Yours to Hold

Prologue - Lillith

~10 years ago~

"Mommy...? Mommy, where are we going?" I called out from the backseat of my mother's vehicle, watching the trees fly past the window on my right-hand side of the seat.

"Mommy is going on a vacation, Lillith. You're staying with a friend of mine for a while." Her soft, soothing voice replied, hands gripped tight on the steering wheel, eyes darting to the rearview mirror to gaze at me then back at the road ahead of her.

"Why are you going on a vacation, mommy? Are you tired?" I asked in a worried tone, my tiny eyes gazing up at the back of her seat.

"Yes, Lillith. Mommy just needs a break from work. Nothing to worry about." she told me, this time in a stern tone.

I had decided to keep quiet after that. I could sense that my constant questioning was irritating her, so I said nothing for the past hour so she could concentrate on the road. Several months had passed since my father left. My mother told me at the time that he was going on vacation; that he will be back soon. The word 'vacation', I thought, meant that he was never coming back. The realization clicked when I played back the words my mother told me in the car. "I'm going on vacation."

I could sense the fear developing in my childlike form, realizing that something bad was going to happen. I could feel the car come to a slow stop as we parked in the driveway of Officer Cain's two story house. It had a peaceful looking porch outside the front door, giving its visitors of sense of welcome.

Hearing my mother grab the suitcases from the trunk behind me, she slammed the door closed, opening the door beside me and helped me unbuckle from my car seat. "Get inside." she told me simply, while I easily obeyed.

After we got inside, Officer Cain strided smoothly towards us, blonde hair messy and forming whiskers on his chin and face. I could hear them talking after that, not really understanding what they were talking about. I heard yelling then, then watched as my mother storm off to the door.

"Mommy wait!" I cried, clinging to her back. "Don't go! I don't want to stay here! I want to be with you!"

"Lillith... Let go." she snapped, catching me by surprise.

"M-Mommy...?"

"Listen very carefully, Lillith. I'm leaving you here with Mr. Cain. I'm not coming back for a long time." she said.

I could feel my eyes water at her words. What was she saying...?

"Don't you... want me?" I asked what came to mind, yet I was afraid of the answer.

"No." Was all she said, yanking away from me and slammed the door, leaving me speechless and frozen as the tears rolled down my cheeks. I heard the car wheels squealing after that, and knew right away, that she had abandoned me.