That's a picture of Brena." He whispers to me holding Isaac's phone.
My eyes began to water like a sprinkler on a hot summer day. I yank the phone from Damien and walk back to Issac.
I shove the phone in his face, "what else do you know?" My voice shook in terror.
Words weren't rolling off his mouth so I yell. "Answer me!"
His head was turned to the side as he flinched at the sound of my voice. He slowly turns back to me with his eyes gazing the floor. "I can't say. You don't know your father." He whispers.
"I do know him. I've seen what he's capable of." I counter. He stared at me in the eyes and cackled like a madman while his chest moved up and down.
He gulps slowly, "You don't even have the slightest clue. That man is crazy." He points his index finger near his temple.
I lower my body creating a small hunch on my back while I try to interrogate him. "Anything, please. It'll be helpful. You see this girl right here?" I push the phone downward since his eyes were dropped low.
"She lost her mother two years ago. Who happened to be her only family member. If anything happens to her do you want it to be on you?" I sniffle while asking him.
I stood in front of him for about two minutes. He didn't say anything nor did he try to. All I heard was his shallow breathing.
I turn to Damien, "let's go." I toss the phone on the grass in front of Isaac and walk to Damien.
"You sure you wanna leave him here?" He asks me calmly while wiping the tears that flowed from my eyes.
I nod as he wrapped his arm around me and we headed to the car.
The moment the car doors unlock, I see Isaac limping. "Wait!" He shouts.
Pain rippled in his tone when he called for us.
I closed the door and leaned against it. Damien's arms are on top of the car with his fingers intertwined, waiting for what was going to be said.
"Your father's hunting for something or someone and it has him spooked. He says your friend is the key." He explains in between breaths.
The key to what?
Now I know why every time Brena's name came up in conversations he would become really pissed. Jesus Christ.
"That's why he asked if we were still friends. Oh my God." I gasp, mumbling my thoughts.
Isaac searched his coat's pockets and brings out something. "Here."
He hands me a paper with an address on it. While I take a look at it, I hear him say, "your father is planning a trip out of the country in two months. I'm supposed to report to him next week in person and hand him everything I've found." He winces in pain.
I turn the back of the paper to see if there was anything else inscribed on it. "So what are you saying? You want us to come?" I ask confusingly.
He nods. "Yes. The warehouse should have some clues for you. He usually leaves before I do so I'll stay back and help you open it so you could take a look inside."
I narrow my eyes at Damien who saw the uncertainty that masked my face. "I'mma be there, don't worry bout that." He assures me.
I give him a small smile and redirect my focus to Isaac. "When and what time?" I ask him.
"Wednesday at 8 o'clock and don't be late." He breathswhile informing me. "I'm sorry. I didn't know she was that close to you." He apologizes with a guilty look smudged on his face.
I sigh heavily and take a step closer to him. "You were following orders from a psychopath who happens to be my father. I think you get a pass." I say patiently.
He scoffs in disbelief. "You're the opposite of your father." He coughs quietly.
"That reminds me. What will you say when he sees this?" I motion my hand up and down to indicate his bruises.
He chortles loudly. "I'll worry about that. I'm sure I can come up with something."
"Okay. Thank you and umm..,sorry for the mess." I say nervously. "See you Wednesday." I say before walking back to the car.
Damien hops in and we close the doors at the same time. As the headlights turned on, we see Isaac using his hands to block his eyes from the lights.
I waved at him slowly and he returned the gesture and Damien reversed before embarking on the journey to my house.
"Can we go to your place? I'm scared and I don't want to be by myself tonight." I ask while looking straight at the road.
"You can stay for as long as you want baby girl." Damien spins the steering wheel as he changed our route to the one that led to Brooklyn.
I have to email my professors and tell them a family emergency came up and I won't be able to come for the rest this week until further notice. The music from the radio became silent as I dived into what went down tonight.
If someone would have told me years ago that my father was a killer, I would laugh at them before beating them up. Now, my best friend is included.
Not only has Brena been dragged into this mess but so has Damien. I wasn't expecting this heavy bomb to be dropped on me tonight. Only if I knew I wouldn't have involved Damien. I have to tell him everything that's going on. I'm not sure we're there yet and I don't want him to run away. My feelings for him are starting to become intense. I really like him.
Why is my father doing this?
My shoulders are shaking and the sound of me struggling to breathe filled the car. The heat from the anger charred under my skin leaving an emptiness in my heart. Damien grabs my hand and holds on to it tight.
"What am I going to say to Brena?" I say breaking down, as tears begin to evade my vision.
~~***~~
BRENA
My legs are giving up on me as I sway out of balance after getting off the bathroom floor. I feel like a zombie with a slightly hazy vision as I walk back into my bedroom.
I see the flip phone on the floor and blink several times. Staring at it, I pick up my cell phone and text Lillian. We need to talk. Then place it down as I look around my room.
My phone rings causing me to jump at its sound. I was standing right by my nightstand. Glancing at the ID, it was Henry.
I reach for it and answer with a soft yet fragile tone, "How could you know this whole time and not tell me?" I ask him with a subtle burn in the back of my throat.
"Brena, I'm in front of your house. Do I come inside or do you want to come to the car?" He says remorsefully.
I hang up just as he did to me earlier and sit down on my bed and gape at the wall. Just hours ago, everything in my life seemed to be falling into place. The pain was slowly being washed away. Why?
Why can't I ever be happy?
The doorbell rang accompanied by a loud knock. "Brena, it's Henry open up!" Henry hollered from outside.
