4

"Woah slow down, it's okay. Calm down kiddo. No, you didn't kill anyone. Everyone is alive and well." "But how? I saw everything… everything…" I muttered under my breath. I could feel my heart beating rapidly as I continued to panic. "It's alright. Listen, I'm gonna explain everything to you okay?" L'isaisa said calmly, taking a seat on the chair again. I nodded quickly, still breathing heavily. "Good, good. First things first; your mother left this morning before the sun came up. She took you with her so you wouldn't be harmed." "Wait." I interrupted, suddenly understanding what she was trying to say. "She left you here? On purpose?" I clarified. "Yes." She answered, looking directly at me. "Why? Wasn't I supposed to stay with you?" I asked, slightly confused. "Yeah, well, it seems like she wanted to leave. So she told me to give you these keys and told me to bring you home whenever. But I didn't do it."

"When I found out that you didn't follow orders I was angry." She continued. "That's why I decided to leave. When I came here I had no idea what to expect, so I thought I'd check everything out first." "You mean you found me by chance?" I asked, somewhat surprised. She nodded in response. "Well then why didn't you stay and help me look for my sister and brother?" I questioned. She sighed, placing her hand over her forehead and closing her eyes briefly. "Because I didn't want to cause more problems for you. I knew that it was only a matter of time before they showed up and I couldn't let them hurt you. They were already dangerous enough. I didn't want to put them in danger by staying here." "If they weren't already dangerous I would've never left them with you in the first place. And you certainly shouldn't blame yourself for all of this. I don't blame you at all, okay?" "Okay. But I still feel horrible. I was supposed to protect you guys and now look at what has happened. I'm sorry" I mumbled softly, looking down at my lap. "No, Sissy. Stop saying that. Don't blame yourself anymore.