The Illusion

Five

Melatonin. Sent from the gods. I'd woken up a few times. The quiet closing of bedroom doors, cracks of light running up the walls and onto the ceiling from the tiny gaps in my curtains. Falling back to sleep had been easy though. For the first time in weeks. It wasn't a solid sleep and I'd woken up with the most splitting headache but I felt calmer. A little. I managed a shower. Something that had been a 1am thing when I could feel his hands on me. I managed to put the cream on the itchy scabs on my legs, put on clean clothes that weren't pyjamas or the easiest clothes I could find. Shorts, because the jeans I wanted to wear put too much pressure on the scabs and had tugged at the healing cuts, making them bleed a little. A top I loved. One that made me feel pretty and filled me with confidence, confidence I was trying to get back.

After I'd woken up, I sat and looked up how to fix myself after what happened. Tips from other people who'd had similar things happen, what to expect, how psychiatrists recommend recovering in a way that will give you the least amount of problems later in life without me needing to talk about it. I don't want to talk about it and I don't want what he did to haunt me forever.

I think 10 days of everything settling in, one night of somewhat reasonable sleep was enough for me to realise dwelling on it wasn't helping anything. I had been sitting in a puddle of chaos. I wasn't drowning. I felt like I was, but I'm not. Everything is categorized into two sides right now. Dad's work and Zane. That's it. Nothing else has changed.

The things Zane did was to get information about Dad. I knew Dad and the boys were not taking this lightly and they 'had it under control'. Therefore, I had nothing to worry about. Apparently I had Leo as well, to keep me safe. Since I couldn't do it myself. These men, they knew what they were doing. There was guns, they could probably lift a car. I was no match for them. But I didn't need to be. Unless Leo is suddenly nowhere to be seen when they-

"You're up." I launched my full cereal bowl at the voice as I turned around, jumping out of my seat and around the counter, heart pounding in my chest. "Hey. Woah. Freya. It's just me." Isaac blinked. It's okay. Just Isaac. Footsteps bounded down the hallway as I forced myself to breathe.

"What happened?"
"There was a crash."

"It's- it's fine. I just made Freya jump." Isaac smiled softly, ocean blue eyes hiding behind his long, blinking lashes. "Are you alright? I didn't mean to-"

"Yeah. You um- Sorry, I was just thinking about something. Didn't hear you coming." I shook my shoulders, turning to grab what I needed to clean up the mess I'd made.

"Let me-"

"No. Isaac. I threw it, I can clean up some spilled milk I'm not a child." I flinched, pulling the paper towels away from his grasp. I turned my shoulder as I walked around him, the girls still stood in the doorway, not exactly sure what to do. "Can you all stop looking at me like that? He made me jump, it was instinct. I've done it before with books, I didn't have a book, I had a bowl of cereal." I sat back on my ankles and peered over at Isla and Lili. I sighed, picking up the rubbish and now empty bowl and moving it all back to the bin. "See. Big girl." I nodded at Isaac sarcastically, hoping it would make my point. "Why is everyone so quiet all of a sudden? You guys would be ripping me for thinking a bowl was going to be any use at all. Especially you Isaac."

"We're worried about you Freya." Lili sighed, pulling Isla further into the room. "You're quiet even for you."

"Way too quiet. And you're not even reading. So that's not an excuse you can use."

"You can't keep whatever happened in there bottled up Freya." Isaac stepped forward and I backed up into the counter behind me.

"You guys saw what happened. I've told you what happened. I'm not going to keep telling you over and over again." They all sighed. Like they'd been practicing it to make sure it was perfectly in line and in tune with each other.

"How about we have a girls day?" Isla pushed her hair out of her face. "Do our nails, watch some films." I cannot think of anything worse.

"Sorry ladies. We've got things to do today." My saviour. Apparently he keeps me safe from gossip and cheesy romcoms too. Good to know. Isaac turned to Leo, lowly looking him up and down. "Right Miss Parks?"

"Yep." I nodded. No idea. "Ready to go when you are."

"Wait a damn second. Where are you going?"

"Sorry Isaac. Can't say. It's on a need to know basis."

"Yeah, you don't need to know." I stuck my tongue out at him, chuckling as his forehead crinkled. Tell me I'm not okay now. Try it. Leo extended an arm towards the door and I took my opportunity to get the hell out of there. I was guided through the house, out the front door and up to a car I hadn't noticed was even there before.

"You're very trusting Freya."

"Hey, I've been kidnapped before and survived. Pretty sure the guy who gave me a melatonin to help me sleep isn't meaning me any harm." He pulled on the passenger side door, waiting for me to climb in before he closed it, walking around to his own side and climbing in. "Besides, if you were kidnapping me, I don't think telling my brother and sister in laws would be the smartest way to do it. Especially considering they've fitted all my shoes with trackers now." He snickered, lips on half of his face pulling up barely an inch.

"You noticed that huh?"

"When all my shoes move 2 inches to the left and the insoles just don't feel right under my feet, I go looking." I shrugged. "Your idea I'm guessing?"

"You'd be guessing correctly. Though only me and your dad know about it so don't worry about your brothers turning up randomly."

"What around the house? Funny."

"No. On these little trips. I wanted to talk to you today about sorting your head out anyway."

"Sorting my head out?"

"Okay, maybe I worded that wrong. There's a few things I want to achieve with you that are going to make me keeping you safe a hell of a lot easier. The first on that list is getting you mentally healthy again. That means a steady sleep schedule, stopping the trauma embedding itself, and tackling any fears that he might have burned into your mind." I tilted my head at him. "Because I don't know you but even I can see it messing up your head."

"You've done this before?"

"Hm?"

"The way you're phrasing it. You've helped people get over this kind of thing before?"

"A few times." He nodded, exhaling when I asked where he'd done it before. "I'm not supposed to talk about it but I need you to trust me and I don't think me keeping secrets is going to make that any easier for you. I used to work in the army, worked my way up until I was being given these kind of jobs, one on one protection kind of things. One of the girls I was brought in to look after had fought off 3 of her other guards so I did a lot of research into what had happened to her so I could make sure that she wasn't uncomfortable with me around. Eventually the threat passed and I was moved to another assignment but trauma kind of became an area I specialize in."

"So why aren't you still doing it?"

"I found something I shouldn't have and had some very big people trying to - anyway. I am legally dead."

"You're legally dead?"

"Yep. Got a death certificate and everything."

"Oh great." I sat forward in my seat. "I'm being kidnapped by a zombie who puts trackers in my shoes."