My room was as dark as my emotions as I slowly got up, clasped my phone, and dragged my feet downstairs to get the door. I'm tired and the pain feels like a veil over my skin, dark and cold.
I open the door to see Henry with his back facing me, ready to go down the steps. He hears the creeking of the door and spins around.
He's wearing a long black wool-blend overcoat with dark blue denim jeans folded at the bottom on top of his black boots. A black scarf is wrapped around his neck to keep him warm.
I don't say anything to him instead I leave the door open and slowly walk back to the couch. I'm alive but dead on the inside. Nothing around me seemed real.
The door shuts close, "I'm really sorry." He says walking towards me.
Stepping back, I lifted up my hand as a sign for him to not come any closer. "You knew and didn't say anything to me. How could you be so evil?" I say slowly.
"Huh, Henry?" I scream frustratedly.
He glances at the floor and rubs the back of his head. "She told me not to. For her safety and yours." He mumbles.
Slowly rising up his head, his dark brown eyes soften. "That's why I didn't come too close to you. It was hard keeping it a secret."
A teardrop rolls down like a red carpet being spread flat on the ground. I quickly wipe it off and turn away from his gaze. Not looking behind me, I fall back onto the couch.
"You're in even more danger now that you know she's alive. That's why I'm here." He explains while taking a seat across from me.
My phone rings breaking the quietness in the house. Stretching my neck over the center table to see who was calling, Henry snatches it off the table.
"Give me my phone bro what the fuck are you doing?" I ask, holding my hand out. He turns the phone so I can see the caller ID. It was Lillian.
"If you answer, you can't mention anything about this. Lillian's also in danger if you say anything implicating." He warns.
I nod in understanding and he gives me back my phone. I rapidly slide the green button before the call cuts off.
"Hello?" Lillian says.
"Hey boo," I respond. I hear the clinking of tableware in the background. "Where are you?" I ask calmly.
The background noise begins to fade and Lillian answers me in almost a whisper. "I'm at Damien's. Are you okay? I got your message." She asks as her voice becomes smudged with concern.
"Oh, you bending it over for him." I joke. "And I'm fine." My voice wavered for a quick moment. Lillian detected it. "Are you crying?"
I laugh it off, "Nah. I just woke up from a nap. I only texted you because I had an unplanned lunch with Desmond this afternoon and I wanted to put you on." I try to change the subject.
"I hope you had fun, boo that's good. About time." She sounded distracted. "Are YOU okay? I ask with a small frown on my face.
Lillian is tight-lipped and I thought the phone hung up so I pull it away from my ear and look at it. The call was still ongoing.
"Hello?" I hear her breathing become shallow.
"My dad is the one that had someone follow me." She professes with pain trickling from her voice.
I couldn't respond when my voice disappeared like Ariel when Ursula took away her voice.
What was in the air tonight?
"We have to meet in person so I can explain. I have to go. Damien just finished cooking. I love you so much." Lillian says like it was the last time she was going to tell me that.
Before I could say anything, the line went dead. I put the phone down and looked at Henry who was sitting patiently.
"Is she alright?" He asks. "Yeah." I sniffle and place the phone down.
"Brena, you'll need to call back your mother and ask when you can see her. I'll take you there when you're ready or I can just give you the address. Your choice." He suggests kindly.
I glare at the hand of the wall clock and watched it move down slowly. The ticking sound soothed my emotions so I gave it all my attention.
"Brena," Henry calls out.
I get up my feet suddenly, "Henry you need to go now." I say to him while pulling him up.
"Take it easy Brena. I'm trying to help please." He pleads as I push him towards the door.
I stop and look at him with hurt in my eyes, "trying to help? Shut the hell up and get out."
Opening the door, I shove him out and slam the door close. I run my hands through my hair and scream out loud. A scream that could wake up the entire neighborhood. Outrage and misery boiled deep in my system like hot lava. It swirled within, yearning for wreckage. This is too much for me to handle. I know I have to get out everyone's way before I erupt in my violent state. I'm not sure this feeling will pass just that fast. So I grab my house keys, my black winter coat, and car keys.
Darting out of my house, squeezing my AirPods into my ears. The worst by Jhene Aiko comes on and the song pours out, sounding like the most beautiful sound known to mankind. I turned it up, shutting out the world around me and let go of everything. Getting to my car, I open the door and enter. Banging the steering wheel repeatedly, the pain couldn't be felt but my hands were slightly red.
The ignition turns on and I speed off in the streets allowing the darkness I felt swallow me. The music felt like it was surging through my veins as it attempted to calm me down from the crown of my head to sole of my feet. It wasn't enough, I needed something stronger.
Raindrops gradually began to hit the windshields. I activate my windshield wipers as my thoughts reeled in.
Who did I wrong? What did I do to deserve this? Why was Lillian's dad following her?
"Too many damn questions!" I cry out in frustration as the tears start to escape yet again.
Not realizing the red light didn't change, I kept on driving with a hazy vision until, I suddenly jumped. My body froze as my car was hydroplaning into an incoming suv. I couldn't do anything as my car was gliding along the surface of the water. Stepping on the brakes wouldn't help.
As the front of my car hit the truck, my body was flung forward and my face smashes into the airbag. I shriek in anguish as I feel my joints deteriorating and shattering all at once. The smell coming from the vapor that rose from the back is too powerful for words. My vision kept flickering from sharp darkness to overwhelming white light. The only noise that filled my ears were that of the explosions which sounded like deadly fireworks on the Fourth of July while the airbag started deflating.
Shortly, everything went dark.
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05.10.2020