I stood in my cold bathroom nude. Nothing felt real, it was as though I was just going through a dream. At any moment my alarm clock would start blaring some obnoxious song to wake me up. So I stood and waited. The only sound I could hear from there was the hissing of the old radiators. I reached out for the bathtub knobs and turned the shower on. Steam quickly filled the room and I climbed into the old, claw-footed tub. The porcelain had warmed up and didn't freeze my bum when I sat down; I wrapped my arms around my knees, and watched the blood as it ran down the bottom of the tub toward the dark drain. All that blood was coming off my body. Someone else's blood. Someone who was dead. Someone who I watched die. I couldn't take it. I pulled myself out of the tub, to the toilet, and vomited. As I flopped back into the tub I heard someone knocking on the door.

"Elysse? When you get cleaned up, please come to the kitchen."

"Yeah," I said absently, while scrubbing my hair.

There wasn't much concern in her voice, maybe more dread. This should have confused me. At the moment though nothing By that time my brain was nothing but a huge cloud of confusion. I decided to take my time. I was not rushing to get out of the sanctuary of my shower with the hot water. I really didn't want to go downstairs anyway. I was more than happy to stay alone. As the water began to run cold, I reluctantly shut it off, and wrapped myself in a big, fuzzy towel. There was a chill in my room as I left the steamy bathroom. I ran to my space heater and turned it on full blast. I pulled on a pair of my pajama pants and a long-sleeved red t-shirt. What was usually a quick jaunt down the stairs felt more like descending Mt. Everest, a daunting task that I had no pleasure in doing.

My mother and Connor sat at the table with three steaming mugs and a small wooden box.

"Have a seat, sweetie. We need to talk," mom said very calmly, not even looking at me.

"I don't want to talk right now. I want to go to bed. That's all I want to do," I replied.

"You really need to sit," she replied in the sternest voice she could muster.

Mom never did have a commanding voice, or attitude. She was emotionless most of the time. However, something about the look on her face, in her eyes, made me stop talking and sit down.

I sighed heavily, and plopped into the chair across from her and Connor. She pushed the box towards me. It was small and oak. As I looked closer at it, I could see that there was a picture on the lid, it was a person holding a book.

Odd.

A small golden latch was the only thing that kept the lid closed. I flicked the little latch. and saw two keys resting comfortably on purple velvet. One was a brass skeleton key, the other a small golden one. I just looked up at them, then back at the keys.

"Um, they're keys."

"They aren't just any keys, Elysse."

I blinked slowly while looking at her.

"Stop doing that. I don't need your attitude," she said, "Your father left them for you."

"What father?" I snapped.

"Right now is hardly the time to be acting so childish," she replied sternly.

"The man is nothing more than a sperm donor, mom."

"Elysse Grimm!"

"He is! He left you because he got you pregnant! Don't defend him."

"Yes, he left because I was pregnant, but it was to protect you. To protect us."

"Bullshit," I said.

"Abs, there is a lot that you don't know, despite what you may think," Connor said.

"What is there to know? He knocked my mom up and left. End of story. And you have no right to say anything! Who the hell are you? Why are you even running around with an axe?"

"No, not end of story. Go to the attic, move the clothing rack on the right wall. The skeleton key will open the door that's there. In that room will be an old trunk, the gold key will open it. Your father left everything in there for you, and an explanation," mom said.

"And you're telling me this now, why? Why wasn't this brought up at some other time?" I yelled slamming my hands on the table, the tears stinging my eyes.

The cooling chocolate sloshed, and spilled onto the clean wooden table.

"Calm down, young lady!" she grabbed her mug to still the moving liquid, "I didn't say anything because I wasn't supposed to. Not until the time was right."

"So, picking a night I watched some weird, crazy man turn into a wolf, and eat my co-worker is the right time?" I continued to yell.

"I understand that you're upset, honey..."

"Upset? No mom, I'm beyond upset! I was upset when I washed Blanche's blood off my hands, now I'm just pissed!"

She stood and walked away, pausing briefly in the doorway, "When you're ready, use the keys. It is important, Elysse."

Connor never moved. He stared at me. His amazing eyes were no longer twinkling. They looked sad and upset. His luscious lips pulled down at the corners, and his eye brows stitched together. I never took my eyes off of him as I slid into the chair. You can't turn your back on someone you don't trust.

"Stop looking at me like that," he said.

"This was all a set up. Wasn't it?"

"No, Abs, it wasn't."

"The coffee and lunches, you used those to butter me up, and pull this stunt!" I yelled.

"Nobody is trying to butter you up. I promise this has been one colossal accident."

I crossed my arms and stared at the wall.

"Please look at me," he begged.

"No, I do not want to see your lying face."

"Don't be like that. I never lied to you."

"Yes you did. You lied about wanting to see me, and faked being nice."

I refused to let him see me cry. I blinked back the tears, and swallowed the lump in my throat. I sat back stewing in my anger.