Chapter Five
Once Susan got home she decided to do a little research on epilepsy. She found that Lucy's type of epilepsy could be hereditary. Yet it was still eating away at her. Who could her father possibly be? She didn't know why, but she had a bad feeling about this. "Hey hon." Mike said as he got home. He looked at her laptop. "Why are you researching epilepsy?" he asked her as he put his things down. "Our new neighbor has epilepsy, I want to learn what I can to make sure she is safe if I ever seeing her have a seizure." Susan lied as she quickly exited out of all of her tabs. "Well you could have just asked me, my grandmother had epilepsy. What do you want to know?" Mike asked Susan. "I've read that epilepsy can be genetic, is that true?" Susan asked him. "Yeah it can be. Why? Did MJ have a seizure?" he asked her.
"No, of course not." Susan replied. Just then Susan realized something. Lucy was thirteen years old and thirteen years ago Mike was together with someone else...Katherine. Lucy had one blue eye, like Mike's, she had epilepsy, like Mike's grandmother. Mike got Katherine pregnant and somehow she survived her stabbing. "Oh my god..." Susan said as she put on her shoes and stormed over to Katherine's house. She banged on the door "KATHERINE! OPEN UP! NOW!" Susan yelled as she continued to bang on the door. Katherine came to the door and looked at Susan. "Susan? What can I do for you?" she asked her. "I know Mike is Lucy's father!" Susan said. "Susan don't be ridiculous. I think I would remember if Mike was her father." Katherine lied. "DON'T LIE TO ME! Admit it! Mike is Lucy's father isn't he?!" Susan yelled. The whole neighborhood was watching. Mike stood behind Susan. "Katherine? Is this true? Do I have a daughter?" Mike asked her.
A few moments later they heard barking and Katherine ran upstairs to see that Lucy was having another seizure. She made started to time it with Susan and Mike following. Mike noticed she was banging her head on the corner of the nighstand and moved her over so she wasn't going to hit anything else. "Are you timing it Katherine?" he asked her. "Yes, I started timing it as soon as I heard Midna barking." Katherine said as she occasionally glanced up from her watch and over to Lucy. Four and a half minutes had passed and Lucy still hadn't come out of it. Mike got out his phone and started to dial 911, but Lucy came out of it one second before the five minute mark.
Katherine helped Lucy up, who jumped when she saw Mike and started to walk backwards for him to stay away from her. "Lucy, let's get you into bed." Katherine told her as Lucy used her as a meat shield to get some distance from Mike. "Mike, could you please leave the room, I'll explain everything later. Let me get Lucy to take a nap first." Katherine explained. Mike and Susan went back downstairs to the living room and sat down on the couch while Katherine got Lucy to bed and came back downstairs.
"Katherine, what the hell is going on? Why did she freak out when I got too close?" Mike asked her. "Lucy doesn't trust men...they scare her. It's nothing you've done, but men freak her out." Katherine explained. She began to explain about Lucy, what happened when she went to Vegas and how her daughter was taken from her. She then explained what she had gone through, the beatings, the molestation, and the rape and why she didn't trust men and jumped when the came near her. Katherine continued to explain what happened when she met her and what she learned about Lucy. About how her side of the family didn't have epilepsy, so she assumed Mike's did and everything leading to that point.
"And when were you going to tell me all of this Katherine?" Mike said angrily. "That's the whole thing, I wasn't...I didn't want to come between you and Susan again, I know screwed up, and I thought you were better off not knowing." Katherine told him. "Look, can't we just pretend you aren't the father and you guys can go back to not despising me? You won't have to pay child support, just leave us in peace alright?" Katherine told him.
"Damn it Katherine she's my daughter, I'm not going to pretend that she's not. I'm not going to abandon her, that's not who I am. I have every right to see her and get to know her, just like you!" Mike yelled. "Please...just leave. Lucy won't ever know, and you don't have to tell her. I'm giving you a get out of jail free card. Lucy is my daughter, and I will decide what's best for her. Now, let me walk you out." Katherine said as she stood up and opened the door for them. "This isn't over Katherine." Mike told her. Lucy stood at the top of the stairs hiding behind the wall. Mike looked up and saw the red headed girl hiding behind a wall before taking off to the guest room.
"Lucy wait!" Mike said before he went up the stairs and knocked on the door. "You can come out Lucy, I'm not going to hurt you." Mike said as he continued to knock the door, but nothing happened, it was quiet and Lucy wasn't answering. "Lucy, I know why you're afraid of men...I know that they hurt you, that they touched you in ways they shouldn't have. It wasn't right Lucy, but I am not like that. Could you open the door please?" Mike asked her.
