Keditha's Destiny

Chapter Twenty Two

I grip my mom's hand tighter as we walk down the neighborhood sidewalk. "Mama? Why is everyone staring at us?" I ask her.

"They are just curious. We are new to town, you shouldn't worry."

I nudge closer to my mom, still feeling uneasy. It's not like they were staring at us, trying to figure us out. More like they were glaring at us.

Me and my mom climb up the steps of our house. A next door neighbor was sitting on the porch waiting for us.

"Lotte! It's so good to see you." The neighbor says cheerfully.

My mom gives her a polite smile but I could tell she wasn't happy she was here. "Hello Ruth."

"I see you're spending time with your son...What's his name? Jason?" Ruth tilts her head, smiling.

"It's Julian." Mom says as she lifts me into her arms.

"Julian, what a lovely name. How old is he now? He looks so big!"

My mom forces a smile. A smile she would always use on me whenever I disobeyed her. "He's six."

Ruth nods, her smile slowly fading. "Listen Lotte, I don't want to butt in..."

"Really? What's stopping you now?" My mother asks.

Ruth laughs, looking uncomfortable. "The people have heard some things about your life back in Germany. Now I don't want say anything offensive, I just want to know the truth, to help  calm people's nerves."

My mom frowns. "We left that life when we left Germany. My husband and I wanted to provide a better life for our son." She tells Ruth shortly.

Ruth smiles at me. "I'm sure you did. But just remember, accidents happen. Be sure to keep a eye on him, okay?"

I could feel my mother tense up with that statement. "Oh! It looks like your husband is home, I guess that's my que to leave. Have a nice day!" Ruth steps off the porch, waving to my dad as she passes him.

"Good evening dear." Father says, planting a kiss on my mother's cheek. "Julian." He ruffles my hair. "Did Ruth need anything?"

My mom shakes her head. "Nope, just came to say hi and talk." Mom places me back on my feet. "I need to go make supper, I'll talk to you about it later." She forces a smile before entering the  house.

It's been weeks since my parents grabbed me and tied me up in this room. They've put a piece of tape over my mouth because I apparently talked too much and they couldn't keep drugging me.

I've given up hope that anyone was looking for me. Too much time has passed and I told them not to anyway.

As the days dragged on, my parents manner towards me started to get more and more aggressive. I think they started to realize I wasn't going to change for them.

"Oh good, you're awake." My father says. "Ready to cooperate?" He asks. I only glare at him. It's not like I could say anything anyways. "Come on, Julian. We're only here to help." He pats my wounded shoulder, prompting me to wince.

I shake my head. "Well, we can fix that." He says, grabbing his drug kit. "You're getting on my nerves Julian. I might have to use the hallucinogenic drugs on you." My father grabs a needle, teasingly running it up and own my arm. "I don't want to do that."

My father studies my face, narrowing his eyes. He returns to his kit, grabbing a different needle. "I'll just give you something light this time." He tells me.

Muffled noises come from me as he grabs my arm. "Shush Julian, it'll be fine." My father tells me.

Tears unexpectedly fall from my eyes. I inhale sharply as a stinging pain touches my cheek from my father hitting me. "I'm not having my son growing up to be a crybaby."

I let out a muffled cry when he stabs my arm and pushes the drugs in. "Whenever you're ready to cooperate, I'll give you the antidote. Or you can let it run it's course for around eight hours." He tells me.

My vision starts to blur. I shake my head in an attempt to recover it. "Are you feeling the effects already?" My father asks. He ruffles my hair, causing me to flinch back. "I'll leave you alone then." He exits the room.

I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to block out the pain that started in my arm and moved to my whole body.

"Julian?" A voice questions.

I look up, stiffening at who was standing in front of my. "Louis, what are you doing here?"

He shrugs, glancing around the room. "Nice place." He mutters.

I narrow my eyes. He wasn't bleeding and beaten up like in my dream. He was just...Louis. "You're not real. This is a hallucination." I tell him.

"Maybe. Maybe not." Louis watches me, slowly smiling. "What's wrong July?"

"It hurts. Why would they do this?" I lean my head, trying to breath through the pain.

"They love you." Louis tells me.

"How can they love me? They drugged me, tortured me. They even beat me." I try to resist the urge to burst into tears. They're my parents, they're supposed to love and care for me. Not this.

Louis brow furrows as he crouches to meet me at eye level. "Love is pain Julian. You of all people would know that by now."

Louis stands up, walking behind me. He pats my shoulder as he passes. "How can you be on their side, after what they did to you?" I ask him.

I hear Louis sigh. "It's all in the past now." He places his hand back on my shoulder, leaning forward. "Just be lucky they didn't give you the strong stuff. That stuff will mess you up." Louis laughs which was an unsettling sound. "I should know."

I shake my head. "Louis, please just go away."

Louis clicks his tongue. "You don't want that Julian. You mourned my death for weeks. You're still broken, aren't you?"

"You don't know me. This isn't you." I say.

Louis walks back into my view. He leans against the wall, staring me down. "What do you want from me Julian? You want me to say something motivational? You want me to tell you you're going to get through this? That you're going to be fine?" He asks me. I don't reply, I just stare down at my feet. "You can deny it, but it's me and I know you better than anyone. Better than Kenny or Donnie."

"Louis, leave me alone." I say quietly.

He sighs. "Fine, you should get some anyway." He says and it was followed by dead silence

I glance up. Louis was gone, and I strangely felt sad. It may have not been Louis but I still missed him more than anything.