Writers Note: You guys are in for a treat. Today and tomorrow I will be posting as much as I can because on saturday I leave for a week. I promise the second I get back I will update! Thank you for reading and I hop you continue to enjoy this adventure! Thank you Emma and Jade for your advice and amazing editing. Thank you Marina for your AMAZING ideas! Have fun reading!
Chapter 3 - All That I Am
Mood: "Well the fog sits like blankets and it smothers the glow"
Los Angeles 2009
"Lucy, hurry up!" my mom called. We were walking towards an unfamiliar building. We must have gone through the back door because I couldn't see a sign.
"Where are we?" I asked curiously, as I skipped through the door.
"You'll see. Come this way."
When my mom opened the door to the main room, I heard everyone shout "SURPRISE! HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY!"
I was smothered by hugs and kisses and thrown in the air by my aunts and uncles.
Suddenly the setting changed. I was in a big empty court room. The silence was deafening. I wandered aimlessly around the room, hoping to find someone, anyone, then wishing I had never opened the door. Charles Patroshik, my parents murderer, was standing there. We were motionless for a long time. Then, ever so slowly, he began to come for me, closer and closer. My feet wouldn't move.
"I'll get you one day… You'll be mine." All I could do was scream. Scream as loud as I could until…
"Lucy! Lucy wake up!" my aunt yelled. My eyes flew open as hundreds of tears ran down my face.
Sarah pulled me close, stroking my hair softly with one hand and creating small circles on my back with the other.
"Shhh. It's okay sweetie" she murmured. "Same dream?" she asked, figuring the night terrors hadn't changed.
I couldn't speak. The fear of him coming back, those eyes, it all felt so real. Why did I keep having these dreams?
"Shhh. He's gone, Lucy. He can't come back. I promise." I knew Sarah was right, but I couldn't shake the bad feeling. The dreams felt like warnings. They'd been on and off for the past two months, and each one got more and more intense.
Sarah lay with me until I drifted off again, but shortly after, the nightmares returned. This, one though, was different.
"Come here!" he screamed, grabbing me and pulling me to him. I didn't speak. Didn't even move. All I did was pray. Pray someone would find me. Pray I'd wake up soon.
Then I heard a voice inside my head, telling me to stay where I was. Not to move.
"My name is Renee Walker," she added.
I woke up, gasping for air, and feeling as if I could vomit from the spinning going on inside my head. Sarah must have left once I passed out because her side of the bed was now empty.
"Renee Walker?" I whispered. I got out of bed and headed to my computer, tip toeing so I didn't wake up Mackenzie.
Once opened, I typed the mysterious name in the search bar.
R-E-N-E-E W-A-L-K-E-R
Three letters were plastered all over the page -
FBI
I clicked the first link and began to read.
Renee walker worked for the FBI as a special agent for the Washington Field Office. She helped with the Bio terrorist threat that took place in 2006. Unfortunately, she was then dismissed from the FBI after an undisclosed discrepancy.
"Dismissed?" I whispered, scrolling down the page and clicking on the photo linked to the paragraph.
I studied the image. "The red head on the plane was Renee Walker?" I said a little too loudly. The thought of an FBI agent stalking me brought back the memories of Charles. Am I in danger? Why had she been in Toronto that day? And is he back to get me?
I read the rest of the biography and then typed in the only other name that appeared on the screen.
J-A-C-K -B-A-U-E-R
"Is everything ok?" Sarah startled me.
"Oh yeah, great," I said as I slammed my laptop shut suspiciously.
The look on Sarah's face was beginning to freak me out.
"What?"
"Honey, come sit down," she said sweetly.
This cant be good.
"Sweetie, these dreams…I don't think time will make them go away. It's been two months now.'' She paused. "Maybe we should try a doctor. See if they can-"
"You want me to see a shrink?" I cried, ripping my hand from hers and moving off the bed. "What, now I'm crazy?" I added.
"No sweetie, not crazy. Just…"
"Cut the crap, Sarah. I know exactly what you mean." I could feel the rage building up inside of me. "I'm crazy, paranoid and unpredictable. That's what you meant, right?"
"No, I just…" she was lost in thought for a moment. When she didn't answer, I spoke for her.
"Just can't handle me anymore? Can't stand a crazy teen around your daughter? You think I'll hurt her, don't you?"
"NO!" Sarah's tone of voice frightened me. I'd never seen her snap like that before. She was always a loving, caring and soft person. At least to me she was.
"Then what, Sarah?"
"It's just…"
"Spit it out!" I snapped back, irritated.
When Sarah didn't respond, I picked up my laptop and headed for the door.
"Lucy, wait!"
I froze, closing my eyes to hold back tears. "Sarah, I get it, okay? Just…"
"No you don't!" she snapped.
I turned to meet her gaze. Her face was pale and cold. She was really starting to frighten me.
"What's the laptop for?"
"Nothing." I lied.
"Lucy, it's been three years," she whispered, slowly walking towards me.
I took a few steps back defensively.
"You can't keep living in denial," her voice was cold again. I took a few steps back again, bracing myself for her next statement.
She looked over at the picture that was sitting on the night stand. I quickly glanced over, looking at the photo of my mom, dad and I at my dance recital.
When she turned back, she looked down at the laptop that was in my hands. Then she looked back at me, meeting my gaze.
"They're gone, Lucy. They're not coming back."
"You think I don't know that?" I said, harshly.
"That's enough! I've put up with your attitude, but now I've had it. All I'm trying to do is help you! You have to realize it's been three years. Three whole years, Lucy. It's time for you to pull yourself together and try to get over it!"
I couldn't speak. Her words ripped right through me like a knife. The understanding that came along with them hurt even more.
I moved away from the door, grabbing the jacket I had thrown on the floor, along with my laptop bag and the picture on the night stand.
"What do you want, Lucy?" I heard her whisper as she gently grabbed my hand and placed her free hand on my shoulder.
Part of me wanted to turn into her and cry, letting everything out.
But her words had left their mark already. I understood what she wanted. Rolling my shoulders and snapping my hand away from hers, I screamed, "I WANT MY MOM!"
I slammed the door and brushed past Mackenzie, who must have been woken up by our screams. I tried my best not to look her in the eye. That would make leaving harder than it already was.
I ran down the stairs and through the main hallway. When I reached the door, I looked back at the empty living room, wondering if leaving was really what I wanted to do.
Suddenly her words popped back into my head, cutting me deeper than the first time.
I twisted the knob and slammed the door behind me.
"May I take your order?"
The man's voice snapped me out of my daydream.
"Decaf, please," I requested, my voice strained and husky.
I looked around the coffee shop. It was completely empty. I also found it weird that there was only one worker on staff. Was it because it was 3 am? He had blond hair and dark blue eyes and was probably in his mid 40's. His voice sounded familiar, but I knew that wasn't possible.
"That will be $2.43," he said after punching the numbers into the cash register.
I handed him three bucks, letting him keep the change as a tip, and headed for the empty tables, taking a seat and pulling out my laptop.
Thankfully, the site was still open on the main screen.
I took a sip of my coffee and slouched back, trying to find a comfortable position as I continued to read the rest of the article.
A few minutes later, my world went black.