Chapter 5

After he retrieved the aforementioned trash bin and gave her a hand holding on to the chair's legs, he replied, "No, you're going down with it." Her eyebrows raised slightly as she said, "What?" As soon as Billy stepped down onto the ground, she felt something inside of her pop like a cork. Her vision began to go black and she began to sway in the direction of the chair. Just as she thought she was about to fall unconscious, a strong pair of arms grabbed the collar of her jacket and pulled her back upright. She regained her senses for a split second before losing control once more. Her eyes rolled back in her head and everything went completely dark. When Billy regained consciousness again, she was aware of the presence of somebody else beside her. The feeling she had experienced whilst unconscious was similar to someone gently stroking her head. Forcing her eyes open, she could see her father holding her by her shoulders to stop her from tipping over. His face was covered in tears. Tears of joy, frustration, fear and worry. He leaned forward to kiss her gently on her forehead. As the kisses continued, she could also feel his body shaking as he sobbed quietly to himself. Although she could barely see him, she knew that he was crying. He was holding on to her tightly as though he feared that she might disappear at any given moment. After wiping the tears off her father's face, she said, "I think it is all right now." For what appeared to be a long time, she was too busy watching her father sob to notice the door of the lounge opening very slowly. A tall thin figure emerged. It was Mr. Smith. "Billy?" he called quietly. When neither she nor her father answered, he spoke in an uncertain tone, "Mr. Wilson wants to speak to both of you. Come with me." Mr. Smith led the way to a different bedroom. Mr. Wilson stood there, waiting for them. He opened his arms wide as he welcomed the two into his study. He offered each of them a drink, which they politely declined. Mr. Wilson cleared his throat several times before speaking. He had a serious expression on his face as he addressed Billy, "We are here today, Billy, because it concerns your relationship with your mother." Billy swallowed hard, but remained silent. Her father nodded his head, as if reassuring Mr. Wilson and saying "yes". Mr. Wilson looked directly into Billy's eyes. He said, "I understand that the past few months have caused quite a stir among your classmates and many people will likely ask about you. You must have a lot of questions. So, please tell me what is troubling you." She took one last look at her father who nodded in support. Slowly, she said, "I don't know how to explain it." Mr. Wilson asked, "Please do your best." After some hesitation, Billy explained to her parents how the girl who killed her mom ended up in a coma. As soon as she finished talking, she realized that her father was no longer seated behind the desk like before. Instead, Mr. Wilson had a worried look on his face while looking at Billy with a confused expression. In that moment, she felt uneasy, but she couldn't help thinking of how her father had reacted to her story. Perhaps his reaction was similar, or perhaps he was just reacting differently than she had. Either way, she could only wonder what was going through his mind. "Do you... mean it?" She nodded her head in reply. "So you are indeed capable of controlling such a power?" Billy nodded again. "But... how are you aware of what she did? How were you able to stop her from doing whatever it is that she does? How did you even come up with that kind of excuse?" "... I didn't lie." He closed his eyes while running his fingers through his hair. After spending nearly half a minute in silence, Mr. Wilson sat up straight, looked Billy in the eyes again and sighed, "I am sorry, Billy." "What do you mean?" "Because of you, my daughter has become a killer. I am truly sorry." Without thinking twice about it, Billy said, "No! Don't say that! Daddy, you don't understand... I wanted this all along! I didn't want to do anything bad, but she... She wouldn't listen..." "You have been hiding the truth from everyone else for far too long," Mr. Wilson said with anger and sorrow in his voice. "Daddy," Billy protested. Before either of them could utter a single word, Mrs. Wilson bursted into tears. "Oh my God! Look at us!" she wailed. "All this pain and suffering, and you've gone and done this to yourself! We tried our hardest to prevent you from coming to this point, but now... This is your fault." "Stop blaming Billy," her father interjected sternly. "Why should I?! She did this to herself! She's ruined herself!" "Yes, but she didn't ruin you! None of this is her fault!" "I know she's not a killer, but that doesn't matter! She's going to kill anyone who tries to hurt you! That poor little girl isn't going to stop until someone is dead! And that is my only child. If we can't stop her from committing suicide, then we should at least put an end to her misery! But if anyone's suffering, it is definitely going to be you and I!" "Mommy, please!" Mr. Wilson pleaded.