Crazy = Genius

Chapter 34: Nightmares

'Never did I think I'd be coming back around digging up old memories'

"C'est un plaisir de vous rencontrer."

"C'est un plaisir de vous rencontrer."

"Good Job, Hannah!" Lilianna cheered, offering the five-year-old a high five. "You're picking up the French really well."

"Thanks, Aunt Lili." Hannah smiled.

"Now how do you introduce yourself? We went over this, remember?"

"Je m'appelle Hannah."

"Yes!" Lilianna nodded, making the child proud of herself.

"How's the school work going?" Jeremiah asked as he entered the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and making his way to where the two females sat at the dining table.

"Really good, she's picked up on French really well," Lilianna answered.

"Good, she's already pretty fluent with Italian so the more languages she knows the better. Being bilingual is important." He smiled, ruffling his daughter's hair.

Before the conversation could continue, the doorbell rang.

Lilianna's eyes shot to Jeremiah's and they held each other's gaze for a moment.

"You should answer that," Jeremiah said, his voice deep and monotone. His usual bright eyes had gone cold and void of emotion. An uneasy feeling chilled Lilianna to the core.

"Why?" She whispered making her inner feelings clear to him. She was scared.

"Terrence would want you to," He shrugged.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She scoffed.

"Just do it." He sighed in annoyance.

"But I don't want to-"

"Lilianna, trust me. Answer the door." He cut her off in anger. Her hands shook as she scooted away from the table and quickly made her way to the door. Once she turned into the front foyer she could make out the figures of two people standing behind the glass. Both were young males that she didn't recognize, which in turn made her anxiety spike.

"Can I help you?" She squeaked when she opened the door, using the wood and glass to shield herself from them.

"Well well well. If it's isn't Lilianna Price. I thought you were dead." A tall, lanky boy with slicked back, black hair chuckled as he took a drag from the joint between his lips. He wore ripped blue jeans, beaten up red converse, and a studded leather jacket matched with a bleach stained Guns and Roses muscle tee.

"Harlow, can you shut the fuck up for once in your shitty life? If Boss heard you talking like that he'd skin you and feed you to the pit-bulls." The second man drawled from beside him. He pulled his sunglasses from his face and glanced at Lilianna before looking back at his partner. He was younger than the man named Harlow and presented himself in a highly professional manner. His brown hair was swept back from his forehead and freckles lined his cheeks to make him seem innocent. A scar was visible near his left brow and his eyes were of two different colours; one an icy blue and the other a chocolate brown. His muscular physique adorned a navy blue suit and the edge of a tattoo was visible on the inner part of his left wrist.

"My apologies Ms. Price, my partner in crime isn't exactly the most polite person around. I'm Gavin Markowitz and this is Harlow Sanders. We're Second Circle members based in California. We have a meeting with your beloved Mr. Vendetta." The brunette introduced himself, bowing slightly as he did so.