CHAPTER II

"DING DONG"

Eliza raised her head from the dishes she was washing, she looked back, stretching her head towards the kitchen door, as though doing so would help her see who was at the door, they just finished breakfast and the kids were out back, playing. Walking out of the kitchen with a small white towel in hand, her breathing was ragged, she massaged her hands into the soft fabric of the towel in an attempt to dry her hands, she made some mental calculations preparing herself to face those at her door, those whom she figured would be the authorities.

"My son is a minor who was taken forcefully from his school and was subjected to..."

"Mr Prescott, we just mean to talk to the boy, nothing more"

"Well, that won't be possible Sheriff..." Eliza stopped in her tracks, 'Sheriff'?? that would be the first time they'd be getting a visit from the Sheriff himself. She inhaled deeply, dropped the towel on a nearby table and walked briskly down the short narrow stretch of walls that made up their hallway, Josh held the door half open, only poking his head out while he kept the rest of his body inside the house.

On getting to the door, she placed a hand on Joshua's back and immediately, he turned to see who it was, Eliza smiled and nodded at him reassuringly then she opened the door widely and came to stand next to her husband, she stood facing a tall black man; he had very short curly hair and a bulky body with a somewhat stern face.

Clears his throat, "Ms Hall, we have some questions..."

"I'm gonna have to stop you right there Sheriff." Eliza butted in not allowing the sheriff to finish his sentence, "You cannot see my minor son who was being tortured just yesterday, what do you want now? To make it even worse for him? Why not interrogate those who took a minor from their school for some weird reasons." She made sure to stress all the words needed to be stressed in her statement.

"They are in a coma." The Sheriff stated.

"Huh?" Eliza wasn't expecting that, she was at a loss as to what to say now.

"We can't interrogate these torturers..." he said, stressing the last word, he took a step closer to them, his eyes pinned on Eliza, "... because presently, they seem like they are ones who were tortured."

That didn't go down well with Eliza, "What the fuck do you mean by that?" She furrowed her brows, there was displeasure written all over her face, Josh placed a hand on her shoulder but immediately she shrugged it off.

Laughing awkwardly the sheriff tried to calm the tension that was building up, "All I am saying is that your son was in an accident with two other grown men, these men are in a terrible condition right now yet your son is left unscathed, we want to ask him for details on..."

"I wouldn't like for him to relive an accident, Richard." Eliza started, cutting the Sheriff off yet again.

The sheriff sighed but kept his eyes glued on the beautiful short woman standing in front of him, he knew there was no getting past her, but it was worth a shot, it was worth it if it guaranteed having to look at a woman as beautiful as Eliza this early in the morning. He finally shifted his gaze from her to look at her husband Josh. He was definitely not worth such a beauty, Josh couldn't hold a candle to Eliza. 'Why did she choose him' that question rang in his head, he sighed again then looked down at the floor dejectedly, "Elizabeth..." He started, she felt irritated for no reason, "... you should seriously find something to do about Ryder's situation, I cannot guarantee him leaving scot-free the next time we come here." He gave a tight smile then turned to leave.

"Richard" Eliza called after him, he stopped then turned to look back at her, "Thank you." Her eyes were teary, "But this wasn't Ryder's fault," a drop of tears ran down her cheek, she hurriedly cleaned it with the back of her hand then she sniffled, "he's a good boy." she broke down in tears, impulse made Richard move a few steps forward to comfort her, but Josh wrapped his arms around her and was consoling her before he could reach them. Richard bowed then went in his car.

His hands on the steering wheel, he looked back at the two who were still standing on their porch, he has had many fails in his life, but he considers the failure to get Eliza his biggest failure yet. He lowered his head and tightened his fist around the wheel. Next time he raised his head up Eliza and Josh already disappeared into the house and the door to their house was closed. Richard sighed before he started his engine then drove off.

In the backyard Eliza watched her four beautiful kids bond and play together. She had a wide smile yet her eyes looked sad.

"Ryder, let's play fetch." That was Todd, he for some reasons likes being asked to fetch stuff, Ryder who was seated on their mowed backyard ground looked up from his book at his youngest sibling, Todd got most of his features from Joshua, that brown hair and brown eyes combo, but unlike Joshua, Todd was good looking, just that Todd looked like he'd be as short and sturdy as his dad.

"I am busy right now Todd" Ryder calmly told him.

"Hmmm..." Todd made the poppy dog eyes and pouted his beautiful pink lips, one feature he got from his mom. Ryder looked away then smiled, how could he say no to that? He chuckled then rose to his full 5'5. Now Todd was looking up at him with a wide beautiful smile on his face—he was delighted.

"Okay, I guess I can spare you a few minutes of my time," Ryder said with a smile on his face, "let's play." He announced and Todd jumped in excitement then he ran inside the house, Ryder watched Todd disappear into the house after which he shifted his gaze to him mom who was leaning on the door. She smiled at him but he didn't respond, he hadn't seen anyone else who could give such sad smiles as his mom did.

In no time Todd ran out with a tennis ball in hand, he handed it to Ryder and waited eagerly for the ball to be thrown. Eliza smiled one more sad smile then went inside the house.

Eliza looked through some old stuff she had kept away in a box, pieces of papers, pieces of papers, pieces of... Oh! There, that particular piece of paper she was looking for. In her hand she held a dusty letter, the writings were barely visible from behind the dust that covered the envelope, only a snowflake, at the top right hand corner of the envelope which looked as though it was printed with glittering blue ink remained visible.

She sat on the floor, dusting the envelope in her hand, the envelope wasn't sealed; it had been read before. She opened it and went through the contents of the letter, all the while she was sobbing.

Eliza pulled herself together then got on her feet, leaving the attic to her room.

In the room she took her laptop then started typing some seemingly important emails, she wiped her face with the back of her hand then sniffled, opening her mouth to get in more air; air which she lacked because her nose was filled with mucus.

When she was done she went through the contents of her email over and over again before finally sending it. She exhaled then nodded at herself, reassuring herself that she had made the right decision, she got up from the chair in which she was sitting, intending to get on her bed where it was much more comfortable to think.

"CHIME!!" Her laptop chimed, it was a mild notification tone yet it startled her, from where she was standing she squinted at the laptop and moved her head closer to it, her sight wasn't bad, she was just a bit blinded by the tears, an email from 'Frost academy...' her eyes immediately went wide then she rushed to sit back on the chair.

Eliza inhaled deeply, placed her right hand on the mouse and pressed her eyelids together tightly in an attempt to get her clear sight back all the while still inhaling and exhaling. She opened her eyes after this routine then moved the cursor to open her newly received email. Her request was approved. They approved her and would very much appreciate it if she contacted them ASAP.

She wasn't expecting such a quick response and she was really dumbfounded by all these, but probably it was all for the best she thought while smiling.

Now it was time to inform Ryder about the new development, she was very worried, not sure how he would take it.