A Game of Cat and Mouse

T H I R T Y S I X

When Annie awoke the next morning, she knew she had lost something. There was a hole in her heart the size of a crater—like an asteroid had crashed into her soul and now she was forced to pick up the pieces while wondering what had happened.

She remembered Perkins... Oh, poor Perkins. Lying there in his bed as if he were asleep. She supposed Elio was right. He was in a better place.

Elio.

Her heart stuttered at the name. Annie shot awake and attempted to sit up only to be pushed back by a strong, familiar hand.

"Daddy?"

"Shh, princess," he whispered gently. Annie opened her eyes to see her father's calm smile looking down at her. Her father's smile was one of her favorite sights in the world. Rare and yet beautiful. Small and yet so large to her. "Go back to sleep."

Annie couldn't go back to sleep—not when it was morning and she was certain Elio was here last night, comforting her. Where was he? Was he in the guest room? Was he somewhere with James?

"Daddy, last night—"

"I know. I'm so sorry to hear about your kitty. He was certainly a good pet." Her father stroked her hand with her thumb but Annie furrowed her eyebrows. Her father was always amazing to her and James but even this felt like overkill.

"No, Daddy," she said slowly, trying to feel out what was going on. "Where's Elio?"

"Elio?" His voice was questioning and confused but his eyes told the truth.

"He was here last night. I know you met him."

"I'm not sure what you're—"

"Don't lie to me!" she yelled but to her surprise, her voice had an odd, transcendental echo to it. Even Tom looked taken aback at the force.

His face turned colder. Annie was almost relieved at the sight of it. This was the father she knew, the father she loved. The one who, like his son, had trouble showing emotions through his face and instead showed it through his steadfast presence and actions. "The boy is gone."

Annie gasped. Her hand flew up to her mouth as tears filled her eyes. "Daddy, no—"

"He's not dead," Tom said softly, squeezing her hand tightly before adding, "Unfortunately."

"Then where is he? I want to see him. I need to—"

"The boy is gone, Annalise. He won't be returning."

"He wouldn't do that. He wouldn't just leave." This was something Annie knew with absolute certainty. For ten months, Elio had proven that he would be there for her always. And always doesn't just end.

"Well, he did, princess—"

"You lie!" There was that voice again. Both in her head, whispering to her of her father's deception, and through her voice. Annie wondered if, finally, with her confidence—confidence that Elio had given her—her powers were here. Perhaps the true strength had always been within her. Perhaps she was only weak because she kept herself that way.

Tom's jaw clenched, though his grip on her hand and his tone still remained the same gentle, cold one he always used with the family. "Fine. It seems that this conversation cannot go as I had hoped. The boy is gone, Annalise, because I made it that way. He will not be returning and you will not be seeing him again."

At that moment, Annie felt her heart shatter into a million little glass shards. She watched as her hopes and dreams collapsed amongst the rubble. Visions of her and Elio at Riddle family dinners faded away like forgotten memories. The life she had wished for—a life where she could have both of them—was gone.