Forbidden Darkness (The Forbidden Darkness Chronicles, #1)

Eleven

Philip and I took a break immediately after that horrible discussion and we decided to go sit out in the chill room, as they liked to call it. Inside there were two bookshelves filled completely with books, a couch, two chairs, a coffee table, and a small little lamp. It almost resembled a living room except it was just a bit bigger than most.

"How is all of this under Kristen's house?" I asked him.

Philip sat down on the couch and looked right at me, his green eyes blazing with life. "It's not. It stretches under some of the neighbors' homes as well, but it's so far down that none of them have noticed."

I had to admit that most of this was pretty cool. There were a few rules, like the Level system, that I thought were a bit ludicrous, but other than that, being a Monster Hunter actually was beginning to sound cool. Minus the terrifying change I was going to go through on Friday. I wasn't really looking forward to that.

There were so many things I wanted to ask Philip now that we were alone. He had answers to a lot of things that nobody else was probably willing to give me, and if I could pry them out, I'd know a little bit more about where I come from.

"Can I ask you a question?" I blurted.

"Sure thing," he said. "That's what I'm here for."

My body jolted and I felt a sudden desire to sit next to him. I ignored the urge and sat down in one of the chairs. It was almost like a recliner, and I sunk in as my butt hit the seat. "Wow, this is comfortable."

He laughed. "Yes, it is, Heather. Now, what's your question?"

Right. "Well, I was wondering what exactly you know...about me."

This was obviously a discussion he didn't want to have, because as soon as I asked, his smile dropped. Man, he did that well. "I'm not really sure we should be talking about that."

I plastered a smile on my face. "Sure we should. I mean, I'm already learning everything else, so why not teach me about me?"

"There are things you don't want to know right now," Philip said. "There's still so much explaining that needs to be done for you to understand. Everything that has been done over the last sixteen years of your life has been for your best interest."

Yes, as I suspected there were some nice fish to catch with him. I wasn't going to just give up that easily, though. "Come on, there's got to be something you can tell me. Anything. Who's my birth mom?"

"I can tell you we don't know," Philip replied quickly. There was something soft in his eyes, like he was afraid of hurting me. Looking at him now, as hot as he was, there was definitely a softer side to him. "I wish I could tell you who she was. This would make things a lot easier for us."

"What things?" I asked. "And we can't ask the adoption agency?" I knew that agencies like that had records, and if there was any way we could get into them, we could find out.

The look I received from my new friend was something strange and I couldn't put my finger on what emotion he seemed to have gleaming in his eyes. There was something there, a secret of some sort, and I knew I had hit the right spot.

"What are you hiding?" I asked. I wasn't going to play these games with him. I wanted answers and I wanted them right now.

"Heather, you really don't want to know," Philip said softly. "Lena was going to tell you, and if I tell you now, it might make you hate your mother even more."

"Oh, for crying out loud, just spill the damn beans," I shot harshly. Why did everyone think my emotions needed protection? It wasn't like I was five anymore. "If you don't tell me yourself, I will march my happy little ass out of this room and go find Lena, tie her to a chair and beat her with a racket until she gives me answers." I witnessed a smirk form at the corner of his lips, so I added, "Don't think I'm kidding."

He literally laughed out loud. "Right. Taking on the Level 3 Monster Hunter with over 30 years of experience is a great idea. Let's go take on a pack of hyenas while we're at it."

I didn't think a guy could give me so many mixed emotions. One second I would be ready to hop in the bed with him and the next I wanted to rip his head off and plaster it to my wall as a souvenir. "Just tell me, Philip. I promise I'll remain calm." As long as he told me, I'd be happy I at least got something.

Philip sighed and said, "You're not gonna want to hear this, but at least hear me out before you get all of the wrong ideas. You're not adopted."

Confusion swept over me just then. "But I thought—"

"You were kidnapped," Philip explained.

Right then, it was as if my whole world came crashing down on me. What did he just say? It came as such a shock that I wasn't sure if I heard him correctly right away. So many emotions swirled around in my head and I wasn't able to contain them all. Philip just said I was kidnapped! I couldn't believe what I was hearing and prayed that it wasn't true—there was absolutely no way. This had to be a big joke.

But none of this was a joke. Every last bit of it was true and in my heart I knew it was. Tears rimmed my eyes and rage built up from inside of me getting ready to explode. "What do you mean I was kidnapped?"

"Well, I mean that you were taken from your original home. There are things that you won't understand right now, not until everything is explained. And while I know this sounds bad, it's really not—just hear me out."

I stood up from my chair and said, "No. I listened to enough of this. I'm leaving."

I headed to the door and Philip stood up quickly, looking ready to stop me. "Heather, gender won't stop me from holding you down if I have to. Just listen to me, please."

He sounded desperate and sincere—and that was what pissed me off the most.

I opened the door and stepped into the hall where I noticed Lena in the other room. Ignoring her, I kept on walking, but she obviously wasn't going to ignore me.

"Heather, where are you going?" she asked.

"As far away from you," I shot back. "Bitch." I couldn't believe it even came out of my mouth but there was so much wrong with this picture that I couldn't even wrap my mind around it. I hated them all.

"Please wait," Philip said, chasing behind me with Lena. "We're not trying to hurt you. If we wanted to, we could have done that by now."

"But that's not the point!" I screamed, turning to face them both.

Kristen came out of the guest room in the back and said, "Oh, dear God, what's going on?" She seemed worried and when her eyes met mine, I knew she didn't know. She didn't know what I was freaking out about.

"I was kidnapped by all of you psychos!" I screamed.

"Heather, calm down," Lena said softly, reaching out to touch my arm. "It's going to be okay, we just need to explain some things."

There was no explaining what they did. Kidnapping was literally the worst thing ever. All these stories on the news of kids growing up not knowing they were kidnapped—I was one of them!

"No need to explain what you've done," I told them. "I'm going to find my mom and you guys aren't going to stop me. Wanna know why? Because from this day on, I want nothing to do with any of you. Ever again."

Kristen had tears forming in her eyes and I heard the sob as she said, "Heather, wait. Don't let this change anything."

"Change anything?!" I screamed. "Everything is different now. You guys may think I'm just going to accept this with open arms, but I'm not. Nothing is ever going to be the same again between any of us."

Right then, something terrible happened. The windows to one of the rooms shattered into a million little pieces, falling to the floor, and we all gasped in shock at the sight. They stared at me and didn't say anything at first. Was that me? What just happened?

"Did she—?" Philip started.

Lena nodded. "I...I don't know."

I didn't want to stick around to find out. I turned to leave them all, going up the stairs, and was going to find somewhere to go. Neither my home, nor my home away from home, seemed very welcoming, and I wasn't sure they were ever going to be again.