Lucy cracked open the door and looked at him. He noticed that she had heterochromia, one eye belonging to her mother and the other belonging to him. She was incredibly quiet, not saying anything. "I promise, I'm not going to hurt you, and if you feel uncomfortable in any way I'll leave...let's just talk..." he said. Lucy nodded and opened the door, backing away from him when he came in. He sat down on the bed while Lucy pulled up the chair at the desk and looked at her. She looked nervous and terrified at the same time. Lucy tried to avoid his gaze and stared at her hands as she twiddled her thumbs nervously.
This poor girl had been through hell and back when she should have been with her mother at the very least. At least then she wouldn't have been treated so poorly. He felt so bad for her, she didn't deserve what happened, yet Katherine said she kept blaming herself for being a horrible person, that she deserved everything that happened to her. He didn't know where to start, but he had to start somewhere.
"Lucy...what you went through was horrible, no child should ever have to go through that. I am so sorry that it happened. If I had known, I would have done anything to protect you. I just wish your mother had told me what happened, I would have stopped at nothing to find you and bring you home." Mike told her. Lucy didn't say anything, but some tears fell on her hands. Mike noticed she was crying and forgetting all about about her fear of him, he pulled her into a hug. Lucy didn't even fight him, she couldn't. She just sobbed uncontrollably. Her mother was watching her the entire time, standing at the threshold. Her heart broke when she saw Lucy sobbing and came into the room. She stopped when Mike gave her the look to back off and backed away.
Once Lucy had calmed down, she realized that he was close to her and jumped. "It's okay...look, why don't I give you your space, we can talk later alright?" he said. Lucy nodded. She hadn't said a word to him, he didn't know what she even sounded like, he just knew she was terrified. He started to leave, but Lucy stopped him. "Thank you..." she said quietly. He smiled at her and left. Katherine let them out so they could talk at their own home and went upstairs. "Lulu...are you alright?" she asked her. Lucy nodded and looked up at her, drying her eyes. "Come here." she said as she hugged her tightly. Lucy hugged her back and eventually stopped crying. "Would you like to help me with dinner?" she asked her. "I would love that..." Lucy replied as she followed her mother to the kitchen. Katherine knew what she had gone through and understood it. She knew all about abuse from her first husband, which was one of the reasons why she was so upset that she couldn't protect Lucy from the same thing happening to her.
The next day Katherine had left for a few minutes to talk to Susan and Mike for a few minutes about Lucy. Mike had called her and asked her to come over so that they could discuss the entire thing. She left Lucy asleep and hoped that she wouldn't wake up while she was gone, she wanted to make sure she didn't miss a seizure if it happened. While she was away she had some surprise visitors for Christmas that she wasn't expecting. The visitors unlocked the door and walked inside. Lucy had woken up and got out of bed upon hearing something. She crept quietly towards the door and cracked it open, peeking her head out. It was a dark haired woman along with a dark haired teenager about Lucy's age. The dark haired woman saw her and chased after her, cornering her in the bedroom.
"What are you doing here? Get out!" the woman said. Lucy grabbed her things and ran out the door, her things still in the suitcase. Lucy just ran until she found a park with a public bathroom. She changed into some clothes and tried to catch her breath. Luckily it wasn't an asthma attack. Lucy knew she needed to leave. She knew she couldn't stay there. She needed to get out of Fairview, and she knew exactly where she would go. After Lucy cleaned up she looked up directions for the bus station and started to walk there.
Katherine came home about half an hour later. "Lucy? Are you up?" Katherine called out, but Lucy wasn't answering. Dylan came out of her old room where Lucy was staying and so did her granddaughter Lila. "Dylan? What are you doing here?" Katherine smiled. "Don't you remember, we always come out for Christmas." Dylan said. "And Lila, you've grown so big." Katherine said as she hugged them both. She had forgotten all about Lucy for a little over an hour while they caught up.
"Look at the time. I should go check on Lucy." Katherine said to her, worried that she was sleeping in so late. "Mom...who's Lucy?" Dylan asked. "You're little sister." Katherine smiled. "Mom I'm an only child...are you feeling okay?" Dylan asked as she looked at Katherine. Katherine smiled. "I'm fine...let me explain." she said. Katherine explained how she didn't know she was pregnant thirteen years ago and that someone had kidnapped Lucy and abused her, that she just found her and brought her back yesterday. Once she was finished Dylan realized who the girl was that was in their house.
"Oh so that's who she was..." Dylan said. "Dylan? What's wrong?" Katherine asked her. "Mom kicked her out..." Lila admitted. Katherine's face turned pale. "Where is she Dylan?" Katherine asked her. "I don't know, I thought she broke in. She took off with her stuff and left." Dylan admitted. Katherine ran to get her keys and her purse and then ran to the car. She took off with her window down calling out Lucy's name. "Hey Dylan, I didn't know you were back." Susan said as she hugged her. "Where did Katherine go?" Mike asked her. "Mom didn't know she had a sister and yelled at her to leave, so grandma went to look for her." Lila said. "You mean Lucy's missing?" Mike asked. "I guess so." Lila shrugged. Mike took off towards his truck to go look for Lucy.
