Chapter 27

(27)

I was currently laying on my stomach with a book in the trunk. It had been a week. No sign of Danger. Of course, the lump in my throat never goes away as I shivered with the slightest noise.

That was suffocating but Sam and Lizzy came along and spent time with me.

I looked out of the window only to find Sam sitting near a log with a cup in his hands.

I wished I could relax and enjoy the serene silence since we had parked somewhere in a forest. Who am I kidding?? I couldn't even stand straight for 10 minutes as lack of sleep kicked in.

Overthinking had me agitated throughout the night...

I hadn't seen Mateo since the day he told me about his terrible past. It was more like a surprise for me. A surprise that aggravated my anxiety...

The thought of Damien doing such a thing made me disgust and hate him with all of my guts more and more. Damien was not in terms of humanity. The lack of empathy is shown in his glazing eyes.

I even wondered how could he bear my ass without killing me on the spot whenever I provoked him.

My thoughts were interrupted by a tap over my shoulder. It was ....Lizzy...

'I had no choice but had to bear their touches.

I had found out I should fight him back by not allowing him to take over my own sanity. Even if it wouldn't do anything to his doings, it would help me not to collapse.'

'The Isolation. That was what he wanted. He wanted to snatch and lock me up from the world.'

I wrapped myself with a blanket and followed her outside. She gestured for me to sit down on a log as she handed me a mug. It smelled.. chocolate...

The whole week, Lizzy tried to make a conversation with me, but I didn't want to talk about anything... My mind was blank.

Sam guy, didn't talk to me instead he looked at me without sympathy whatsoever.

I learned that Mateo was planning on using me to trap Damien. And thus why he went off, planning something for the whole week. I felt uneasy as nauseous churned in my stomach. I didn't know what Mateo was capable of, but what I know was, that if something went wrong, it will be Our Doom.

I was thinking if Mateo wanted to kill Damien then what was Mateo doing with Lizzy? Lizzy was Damien's sister after all. Does she know anything about Mateo's sister??

I shook off my thoughts. "None of my business" I mentally noted.

" Vivan..." Lizzy let out a whisper, "Wanna try some soup? You haven't been eating well," I heard her mumbling as I looked down at my hot chocolate mug. I wasn't planning to talk to her or anyone else. I was worried sick for my parents...

With an exasperated sigh, she stood in front of me so closely making me a bit uncomfortable.

She sat down at eye level with me as I kept avoiding her gaze. I flinched as she touched and pulled my hands into her warm hands.

The touch was ...amazing. Warm.

Her hands were unlike Damien's cold hands those were ready to break if I made one wrong mistake.

'No matter how small the mistake was, Damien had always made me suffer in the worst ways.'

The touch in Lizzy's gentleness feels like securing me. The assurance.

"Want me to tell you how are you feeling, honey?" She smiled while patting my hands on her hands soothingly.

I couldn't help myself anymore. I was scared of everything. Scared of being tortured, hurt, and threatened by my parents' lives. "I'm scared," I sobbed and she reluctantly wiped my tears off.

"I'm so sorry that I came to know that late, sweety," she said while rubbing my hair. "I won't force you to tell about what happened. But you have to understand that there's a life ahead of you," she mumbled.

I didn't say anything I just sobbed.

"Honey, look at me. It's not your fault," Her words struck me as I meet her teary gaze. "Whatever he said about his actions will not justify and so his mental health. He had done this before... And I won't let it happen again,"

I cried. I just cried. I never felt helpless this much before, and somehow my heartache at the mention of him, I wished he would try and soothe me with his malicious lies that I didn't have to worry about anything. That false sense of security had wrapped me up to the point I couldn't spend a day without his touch.

"Oh, honey. You're safe now. Don't worry," she said while wiping my endless tears. Worrying would be the first and last thing I would be doing with him ruling my entire existence.

She made me a sandwich. I have lost my appetite but I had to stay strong at least for my parents. I hoped my parents would be able to cure this disgraceful moral of mine. I hoped I get to make it back home. I wouldn't let them leave my sight and I would never leave their sight again.

"What about Daniel? " I asked casually but it took both Sam and Lizzy's attention.

They looked at me and mouthed at the same time, " What??"

I furrowed my eyes at them and observed as if they were lying to me about not knowing who was Daniel. At least, Lizzy must know if she was Damien's sister.

"Damien's twin brother? " I said.

"Vivan, what are you saying? Yea, Damien had a twin brother but he died a long time ago," Lizzy mouthed. And Sam seemed to be in deep thoughts.

Now, I was confused.

"Maybe he didn't die," Sam mumbled and looked at me then Lizzy. "I was wondering how can Damien held captive Vivan for a long time with hell whole of mafia things. Now, the answers are clear. Damien was using Daniel as his copy to show off," Sam seethed again.

Lizzy held her temples and dropped down herself to the ground. Sam was quick to help her up. " Danny, Danny. Then, my Danny is still alive, " Lizzy said with tears in her eyes.

I was about to ask her when Mateo would come back when I heard a car being pulled back.

I got up and rushed towards the car. Sam and Lizzy followed behind me. Mateo got out of the car with a frown on his face making me panic. He must bring good news about my parents! "Are they okay?" I asked him as he leaned his back on the car.

Mateo and Sam were looking at each other as if they were mind linking. Mateo nodded at Sam and Sam walked away.

As Mateo tried to pass me I tried shoving him back although he didn't budge. Touching him felt like touching the larva. "Are you going to tell me what the hell was going on?" I snapped at him although I was trembling like a leaf.

Mateo said to Lizzy, "keep an eye on her," Lizzy nodded and gave me a reassuring smile.

Mateo didn't say anything to me and walked past me. Never looking back and leaving me with Lizzy, confused.

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The next morning,.....

I was in the car trying my luck as I kept changing the radio lines as I wanted to listen to the news. I also shut the doors locked... I just feel the need to do it.

I was changing from line to line the whole time. Until, I heard a reporter say about the body of a man who was around 50s, which was deposed near a lake with two gunshots on the heart.

That was Damien's unique way of killing his victims. I was silently praying as the scene replayed in my mind.

My body was shaking and my teeth were chattering. I quickly turned off the radio and turned the TV on. There, a reporter was standing near a lake explaining how the body was deposed and unrecognizable.

And there behind the reporter, I saw couples of people with suits blocking the view of the body.

The sight of a sweater piece made my whole world feel. Everything was spinning around me. Was it? Was it Dad's sweater? I screamed out so loud as I could see the view of the sweater, the only sweater I knitted for him the first time. Was it him? No!!!!!!!

"No!!!!!! Dad!!!!!!" I screamed out so loud that I felt my lungs give up. My whole world was collapsing. What if my thoughts were right? And thus why did Mateo ignore me yesterday???? I bit down my hands so hard and cried out.

And what caught my sight was the phone on the bumper. I didn't think twice about snatching the phone in my hands and typing away the number to that evil.

The call was starting to proceed and I heard a loud bang at the car door. Mateo was shouting and banging with his fists. He was saying something but I couldn't hear him out as my brain was blank and I could only focus on the phone.

I turned my back at the door and put the speaker on as I had decided on no turn back.

"Hello, my love, " I heard Damien's deep voice from the phone out loud clearly.

Within a second, Mateo came behind me and snatched the phone away throwing it across the car. The phone was banged with the car wall and shattered into pieces.

The next words furious-Mateo said was,

"We need to leave, now!!!"

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The self-proclaim righteous intelligence about survival would do zero to the one who hadn't even had a life yet.