When I woke up, I was immediately alarmed. I was in a pink bedroom, laying on a fairytale princess bed spread. I looked around me, my terror increasing when I realized that my sword was missing and that this was not where I had fallen asleep. I closed my eyes and pressed them with my fists, trying to remember what happened the night before.
I remember fighting Steve and walking away. I had been walking for a few hours when I saw a small town. First rule of survival was shelter, so I walked down the streets, looking for a hotel, when I saw a small cottage like house with low fences and a tree house in the backyard. I carefully walked closer to the house, checking for dogs, and hopped the fence when I didn't find any.
The yard was pretty. There were white rose bushes and a fountain in the center of the yard. Quickly and quietly, I made my way to the tree house and tossed up my sword before slowly climbing the ladder where I collapsed in the middle of the floor.
My eyes snapped open when I heard the click of a door knob. I watched a little girl who couldn't be more than four in a white nightgown came in, proudly carrying a tray with Sunny D, pop tarts, and pancakes. I stared as she came and walked over to the bed. She stood on a stool that had been placed to it and set the tray on my lap. She beamed at me.
"I made you breakfast! Daddy said you would probably be up by now, so me and Momma made it for you!" she said excitedly. I relaxed and smiled at the little girl. She had curly, blonde hair and dimples and happiness and innocence was evident in her bright green eyes…eyes that reminded me of where I need to be.
I noticed her smile falling and she pouted. "You don't like it?" she whimpered. I flushed and shook my head. "Oh, no! It looks delicious. MM!" I said as I took a bite of the pancake. She giggled and clapped her hands together. I smiled. "You know, I'm not all too hungry, want to help me eat this?" I asked, waving the bag of pop tarts in front of her she grinned and nodded, carefully climbing onto the bed. I opened the package and gave her one of the pop tarts.
I was halfway done with m y Sunny D when the little girl finally asked, "Are you a murderer?" I choked on my Sunny D, gagging as the liquid stung while it dripped down my air pipe. "Lilly! What did we tell you?" a male voice asked I looked up and saw a man wearing plaid pajama pants and a white t shirt leaning in the doorway. The little girl frowned and looked down guiltily. "Not to judge a book by its cover." She recited. The man, who I found rather familiar, nodded. "Now what do we say?" he said, raising an eyebrow at her. She looked at me. "I'm sorry miss."
I smiled. "It's okay." I looked around dramatically in a conspiratorial way. "And between you and me…" I began. She leaned in earnestly. I grinned. "I'm a warrior princess." I said with a wink. She giggled. "Lilly, your mother was calling you. It's time to get bathed." The man said, sipping his coffee. The little girl pouted and nodded. She waved at me. I waved back.
The man walked into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. "I'm sorry about that. She was the one that found you this morning when looking for her kitten." He stared at me for a few moments. "She found you all bruised up with shredded and blood stained clothes. She almost cut herself with that sword of yours, thought it was a toy." He said, sipping his coffee. My eyes widened. "I am so sorry. I was looking for a place to stay for the night and I saw the tree house and thought it'd be okay, I was only going to sleep for maybe an hour or so before moving on…" I said hastily. He raised a brow.
"And the bruises and blood?" he asked me. I realized then that he wasn't talking to me like I was a kid. He was talking to me like…like an old friend. That's when it hit me. I gasped. "Tommy?" I cried. He nodded and put his coffee down. "So it is you. I saw you and I was shocked. It was you but, well there's no way. You look seventeen, I thought maybe you had a kid but, even then the years wouldn't match up." I nodded. "Yeah…well, it's me." I said uneasily.
"So what happened? Why'd you leave? We tried to get Steve to tell us, but he wouldn't say anything. He got mad and started saying all this weird stuff about you and Darren running off together and that he wasn't dead." He explained. I bit my lip. Tommy's eyes widened.
"You've got to be kidding me…" He whispered. I looked down, trying to think of a lie. "Here's the thing…Darren and I…we contracted a disease that makes us age slowly, which would make us live longer. It was extremely contagious so we did what we had to. He faked his death and we left." I lied, sticking as close to the truth as I could.
He nodded slowly. "Oh…I see." He had a sudden look of alarm. "Oh my god, is it still contagious? Lilly…" he trailed off, fear in his eyes. I shook my head. "No, we found a natural remedy that keeps it from being contagious." I lied again. He sighed in relief. "Okay, so where's Darren?" My heart clenched. "We got split up." I said quietly, looked at my hands and the pink scar on my palm. Tommy followed my eyes.
"Vanessa…what happened to you? When my wife was getting you into clean clothes she noticed…things." He finished lamely, but I knew what he was talking about. The multiple bruises, cuts, scars, and even a few burn marks that were hidden beneath my clothes. I looked down. I couldn't tell him, it might put him in danger…
He laid a hand on mine. "Vanessa, Darren…Darren doesn't abuse you does he? Because you're welcome to stay here if you need protection." He said sternly. I stared at him. "Do you really think Darren would do that?" I gasped. Tommy shook his head. "No, but he's the only person that I know you've been in contact with." He said. I nodded. "Well, no, it wasn't Darren…" I absentmindedly played with the thin silver ring on my thumb. Tommy, who recognized it, gasped.
I looked at him. "Tommy—" I began, but then a woman came to the bedroom door, who I assumed was Tommy's wife. Lilly was a spitting image of her. "Tommy, someone's here to talk to you…" she said uneasily. He looked at her. "Can you tell them to come back later? This is Vanessa's kid." He said, nodding his head to me. She shook her head. "He said that it's important that he speaks with you now…" she trailed off. Tommy sighed. Who is it, Laura?" he asked warily. She hesitated and swallowed the lump in her throat.
"It's Steve."