"Ria, come in and take a seat." piped Christopher from behind the man. "We have lots to discuss"
At this point, my heart was racing. Was Chris trying to sell me off, give me away? He couldn't; not with the amount of papers strung out on the table.
Dammit, stop over-thinking!
"This man here is your distant relative." I stopped dead in my tracks. My blood ran cold and for a split second, my heart stopped. "That's impossible!"l exclaimed. From what I know, there was no other living relative that could take us in. Has Christopher lied to me since the day we moved into his house? "He's an imposter!"
"Calm down now Ria," he said soflty. "We have plenty to discuss. This here is your uncle. Your mother had a half-brother from your grandma's side. He moved away with his father when he was 17."
I was furious. Why hadn't mother told me? "If he's my uncle, why wasn't he at their funeral? Why is he only here now?" I questioned. This time it wasn't Chris who spoke, it was the man. "I lost contact with your parents since I moved to India while working with first aid. My name is Phil White, I have two kids and a wonderful wife. We moved back from India just 2 months ago. I wanted to meet with your mother and only then did I find out she passed away sadly. I'm sorry."
This was all very shocking and I could feel my throat dry up, the world spinning around quickly and sudden darkness. I heard muffled voices. The soft voice of a woman over all the others stood out the most. Ria....Ria....it is him....Ria.... It whispered until I opened my eyes sharply. The voices all stopped and I was blinded by the light.
"Oh thank goodness you're alright!" Phil sighed. He helped me up gently and I straightened out my shirt. "If you want I can come back another day."
No, I thought, don't come back at all. "Yeah, maybe another time." My heart was pounding and I was not going to hear another word of this bull.
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We bid our goodbyes and I ran up the stairs where my bed awaited. Pushing the door open I flopped onto the mattress of goodness where I prepared for my slumber. Just as I slid my top off I noticed someone out the window. I screamed as I tried to cover myself up. Running out into the hall I shouted for Christopher. There was an instant ruckus and angry mumbles coming from Briana's room. Clarisse stumbled out angrily rubbing her eyes. Her face was plastered in a lime green face mask and her hair was wrapped in a towel.
"What the hell do you want?" she spluttered. I didn't answer to her, instead I waited for Chris to arrive. Once he finished his ascent I explained to him what I saw in grave detail. He walked into the room, his night-robe flowing behind him like a cape, like a hero. "I don't see anything." he said after scanning the room. Clarisse poked her large nose between Christopher and I. "It's probably the drugs she's been hiding taking effect." she sneered. Chris payed no attention to her comment as he dismissed her. His gaze had not yet lifted from the window.
"Is he still there?" I piped up from behind. He shrugged and opened the window. Stepping out on the roof he searched around the corners of the roof. "Maybe you're just tired," he said as he stepped back in. "Drink water and go to sleep sweetie. I'll keep an eye out for any suspicious movement." With that he left the room. Suddenly overcome with paranoia, I pulled out my phone and started texting James, telling him how creepy it was. James was still offline and was most likely going to reply in the morning. Snuggling under the covers I tried to close my eyes. I felt uncomfortable, no matter how much I tossed and turned, I felt as though I was being watched. My eyelids became heavy and they started to fall...one sheep...two sheep...three sheep...stone...stone...stone...stone? Thinking I had gone insane, I bolted upright and watched as stones hit the window. I ran out onto the roof only to find Dylan sitting there with a bag of crisps and handful of pebbles crosslegged and wrapped in a Ben 10 blanket.
"What the hell is this Dylan?" I spat. He shrugged and signalled for me to sit beside him. I walked over and grabbed his ear, at which he stood up trying to shake off the pain. "Why are you stalking me, watching me through my windows, invading my privacy?" He quivered a little at the prominent anger in my voice. "I was just observing! Please let me go!" He flinched as soon as he broke loose of my grasp. "Listen to me Dylan O'Grady. I AM NOT SOME FREAK OF NATURE SO TAKE YOUR ABNORMALLY LARGE NOSE OUT OF MY BUSINESS! GET OUT NOW!!"
He ran without looking back once and now I felt as though I was a lion in a circus cage. I had burst out and roared at the thought of someone observing me. I didn't take Dylan O'Grady as being clingy and I didn't really consider us friends, but a part of me really wanted to get to know him.
Shutting the window I hopped into bed with a sense of annoyance. I closed my eyes and drifted into the world of puffy clouds called LaLa Land.
***
"I wanted to wear the pink dress!" whined the little brunette with two ponytails. She wore a blue frilly tutu dress and was rushed into the car and seated next to the giant car seat. "But the blue one is my favourite, sugarplum." This time it was a man who spoke softly, his voice was deep yet it was filled with happiness. The engine started and they swerved out of the massive driveway. They were on the highway within minutes and they arrived at the bridge. Suddenly, there were no other cars around and the sky went from bright blue to dark grey. Ria stood in front of the car as it slowed down to an impossible rate. The world itself was in slow motion as she pushed the car back with all her might. She caught a glimpse of her father's eyes just as he skidded off the edge of the bridge, pushing Ria down with them. The fall seemed endless as she waited to hit the water. It filled her lungs and choked her slowly. She pushed herself to the car and tried to open the doors, but they were all locked. Her mother's body floated lifeless surrounded by blood. Her father spun around and unbuckled the two children he reached to get the handle and pushed the door open with all his might. He gently lifted them until they reached the top. When he tried to swim his way up, he figured his leg was stuck. He struggled to get it out and was drifting away. "DAD! MOM! DAD!" She screamed.
"DAAAD! MOOOM!" A dribble of sweat trickled down the side of my face, my pyjamas were glued to my body. I was gasping for air without realising until reality hit me. It was just a dream. I ran into the shower and spent a good 40 minutes sitting in the pouring water. The image of my dad's piercing eyes and my mom's lifeless body kept flashing through my mind when I decided I couldn't stay here forever. Changing into a fresh pair of dungarees I pulled my hair into a ponytail and grabbed my keys and jacket. I drove all the way to the hospital carefully with the radio on lyrical music to calm down my burst of emotion, although Requiem For A Dream was not much consolation. Parking in a spot closer to the front door, I stepped out and walked casually into the lobby. It was 5 a.m. but I wasn't going to wake Finn, just sleep in the same room. His mere presence was so peaceful and calm that all my nightmares and fears disappeared around him. I walked up to the desk but there was someone in front of me. A familiar soft voice spoke so quietly it was more of a whisper. "Thank you." The man spun round and almost bumped into her.
"Ria?"
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Thanks for reading this chapter! I've suffered an insufferable mind block of that makes sense in some strange way.
Disclosure- Help Me Lose My Mind
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