*Shadow*
I can feel the pain as if I am being stabbed in the very essence of my soul. The scenes move as though they are in slow motion. I watch as Lilac is shoved into a van, and is driven away, stolen from my sight. I can feel the tears as they try to escape my eyes. Theo stands at the far back of the crowd, and I witness him fall to his knees. He calls her name, and the crowd turns toward him. I lower my head, for once in my life sending a prayer out to heaven. I beg that she will be okay, and get home to us safely, with no harm done to her.
I let out an eerie tune, my words not coherent, but the melody is one that could make anyone cry. Once again the crowd is facing me, and I see Theo as he pushes his way through the crowd. He reaches me, and I stare into his eyes. Within a moment, he's gone. He rushes through the onlookers, and tries to follow the van, but it is no longer in sight. We have lost Lilac, and I know that she may not be okay. I saw the face of her captor, and I can guess what will happen to her. He will take advantage of her young innocence, and he will abuse her. She will never be the same, if she even ends up living. Yet I am certain that he will keep her alive all in the purpose of getting me to him. James has always been a sneaky fella. I can only hope God has heard my one and only prayer, and keeps her safe from his evil ways.
The crowd begins to leave, and Theo slowly walks back toward me. He wraps his arms around me, and I don't hide my tears anymore. I let them all fall freely, while the fabric of his shirt exorbs the wetness. He strokes my hair softly, trying to comfort me, but it barely works. I do not believe that anything will stop the pain that has taken residence in my entire body. The only thought in my head is to save sweet, little Lilac.Theo and I make our way home, him holding my hand tightly as we hurry. The moment we walk through the door, the phone rings in Theo's pocket. He answers without checking the caller ID like normal. "Hello?" he says, holding his phone up to his ear. He nods his head at whatever the other person is saying. He turns to me and hands me the phone, and I take it while raising my eyebrow.
"Hello?"
"Hello Shadow. It's been some time since we last spoke, hasn't it?"
The voice is cold and has the same hard edge as it used too. I glance over at Theo, wondering if he can see the panic in my eyes. "Yes, it has JAMES." I say his name in a different sort of voice so that Theo would understand that I was talking to him. "So, I found out that you were still alive, and here in Crimson City. I saw an article on your boyfriend, with a picture of you walking with him. I looked him up, and got his number. I followed you to your place, but when I saw you run out of the building, bleeding and crying, I decided to follow. I was hoping to grab you when you ran past, but I couldn't. I saw that little girl, and I knew how I could get you." his words send a shiver down my spin and I calapse onto the ground.
"You are using a young girl to try to blackmail me into meeting up with you?"
"Yeah, I am. I need you to come to me, but you won't unless you have a reason too. So I am giving you a reason too. Meet me at the Crimson City high school at ten tonight. If you agree to meet me, nothing bad will happen to Lilac. So what do you say?"
"Fine, I'll meet you. Tonight, ten o'clock at the high school. See you there."
I hang up the phone before he can say anything else, and I move toward Theo. "That son of a..." I glare at Theo and he doesn't finish his sentence. "I'm meeting him, and I am going to make sure that Lilac gets out safe and untouched, but you have to make me a promise." he looks into my face, and i see the panic in his eyes, and etched into the rest of his features. "What do I have to promise?"
I inhale deeply, and try not to glance into his face. "Promise me, that even if I do not make it out, that you will live on. That you will protect Lilac, and yourself. Promise me that." his eyes widen and I feel my heart hurting. "I promise you that I won't let anything bad happen to either of you. And if I cannot fulfill my promise, than I promise that I will take care of Lilac and myself. I also promise that I will love you forever."
His eyes brim with tears and he turns away from me. I reach out for him, but he doesn't let me touch him. He pushes past me, and makes his way to the bathroom, where sits a smashed up mirror. Where I sat about ready to give up on my own life again. I want to follow, but I know that he needs his space. I make my way to the bedroom I shared with Lilac, and I sit on the bed. After a few minutes, I decide to lay down. Before I know it, I'm drifting off into a nightmare, and I am once again forced to remember that night, the night James ruined my life, but this time, instead of it being me, it was sweet, adorable, and always smiling Lilac.
In my place, there she lay, on the ground. A splatter of the girl once known by those who loved her. And the part that makes it so much harder is, If i had just dealt with it differently, or had just taken it all, Lilac would be okay, and she never would have been forced into this mess. I cry out how sorry I am, and I know that I have awoken, but no one comes to my rescue. Because no one can. I am bound at the wrists and ankles. I am lost and scared. I am Lilac.