"I'll go get Bree, Gabby, and Lynette, we'll all look for her." Susan said as she ran to the girl's houses to explain what was going on. They all agreed to go look for Lucy, getting in their cars to help track her down. They looked for what seemed like an eternity, but no one found her. Katherine didn't have Lucy's number, she forgot to exchange it with her, but she did have Lily's number. She called Lily and waited for her to answer. "Katherine? Is there something I can do for you?" Lily asked her as soon as she answered the phone. "Lily, do you have Lucy's phone number? I forgot to exchange it with her. My oldest daughter spooked her and she took off, and I have no clue where she is." Katherine said as she panicked, continuing to look for her.
"I do, but she might not answer you, she doesn't answer the phone for people she doesn't know." Lily replied. "I've got to try." Katherine told her. Lily gave her the number, reading it off for her in her contacts list. "Listen, if she doesn't answer for you then call me back and I'll see if I can get her to tell me where she is." Lily told her. "Thank you, I will." Katherine said before hanging up. She looked at the number when at a red light and dialed it in, but it went straight to voicemail. "Lucy, it's me your mother, please pick up the phone. I'm sorry Dylan startled you, she didn't mean to, please talk to me okay?" Katherine said before hanging up. She kept trying, but Lucy wasn't answering. She decided to give it one more go before calling Lily back.
Finally Lucy picked up. "H-Hello?" Lucy said, Katherine could tell she was crying. "Lucy? Thank god you picked up. Where are you?" Katherine asked her. "W-Who is this?" Lucy asked her, she didn't quite recognize the voice. "It's me your mom. Please, where are you?" Katherine asked her. "Ms. Mayfair? I...I don't know. I left my contacts there and I can't see anything." Lucy said to her. "I-I'm so sorry, it was a mistake coming here...I should just..." Lucy started, but her phone died. She had forgotten to charge it the night before. "Lucy? Lucy?!" Katherine said before throwing her phone in the passengers seat. Katherine tried to pay attention to what she had heard in the background. A slow rumble of a bus station in the background in the distance. She was close to the bus station.
Lucy continued to cry until she found herself at a bus station. At least she was pretty sure it was a bus station. She decided to buy a bus ticket to Las Vegas and stay with a cousin of hers and her family, her Aunt Lily hadn't told them a thing and she had already called ahead before her mother called. She boarded the bus with her things and sat there waiting patiently for it to leave and start driving to Vegas. It was going to be a long trip, Lucy reminded herself that she would have to block her mother's number when her phone was charged.
Katherine arrived at the bus station and looked around for Lucy. She saw that a bus was finishing loading up it's luggage and Katherine went to speak to the driver. "Hello, excuse me?" Katherine said as she looked at the driver. "How can I help you?" he asked her. "I'm looking for a young girl, she comes up to my shoulders, wavy red hair, one eye hazel and the other eye blue?" Katherine asked, hoping he had seen her. "Oh yeah her, she's on the bus. You can go look for her if you'd like." the bus driver said to her. "Thank you." she sighed a sigh of relief and boarded the bus. She looked around until she saw Lucy crying to herself. "Lucy! There you are!" she said as she ran over to Lucy.
Lucy looked up at the person speaking with her, but couldn't tell who it was. "Lucy I was so worried about you." Katherine hugged her. Lucy felt the familiarity of the hug and instantly knew who it was. "Ms. Mayfair?" she asked, wanting to make sure she got it right. "Yes it's me. Oh my god, you're eye. What happened?" she said to Lucy. "I walked into a light pole..." Lucy admitted. Katherine then pushed some hair out of her face to examine the eye and noticed that her hand was bleeding. "You're bleeding." she said as she reached into her purse and took out a handkerchief. Lucy had cut her palm pretty badly. "I was trying to feel my way around and accidentally cut my hand on some broken glass." she admitted.
Katherine took the handkerchief and wrapped it around Lucy's palm, tying it in a knot and applying pressure to stop the bleeding. "Lucy...let's go home okay?" Katherine said to her. "I...I can't..." Lucy told her as she looked away. "What do you mean you can't? Of course you can sweetie." Katherine smiled at her. "N-No...I don't belong there...I don't belong with you..." Lucy told her sadly. "Of course you do. Lucy, you belong home with me okay? And if this is about your father we can tell him you don't want to visit alright? Let's just go okay?" Katherine asked her. With Dylan she had pushed her away, she didn't want to do that with Lucy, she did not want to make the same mistakes that she did in her past. Lucy was supposed to be a fresh start.
"Are you sure you want me?" Lucy asked her tearfully. "Yes, I'm positive...come here." she said to Lucy as she pulled her into a hug. Lucy hugged her back and Katherine helped her up and helped with her things, leading her off the bus and to her vehicle. She put her things in the back and buckled Lucy in. Midna hopped into the back seat and laid down. Katherine shut the doors and drove them home.