I stood in front of an average sized house. It had bare brick walls and a few windows dotted around from what I could see. A small wooden gate surrounded the house. It was pretty the type of house I could only hope to live in.

I then turned my attention to a bungalow, opposite to the house I had at first looked at. Moss reigned dominant on the roof and the grass outside it was long overgrown. What may have also been a metal gate had been eaten up with rust and the paint corroded away by heavy weather.

I heard the door of a car shut behind me and then footsteps.

"This is the place." Came the policeman's voice, who I had learnt to be called Officer Dixon (or to me, Matthew, at least that's what he asked me to call him).

The bungalow my eyes were seeing looked nothing like my childhood family home and even I could decipher that, despite having seeing it in years.

I watched as Matthew walked to the door and knocked on it. As he knocked I saw the vibrations from his hand transfer onto the door itself and was quite surprised that the little door was still standing.

I moved closer behind Matthew not wanting the first thing for the owner of the house to see, being a scruffy, homeless teenager.

A woman came out onto the door frame when the door finally opened. Her black-brown hair was pulled back, yet small parts of it were slowly coming undone. Her oriental features were only noticeable if you happened to be close up and her clothes, baggy on her slim figure.

"Yes." She said, before realising that she was talking to a policeman. "Oh, what seems to be the problem officer?"

"Am I speaking to Mrs Blythe Harvey?" He said, in a formal tone, distant from the friendly voice I had talked to in the car.

"I prefer to be called Miss Melslee now." She answered, taking notice of my presence, behind Matthew.

"Alright, Miss Melslee, may I ask you a few questions, regarding your past?"

She nodded, opening the door wider, inviting the Matthew in. She raised an eyebrow at me and gave Matthew a questioning look, which he ignored.

I followed Matthew into the house and to avoid boring descriptions, I can sum up the interior by saying that it was as flattering on the inside as it was on the outside.

Matthew sat on the couch that stood at the far end of the main room, without invitation while I stood beside him, uncomfortably. Miss Melslee took seat on a chair opposite the couch glancing back and forth between the two of us.

The woman that was meant to be my mother didn't even recognise me, then again, if I saw her in the streets I probably wouldn't have recognised her. After all, I've been gone for four years, maybe more. I've lost track.

"Miss Melslee, am I correct in saying that four years ago, around about July, your daughter was kidnapped?" She nodded in response, looking concerned about Matthew bringing up a subject that had probably been ignored for some time.

"And her name." He continued.

"Vanessa." She answered still looking at me. Matthew looked at me with an encouraging smile.

"Well, I think I might have her standing beside me, miss."

+++

Grandmother Harvey had originated from China, but to pursue her dreams of medicine, she travelled to England, in hopes of a better education than the town she lived in. There she met my dear grandfather, in her medical course. Together they made a mixed Caucasian and Chinese baby girl, aka. my mum. And, of course, she and my father made me. Thus making me a quarter Chinese, a quarter English and half Irish (thanks to my dad).

Unlike my mother, my Oriental features (courtesy of my grandmother) reigned dominant over most physical features of my body; which meant I got the rounder face, the darker eyes, the flatter nose, and (thank god) the clearer skin. 

Looking at my mother now, it was hard to believe that we were even related, because despite her dark waves of hair and her pale skin she held the resemblance of my grandfather, which I did not.

We had all moved from the main room to a small kitchen, where my mum made us all tea. Matthew had just excused himself saying that he needed the toilet, however I do have my suspicions that it was just an excuse to get us to talk alone.

I traced the rim of my mug with the tip of my pale finger, avoiding the stare of my mum. The room had been stuffed with awkwardness and silence when Matthew had left and it made no signs of leaving.

When picturing this moment I had imagined my mum welcoming me with open arms and a smiling face, and my dad ruffling my hair and showing love that hadn't seen the light of day in years. But the scenario I was living in was all too different from the dreams in my head and I couldn't say I was liking it too much.

When Matthew came back in, he seemed surprised to be where he had left us giving each other the same silent stare.

Matthew cleared his throat before saying, "As the parent of Vanessa it is clear that she will obviously be more comfortable staying here than-" He was suddenly cut off by a loud scream, which seemed to echo throughout the empty apartment and it's lack of furniture.

