Running the Line of Death

Chapter 8

    Ashton woke up in a cold sweat, hands clammy, and his whole body uncontrollably shaking He could barely wrap his head around what just happened. Was it a nightmare or was it reality? Even then, if it was reality, it was still a horrible nightmare. Though it answered many of his questions, Ashton still needed reassurance. This required some peeking around. Glancing over at the clock that read 5:32 A.M., Ashton was well aware he wasn’t getting any more sleep. Lucifer was still holding on to Ashton, but not as tightly; and Ashton managed to slip out. He stretched and rubbed his eyes before heading to the kitchen.

    Ashton froze in front of the bathroom and master bedroom. Not fully awake, yet still curious, Ashton entered the bathroom to investigate. He searched the medicine cabinet for any hints of medication from his dream; nothing. Giving up for now, Ashton went to go eat breakfast. Maybe last night was just a dream. While eating breakfast, Ashton heard Mr. Kacilee, get up for work and head to the kitchen.

    “Hey dad.”, Ashton greeted him.

    “Hey son.”, Mr. Kacilee spoke groggily while preparing a pot of coffee.

    “Could I ask you something?”

    “Of course son, you can ask me anything.”

    “Do you know a girl named Willow?...” Mr. Kacilee fell silent. Ashton continued, “Was she your daughter?...”

    Mr. Kacilee couldn’t speak clearly; couldn’t think clearly. It took some time, but Mr. Kacilee managed to utter a few words. “I－ I need to go to work now. I’ll be home later; have a good day.”, and with that, he walked away.

    Aston was bewildered; did that actually confirm his dreams? Aside the surety behind the situation, Ashton still needed more answers. He tried rushing to finish breakfast so he could investigate before Lucifer awoke, but he wasn’t quick enough. Lucifer woke up  and headed down the hallway to greet Ashton.

    “Good morning Baby!”

    Ashton sighed, “Good morning.” To Ashton, something didn’t seem right with Lucifer.

    Lucifer kissed Ashton’s cheek. “How’s my honey doing this morning; sleep well love?” , he said as he made himself a bowl of cereal for breakfast.

    Ashton groaned a little. “Not really, I’m exhausted. How about you?”

    “Great!”

    “That’s good.” Lucifer sat down and began eating with Ashton.

    “So what’s our plans for today?”, he asked.

    “Our? I don’t know, honestly I was thinking exploring my attic. See what I can find.”

    “That sounds boring, but okay;”, Lucifer said exaggeratedly, “but only because it’s with you.”

    Ashton smiled and held back a fanboy scream. He found what Lucifer said, to be sweet. “Okay.”

    The two continued on, eating in silence. Lucifer reached for Ashton’s hand but Ashton pulled away. He was still uncomfortable to get any closer to Lucifer. When they were finished eating Ashton walked to his mother’s room to check if she was still sleeping. The room hadn’t changed, it looked exactly the same, but something about it was still off. It didn’t feel like the same bedroom, and it didn’t feel like that was his mom; the same person he had cared about just a day ago. The dream threw off his entire perspective.

    “Hey hun, what you doin?”, Lucifer’s voice came from behind Ashton unexpectedly. Like a non-negotiated reaction, Ashton jumped.

    “Lucifer!” Ashton could feel his heart beat out of his chest from the short shock of fear. Lucifer wrapped his arms around Ashton’s waist.

    “You ok, Love?”

    “Yeah, you just scared me a little.”

    “Aww, I’m sorry.” Lucifer leaned in to kiss Ashton’s cheek; but Ashton turned and pulled away. As a deter, Ashton smiled and started towards the Attic stairs.

   

    “How about we go investigate the Attic now. Sound like a plan?”

    Lucifer was thrown off guard and it was noticeable. “Oh, okay. Yeah, sure.”

    Ashton walked over to the door at the end of the hall. The edges seemed to be sealed up and it’d be easy to miss if you weren’t looking. However something had pointed it out to Ashton when he first arrived at the home. Something about it wanted Ashton’s attention; he reached his hand and dragged his fingers down the edge of the wall. Maybe the treasures hiding in the attic will answer the running questions in his head. He glided his fingers across the rugged surface of the old wooden door and rested his hand on the cold metal doorknob. A rush of adrenaline surged through Ashton’s body as flashbacks and memories stormed through his head of his parents’ suicide. Upon turning the knob, a soft squeak came from the rust on the knob, and while opening it, the hinges creaked. No doubts the door was old. Ashton reached his hand out to search for a lightswitch. The room was pitch black; not a single light streamed in to illuminate the darkness. The lightswitch was on the right side of the wall but it didn’t seem to work. Nonetheless, Ashton left the switch in the on position in case the lights wanted to work and ran to get a flashlight.

    The light scintillated on and irradiated a pathway on the stairs. Step by step, Ashton raised his foot and placed it on the next, lifting himself up the stairs. Ashton moved blindly, vacillating the flashlight constantly to investigate the unfamiliar setting. By the time Ashton reached the tops of the steps, he had completely forgotten Lucifer was following him. Clueless where to he was going, Ashton walked in a random direction, following the direction of an unknown desire. It lead Ashton to a dusty chest; the colour was faded, and the structure was a little beat up. Ashton ran his hand across the strap and buckle that held it closed. He pushed the strap through the buckle and opened the chest. Inside was a collection of pictures, documents and other things. Ashton held up each item and shone the light down on it to examine. The first thing was a stack of pictures. In the picture was a girl; the same girl, just growing up. She had a chocolate brown hair colour that fell loosely into curls against her chest. The girl’s skin was pale and her green eyes popped. Ashton recognised her face but to make sure, he turned the photograph slowly. Tension built as anxiety rose; he  read the name on the back of the photograph: Willow Morte. Ashton’s breath fell shallow as he dropped the photo and lifted another. The next one was a picture of Ashton’s foster parents with Willow; on the back it read: Lila Morte, Aaron Morte, and Willow Morte. That had made no sense. It was his parents, at least it looked like them; but the name didn’t match. The rest of the photos were all the same; just family photographs and her. Ashton buried more and found empty pill bottles for depression, anxiety, and strong pain meds. Two of the labels were prescribed for Willow; and the last one… It was prescribed to: Aaron Morte. Ashton dropped the bottles and investigated deeper; he needed more answers. The lights finally flickered on, but Ashton was too indulged in his findings. The final thing Ashton found was a few legal documents; they were for legally changing your name. On the documents the original names on each document said: Lilac Morte; and, Aaron Morte. Under the part that asks for the new name; Ashton froze. The names were his final clue to connect the dots.