Vertigo

Chapter Six - Confession

"Dawn." I bit my lip as I stepped into the living room. My father stood next to a shelf against the wall, staring at old family portraits. He had been dressed in his typically jet black slim fitted suit that I once joked about, stating he fit the part of Lucifer's fashion consultant. But, right now, I could barely tell the difference between this situation and hell itself.

Cassidy sighed, walking out of the room as my father turned to me – staring into my eyes with his own that burned with so much emotion that it was hard to tell what he had been feeling at the moment. Was it a relief that I had been alive? Or rage about what I did? His face, on the other hand, had been a blank slate, clean of any expression.

"You're alive," He spoke again and I remembered that he never once yelled. Always kept his voice low, but domineering. "And yet, you had us all believe you were dead for the last three years?"

"Sorry," I muttered inwardly as he stepped towards me, reaching his hand outward. I stepped back quickly, cowering in defence. He took a step forward, closing the gap and leaving my efforts completely useless as he placed my hand on my cheek. The one that had been bruised. Gently.

"Seems you had a rough time," He observed, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear as my eyes widened. He let go suddenly, leaving me holding my own cheek as I watched him walk off towards his study. "I'll let you rest. You deserve it."

My heart sank with relief just before something else took over – something much heavier – rage. I gritted my teeth, stepping forward quickly before grabbing hold onto his shoulder, tugging him back.

"So that's it?" I yelled as my breath slowly became more unstable. "That's all you're going to say to me after thinking I was dead for the last three years?"

"What more is there to say?" He asked.

"I don't know!" I continued. "Maybe yell at me about how many hoops you and uncle Ian had to jump through to prevent me from being thrown into a prison like some common criminal? Or yell at me for leaving that damned boarding school?"

I was breathing heavy by now, but he simply stared at me. "Well, you should have just left me to go to prison! I didn't need your little birthday cake with a saw blade in it to get me out! Heck, you've ignored me for all the years you thought I was alive, so why the hell should you even care about me being dead! Or what happened?"

"What did happen, Dawn?" He asked.

"I killed them! They're dead because of me!" I gasped at the confession before stumbling back. My eyes began to water as heat welled up behind them. It had been the first time I said that to anyone, even myself, and the words seemed to have torn me apart. I rushed past him without looking into his face.

I drove my fists into the heavy bag until my knuckles had been bare under my gloves as I kept reminding myself to punch it a thousand times until I felt nothing, and then a thousand more until the pain was all I felt. Beads of sweat clung to me as I wiped off the dried tears that stung my cheeks. I was dressed in sweat pants and a hot pink sports bra that left my scar uncovered, the only clothes that still fit properly.

"Gee, what the bag do to you?" Cassidy asked, walking into the gym.

"It looked at me funny!" I yelled out of breath as I drove a kick into the side of the bag, causing it to swing sideways. "How you don't mind me using your gloves. Was the only pair that fit."

"That's alright," She shrugged, stepping behind the bag and holding it steady. I continued throwing punches. "So, who taught you to punch like that?"

"A friend in London. Adelaide," I said through my punches, "Well, actually she went by Onyx to most. She trusted me."

"Two names," She nodded. "That why you went by Alison when you came back to NY?"

"Something like that," I continued punching. "No. I don't know. I don't think I could ever be anything like her."

"And why's that?" She asked as she loosened her top, stripping down to her sports bra before picking up a pair of punching shields. I moved towards her, punching the shields and ducking down as she swung it forward in tight arcs. Her body was littered with pale while lines that streaked across her skin like shooting stars, fading into her skin at the end.

"Adelaide was a hero," I continued, throwing punches into the shields as hard as I could. Cassidy didn't flinch. "She was brave, too."

"And you're a common criminal?"

"I guess I am," I admitted. "Though, when I went out with her at nights, we did well. We shook some big trees and even bigger criminals fell into our lap. We cleaned the streets like the vigilantes London needed."

"So, why'd you leave?"

"I was afraid," I spoke, twisting my entire body into a single punch that rocked Cassidy backwards. "I guess I still am."

"I see," She said, swinging her shield towards me. I tried ducking, but my movements were sluggish compared to her speed and it clipped me, just barely. I stumbled back, confused. "Seems you're still rusty."

She shook off the shields, raising her bare fists. "Come on, your turn. Try to hit me."

I smiled, stepping forward as I raised my gloves. She met me halfway, mirroring my stance. "I won't hold back, okay?"

"Won't make any difference." She mocked, ducking under my first jab. I threw another before trying to sneak in an uppercut. She dodged by stepping back, continuing to mock me. Smiling, I threw myself forward knee first, then pulled back into a superman punch. She twisted, grabbing hold of my wrist before tossing me into the gym floor. I stumbled to regain my balance, but it was too late. She slipped forward, sweeping my feet underneath me out and my back quickly found the padded floor. I stared upwards as she threw a mock punch towards my face, pausing right before contact to ruffle up my hair.

"Thanks for the warm-up, kid." She spoke before grabbing her shirt and walking off.