Dreamer's Nightmare

Chapter Six

I freeze as it feels like the world is falling out from under my feet. How many world-shattering revelations are they going to throw at me today? "What did you just say?" I hiss. Surely I misheard him. He doesn't know anything about my parents; nobody does. He's just trying to get under my skin. I growl in frustration at the fact that it's working.

"You heard me. If you want to see your parents again, stop fighting me and cooperate." He growls through gritted teeth.

He sounds far away like I'm hearing him from the end of a tunnel. I feel light-headed. This can't be true. My parents are dead. They would have come back for me if they were still alive. I shake my head. I'm not falling for this. This must just be another one of Seth's mind games. He's trying to trick me into trusting him to get what he wants.

A crash from the hallway sounds, breaking my train of thought. I look that way to find that the two men have pinned Drake on the ground. He's still fighting against them, but it appears to be a losing battle. They each grab one of his arms in their grasp and they haul him back to his feet. He has a man holding each arm, but that doesn't stop him from fighting to escape their hold. He tries to break out of their grasp, but the man on the left punches him in the face. Blood pours down his face and he slumps. When he lifts his head, our eyes meet.

I shake my head in defeat and slump in Seth's grasp. I shake my head. "I don't believe you. My parents are gone and they're never coming back. This is just another lie you've come up with to appeal to my soft side." It's not going to work this time. I've had enough. I know him too well now to fall for his stupid little games. Once again, he's just trying to come between Drake and me.

He pulls out a picture from his pocket and shoves it in front of my face. "I thought you might try to be difficult."

I feel the blood drain from my face. It's a picture of my parents. They are side by side in two wooden chairs. Their arms and legs are tied to their chairs with thick rope. They look older than I remember, but it's definitely them. They each have duct tape covering their mouths. I squint to try to make out the parts of myself I inherited from them, but Seth jerks the picture away and shoves it back into his pocket. Tears spring to my eyes. I can't believe that they're really alive. "What have you done to them?" I shout angrily. I start to struggle against his hold but stop myself in case he is telling the truth. I can't risk never seeing them again. They've been gone for five years. Has he had them held hostage this whole time? If that's the case then it would mean that he's known they're alive the entire time we were together and never said anything.

He starts pushing me out the door. "Don't worry that pretty little head of yours. They're alive for now. As long as you behave yourself they'll stay that way."

He shoves me towards his car. I can hear Drake struggling behind me. "Let her go! Don't touch her!" He screams as he fights his captors to try to get to me. I turn my head to see him, and it looks like he's starting to get the upper hand. One of the men is lying in a heap on the floor. Drake and the second guy are taking turns throwing punches as they crash around the living room. It's hard to tell who has lost more blood; they're both covered in it.

"Call him off. If you come with me willingly, I'll let your parents go." Seth tells me.

"Drake, stop!" I shout. "It's okay. Just take care of my parents for me." I say weakly. I can't believe this is happening. If Seth is lying, I will kill him. But if me going with him means that my parents will be set free then I have to try.

Drake stops struggling. "No, Robin, don't do this. We'll figure something out; we just need some time to come up with something." He pleads. His face is full of anguish under all the blood and my heart hurts for him.