by S R Dyble
She was holding a pillow to her chest and was sitting in deep thought.
"I fell for him," she said plainly whilst not moving her eyes from the wall.
When she eventually looked at me, I frowned.
"You said to be careful, and I didn't listen. I didn't even realise until it was too late."
That's all she wanted to say about it, I knew because she got up and headed into the bathroom.
Shortly after I heard the shower turning on and I glanced down to my wrist and fiddled with my delicate bracelet given to me by Kit. I knew by wearing it that Kit could track wherever I was. I thought about taking it off but didn't. After everything that had happened, it gave me some security should I ever find myself being kidnapped again. As I sat there in the dark, Ralph's face came into mind and I got up quickly to turn the light on. After my parents were killed, I could never remember the faces of the people responsible. Therapists had said it was my mind's way of dealing with the grief. Part of me wished I could forget Ralph's face. Instead, all I could see was his face and his extended arm as he pressed the trigger to his gun. I closed my eyes every time I remembered seeing the look on Kit's face as the bullet disappeared into his body. Shaking my head, I got myself ready for bed. After the house was tidy, we both settled on the huge half rectangle-shaped sofa in the living room downstairs. There, we laid in blankets and watched TV until we finally both fell asleep.
"You move, and I'll shoot her pretty little head off of her shoulders."
I kept falling in and out of sleep, and as I tossed and turned I held onto my stomach.
Trying to protect my baby from the evil in my head.
"I need that wealth," Ralph came close again and ran his finger along my jaw.
"I haven't forgotten, Eve. You think there aren't others ready to take my place?"
"No, you're gone, you're dead." I held my eyes tightly shut, trying to drown out his words.
Then suddenly I felt a huge slap to my face and my eyes opened.
I gasped so loudly that I was sure I'd woken Lilly up. I placed my hand on my cheek, still feeling the sting. I stared around the room as I caught my breath and once I realised I was safe, I sat up some more and looked at the patio doors where the early morning light was starting to make its way into the room. At first, I laid back into the cushion and glanced over at Lilly, who was still fast asleep. Pulling the blanket from over me, I placed my hand gently onto my stomach.
"We'll figure this out," I said quietly.
I had to believe it. Looking out of the window once more, I got up and dawdled towards it.
It was a beautiful morning, and I really needed a way to clear my head so I headed upstairs to quickly get dressed.
To the back of Lilly's house was a huge stretch of wildflowers behind their open garden, and behind that was a small wooded area. I glanced at the clock, it was six AM. Leaving Lilly to sleep, I pulled my hoodie on and settled my hands into the front pocket after closing the door quietly behind me. As I walked I engulfed the morning air, enjoying the fresh crisp.
The grass felt wet as I moved through it, even with my converse on I could feel the small splashes hitting against my ankles. When I glanced down, I saw the bottoms of my skinnies were speckled with water. Once in the middle of the wildflower field, I ran my hands through the beautiful flowers and took a deep breath. One day I would bring my baby here. It would be the perfect backdrop for photos and we could sit amongst the flowers. I ran my hands through the flowers once more and appreciated a beautiful daisy in the palm of my hand, before I stood up straight and turned around to view the rest of the surroundings. As I did, the slight breeze lifted my hair and covered my face. Once I'd cleared it from my eyes I noticed what I thought to be someone standing at the edge of the field. I gulped hard when my suspicions clouded my mind, and at first, I imagined the worst. Then, as I looked closer, I realised. I should have known. Who else showed up everywhere that I went? Even here, in my haven, he showed up. Pressed against the fence, he stood there watching me. I didn't know what to do at first, so I stood like a stunned deer, staring at him. Taking a deep breath of courage, I headed back to the house and naturally Kit neared me as I got closer. He didn't say anything—he looked a little exasperated—and he cleared his throat to speak.
"I came to take you somewhere," he finally said.
I eyed him, wondering why he looked so taken aback.
"Take me somewhere? I'm not going anywhere with you."
I managed to move past him but like always he didn't allow me to leave. He held onto my warm hand that had been encased inside my pocket. In the cold air, the sensation of his touch ignited against my palm as my eyes met his before I pulled my hand back.
"Delta, I'm taking you to Delta."
I narrowed my eyes at him and stood up straight.
"Huh," I frowned sarcastically.
"Ready to see me are they? They sent you to summon me?"
Studying me, Kit shook his head defeated and looked away.
"Can we do this in the car?" he asked after facing me again.
"No. You can't just show up like this and expect me to go with you."
"Look, I know it's weird and out of the blue but please, just come with me."
I took another breath.
"Does my life depend on it?"
It was a serious question, with everything that had happened.
"No," he shook his head. "But mine does."
Raising my eyebrows I studied him, "What does that mean?"
"Jesus, Eve, will you just come with me? Everything will be explained to you at Delta."
"You're really taking me to Delta? They wanna see me?"
I couldn't deny my need to see the place my Dad had built himself, as well as the people who had made decisions regarding my life once he was gone. It had been decided that my part at Delta would be held off until it was safer. I wondered why they now wanted to see me.
"That's why I'm here," Kit answered.
