Chapter Forty-One

When I was younger,

Back when Lily was still on earth,

Back when my parents acted like parents,

And back when I didn't know any better,

I always dreamt of flying.

I yearned to touch the clouds with my fingertips and feel the rush of being so high up in the air.

I imagined of swooping down and up; dipping across the canvas of an evening sky that would be painted with warm hues of pinks and oranges.

I would soar along with the birds of the sky and wonder if I would be able to live up in the clouds for the rest of my life.

I remember reading the story of Peter Pan in my bed, fantasizing that perhaps one night, Peter himself would come through my window and take me away to Neverland.

We would fly through the night and into the stars.

Years later I occasionally had those type of childlike thoughts; of freedom, but they weren't for the sake of feeling the thrill of adventure or that wonderful rush of enjoyment... they were meant for the yearning of escape.

To escape from the horrid life I was stuck in.

Out of pure desperation and hopelessness, I would shamelessly leave my window open and hope that perhaps Peter would miraculously arrive and rescue me.

I settled for any opportunity to even give me the slightest pathetic ounce of hope I could confide in.

I guess after so long, Peter did come and take me away after all, even if it did take so so long and even if it wasn't really Peter Pan himself that did the task of whisking me to safety.

It was worth the wait, it was so worth it.

~ Grace

~

There was a pile of paper.

The first time I caught sight of it was when I was lounging casually on the sofa with a novel in my hands and my legs dangling up in the air.

I was still in my pajamas of course and my untidy hair bun was collapsing on me.

I saw a glimpse of the pile of paper, nestled messily on the coffee table and at the time, I didn't really notice it.

I guess I only was able to recall seeing it because that particular pile stuck out like a sore thumb and I made a mental note to tidy it up later.

The next time I caught sight of it was when I was grabbing the juice carton from the fridge.

I shut the fridge door and spun around in my socks, quite clumsily actually and I had to lean on the refrigerator to brace my fall.

I had since changed into one of Elliot's shirts and a pair of grey sweatpants, and I fixed up my hair into a braid.

Seeing the pile, it triggered my memory of the task I set myself to clean the hallway of the house.

So after finishing up with my quick meal, I set out with the job by first taking out the vacuum to give the flooring a do over.

With the machine up and running, I quickly retrieved Elliot's iPod, which he must have forgotten to take to school but was all the while convenient for me.

With both ear buds plugged in, I dragged the vacuum along, jumping over the cord and kicking away stray toys, all the while dancing along to OneRepublic which I wasn't ashamed of doing since it was an empty house after all.

Accidently, I knocked over the coffee table and the objects that had rested on it flew everywhere, including the pile of paper.

I swore to myself in annoyance and switched off the appliance and pulled out my music, bending down to tidy up the mess I had created.

Luckily, nothing had shattered and once I had rearranged most of the objects, I settled to collecting all the discarded sheets.

Bills, excursion forms, invites, more bills, letters, bills, hospit-

I froze.

The hospital never sent letters home.

Why would Petalerny Hospital have any reason to...

I knew it was none of my business but I couldn't help but let my eyes drift down the writing.

But as soon as I began skimming, regret sunk into me, more and more growing with every line.

"No I was reading it wrong... no it couldn't be..." I mumbled to myself.

I scanned through it again and again, trying to make sense of it.

But with my head muddled from my first read through, the phrases came out blurred and separated from each other.

Perhaps my eyes were playing tricks on me...

I regained my composure and focused properly this time and began to read word by word.

'Dear Mr Elliot Dallas, As of your assistance and our past agreement, we would like to verify your pa-'

The front door made a click and creaked open, causing me to jump in surprise and stuff the letter into the pile and quickly place it on the coffee table where it had previously been.

I turned to the door and Mr Dallas had his back towards me as if pulled his work boots off.

I shook my head and tried to set my mind straight, but made a mental note to myself to verify my grave suspicions later on for the time being.

"Hello Mr Dall- I mean Steve... What a pleasant surprise,"

"Oh hey Grace. Yeah I know! I got sent home early, which is pretty good since I'll be able to finally sit dinner with you lot and see the two youngsters straight out of school," he laughed.

Mr Dallas was a very kind and humble man, providing so much hospitality for me and his generosity seemed endless at times, despite his absense on a number of occasions.

However when he was present, he seemed to always be of assistance and managed to care for his children at the very best.

I should know; he was the father of Susie and Elliot after all, and from how they are today, his parenting skills must have been exceptional.

I was truly grateful for him and almost saw him as my own father from since he opened his arms to me and welcomed me, perhaps even more so than my biological father ever was to me.

I wondered why he and Elliot had an apparent strained relationship because the two were so like each other, considering they were father and son after all.

They even had almost the same eye shade and same smile.

A squeal erupted from outside.

"Eeee! Look Ewiot it's Daddy's car so that means Daddy's home!"

The little girl zoomed in through the front door and into her father's arms.

"Ah my little angel," he said nuzzling her in his embrace.

I smiled at the scene and for a moment a almost felt envious of Susie's relationship with her dad, one that I would have never have possibly had with my own.

But I was glad that Susie was able to look up to such a great role model in her life and for the rest of her growing years to come.

Soon, Elliot appeared through the doorway and I saw his mouth lift up in a small smile when he saw his sister and dad together.

My heart did it's usual pick up whenever I saw him but...

There was something else there...

Something else was causing my heart to race...

He looked up and made eye contact with me, this time his whole face lighting up.

And then I felt it.

And regrettably it wasn't a positive feeling.

I felt uneasiness.

From the idea that he could have been possibly hiding something crucially important from me all this time.

And the truth wasn't what it seemed.

I felt fear.