The more she thought about it, the more frustrated she became. What was she to do if they came knocking? What if they were serious? Then her presence in their realm was necessary, and if so, they would definitely seek her, and this would be the first place they would come.
The very same roof she shared with the people she loved most
Would they hurt them if they came? Her mother would certainly put up a fight if they dared drag her out that is assuming they made it a point of being heard or seen they could very well appear in the middle of the night and take her and to think she had trusted them before, well enough to put her life at risk believing they would save her and even though they did, it now felt like they were on opposite sides so wouldn't they result to anything to ensure they brought her back to those who sent them
Dread filled her gut; she wasn't willing to go with them, but she wasn't going to let them near her loved ones. What was she to do then? There was nowhere to run to. This town was her whole life, and she couldn't just up and leave without raising any alarm.
She was torn, and she hated the only possible solution that presented itself
To agree and leave with them
*
*
How and when she had fallen asleep, she didn't know, but the pounding in her head didn't allow her to think much about it. She dragged her feet down the stairs, aiming for the cabinet with the painkillers.
She quickly consumed the drugs and leaned her head on the frame of the door, waiting for the headache to subside, and as it did, the sounds coming from the dining room became clear
Did they have guests? Had her mother mentioned it, and she forgot? She looked down at her pajamas and decided she looked decent enough to go and spy on who they were
The sound of her mother's laughter was the first to welcome her, followed by her brother's chatter. Fridah passed her with a tray of fruits, briefly greeting her, and she gave a small smile in response before it faded when she witnessed who the guests were
Sat on the left side of her mother was Anson, who was smiling brightly at her. Damian sat next to him with a small, warm smile, surprisingly gracing his face. No one had yet to notice her, and she questioned if she had enough time to grab the knife closest to her and impale it into one of them.
She shook away the thought. Hurting any one of them was risky, not talk of the horror it would bring upon her family, especially since it would seem unprovoked
"You're finally up, sweetheart, come sit. Your friends we just telling me about their wild adventurous"
Lyla swallowed as she looked to the 'friends' in question, they both smiled at her, keeping up the illusion
"Good morning, Lyla," Anson said, and she only nodded, taking the seat next to her brother
"I didn't know you had such cool friends. I wonder why they'd even bother with you," her brother commented, making their mother playfully smack him on the arm, but she was too distracted by what to do to care about the teasing
"Well, your sister is really nice, it's easy to get along," Anson said, looking directly at her, his eyes indicating that he meant it
Her brother snorted and went on to give them all the reasons why she definitely wasn't easy to get along with. She didn't mind. Not even when he mentioned some embarrassing moments, no, she was too focused on the people before her, monitoring every move they made.
As if knowing what she was doing, Damian rolled his eyes, shaking his head in what looked like disappointment. She didn't care if they tried anything; she was ready to defend her family
Neither her mother nor brother noticed her tense body and narrowed eyes; they were too consumed by whatever it was Anson was telling them
Fridah walked into the room again, and she was the only one who seemed to notice she hadn't touched her breakfast, her question spinning everyone's attention to her
"Everything okay, dear?" her mother asked, concern lacing her voice. She reluctantly moved her eyes from the two and looked at her mother
"I'm fine, just a headache, but I had some meds."
"Oh, do you need to rest? I'll keep your friends company."
"NO…no, I'm feeling better, I'm sure it will go away soon."
Lyla took small bites of her food, trying her best not to bring any more attention to herself. After breakfast, her mother, oblivious to everything, invited the two to join her, and she entertained them by playing the piano. Whatever they said must have made her really like them, and Lyla scowled at them. She hated how easily likable they were. It would be so easy to trust them
Anson, who had noticed the looks she had been giving them, walked towards her, pulling her away by the arm. She tried to wriggle herself free, but he held her tighter and continued walking away with her. As soon as they were a distance away, he freed her and she gritted her teeth
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"What do you mean we just came to see a friend"
"Don't play dumb with me. Why are you here? Is this some kind of a threat? Are you trying to use my family against me?"
"You really think we'd do that?"
"Well, I don't know you well enough to assume otherwise, all I know is you want me to go with you and you might do anything to get me to."
Anson sighed, "We wouldn't hurt them."
"So why are you here then?"
"We just wanted to talk to you, beg you to reconsider."
"No, now get out of my house."
"Lyla…"
"Anson get...the hell...out"
"Fine"
Anson walked to fetch his brother and they both soon left much to the disappointment of her mother who kept complimenting them but what surprised her was when her mother mentioned that the two were telling her about a training program put up by their college to help freshly graduated highschoolers delve into various careers, the program was supposed to help them better understand what career choice best suited them and how they could pursue it
Of Course, she knew it was a lie, a way to excuse her absence if she indeed left with them. That only assured her of one thing: they were leaving with her, whether she liked it or not
*
*
Lyla had been anxious the whole day; it seemed like she was only counting the minutes before the inevitable happened.
She had thought of leaving home, her duffle bag still sitting on her bed was enough to show how much she considered the option, but even if she left, who's to say they wouldn't just use her family against her
She had also considered handing herself to them, but wasn't that just giving up and leaving her fate on their hands? She couldn't bring herself to back down, whether it was her ego or pure stupidity, she wasn't giving herself away
She moved to her bed, a dagger keenly tucked under her pillow. Let them come
*
She thought she had dreamt of the sound of her door slowly opening, but when she heard the faint footsteps, she knew it was real; they were here. She wrapped her hand around the dagger and waited, and as soon as the person was close enough, she lunged at them.
The dagger managed to cut their arm; it wasn't deep enough because the person was still able to cease her. She tried to set herself free to no avail; it was Anson holding onto her.
Then came that blue mist, and the last thing she saw was Damian walking to her brother's room before everything went dark