Finally, the day was free. It was a Sunday and the light had just begun to pour into the windows in the master, warming my face.

The day started great, except for the underlying feeling of... something I really couldn't identify.

Eliza and I ate breakfast as we normally did, though she seemed to eat a bit less than usual. I tried to ignore the fact that she seemed sickened by the eggs I had prepared, but rather scooted them off to one side as if they were foreign.

I was worried. So worried, in fact, that I had been quiet for most of the morning.

"Edward..." Eliza spoke, breaking the silence.

I simply gave her a look, also ignoring her bloodshot eyes. Hadn't she slept?

"You're being very quiet... are you... okay?" She asked, taking a small nibble of bacon.

I took a sip of orange juice, freshly squeezed, and sighed.

"Sorry." I stated plainly. I knew I had never been this distant before, and I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was that was irking me.

She looked down at her plate, and I felt guilty for dismissing her so rudely.

"It's just... I'm still worried about you... it's been weeks and you're still sick. You won't let me take blood, run tests, anything to diagnose yo-"

"I told you, I'm fine..." she cut in, sighing. "Really Edward...I am." She looked into my hazel orbs with her blue doe eyes, and smiled.

It was from that moment... that I knew she was still hiding something from me. The feeling made me sick.

I looked at her, and the sky outside the closed curtained window seemed to cloud over. I'd never felt so separated from my lover... until I saw through her. There had to be something, there had to be a reason she'd been acting this way.

The rest of the day went on, and I spent most of my day in the study, thinking and reading to pass the time.

I didn't want to believe it, but something was very wrong.

Eliza came into the study around two p.m with a silver platter in her hands. She sat down a cup of coffee on the side table, and I kept my nose buried in my book.

Eliza's presence lingered until I thanked her. Normally, I would have asked her to sit down with me... but for whatever reason, on this day, something kept me from doing that.

"Edward..." she said softly, at dinner later that night, as I batted my food around.

I hummed in response, trying to ignore the many severed emotions building within me.

"There's something you're not telling me, isn't there?" I gritted my teeth after the sentence, and looked up at her. She gasped and sat down her fork.

"Edward, what's this abo-"

"The scars! The sickness, the sudden bursts of pain, everything! Everything you have yet to give me an explanation for." I fired off at her, relentlessly. I was angry... but most of all, I was hurt. I couldn't stop the hateful words from flowing, and with each second her eyes became more scared.

"Edward..." she sighed. "You know I can't-"

"You can't tell me, yes. I know. But why!? Eliza, I'm your lover... I mean... don't you trust me?" I looked at her, my eyes going soft.

"I do trust you. But I can't tell you this." She said. "If I did-"

I scoffed in frustration. "Damn it! I want to believe you! But..."

There was a long pause.

"But... you don't..." Eliza looked at me and her eyes grew dim, as she began to look at me with a hurt gaze.

I looked up at her, answering silently, my brows furrowed.

Eliza looked down, her ocean blue eyes trained on the china plate before her. All at once, she stood, sniffled, and turned toward the door.

I gripped my fork, my heart skipping a beat in protest to watching her exit the dining room, up the stairs...

...and toward the attic.

I gasped, my eyes watering slightly as the door to the attic closed. I was deeply guilt-ridden. It was the first time we'd ever argued, it was uncharacteristic; but I couldn't help but realize it was my fault. I'd targeted her like a hunter to prey, and I'd hurt her feelings.

I sighed, and debated on whether to pursue the girl, or give her some space. I decided on my instincts, and opted for the latter.

An hour or so later, I hadn't heard from her, and she hadn't been out of her room at all. I longed to see her, to comfort her, and so I ventured up the stairs to the attic door,  and knocked gently.

"Eliza..." I patted softly. Sniffles came from within. I twisted the doorknob and allowed myself to enter the room.

There she sat, on the mattress, journal in hands and pencil scribbling away. She didn't bother to look at me, and she hadn't acknowledged my presence at all, besides shutting the cover of the journal.

I took a seat next to her on the bed, and stared down at the gray floor, unsure of how to approach. I tilted my head for a view of her pink nose and cheeks, accompanying her watery eyes and slightly runny nose. My eyes then drifted to her neck, where I saw the necklace I'd given to her dangling by the silver chain.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to upset you..." I spoke as quietly as possible, afraid that I might mess up again. I wrapped my arms around her, praying that she would accept my apology.

She sniffled and her head bounced against my chest. Her breaths became ragged and uneven, indicating that her tears had returned.

She'd been really sick, and she'd done well just to get up each day and be the woman she has been for me. I didn't have the right to disrespect her this way, and that made me want to tear up.

"I'm sorry, Eliza... I truly am. I-I don't have the right..." I closed my eyes and hugged her as tightly as I possibly could, maybe tighter than I ever had. Her tears wet my afternoon shirt as her hand raised to flick the moisture away.

I began to ramble on, like I naturally did in this type of situation. "You have the right to tell me things at your own pace, and I shouldn't interfere. I just get so concerned, so worried about you when you hide your true feelings from me. I-It's like being the outcast in a clique... or the only white rose in a patch of azaleas..."

"Maxis.... Is my father."

All of a sudden, my rambling was cut off, and I stopped talking immediately.

Did I hear correctly?

"W-what?" I asked, pulling away from her, and looking into her eyes.

She closed her eyes in response, and hung her head.

"He's my father, Edward..." she took a deep and shaky breath as my heart sank to my stomach.

"Y-your... father..." I repeated the words as if they weren't English. I let the meaning of that phrase sink deeply into me as I listened to her go on.

"Samantha... is my sister. And she doesn't even know it..." She looked at the ground sadly and I still sat in awe.

"And as for the sickness..." She trailed off, regaining my attention, though the piece of information I had just recieved was truthfully eating away at every inch of me on the inside.

Eliza looked up at me, her blue eyes conveying the deepest of feelings, as if she needed to tell me something huge, something that would impact both of our worlds, forever.

I anxiously awaited the answer to my questions.

What I heard next made my heart plummet.

Sorry, everyone, I know it's not good, and hardly complete, but if you read my chapter in my other books you'll know the situation I face. I'm trying to slowly reaccustom myself to the screen. I thank you all for all of your love and I hope to make a full recovery soon.

P.S. This has not been proofread.

~Love, Mac.