My mum's eyes widen before running out of the room, Matthew immediately goes after her, while I follow behind.

After following Matthew, I walked into a bare cream room, the only obvious furniture being the single bed with a cheap mattress. Beside it was a young boy, with tears staining his cheeks, no older than four years old; being held by my mother, who was also rubbing a red patch on his forehead.

Matthew looked at them both, displeased at not being told that there was another person in the house.

Soon the little boy stopped crying and just held onto my mum's arm, whimpering.

My mum looked at me and sighed, "He is one of the reasons that I couldn't pay for your ransom." She then looked back at the young boy. "I only found myself pregnant with Dylan in the September after you were kidnapped and the month of the ransom letter."

+++

We were back in my mum's living room but this time with the addition of Dylan, whose cries were replaced with a look of awe. I found him staring at me from my mum's lap, a smile forming on his face.

"My first symptom of pregnancy was of course the long lasting headaches and then the morning sickness. Since you were an IVF baby because I couldn't get pregnant, I was so surprised when I became pregnant with Dylan." She breathed in, red starting to colour her cheeks as she realised she was telling a complete stranger her personal life.

"And at the time," She gulped, looking towards me, "you're dad-"

What was happening to me?

I woke up in the night with horrible stomach pains, as if it was being slowly pulled out of my body. Tears formed in my eyes, as I clenched my stomach hoping the pain would pass.

I looked down at the mattress and saw that it was stained with the horrible colour of scarlet. I nearly screamed when I noticed that my trousers were stained with the same colour.

The door flung open as Finn rushed in worry claiming his face. He looked down at me and immediately seeing the red.

"Luca! Fuck, Luca!"

Heavy footsteps were heard pounding on the weak floor boards, before Luca made an appearance at the door frame.

"What is it-" He then stared at me with the same horror as Finn did. "Fuck."

Luca continued to stare at me, muttering something under his breath while Finn paced back and forth in the small room, I had now grown familiar with.

Dragging his hands through his hair, Luca muttered, "What are we going to do?"

While Finn continued his pacing, talking to no one in particular. " Her parents should have responded by now, it's been months. What is taking them so long?"

Both trains of thought were cut off when I collapsed onto my bed clutching my stomach. More tells fell and rolled onto my cheeks.

"I'll go out and get some stuff for her. Get her some paracetamol while I'm gone, and stay with her." Finn said, rushing out of the door.

Luca went out the room too and quickly came back with a bottle of water and paracetamol. I swallowed the tablets dry, desperate for the pain to go away.

"Hey, calm down." Luca said, awkwardly patting my back. "Finn's gone to get your stuff, okay?"

Soon, Finn was back holding a bunch of feminine care products, that I had no idea how to use.

Following the instructions, Luca had looked up, I had managed to put a pad on, while both men scrubbed at the blood until it was merely a stain.

The entire night we all stayed awake. Me, crying out in pain, despite the paracetamol given to me, and them, listening in their own rooms.

That was how my first period and you could say that it wasn't pretty.

But no matter how "nice" they were to me the first night, the next times, kindness was forgotten.

They ended up buying me cheap versions of the products I needed, giving me the bare minimum and leaving me with a water and some more paracetamol. Yet not enough to give me an overdose, they were careful about that and always checked my mouth to make sure I swallowed it.

And if I woke them up they would gag me so I could make no noise. All so they could sleep silently, while I cried quietly, clutching my  stomach.

+++

Two faces were looking down at me, from where I was lying. My mum and Matthew. From the corner of my eye I could see Dylan playing happily, by himself.

My mum and Matthew looked at each other before looking back at me.

Finally, Matthew said, "Vanessa, you need to tell us what happened to you."

a/n: Well, hello. Haven't seen you in a while. My excuse for taking ages to update today is writers' block as you will soon find out is my excuse for most late updates.

I think I've decided to alternate between releasing new chapters of "The Elementals" and "Lachrymose Love" just so I don't get bored only writing one story and so I can hopefully finish at least one of them some time soon.

Come back for the next chapter and all that fun drama. Peace.

chapter release date = 28/01/19