The Darkness Within Her

Chapter 4: An Alternative

I got out of the taxi and walked up to my house that was illuminated by the two lights at the front entry. Other than that – and a slight yellow glow that came from the side of the house – there were no signs that there was anyone home. But I knew Dad. He was always home by 7:00 sharp.

            Dad – better known as Austin Stone – didn’t look anything like me with his dark hair, olive skin, black eyes compared to my pale complexion, copper hair, and green eyes. He owned a law firm – Stone & Hasting Law – his partner being Dr. Hastings’ husband. He was a kind father, when it came to buying me material things. But the relationship was nothing more than respect, on my end. Sometimes I would find him staring at me, like I was some sort of stranger.

            I could remember, before Mom died, when he laughed and held me. Hugged me as though he couldn’t get enough, telling me that he loved me and said I was his sunshine. But in the last six years, there had been nothing. No father, daughter time. No laughter. No smiles. No “I love you”s. Nothing. It was painful but I just figured it was the way he dealt with his pain, the pain of losing Mom so soon. He paid for my medicine, gave me food, let me have a roof over my head, so I guess I didn’t have a lot to complain about.

            I threw my keys into a bowl by the door, “Dad?”

            “In the office,” Dad replied.

            I followed his voice towards his office where I paused at the doorway. His grand French doors were propped open to expose his 300 square foot office. Bookshelves were on either side of the room, with the left hand side filled with books and the other being filled with degrees, pictures, certificate, and so on. And right in the middle was a marble desk with Dad sitting behind it. He looked up at me, “Have fun?”

            “It was good” – I plopped down in the seat across from him, sighing – “He kept trying to get me to go with this kid named Tyler and I was just like, no.”

            “Good, because I forgot to tell you something before you left,” Dad closed his laptop with a click and leaned forward, “You are free, correct, on Saturday night? I have the annual business party and I would like it if you went.”

            “Why?” I was baffled, “You’ve never let me come before.”

            “I don’t know, I figured it would be good for you to get out,” Dad said, his blank of any emotion.

            I bit back a retort. “Fine.”

            “Thank you,” he replied.

            “No problem, I’m gonna go do homework,” I said and stood, stretching before walking out.

            I grabbed my phone and sent Caleb a quick text.

ME: C, now I have an actual xcuse not 2 go 2 prom

CALEB: y

ME: Dad just asked me 2 attend his party

CALEB: really

ME: Yep, no idea y

CALEB: it’s a good xcuse @ least

ME: ikr

Truth was I didn’t know exactly why Dad had invited me to his party. He had never, never invited me before and I was stumped. It was so odd and out of character for him that I wondered if he was playing some sort of game with me. Like, there was going to be something or someone there that would unnerve me. Why Dad would do that was a question that I didn’t know if I wanted to find the answer to.

He had done stuff like this before, taking me somewhere or introducing me to people that threw me off and sometimes triggered something emotionally – or in the very rare case caused me to freak out because the person had fire on them. It was like he was trying to prove something he suspected of me, or trying to get me to see something. Dad was outrageously smart – he had gotten 1500 on his SATs – while I was average. Perhaps it was the latter and I just didn’t have the brain to figure out what he was trying to get me to see about myself.

I put my phone down on the nightstand next to my bed, collapsing on the top of the comforter. I knew pity played a part in Dad inviting me to his party. Pity because Caleb had ditched me after inviting me to his prom. Pity because I was sickly and weak. But there had to be another reason, Dad wasn’t normally the type of person who had a big heart. Not even with me.

The AC kicked on with a growl. I shivered and slipped under the sheets, not even bothering to change my clothes. Nausea rested in my throat and while I was freezing, my skin was clammy. I clenched and unclenched my hands as a helpless feeling washed over me. Why couldn’t I be normal just once? Normal and healthy. I barely remembered a time before when I hadn’t been sick.

I must have fallen asleep because when I woke up again my stomach was grumbling and the AC had turned off, leaving me feeling almost hot. I got up, taking a few minutes to stand up, as my legs didn’t seem to want to hold my weight. When I could, I ventured downstairs, hearing faint music playing through the master bedroom door. I thought about it for a second, trying to figure out what day it was. It was Friday. Which meant…?

A girl’s giggle slipped from the door. I rolled my eyes and headed into the kitchen. I tripped over a rug, throwing out my hand to steady myself against the wall. On the edge of the counter, I noticed a piece of paper. I wandered over and read the notes that were scribbled in my father’s handwriting.

No negative response to X-72 to report. It appears to be working positively in the system though drowsiness is obvious.

 Remove the element to steady the blood, as I think it could cause the heart to stop.

            I frowned at the words; it wasn’t the first time I had read something like this that was from one of his phone calls. I worried my bottom lip before I grabbed an apple and headed back up to my room, putting the notes into the back of my mind.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Please vote, comment, and share! Critique is welcome, as long as it’s not rude.

I didn’t use a song or draw a picture because 1. I couldn’t find a song to go with this chapter and 2. I was too lazy to draw. If you have any suggestions, please PLEASE let me know :)

This chapter is dedicated to wansari-dragon who not only ordered one, but TWO trailers from me. Thank you so much!