A full ten minutes passed before I realized I was in danger of hyperventilating. I blinked away the tears and concentrated on slowing my breathing. I counted to ten in my head before I felt my heart rate slow and my breathing return to normal. Standing up, I walked over to the window. I peered through the glass.
A beautiful green lawn, complete with a running fountain and shining statues, was identical to my memory of it. But the last time I'd seen it was when the grass was soaked in blood and the fountain was red with it. Here, now, the lawn was perfect. Not a single thing out of order.
I closed my eyes and pressed my palms against my forehead. What was going on? Nothing made sense. I was stuck in my old home with a throbbing headache and no idea of how I got there. Unless…
My eyes fluttered open. The realization of what had happened hit me with a force of a ton of bricks.
"No…" I moaned. "Impossible…"
"What's impossible?" a voice said behind me. I gasped in horror. Too trapped in the horrible truth, I had failed to hear the door open. But I didn't turn. I didn't want to turn.
"Hello, Lila." A hand brushed my shoulder. "Why don't you turn around to greet me face-to-face?"
My hands are clenched in front of me on the table. My head is bent to keep me from seeing the most feared man of my life. He is sitting across from me.
"How've you been, Lila?" His tone is polite, formal even.
I don't speak. Fear glues my teeth together.
His chair squeaks as he stands up and makes his way over to me. He puts his hand underneath my chin and forces my face up to meet his. His cool gray eyes are just as I remember it.
"Talk to me," he whispers softly. I shiver, hearing the familiar note of danger in his voice. My mouth opens but no sound comes out. His gray eyes tighten and seem to turn into ice.
"Did you hear what I just said?" he asks me, hissing slightly. "Don't you remember who I am and what I'm capable of?" His right hand grips my wrist tightly. The left entangles itself in my hair. I'm shaking now, fear welling inside of me.
"Please…" The hoarse whisper that comes out of my mouth surprises me. "Please…" Tears well up in my eyes.
His hand tightens around my wrist. Then suddenly he let go. Seeming please by my reaction, he walks back to his chair and sits down. He strokes his chin thoughtfully.
"You're frightened." It's just a statement. But it's enough to fill me up with shame.
"I'm not," I said.
He surveys me with those piercing gray eyes of his. "You are and you know it," he says back. "Now, don't you want to know how you came here? And…" He chuckles softly. "And where is your little friend?"
Robert. The name echoes in my head. My eyes widened. I'd forgotten about Robert. "Where is he?" I ask. My voice is shaky.
His smile only widens.
"What did you do to him?" I scream, unable to control myself. "Where is he? Why are you doing this to us? TELL ME!" I'm crying now. Fear is almost nonexistent. All I can feel is anger; anger at myself for showing weakness and frustration for not being able to do anything.
He is silent for a long time. "Don't you know? Don't you remember?" he asks me. "You should know everything by now. Or hasn't it become clear enough for you?"
I shake my head. I do know everything but I refuse to speak.
"I think you've forgotten who I am." His tone is full of mock sadness.
I shake my head again.
"So tell me who am I."
I swallow and stare at him straight in the eye. "You are my father," I said.
A/N: Hahaha. Looks like Rose (oops, I mean Lila) was hiding a few things from us. I swear things are going to be a bit clearer in the next chappie (yep! I'm currently writing the next one! So keep Reading and Reviewing! :D).
Oh, and I'm sort of making things up as I go. So if some things don't really make sense then please tell me. Thx!
