Chapter 51

The next morning, I was up before anybody. It was holiday, so, mom would not be going to work. I was up before 5am, because I was troubled. Despite that I was troubled, something made me feel a bit good. Someone had kissed my forehead, in my dream. When I woke up, I could feel the wetness on my forehead. It must have been Robin or so I thought. The good feeling was temporal, and before I knew it, I had begun to think about what troubled me.

Mom had told me the previous night that Cameron had stabbed her leg with a dagger. And I tried to wonder if the 'father' I was waiting for, was actually not worth waiting for. He had not even called to confirm if I was home already. He had not returned home either.

Has he always been like this? I thought to myself. What could make him stab my mom with a dagger to the extent that she had had the whole leg bandaged, and it caused her to limp every time she walked?

The limp was not serious, but still, she limped, so it was not so cool. I didn't know when tears started to fall down my face. I didn't want my family to break apart. I didn't want to live elsewhere, other than Kangaroo estate. I've lived here my whole life. I was born here. My sisters were born here. Scotland is my soil. Even if we had to leave, why not some other city in Scotland? Why do we have to leave Scotland totally? Why did mom have to build us a house on another soil?

My mood was so bad that morning that I couldn't do anything right. I felt worse because I didn't remember anything. But one person I remembered so well was, Mike Tony. I had not seen him since I arrived. Or did he not recognize me anymore? I had to go and confirm.

So, I crept out of my bed quietly. Mom was not there. I knew she slept in my bed last night. She had been up for much longer than I was. I was too tired to find out what she was up doing, the previous night.

Cameron's bedroom door was slightly open, and I could hear muffled voices from in there. I moved closer and eavesdropped. Mom was there, and it looked like they had just had a couple's night and were waking up in each other's arms.

"You know this is what I want, you right here in my arms, on my bed, in our room, under our roof, forever.I don't want you anywhere else, so stop scaring me with divorce. I don't want to divorce you, Ruby" I heard him say. His voice was so quiet but I heard it. Could I hear whispers now?

Mom sounded sleepy. "You don't want me to go, yet you don't love me like I want" Her voice had a hint of pain in it. "You don't even love our child"

"I love my pretty, promising twins. Whatcha talkin' about? I be kissing their cheeks and changing their nappy every morning" he half laughed.

"What about Ariana? The way you ignore her gives me so much depression in my soul. I'm glad we are having a real talk now, Cameron"

"I kissed her good morning this morning. Did you know that?" Cameron said. His voice was so sweet and gentle, unlike the raspy, angry tone he used to speak to mom, whenever there was an hot argument.

"Did she know that? The little girl doesn't even know what to feel anymore. Sometimes I think she's a little crazy, and I feel bad for her. Did she know you kissed her?" I looked in the keyhole carefully and saw mom in his arms. They both seemed to be naked. At least their upper bodies were bare. They looked like a real couple and I prayed silently in my head, that they'd not break up, and that mom would change her mind about the divorce.

"I promise to love her like you want. Just stay with me, baby" I heard him kiss her just then. Was this how he kept persuading mom to stay, but never changed? Kept beating her despite that he promised not to? How did mom end up in his bed especially with her injured leg? Did she still love him?

"This is how you talk after getting a good morning sex" Mom said and took his hands off her body. I thought he'd hit her because mom acted rudely but instead, he stood up and knelt before her. He had on a pair of shorts and his upper body was bare.

He took her hands in his, and said, "Baby, it's not about the sex. I really love you. I try to love you correctly but I keep failing. Ever since you've talked about this divorce, I have been emotionally down. You wouldn't let me talk to you. Imagining you leave my life shatters me into pieces.

I want you to be with me forever. I promise to visit a therapist or something for my anger issues. I don't want to hit you anymore, but I just can't help it most times. I.."

Mom started to cry. I heard her cry so much and so loudly you could tell she had been hiding so much emotional pain. She must be so confused. I left the house silently or I was going to cry too, and they'd find out I had been eavesdropping. I had to be quiet about leaving, or I'd disturb their attempt at reconciliation.

As soon as the door was shut behind me, I walked to the back of Mike's door and knocked. He opened the door after some minutes, yawning. His expression changed from sleepy to shocked when he saw me

"You are back?" He whispered. He looked like he was more surprised to see me at his doorstep than he was , to find that I was around.

"I want to go in" I smiled. He hesitantly pushed the door aside and I ran in. His sitting room temperature was cold. Obviously he had an air-conditioner fixed, and it was on. As soon as he came in to join me, I jumped on his arms and kissed his cheek. "I missed you so much, Mike" his expression read shock.

"Are we cool now?" He whispered like a repentant sinner

"What do you mean? We are cool of course. Come and read a book to me, I'm bored" I said, sitting in his recliner and turning around gleefully. He waited there for what seemed like hours, trying to decide what to do with me. I must have looked crazy to him.

"What is wrong?" I asked him, pointing to the shelf of books in a corner. "Come and read my favorite book to me"

"Ariana, it's too early for this. You have to go back to bed. It's barely 5.30am" he said, pulling me up.

"No. If I return to my bed, I'd be worried about many things. I don't want to be worried, Mike" I said, tears dropping from my eyes. He moved back in disbelief.

"I got a super surgery, Mike. My eyes produce tears now. Don't be afraid of me". He picked me up swiftly and took me into his room. I think he did that because he didn't want me to see the bottles behind the chair. Bottles of alcohol. I had already seen it. He had been drinking. Mike never did, so I didn't know why he had been drinking.

In his room, There were many books there, that I've never seen until that morning. It reminded me of Robin's library in the castle, but the library in the castle was about fifty times more surreal and beautiful than Mike's anyway.

"You have forgiven me, Ariana?" He suddenly asked, looking into my eyes deeply, and I was there, wondering what he meant because I didn't remember anything. I didn't remember that this man had once poked his fingers into my private parts for his pleasure and when I had asked him to stop, he had grabbed me tighter. I hadn't remembered that the way I cried for him to leave me alone gave him more sexual pleasure. I didn't remember that I had once loathed him for that. I had in fact, avoided him like a plague. It all changed in seven or eight days of the camp. A lot had changed. I had been transformed.

Do you wonder how I remember those things now? It's been ten years! That's why. Robin did tell me that the memories would come back themselves, and he was afraid they'd come to stay. The purging could only be done once, on a non-werewolf. Actually it could be done repeatedly, but it was very dangerous. It was a strong purging method that could kill me, and he had been relieved it didn't kill me the first time.

Now, follow my story where I was still eight years old.

"You have forgiven me?" He asked again and I stared at him morosely.

"Well, if it's about you not calling me while I was at the camp, I forgive you Mike. Now I'm back, and we are together again, that's what matters" his mouth hung open and he looked bewildered. He kept touching my head, asking me if I felt any pain.

"Please go back to bed, Ariana" he finally said, pulling me up.

As soon as I was out, he locked the door without saying a word, and I remained there wondering what just happened. Did I offend him? Was it really too early? Mike did say I could come over anytime I needed to. Why did he chase me away? I sat there and cried my eyes out because I didn't understand anything. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy. Maybe I should never have returned. I was so scared that mom would wake me up one day, and force me to Dr Brown's. I didn't need any therapist. I was not crazy!

"Robin, where are you?" I cried. "Robin!" There was no response, so I kept calling him. "You said I could call you when I need help. Where are you now? I don't understand anything anymore"

A mighty rush of wind shushed by my sides and I could feel it lifting me, so I held on to Mike's pillar so it would not carry me away, but before I knew it, I found myself somewhere else. And no, it was not in a castle. It was in an elevator, and I was alone.