The Misguided

Unknown Enemies

Chapter 8- Unknown Enemies

Lilian extended her hand to press the marble doorbell, but she couldn't. It's been four years since she last spoke to her parents after shunning them to pursue a romantic relationship with Daniel. However, they explicitly told her not to. Her aunt in Birmingham said there was no room for Lilian in her home, and now she's here- in the one place that preyed on her downfall.

She took a deep breath to relax her trembling arms. After ringing the bell twice, her mom, Susan, walked out of the house on crutches. Despite her physical imparities, she had graceful features: blonde hair, blue eyes and high cheekbones, delicate for her age. However, she did get noticeably thinner since Lilian last saw her, shattering her a bit.

"Who do we have here today?" She pushed up her glasses and gazed up at Lilian's face as she handed her a bouquet of lilies and a box of her favourite chocolates skittishly.

"Hey, Mom, long time no see. I, I missed you."

"Lilian !" Susan's eyes widened, followed by arrogant coughs, " How dare you show up at my house after years of no contact!" reaching over to shut the door.

"Mom, I am so sorry." Lilian broke down. "You were right all along; things aren't going so well with Daniel."

Lilian noticed a stream of tears coming out of Susan's eye, almost as if an ocean well. Susan walked towards her and gave her a tight hug, her rough hands combed through her back.

"Oh baby, you know we are always here for you," she took Lilian's suitcase, "Come on in, stay for as long as you need."

Lilian followed Susan inside as the familiar herbal scent pierced through her nose- awakening her tamed childhood. It's the same as it has always been: her father is asleep on the couch while firmly holding onto a piece of newspaper, hands seemingly rocking back and forth, aligning the rhythm of his breath. The barks of Kudos echo, his fur scintillating of gold under the morning sun while leaping towards Lilian to greet her by licking her legs.

"Hey, Kudos, you are a big boy now!" Lilian crouched down and ran her fingers through his fur, a sorrowful howl as he cuddled closer to her chest. She had forgotten how much she missed this, the simpler times, the flagrantly brewed black tea and vanilla-scented biscuits gracing her senses as Susan approached her. The small tray never failed to evaporate her agitation like clouds on a sunny day. Lilian grabbed a small biscuit and a cup of tea in her other hand as a persistent vibration steeped through her jean pocket. She slowly placed the teacup on the table, turning off her phone, irritated, assuming it was her husband wondering about her whereabouts.

"Mom. I'm going to take a nap; how about we talk for a bit later?"

"Of course, honey. We have so much catching up to do."

Lilian opened the door to her bedroom to find a tidied bed, blankets folded with extra pillows stacked along the headboard, and fresh tulips blooming on the window stand as if they had been longing for her return home. She laid down on the smooth sheets and took out the letter from her left pocket, and fiddled with it as the voices became increasingly more assertive:

Kill your husband, kill your husband. Kill your husband, the no-good, lying detritus. Chanting like a melody, her eyelids slid, touching the opposite end as her mind began to dissipate into nothingness.

Lilian woke up, rubbing her eyes while stretching her appendage and relaxing after a yawn, cuddling with the sheets for a moment. She has yet to sleep so well since She and Daniel were first married. The nurturing of the home heals, and that's true. Lilian descended from her bed and got lost through her enchanted gaze of the window to see Susan sitting in the grass field rummaging through magazine pages- her tiny physique submerged into the tall willow grass. Lilian has gotten how much she missed this tranquil lifestyle, turning on her phone to play classical music while she gets some work done, but to find out she had five missed calls from Camila, none from Daniel.

"Hey, Cam. Is everything okay?"

"You finally answered! And yes, I'm fine. But I forgot to mention this earlier," She paused," Juan recently installed a security camera facing our front porch, and I saw some weird footage of this man sneaking what seemed like a rope and gun into Daniel's bag when he left his car unattended."

"What are you talking about? Who was it?" Lilian froze in disbelief.

"I don't know; black garments shielded him. But I sent you the footage. Could you recognize him?

She was right. It was at night; the neon static coated the screen, blurring the scene alongside the distorted audio. Daniel parked his car on the street parallel to the garage and went inside with his car door open, backpack still on the passenger seat. A lanky man abruptly emerged towards his car from a bush towards the east of their house, with a hooded shirt and a duffel bag hung across his shoulder, rummaging through his bag to pick out a few items, including a gun, duct tape and ropes- the same ones she saw in Daniel's bag. The camera was placed at a perfect angle to capture the whole scene.

Lilian squinted at the screen up close; his features were blurred with an all-black outfit alongside a scarf winded around his neck, only showing his eyes- except the familiar emerald green bracket caught her attention. She's seen it before. She doesn't know where or who; her Tricyclic medication has been prying on her memories. In a split second, he slipped the items into the backpack's front pocket and bolted down the street, making a turn at the intersection. Daniel walked out momentarily, picked up his tempered bag, and headed back inside.

Someone's trying to frame her husband for some sort of crime.

But why?

"Cam, I'm heading back tomorrow," Lilian shouted at the phone, realizing Camila had already hung up. She had initially planned to stay until the end of the week but decided to head back early to get down to the truth- once and for all. She stared into the phone camera and wiped the smudged mascara off her face with a lingering smile.