The Starling Vigilante [Watty's 2015 Award Winner]

Chapter 72

Ringing the ever so familiar doorbell of the house, I stood there, not knowing what to say or do. Should I run away? I thought reluctantly as my meeting came closer and closer. I didn't know how to tell them what had happened to me in the past; I didn't know what month it was, let alone how many years I had been gone. I didn't even know whether I my birthday had passed that year or not.

The oak door slowly creaked open, as though the user was scared of what may be in the other side.

'A-Aria?' My mother trembled, looking at me as though she had seen a ghost.

'Mum!' I cried happily at once, running towards her as the door fully swung open.

'I've really, really missed you, sweetheart,' my mum said quietly. 'We all have.'

'I've missed you all too,' I cried further.

'Aria?' I heard a small voice from behind me.

It was my youngest sister, Rose.

'Is that you?' She exclaimed happily, before giving me a hug.

'Yes, it's me!' I exclaimed back.

I couldn't believe how much she'd changed from the fourteen year old I had left long ago. She seemed more mature, but still acted as a little sister.

'Where's Leyla?' I suddenly asked. 'And dad?'

'Your dad's at work, sweetie,' my mother said, trying to hold back more tears.

'And Leyla?' I repeated.

I looked to and fro from my mother and my sister, both who just looked away from me, not bearing to make eye contact.

Something wasn't right. What had happened to Leyla that was bad they didn't want to tell me?

'Has- has something happened to her?' I asked sadly, dreading the worst scenario possible whilst trying not to break into my island persona.

I really didn't want them to see my tougher side; that wasn't the person they said goodbye to, and they didn't need to know about the things I did on that island to those prisoners.

'She went looking for you,' Rose said, not able to hide it away from me any longer. 'When she started uni. She said she was going to find you.'

'She's not... come back?' I asked worriedly.

'No,' Rose shook her head.

This was bad. If Leyla had successfully tracked me down to Starling, Merlyn could have used her to do his bidding whilst I was on the island. After reflecting upon my life in Starling whilst being on the island, I had realised that Merlyn had really been using me. I knew that from the start, but somehow, he had made me believe that he was helping me, but really, he had been hindering me. He hadn't even bothered to search for me.

'So, you don't know where she is?' I asked.

'No,' Rose shook her head again. 'The last time we heard from her was when she told us what course she was taking. In America.'

'She went to America?' I stressed. 'Do you know which city?'

'No,' Rose shook her head once again.

---

'I knew you would still be alive,' Rose said quietly as she and I walked up the stairs of our abode.

Letting my hand run against the wooden banister, it reminded me of how Rose, Leyla and I would run up and down the staircase, oblivious to the dangerous world I would soon be dragged through.

'I never gave up hope,' Rose continued as we entered what was my room.

Nothing had been changed, every piece of furniture kept in place as it was when I left for my first day at university.

'Leyla and I were the only ones who believed you would be still alive,' Rose told me as I looked around the room. 'I never let them take anything from your room or rearrange it. I knew you would come back.'

'Thank you,' I smiled, hugging Rose again. 'I really needed someone to believe I would be alright. And you did.'

'Everyone did keep looking for you, for a year,' Rose told me with a grin. 'But when mum and dad hit the last brick wall, they just... Gave up. It was all so sudden, like all their hope was gone and nothing else was left in them. Then Leyla decided to help me keep searching. She decided to become a detective, so she could find you someday. And then, a week after she got her A Level Exam Results, she just... Left. I think she'd put together some sort of information that led her to America.'

'I feel terrible about it all,' I said forlornly, sitting down on my old black quilt. 'All your lives got screwed with, all because of me.'

'You sound so American,' Rose laughed, trying to see the light in the darkness. 'I didn't tell you this to feel sorry for us. We're coping just fine. I just knew you wouldn't get the whole story from either our parents. They still think you're the kid who left for uni. You're twenty three, not some immature eighteen year old they treated you like.'

'I'm... twenty three?' I asked surprisedly. 'I thought I was still twenty two.'

What day was it? What month? I didn't even know what year I was in. Glancing at the calendar through the doorway opposite my room, I could just make out it was August. And if I was twenty three, it must have been 2008.

'Where were you before you got here?' Rose asked, intrigued. 'You seem... Different.'

'I'm not that 'immature eighteen year old' still, remember?' I joked indirectly, trying not to expose her to the horrors of my recent experiences.

'I'm nearly an adult, Aria,' Rose said with raised eyebrows. 'I can handle more than you think. I know you've been through a bad few years. Maybe if you talk about it, it could help you.'

'There's nothing really to tell,' I said vaguely.

Maybe if I drip fed her information, it would be easier for it to sink in?

'Well, I was taken to America,' I said awkwardly. 'By this man. He needed me to help him.'

'Is he the guy who abducted you from the uni?' Rose whispered, not daring to talk loudly.

I couldn't tell her the truth.

'Yes,' I nodded. 'Well, not exactly. It was a... Secret mission. I was almost like a... spy. That's why you couldn't know.'

'Then why are you allowed to tell us now?' Rose asked curiously.

'Because my assignment's been terminated.' I lied.

These lies I was telling were too bizarre to believe. But then again, my real life was even more unbelievable. I was stuck. I didn't know what to do. If I told them the truth, Merlyn could harm them in some way, like he did to Harper. And Eddie.

None of my family needed to know about what I had become.