Overdose

Chapter 51. Yvonne Mcreary

I was not too happy about having to go to Tiegan's party, but we had to find out what Nathaniel was planning. Lilith promised to stay by my side, and Evan told me that if anything happened, we'd be out of there in seconds. Under these circumstances, I forced myself to get it together and go. I knew I couldn't wear my school uniform, so I had to go through the clothes that Rose had let me get from my house.

We had gone back there after the police cleared up the crime scene. They had cleaned it up quite fast, and the general consensus was that my mother had killed herself. It made sense, she had lost two husbands and a daughter. She was a drunk. Besides her friends, no one would miss her. None of her friends reached out to me, and to be honest, I was kind of happy about that. My mother was buried in the cemetery and that was that.

The night before the party, we all gathered at my mom's grave. It was just Rose, Tristan, Evan, Lilith, Damion, and I. Nathaniel didn't come, he was at Tiegan's. We went at night, so no one would see us crowding around my mom's grave. It was...nice, as nice as something like that could be.

Rose left first, and took Tristan back with her. It was just Damion, Lilith, Evan and I. We sat around the grave, and put the torch in the middle of us and the tombstone. No one said anything, but it wasn't an awkward silence. It was peaceful.

I, however, was the one to break the silence. "Lilith, you're lucky. You don't have anyone in the cemetery."

Whether it was because it was actually funny or just came out of nowhere, I'm not sure, but everyone laughed.

"I'm sorry for laughing." She apologized, even though we all laughed. She then made a serious face, even though she still had her smile. "I have something to tell you guys."

Damion put his hand on her arm. "Are you sure you're ready to tell them about it?"

Evan and I shared a look. We were both obviously not sure what they were talking about. Lilith cleared her throat, and took out a piece of paper. It looked like the one she had been acting odd about.

"I've been hiding this for so long. I found it in my file. I only let Damion know about it a few days ago." She handed me the paper, and I read it aloud.

My Dearest Daughter,

I have written and rewritten this letter multiple times, and every time it always feels wrong. However, when Dr. Evelyn told me about your plan to escape, I knew I had to pull myself together. The truth is, Lilith,, you are not an orphan. You were not forgotten. How could someone choose to leave behind such a wonder? From a young age, you could find the beauty in everything. I remember your wide eyes staring at the sunset from a bridge in Hongzhou. You would lean over the side, reaching out towards it. I held you, afraid that you would fall into the water. Your mother, Gwendolyn, took a picture of the sunset, to tide you over, as you always said you wanted to go back and see it again. It was framed in your old room, back when The Facility was...my Facility. I hope one day I can take you back. I'm rambling, this isn't what I should be focusing on in this letter. I created The Facility as place for Prodigials to thrive, to learn how to be their best, to learn how to control their powers. No harm was to come to anyone inside or out. But then your mother died. I shut down. Before Xander took over, I knew that I was not going to be able to handle such a responsibility. I asked, begged, pleaded for Dr. Evelyn to take you. I knew under her care you would be safe and loved. That was the first time I ever saw Dr. Evelyn mad. She slapped me, told me that I was a coward and that it was a terrible idea. But she knew that if I didn't care for you, no one would, or worse, Xander might try to take you in as his own. So she did. She refused to be in the room when I erased your memory of your mother and I. That is why it is so hard for you to remember a lot of things correctly, as your mother and I were in many of your memories. However, I let you keep the memory of Hongzhou. Dr. Evelyn told me that you thought that you had dreamt of the place, and how you just thought it was too beautiful to be real. I made it clear to Xander that if any harm ever came to you, I would personally kill him. I had to tell Heath of what I had done, and he promised that he and the others would keep my secret. I saw it in Heath's eyes that he thought it was a bad idea. But Heath wasn't the person I was most worried about, it was Nathaniel. You and Nathaniel were so close, almost brother and sister. You confided in each other, you were there for him as his father put him through those ridiculous tests. When I found out that Xander had put Nathaniel in Containment, it made me reconsider everything. How was what I did to you any different? I had simply just left you. I told Dr. Evelyn to make sure you were able to keep your friend. You two were no different, the only thing separating you was glass. My shame shrouded me, my office became a prison where I was isolated and forced to think over and over again of how I had abandoned my only daughter, my only solace from loneliness after Gwen's death. I couldn't bear to see you, to see a constant reminder of my cowardice. I hope when you read this letter, you feel no hatred for me. I do not ask that you try to understand, or forgive me, only that there is no hatred in your heart. If you ever want to, you are welcome to come to America and we will be together again, father and daughter. If you do not, I understand. I only ask that you live your life to the fullest. Lao Tzu says "Treat those who are good with goodness, and also treat those who are not good with goodness. Thus goodness is attained. Be honest to those who are honest, and be also honest to those who are not honest. Thus honesty is attained." I wish I had done things differently, but like the sunset of Hongzhou, the past is out of our reach.