Stalking Slenderman

Chapter Seven

"Good morning, Lucy. Did you have a nice sleep?" My mother asked as I came down the stairs, and I stopped and stared at her in confusion.

"Yea, in fact, I did. Hey, mom, have I been here the whole time?" I inquired, curious as to what memories had been placed into her mind.

"What kind of question is that, sweetie? Of course you've been here. Oh, Lucy, you're so silly!" She squeaked with a giggle. "Go wash up for breakfast, okay? And wake up your father for me." With that, she move on to the kitchen, leaving my alone, intrigued.

"The Erasers never cease to amaze me." Jeff purred from behind me, and I shot him a glare. "Don't worry, princess, you're the only one who can see me thanks to this little gem." He informed, pulling a rock crystal out of his pocket as it glowed brown.

"Is that what causes the blue light that transports you from one place to another?" I questioned, and he smirked before vanishing as the brown light enveloped him. "Well, that was rude." Grumbling, I walked back up the steps and into my parent's room.

I found my father deep asleep on their shared bed. He lay on his belly as he always did with his hands lost under his pillows while tranquil snores filled the room. He was a heavy sleeper, and I knew that because of the many times I'd snuck into the room when my mom wasn't home and stole some cash from him.

Closing the door behind me, I moved over to my father and took a seat beside him as I watched him sleep. It was weird how nothing had changed for him, and yet everything had changed for me. All I did was go on one field trip and suddenly my world had spiraled downward at an even quicker rate than normal. He'd warned me that the forest was dangerous. He'd asked me not to go. But I insisted the way I always did. I wasn't sad or upset about it; rather, I found it strange.

"Dad," I called, shaking him lightly. "Nikolai, wake up." Nothing. "Nikolai Yuri Shassa, you better wake up this instant!" I ordered, added a heavy Russian accent into my voice, and his eyes snapped open in horror.

"Lucinda!" He scold as he realized it was my and not my grandmother Nadezhda. Sitting up on the bed, my father continued, "How many times have I told you not to call me that?"

"I don't know; I don't keep count." I shrugged, and he narrowed his eyes into a glare. His grey eyes, identical to mine, were cold and unforgiving.

"Do not call me by that name ever again, Lucinda Oktyabrina Shassa." Yikes, he was using my full name for this. I must have been in deep shit. Too bad I didn't really care.

"Why? Because it pains you to remember that you ran away from Russia, leaving your mother and sisters behind to fend for themselves? Does it hurt knowing you changed your name and came up with a whole new identity, even lying to mom when you first met her?" I questioned, pushing all the right buttons.

"Lucinda, enough!" He boomed, officially angry. "We will not be discussing this matter further. You're a seventeen-year-old girl, so stop acting like a disobedient child." I'd never stop being a child.

"On the contrary, daddy, it's usually the teen years where children rebel the most." I contradicted, and he rolled his eyes. "Why did you run away?" I wondered, seeking the answer to a question I'd never asked.

I could see a look of horror cloud my father's grey eyes for a moment as my question sunk in. Clearly, his reasoning was something he didn't want to remember and probably tried hard not think about. That only peaked my interest more. I wanted to know more of his past, before he met my mother. Over the years, my father had still kept in touch with his family back in Russia, but he'd never dared to return to his homeland. There had to be a reason, and I had to know what it was.