As I lead Kit through Lilly's house, I was sure to take him through the kitchen back door and not through the patio doors where I'd left Lilly sleeping. When I found her still asleep, I went back into the kitchen, where I'd left Kit, to search the cupboard for a pen and paper. Once I had it on the counter, I stared at it trying to figure out what lie I would feed her this time. I couldn't leave her a note saying I was going to Delta. I couldn't tell her how much I wanted to talk to her about all of the fucked up things that had happened since meeting Kit. I couldn't tell anyone.
My hormones were getting the better of me and I felt Kit taking a hold of my arm to face him as I started to get upset.
"Hey," he said gently, making me look at him.
I wouldn't though, because I was afraid that looking at him would reduce me to tears.
"I can't keep lying to her," I said then.
"I understand," he answered and I looked up to see his face.
"Lie to who?" We both heard Lilly and looked over to where she stood in the kitchen doorway. Still in her pyjamas and looking ruffled after just waking up. She stared at me, waiting for me to answer.
Fuck…
"Well, you gonna tell me or leave me guessing that you're talking about me?" Lilly asked, searching both of our faces.
"And why is he here?" She glared at Kit.
I nodded then, knowing I had to tell her. I moved over to the table and took a seat and glanced over at Kit.
"Can you give us a minute?"
He looked directly at me, and I knew what he was thinking. I knew he didn't want me to tell Lilly, and part of me didn't want to either, but I had to. Especially now that she'd heard us talking. Eventually, looking defeated, Kit nodded.
"I'll wait for you in the car," he said before leaving.
"What? You're going with him?"
I stared at Lilly.
"Are you getting back together?" she asked, "Please tell me you're not getting back together."
"No, we're not getting back together. He's still a chea
ter, nothing has changed."
"So, what the fuck is going on?"
"He's taking me to a place called Delta."
"You mean, like a frat house?"
Shaking my head, I brought my hands to my forehead and rubbed.
Lilly took a seat at the table with me.
"Lilly. My dad was the founder of an undercover security firm. His job was to track and stop mass criminals and protect people under a protection scheme, and Kit worked for him."
Lilly looked absolutely gobsmacked, like I'd expected.
She shook her head and blinked a few times as if she was trying to wake herself up to confirm what I'd actually said.
"The night my family was murdered, we weren't just kidnapped for sport. My dad was betrayed…"
I took a deep breath and gulped.
"His best friend had him killed so that he could take his place in my Dad's firm. That night, the reason why I wasn't killed, was because I was saved by a bunch of men. Those men were from Delta. I never knew exactly what happened that night. They saved me before they could finish me off, and Kit picked me up from the floor. Since then I've remembered those eyes, the eyes of the person that picked me up before I passed out. They were Kit's."
I took a deep breath, trying to suppress the memories.
"Kit was sent back to look after me—that's why he started at my college. He was there to protect me, from the very people who had kidnapped me and tried using me to get to my dad's wealth. The wealth, meaning Delta."
"Oh my god," Lilly breathed and sat back in her seat and stared at me.
"Is this all true, for real?"
I nodded, wishing it wasn't.
"Am I still asleep? Do I need to smack myself?"
I shook my head, praying she didn't start smacking the shit out of herself.
"Please don't."
She blinked a few more times.
"I've wanted to tell you so badly, but I couldn't. Nick told me that the more people who know, the more people that will need protecting. Even my grandparents don't know—"
"Wh-what? Wait. What? You said Nick?" She sat forward again and eyed me.
Shit.
I nodded. "All of Kit's brothers know about Delta. Nick is the same as Kit, they protect people."
"How could I have not known this?"
"It's as secret as the aliens are at Area 51," I said, recalling the conversation I'd had with Nick at the hospital.
"Not that, I mean, how could I have not sussed that you were lying to me? That Nick was lying to me?"
I shook my head, "I'm so sorry, Lil'. I would never lie to you. I did it because I wanted to keep you safe."
I wasn't sure how Lilly was taking it, her face gave nothing away.
"I don't know why I'm shocked, I'm actually not very good at reading people, obviously."
I frowned, "You mean Nick?"
"Nevermind," she shook her head.
"So, the time Niomi had been attacked, and the time I'd been chased. They were actually looking for you?"
I remembered what Ralph had said about needing to go through two of my friends before they eventually found their way to me. My friends had been hurt because of me, and it was extra guilt that I carried.
I nodded, "I'm so sorry."
Taking a huge gulp, Lilly looked around the kitchen and ran her fingers through her silky brown hair.
"I can't begin to understand what it must have been like for you, keeping this to yourself."
Raising my eyebrows, I stared at her. That wasn't the reaction I was expecting.
"You're not pissed at me? You're supposed to shout at me, tell me what a shit friend I am before we get to that point."
Despite my seriousness, Lilly smiled.
"I am pissed."
I nodded, guilt rising over my body.
"I'm pissed that you were put into a position where you had to lie to your best friend. I'm even more pissed at the people who told you that you couldn't tell me."
Oh, god no.
"Lil', it wasn't like that..."
"Did Nick tell you that you couldn't tell me?"
