A Broken Heart

Part 2

Part Two:

I turn to face toward Joshua. "I have to go." I mutter, then flee from the room. Before I run down the hall I hide behind the door listening to their reactions. I hear Tanner turns toward James and Esme and peek to see he has a sheepish look on his face. "She had to go....check on her dog." He said quickly, already knowing it was bad reasoning. James looked at him suspiciously. "She looks sad, the poor girl. She's been through a lot. Maybe I should go talk to her." Esme began, as she stepped lightly across the room, exiting the same way I' did. "No!" Tanner says but Esme is too far away to hear. I quickly turn into a room, moving blindly toward anything offering cover or safety. I need something safe now, to get away from all the unstableness of the world. I walk over to a wall, leaning against it, sliding down to the floor, and begin crying. It had all been so easy before this happened.

I was crying, I started to think about my childhood. I never made an effort to remember it. What was it like before, this? I thought about when I was six and met Tanner. We would play in the backyard for hours. We would imagine up spaceships and evil aliens as my parents watched us with delight. I tried to remember anything else that had happened after that but simply could not remember anything after that year. Until a couple days ago, I had never heard anything about my past, either. No one talked about it. If I dared to ask, they would ignore me and continue on with their work. Never had I had the courage to seek out the secrets from my past. Until now. Now I was starting to piece together the people I had met and the events that had occurred. And the only way they connected, was from my dark, dangerous past. I knew somehow I was dangerous and that Tanner was trying to protect me from James. Esme seemed too kind and caring to be a threat to me, but somehow I knew she would be. If only my parents were still here. They died years ago. I only remember one word. "Don't." I can still hear a vague maternal voice warning me. But it wasn't my parents, then. I have a feeling I'm going to find out who it was sooner than later. I hear someone searching through papers in the room next door. My room. Or at least my temporary one. My important files were in there, though I hadn't locked up the file cabinet. No one else ever came here. Who was in my room? I slowly get up and open the door and step into my room. Soon I realize, it's Esme who is going through my files. I wrap my hand around the leather grip of my new knife in case things go terribly wrong.

"What are you doing in here?" I ask, sweetly.

"I...um...made a wrong turn..." she stammered

"Of course." I play along. "Where were you headed?" I raise my eyebrows, step farther into the room, and close the door behind me. "And what were you doing looking in my files?" I accuse, still using a sickly sweet voice.

"I thought this was my room..." She trails off as she realizes it's a poor excuse. I drop my act and become a menacing, hostile creature.

"THIS room looks nothing like your room." I growl, pulling the knife from its sheath. She backs up, stumbling over my books, rattling the locked door handle. My calm demeanor had changed in the past year, making the real me, yet again the word comes up, dangerous. I step closer.

"Don't." She whimpers. I pause, my face hardening into a mask of stone.

"What did you say?"

"Don't. Please." I turn away. "We are not who you think we are."

"Is anyone?" I counter, with a sad expression on my face. I put my knife back in its sheath.

"I am your mother, Adaline." She looks at me, with hope in her eyes.

"What?"

"Adaline, listen to me." This time, I back away.

"My name is not Adaline." Esme smiles.