Have Faith in Me (Ianthony)

Chapter 19: This is Unreal!

Excuse the cheesiness of this chapter. I initially didn't intend that and it's totally not my style but I was feeling very emotional whilst writing it. Please see the end of the chapter for the winner of the contest!

"No, it's fine, Audri. Just...Just go get a towel. It'll be okay, I promise."

"O-okay, Daddy."

Anthony put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "What happened this time?"

Ian sighed, bending down and picking up the pieces of glass on their tiled floor. "It's nothing...Audrina and I were playing tag and she knocked this vase over. It's broken, but we can fix it."

Having picked up all of the glass and flowers, Ian stood up and tossed the glass into the trash can beside a counter in the kitchen. He placed the flowers on the counter. Looking up, he noticed Audrina running back, her light blue dress flying around her as she sprinted. "I'm sorry!" she huffed, settling the white bathroom towel over the spilled water.

"It's okay," Anthony said quietly, kneeling down beside her.

Audrina jumped into his arms and he hugged her close to him, standing up and walking over to where Ian stood.

"He's right," Ian replied, pressing a kiss onto Audrina's forehead. "We can always get a new vase. That one only costed a dollar, sweetheart. Your papa is frugal." He gave Anthony a playful look.

She giggled. "What's frugal?"

Ian shook his head, tickling his daughter. He opened his mouth to reply, but out of nowhere, there was a gust of strong wind and Audrina gripped onto him tightly. Before he could even fathom what was happening, the front door to their house swung open and in stepped Kara.

Except...it wasn't Kara.

Her hair was long, wild and flying madly in the wind. She stepped inside and instantly, the floor started to shake. Audrina cried out and as much as Ian tried to hold her and keep them both steady, he lost his balance and they both plummeted to the floor beneath them. To his relief, he saw Anthony, concerned, lean down and pick Audrina up. But to his horror, Anthony, as if in a trance, marched right over to Kara and handed their daughter to her. As much as he tried to scream and stand up, he was completely paralyzed to his spot on the floor.

Kara raised the little girl over her head and cackled manically as Anthony only stood in the middle of the living room, completely stoic and staring at her. Audrina was completely blank, as well, save for the desperate pleading in her eyes.

With one last laugh, Kara was gone and so was Audrina.

Ian started awake, breathing heavily and sweating profusely. "It was a dream," he said out loud, "just..a dream."

Heart hammering in his chest, he threw his legs off of the bed and shakily placed his feet on the ground. Like a sleepwalker, he ambled off to the bathroom and turned on the faucet. He collected a small amount of cold water into cupped palms and splashed it onto his face. After taking one of the white hand towels from the rack, he studied his reflection in the mirror. He absolutely despised what he saw.

His blue eyes were red and bloodshot from lack of sleep and constant crying. His face was pale and he was startled to see that his cheekbones were obnoxiously more prominent, probably due to the fact that he'd lost a good amount of weight quickly. With the constant worry for Audrina, he oftentimes forgot to eat. Other times, he simply didn't feel like it. His hair was growing insanely long and his beard was messy, thick, and unkempt. The loss of Audrina and Anthony had taken a toll on him greater than anything than he'd ever experienced.