Fruitloops | ✓

e l e v e n

Chapter 11: Cold water always calms me down

The ride to Zak's workplace was awfully silent. Everyone seemed to have understood that I was in a hurry and was really anxious. Though, the silence was still very suffocating. I wouldn't have minded some old The Beatles music playing in the background but nada, nothing at all.

The familiar silver high-rise building soon appeared in front of my face as I sat in the passenger seat. Summer sat beside me, since I had called shotgun to give Vince the directions.

As soon as Vince had successfully parked his car into a reverse parking lot, I rushed out of the car. Vince was hot on my heels since he did have longer legs, but Summer was jogging to catch up with me.

"Do you guys, uhm mind, if uhm I talk to Zak, uhm alone?" I asked them once we were at the door.

"Sure," Summer gave me a small smile while Vince stared at me intently.

"I'm sorry, you guys don't have to wait here for m-"

"We will," Vince said sternly, cutting me short.

I looked at him and gave him a small smile. Then, proceeding to nod my head as if to thank them.

I turned my back to them and rushed to the entrance. I was greeted by a puff of air-conditioning as I entered the the building when the automatic sliding doors opened.

"Hi, how may I help you?" the woman behind the counter asked. She looked around thirty-ish and had a name tag that said Ivy.

"I need to find Zak Waldorff," I said.

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No," I said.

"Well then, you have to have an appo-"

"Listen. I'm his sister and this is urgent," I snapped.

"Level ten, room 210," she said quickly, and I felt bad for snapping at her.

"Sorry, and thanks," I gave a small smile, before rushing to the lift.

I watched as the numbers slowly descend to the ground level while bouncing on my feet due to the anxiety.

I need to see Zak now. Now.

Finally, when the elevator had reached the ground level, I prepared to dash in and urgently press onto the level ten button. But no. Lots of businessmen and women walked out. Slowly, might I add.

As they cleared out, I heard Zak call for my name.

I whipped my head round and was surprised when I didn't suffer from a whiplash.

"Lyssabelle? What are you doing here?" Zak was now standing outside of the elevator, and I rushed out before the door shut close.

"Joseph knows! He knows-"

"What do you ev-"

"He knows why mom and dad left!" I screamed, my tears finally escaping yet again. Twice in a day.

We started to attract onlookers carrying briefcases while wearing suits and ties.

Zak pulled me into the lift and told me to count to ten. I didn't suffer from panic attacks, but it got up to the point where I felt like I was going to have one, though I've never had one before.

I heard the lift make a little ding sound and before I knew it, we were in his office.

Truthfully, I've never seen his office. It had an amazing view for someone with an average position in the company. The buzzing street could he seen from his clear glass window the size of a wall. It was a very calming sight, and you could hardly hear the honking of pissed-off drivers.

"Are you calmed?" Zak asked, his right eyebrow raised as he scrutinized my face.

"I think."

"Okay, start from the top," he gestured for me to take a seat on the sofa as if I were a client.

He headed to the water dispenser he had and handed me a cup of cold water. Cold water always calms me down.

"Okay, what happened?"

I didn't know where to start so I reached into my back pocket and handed him the letter.

He looked at the words written on the envelope and his eyes widened.

"You know..." he muttered to himself and something in me told me I shouldn't have heard that.

"No..." I said unsure, "Joseph knows. We should go find him, now."

"Lyss I don't think that's a good idea, I mea-"

"Not a good idea? Zak they left me at the age of two. Two. I had to stay home with so many people I don't even know when you went to school and Megan was busy!" I screamed, my vision starting to blur once again.

God, no. I can't cry. I won't cry.

I couldn't tell if they were frustrated tears, or angry tears, or sad tears. So many emotions were building up inside of me like Lego blocks it made it hard for me to figure out the true emotion I actually felt.

"But they left Lyss! They didn't want us! They left and I don't see a reason as to why we need to hear an explanation from them when they made the decision to le-"

"But I need at explanation Zak! I need to know why they left. They could've left because I was such a burden to them. That two kids was just too much to hand-"

This time, Zak cut me off.

"You weren't a burden! You were never a burden. Mom and dad loved you so much they had to leave!"

"That's what I want to know! Why would they have to leave?! In the letter they said that they had no choice, but what did they mean by that? No choice my fuc-"

"Because dad was an undercover!" he screamed, raising his hands in the air, exasperated.

His words replayed in my mind over and over again, till I lost count.

Because dad was an undercover.

Because dad was an undercover.

Because dad was an undercover.

"How'd you... How did you know that?" I asked softly, hoping what I had in mind wasn't the truth.

Zak looked at me with sad eyes and sighed, "I found the letter a few years ago, when you were about ten."

I was right.

My eyes widened as I stared at my only family left.

No. No. No. This couldn't be happening. This was not happening.

Zak wouldn't do this to me. He would have told me. He would've helped me through accepting whatever the fact was when he told me.

He was my older brother! He had to have told me about my own parents. He wouldn't have kept this secret to himself. He wasn't that selfish. The Zak I knew would tell me immediately once he found the letter, regardless my age.

This was worst than the time I had found out Rachel who was pregnant and with Ross' baby on Friends.

This was all just a dream right? Meeting Cameron, receiving the box of stuff, finding the letter that led to an explanation of my parents' departure, Vince hugging me, then the Waldorff's bringing me to Zak's workplace, then Zak telling me he knew.

This was all just a dream.

I was going to wake up so soon. Wake up Lyss! Wake up, wake up, wake up! I had to wake up from this nightmare. Zak was the devil and I was stuck in a very real nightmare.

But my wishes soon went down the drain when I pinched myself and I fell the pain seep through, causing a red blotch to be placed there.

This was reality.

And there was no way I could escape it.

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