Celestial Worlds

Chapter Thirteen

"Victoria? Victoria, did you hear me, honey?"

    I snap out of my reverie. I was thinking about how I would compress finding a warrior, dealing with Jonathan, and finding more about my family in one-hundred and forty days. I've been here on Earth in exactly two weeks and it's already a mess. Things are a mess with Jonathan and I've just missed a weekend at Brown Oaks, where I was supposed to find out more about my parents. I turn my attention back to Debby. "I'm sorry, can you please repeat?"

    "I said," She said in a tone that makes me feel like a five year old rather than sixteen. "Were you guys fine when I was gone?"

    I hope she couldn't see me flush. I find myself stuttering.

    "I, uh, w-we-of course we were. Everything was fine and we ate mostly pizza." I also add, as an afterthought, "only during dinner." Then I smile like nothing really happened and we were fine. We were perfect. But, what she didn't know, behind those set of teeth, behind that erratic smile, the secrets are caged. They are jailed and kept there. Flailing around and desperate to get out, desperate to unravel themselves.

    And I think they're safe there. I prefer to live among the lies rather than deal with the pain of the truth.

    Then Debby says, without a blink, without suspicion, "I'm glad to hear."

I discover that Jonathan isn't here because he had to cope up with his weekend work. He forgot that he was supposed to be working in the weekend at Brown Oaks, he totally forgot. Debby told me he was going to be gone for two days.

    Two days.

"Debby, can I use our laptop?"

    "Hmm? Oh! Sure honey, it's in the kitchen table. Password's JCRA."

    I couldn't help but asking so, "JCRA?"

    She gave a little giggle and said, "Jonathan Carl Raymond Anderson."

    Oh, there goes his name again I gave a fake smile and said, "How cute." But not unkindly.

    I found her laptop on top of the kitchen counter with a red jelly case on it. It had these kind of stickers that are stars and constellations and...dandelions. I sit down one of the island counters and propped open the laptop. First, a square image of Debby, looking young and beautiful as usual, popped up. Then a small rectangular bar underneath the picture where I assume you put the password appeared. I enter his initials warily. Pressing my fingers against the keyboard so lightly, letting my fingers run along the keyboard letter to letter. I press enter and the laptop loads, revealing a wallpaper where Debby's in her bathing suit and Jonathan's shirtless, looking same. There's a date in the far right corner and it indicates 02/14/22. Two years ago. Valentine's day. So this is what sixteen year old Jonathan looks like, he looks young, with stubble growing around in his cheeks but he looks dashing as ever. He has that effect on me, when he pops up, when he's in sight, my heart missing a beat, and my breath catching. He could've been mistaken as perfect if Angels didn't exist.

    I click Google which I see Jonathan clicks when he's searching for new movies and stuff. I click the search box and type: Valencia Royce and Adam Tennessee. A bunch of suggestions popped up before I finish that statement and I click on one. The moment I click on it, the page filled up with blue letters indicating a name, my parents' name. Every time I look at the screen, a link demands to be presses, temping me to move my cursor towards it as if by gravitational force. I click on the very first link I see.

    Adam Tennessee and Valencia Royce: Murder Conspiracy, then underneath, in little descriptions: Investigation on Royce family in Brown Oaks plantation... then it ends. The link redirects me to a new page, a crumbly banner that attempts to look like a newspaper flashes: World News

    I see descriptions so I start to read.

Adam Tennessee, Murderer of Daughter Victoria Marie Royce:

Owner of Brown Oaks plantation, Adam Tennessee, found unconscious in his house with verified daughter, dead, beside him. The said man was tested for DNA of found girl and was verified, later discovering that Adam Tennessee, girl's father, murdered her. Adam Tennessee was found intoxicated with alcohol and found packets of cocaine. Wife, Valencia Royce was found weeks later, claiming to have attempted suicide. She was confined and was later dead because of severe cancer. Victoria Marie Royce was then buried at St. Gabriel Memorial Park in Florida. Brown Oaks plantation was later in sale and was bought by new comers, Amanda Reed and James Patterson.

    I close the laptop abruptly, and then I opened it again, entered the password and clicked another link. It was the same; every single link I click has the same conclusion, that I, Victoria Royce, was murdered by her own father. I went back to the home page and this time, I enter my name: Victoria Marie Royce. The first link was Wikipedia. I clicked on that link and saw when I was born, 22nd of February 1843, died at the age of 12, murdered.

    That word leaves a sick taste in my mouth.

    I exit the page and clear my history, putting the laptop back in place on the counter. I walked outside the kitchen going upstairs, stopping to tell Debby goodnight. I grabbed my book that...Jonathan bought me. That's when I realize it, that he's everywhere. In this house. And no matter how hard I try, no matter how hard I try to forget, to understand, to forgive, he'll always be there. It's decided. I'm going to go to Brown Oaks tomorrow. I'm going to deal with Jonathan.

    And my family.