Fading Away.

Chapter Two

I walked inside the strangers’ house, my eyes slowly travelling every inch of their residence as though inspecting a crime scene. “So, what do you think hun?” My dad’s voice willing me to approve of what I was seeing. But I didn’t. Sure, it was big, extremely big; but something just didn’t feel right. “It’s, um, o-”

“Melanie, David! What a pleasant surprise it is to see you both!” A middle-aged man beamed, approaching us in a tailored suit and holding a glass of something which seemed to sparkle. Probably champagne by the looks of him and his place. “Please, take a seat!” He added. Everything about him screaming false. “So, what brings you here?” The nameless rich guy asked once everyone was seated.

“Michael, David and I, well, we need to speak with you; about your work that is,” My mum replied, her tone so sweet and sickly that it made me want to vomit. Out of all of the years that Danny had been her son, she had never spoken to him with such admiration and appreciation as she was speaking with to a man that as far as I was concerned – wasn’t to be trusted, with anything.

“Well, here we all are so..Fire away!” The guy answered, crossing his legs as men do and placing his hands on his knee; his cold blue eyes switching from my mum to me as he said ‘fire away’.

“Well you see, it’s, um-“

“Michael, what my wife is trying to say is that since the death of our son, Donalins twin, well, our daughter has, um, I’m sure you can see what I’m getting at” Fury, betrayal, hatred. Just a few of the emotions I was feeling at the time. I couldn’t believe it. My own parents were roping in some complete stranger to be my ‘counsellor’!

“WHAT! Mum!? Dad!?” I screamed leaping up from my chair. Everyone’s eyes peeling themselves to me, including ‘Michaels’.

“Donalin please. This is for the best. You don’t sleep, you don’t eat, you're not acting like a normal teenager! You need help!” My mum screamed, tears suddenly streaking her face.

“Ok people, lets all just calm down” Michael intervened, standing and instantly towering above my mum and I.

“No! I won’t calm down! You brought me here telling me we were visiting a family friend! Not to get me a shrink!” Michael’s lips tugging slightly at either side.

“Oh David, I can’t take anymore, I have to leave, do you have the money?” My mum turned to my dad with a look of shame on her face, but all I could do was stand and look confused. Money? What money? And what for?

“Yes darling. Michael, could I have a word in private?” My dad pulling a bulky brown envelope from inside his jacket.

 * * *

After what had seemed like hours of sitting on my own in an overly sized chair, in an overly sized room, in an overly rich man’s house – my dad and Michael came out of what was probably an overly sized kitchen. “Goodbye Donalin” Are the only words that my dad said to me before he was heading for the door.

Without me.

“Dad..Dad?!..DAD!” I screamed with all of the air in my lungs as I realised what was happening. It was all making sense now. My parents bringing me here, the money, Michael’s work. Everything. They’d left me.

“Donalin” Michaels voice coming from behind me. Travelling through my ears, infecting my brain.

“I-I'm alone. Th-they’ve left me” Tears pricking at my eyes like pins. I couldn’t believe what they had done to me, my own parents, the two people who had put me on this earth had abandoned me.

“Hey it's ok, I'm going to help you” Micheal's arms wrapping themselves around me as he pressed himself against my back. My whole body shaking as the tears began rolling down my face, and I’m not sure if I was crying because my parents had just left me, or because I was being shown some kind of affection by a complete stranger, which is more than my parents had ever done since the death of Danny.

Turning to face Michael, I hugged him back. Allowing all of my emotions to pour out of me in the form of a single action. And despite my initial thoughts on him, I couldn’t help but succumb to my inner voice, telling me to let someone in, to let someone care for me.

But little did I know that by letting him in, I was selling myself the devil.

That night I had the same dream about Danny, about seeing his bloody, lifeless face through the mirror. And I cried. I cried like never before. And he came. He took me into his room and lay me on his bed where I thought he was going to let me rest, knowing I was sleeping next to someone who was going to help me eliminate the dreams from my mind. But no. All he did was create new, real life nightmares about the things he would do to me both mentally and physically.

But no matter how hard I tried to push through it, he kept breaking me down. Making me believe that this time, he would actually help me get through my time of trouble and grief; but each time I was wrong.

Completely wrong.

My parents had sold me to the devil thinking they were doing what was best for me. But they hadn’t. They had thrown me head first into a life of abuse.

And I had no way out.