My Waitress (NOT EDITED)

Chapter 35

I open my eyes.

I expected myself to be lying on the street. I thought I'd be unable to move, bones broken in all places by how fast that car pushed me, bleeding to death. The last thing my eyes would've closed to is the bare night sky with the moon staring back.

But instead, the sun is shining. It blinded my eyes the second I opened them. Thin clouds stretch across the blue sky. I stare into a vast ocean that seems endless. The waves are small and calm, splashing into the shore. I watch as it reaches my bare feet, drowning them and making them sink into the sand.

The more I stare at the feet the more I realize I'm not wearing what I had on before. I examine my body and see a white silk dress on me, ending right below my calves. The little but strong winds give a flow to the skirt as well as my hair. I know that a car hit didn't fly me to the beach and into new clothes. I'm not awake. I'm in my mind. It feels so... peaceful. So tranquil. The opposite of what's happening in reality. If only I can stay here... but I can't. My friends are in danger. I have to get back. But how can I do that? I'm stuck here, not knowing how much time is passing. Maybe finding something will trigger me to wake up. I look around. The ocean seems endless. I feel like I can walk the beach for miles. What if I can't find anything? What if there's no way out? That means I'll be here forever, meaning I'll be...

"Don't stress."

I hear an elegant voice to my right. The first thing that comes to my mind is how recognizable it sounds to me, and how much it pleases me, makes me feel calm. There's one person that comes to my mind that has such a voice. I turn in that direction to see a beautiful woman appear. She wears a white silk dress like me, but lightly embroidered with big trumpet long-sleeves. A black bob sits on top of her head, flowing with the breeze like my hair. She gazes at me with her gentle baby blue eyes. Eyes I miss looking at every day.

"Mom..!" My eyes water. I try to hug her, but my arms fly through her like a hologram. She lifts her arm to caress my cheek, and that's when I can feel her touch, her soft fingers brushing against my skin. She pulls me closer and devours me into her arms. It's weird, I can feel her arms around me, holding me, yet I can't feel her body pressed on me. Overall, I realize how much I missed being in my mother's arms. It's been a couple of months.

"I miss holding you like this." She combs my hair with her fingers. "It pained me to leave you because I feared what would happen without me and your father. My fears came true. We weren't there, and that has now made you vulnerable. A target. I'm sorry to tell you that the Katzons are evil people, darling. You may have thought they were our friends because of how often we've invited them to our home, but that's only for business. There's so few we can trust, and that's only our own family."

I don't want to believe it, because I think of Emily as an exception. But it hurts my head. All of this. Sometimes I wish I forgot everything, and just start over, because knowing the truth hurts... But even if all of my memory was gone forever, I would've somehow still gotten in the middle of this mess. I'd just be more oblivious than I already am.

"Their true form lies behind the mask." Mom continues. "It's their decision whenever they want to take it off. Sometimes you just have to put on a face to get what you want. Believe it or not, I was taught that by my mother. If we had gotten rid of the Katzons earlier, none of this would've put you at risk..." That sentence catches me off guard. I listen to mom with fear growing inside of me. Get rid? She doesn't mean--

"We tried to get rid of the girl but that mission failed."

My heart sinks to the sand. "What?!" For once, I push myself away from my mother in disgust. She doesn't say anything. Instead, she slowly turns her head to the ocean. A huge wave crashed inshore, and a body emerged from the water. A teenage girl with long light brown hair lies in the wet sand, motionless. What discomforts me is the fact that she has no face. It's blurred and dimmed, only her pink lips show. What causes me to become pale is the amount of blood stained on her shirt. It mixes with ocean water.

I hear fast footsteps from behind me. I turn my head a centimeter and a figure bumps into me. A teenage boy speeds past me and rushes upon the injured girl. He kneels beside her, facing Mom and me. My discomfort grows when I see his face blurred too. He has wavy light brown hair just like the girl.

He shouts something to the girl. But he's mute. I can't hear the urgent words he's screaming out of his mouth. The girl doesn't reply. She remains frozen. They both look so familiar, but I can't put my finger on it. It's like because I can't see their whole faces, my brain is unable to figure out who they are.

Another big wave rushes in. "NO!!" escapes my lips as it crashes down onto the boy and girl. They disappear, wash away with the salty water and seaweed. I try to process everything. The girl laying there bleeding. My mother moments before, saying how we shouldn't trust the Katzons... we tried to get rid of the girl but that mission failed.

...There's no way.

I fix my eyes back on my mother. "What do you mean by that? What did I just see? Get rid of the girl? There's no way you mean kill because I know my mother wouldn't think like that. O-Or even Dad. We're good people, right? I've been refusing to believe the insults about our family because I know we didn't do anything wrong..." Do I? "Right??!" It's their decision whenever they want to take it off. Sometimes you just have to put on a face to get what you want. But who am I to say that? They never told me about their jobs. Doubt is streaming through my veins. I hoped I didn't know the faces my parents had to put on to get to where they were. I hoped to know that they were kind people. And not what I'm thinking right now based on what I saw.

The winds start to blow heavier. Clouds darken within seconds. The more I stare into her eyes, I see that softness in them hardening by the second. Her gentle gaze is gone. She gives me a look I've never seen her give. The look of a cold hatred glare. Her smile drops. It doesn't suit her. It stiffens my body, yet gives me chills running across my whole back.

"You've changed, Nicole." Her voice doesn't sound kindhearted anymore. It's the complete opposite, but her elegance stands. "You've gotten weak. And naive."

"What..." my voice cracks, heartbroken by what she said. "How could you say that? I'm still your same daughter!"

"How can you be my daughter if you're saying such ignorance. My daughter's smart in what she says to get what she wants. But I didn't know how you would react to our killings. The lives we've taken were meaningless anyway. They were meant to be dead."

The sky isn't clear anymore. It's been covered by darkness, big gray clouds clumped together. Thunder booms across the sky. The wind gusts become strong enough for me to lose my balance, but my mother manages to stay still.

"No..." I refuse to believe. "How come I've never heard of this? Why did you keep this a secret from me for so long?"

"Your father and I were just too good at hiding it from you. It's what we do. Besides, you were too busy being juvenile with that no good Katzon. Wasting your life away on alcohol, partying, and drugs.

"Your life will be anew, darling. When you wake up, you won't remember this. But you will be different. You will be your old self again. Take off this face of a helpless girl in front of me. For now on, nothing will stop you.

"Nicole."