Hudson Jace...
"Are you okay?" Howard asked his daughter for the second time. And for the second time, he received no answer.
His worried gaze remained on her face, studying. It was the first time in a while that he's seen her like this.
The last time was years ago.
And he was worried that something happened today to make her like this. That someone had confronted her, talked to her about what happened. That she saw him.
"Heaven?" he asked in a low voice, setting down his utensil as he called for her.
To the sound of the metal hitting the glass plate, Heaven raised her head. Confused. Surprised.
Awake from her daze.
"Is everything okay, sweetheart?" he asked again, hoping for an answer this time.
Heaven blinked a few times before slowly nodding her head, clearing the thoughts from her mind as she stared at the untouched food on her plate.
Suddenly, she wasn't so hungry anymore.
Quickly, Heaven stood up,plate in hand. Making an excuse on how she wasn't feeling well, Howard followed her with his eyes as she stepped to the kitchen, eyes unfocused.
His worry for his daughter worsened as she continued to move in a daze. Her hands were working on her leftover food, placing it in the fridge for tomorrow and washing their plates, all the while silent.
He didn't know what happened, or what she's thinking of. He just wanted to make sure she's alright.
"Good night, pa." she whispered, leaning down for a kiss as the noise from the television sounded in the living room. She made an excuse of just being tired from the day and wanting to hit the hay early. "Don't stay up too late."
Howard knew that she was just avoiding his questions, but he made no attempt to confront her.
His daughter has always been this way. Keeping to herself, her feelings along with her secrets.
Even if he wanted to dig deeper, to know more, he respected her boundaries. Respected her decision. He knew that even after everything that may happen, he will always be with her.
Always be on her side.
They only have each other now.
In her room, Heaven heaved a sigh. She didn't know how many times she did that today.
She couldn't forget the face that greeted her when she looked at the boy. So identical, so familiar.
She didn't know that a resemblance of him would still haunt her, scare her to her core.
She felt herself tremble once their eyes met, the same hue of dark brown that he has. His young, innocent eyes that gazed at her curiously. The hair color was different, but one glance at the boy and she knew who he was.
Who his father was.
The boy was confused by her shocked state, and after a few seconds, he left her standing there, looking back curiously, still seeing Heaven wide-eyed, hands trembling.
One last glance from him and he left, completely disappearing from her sight.
A few more seconds after that and Heaven blinked, holding her hands together in an attempt to calm herself down.
Truthfully, after all this years, he still had that effect on her.
Still had her in his clutches. Still had chains around her ankles dragging her back. Trapped.
