I slowly open my eyes. The room is unfamiliar at first. A sheet covers me. I'm alone. Yesterday comes rushing back. I bolt upright, gasping for air.
"It's okay Sam, it's okay." Alexis is there. "Breathe."
She sits calmly in the chair I rocked in the night before. I bury my face in a pillow.
"You need to eat something. When is the last time you ate?"
"The last time I ate?" I can barely comprehend her question. "Who cares?"
"I care." She pulls the pillow away. "You've been crying."
"Where are the girls?" I stall.
"Ric...he picked them up a few hours ago."
"What...what time is it?"
"About 2:30."
"You're still in your robe."
"You're still in your jeans." Alexis brushes my hair away from my eyes. "I have something to show you, after you eat."
"I'm not hungry."
"Now who's lying?" She asks simply.
I bow my head, my cheeks burning with shame. "I'm sorry." I choke, "but I can't eat right now."
"Okay." She stands, I'm afraid she'll leave, but instead she brings me a box. "This" she sits down next to me and lifts a small tuft of hair. "This is Molly's. She was just about 3 weeks old. Can you believe it? Her hair is a completely different color now. This is Kristina's." She shows me a single brunette curl tied in a pink ribbon. "And this" she smiles at the black hair tied neatly in yellow, "is yours.
"For 26 years it was all I had of you. I never knew if your hair grew lighter or darker, if you wore it long or short..."
"Alexis?" I put my hand over hers, close the box slowly.
"Yes Sam."
"Was it Stavros...who raped you?"
She stares intently at the memento held gently in her hands. Carefully she says. "Yes. Almost nightly until I was sent away to school."
"But you returned during holidays?"
"Usually."
"And Stavros?"
"Was always waiting."
"Was he my father?" I whisper.
"I...I'm afraid he must be...I always hoped ...it wasn't true."
"Could it have been someone else?"
She looks at me finally. "I've told you before Sam. I don't know. I can't remember that summer. Or more precisely, I can't remember that August."