"Not directly, but—"
"He said it would be more people he'd have to protect?" she scoffed.
"He had no right to make that call for me. To make you think you couldn't tell anymore. Jesus, Eve. You're fucking pregnant, that amount of stress built up inside of you and no one to talk to— you shouldn't be feeling like that."
"I didn't exactly plan the best time to get pregnant..."
She nodded with her arms folded, "That's because you didn't plan it."
I nodded.
"So, your grandparents don't know?"
I shook my head. Nodding, Lilly rubbed her forehead again.
"And he's taking you to Delta now, why?"
"I don't know. Kit told me a while back, that one day they'd wanna discuss everything with me. I'm guessing that time has come."
Nodding, Lilly looked at me from across the table.
"Do you want me to come with you?"
I shook my head, "As much as I appreciate it, I'll go by myself."
She frowned then, "Do you trust Kit that much?"
Looking down at the table, I traced my finger along the wooden indentations.
"Not with my heart, but with my protection and my baby’s, yes."
Lilly nodded and stood up to hug me.
As we stood there, she took my hands.
"I seriously can't process all of this," she said and I could fully understand.
"You deserve so much better than all of this, Eves."
I frowned at her, knowing I'd never meet another person quite like her. I was so lucky to have her in my life.
"I'm doing this because I want answers, I wanna meet the people that sent you to me. That's it, okay?"
Kit looked at me as I adjusted my seatbelt, his face full of what looked like regret. Eventually, he nodded and I tried not to swoon as he shifted in his seat, because inhaling his masculine scent did weird things to my body. I rested my head against my arm and up against the car door, and I closed my eyes praying this would all just be over so I didn't feel like this anymore.
Silence grew, the longer we drove, and I could sense Kit deep in thought.
"You may be a bit taken aback by Delta, just stay close to me and you'll be fine."
"I'm sure I'll be fine," I answered quickly.
I had no intention of remaining close to him.
Hell no to that.
I could feel the tension rising as a few minutes passed, allowing Kit to stew. I saw as his knuckles clenched around the steering wheel.
"I'm fucking sick of this. Being in this car with you is torture."
His outburst had shocked me and as I stared over at him, gulping, I tried to swallow the hurt. I wasn't sure I could be hurt anymore by Kit, but he'd just done it.
"You should have told Nick to come and get me—"
"What?" he snapped. "Fuck sake, Eve, that's not what I meant."
As I looked around, I realised that we were now far away from any houses and in the countryside. We were nearing a wooded area and as we drove I admired the beautiful trees at either side of the road, trying to swallow the lump Kit had formed in my throat. I held onto my seat hard as Kit abruptly turned into an off-road dirt track through the trees and down a long road that reached a tall set of gates. I watched as he opened the window and reached his hand out to a machine set into the ground. He placed his hand onto an extended board and shortly after I heard a beep. The gates in front of us opened and Kit drove forward down an even longer road that had woodland at either side. I was honestly gob-smacked as another set of gates appeared. This time there wasn't a machine but a small building set to the side and an armed man dressed fully in black and wearing a black mask appeared from within it.
"Oh, shit," I said as we neared him and the familiar nerves that came from seeing a fully kitted member of Delta set in.
"You're okay, Eves."
I watched as
Kit reached forward to his dash and pressed the button that unlocked all of the car doors.
"Once they've checked the car, we'll be able to go in."
I continued to look at him as the man came to the side of the car and looked in on me. I couldn't take my eyes off of him. He bobbed his head to Kit in greeting and he did the same back before the guy proceeded to open each of the car doors and then the boot. Once he was happy, he moved back to his station and the gates in front of us started to open. We passed more trees at either side until we approached the destination and I stared up through the window at the amazing set of buildings. One was an old fashioned, grand house. It must have been Victorian and it had huge pillars occupying the front doorway. To the side of the stately house, a new, modern and full glass building stood in a league of its own. As we neared, I heard the gravel crunching beneath the wheels of Kit's car and he parked up beside a patch of green in front of the house.
"You ready?" he asked, as I continued to stare up at the building.
"This is Delta?" I asked, astounded by the buildings set before me.
"Technically. That is Delta," he pointed to the glass building.
"That is the safety house," Kit said, looking at the house.
The impressive house was like a castle, with at least ten windows on the ground floor alone. It was three stories high with an extravagant roof that had turrets. As I stood staring up at the building, I tried to imagine my dad here. He'd built this. Not literally, but this was his vision. He'd created this. I gulped and took a deep breath, trying to prepare myself.
"Do you wanna hold my hand?" Kit asked and I felt the tips of his fingers lacing with mine as I stood staring at the doors.
I pulled my hand away, feeling enormous with emotion and I didn't dare look him in the face.
If the sheer image of the glass building wasn't enough to astound me, as we entered the front doors I noticed a large rock statue that did. As I neared, I stopped dead in my tracks and stared at it. I had to hold myself together. This was too much.
"That was built shortly after he passed away. Your dad would think it's corny as hell," Kit said.
"It wasn’t my idea, but now I kinda like it. I find myself saying Hi to him as I arrive to work each day."
