Divine Deception"Home"
"Lie still." That was what he said to me. His icy breath tickled the insides of my ear as he grabbed my hair and pushed me down. I thought I was helping him. That he could have been somebody I could call a friend. But I have learned that there are no friends here. Just people who hate and monsters that look to prey on the weak. Yuri walked a fine line between the two. He wasn't a friend. Instead he turned out to be a fiend. One whose voice I can't get out of my head. Yuri Ivanov. Just the thought of his name brings me back to consciousness.
When my eyes open, I stare at the wall straight ahead of me. The wood panels are yellow, aging and for some reason familiar. I've seen them before. There's a split second when I think that I am back in the bar. That Yuri has gotten me, yet I know that it can't be right. Somebody saved me. I vaguely remember seeing his face and falling into his arms. I'm on my stomach and I push myself up to get a better look at my surroundings. The smell of hay lingers in the air and there's a draft. I knew I've been here before, and when I turn to see the young man sitting next to the bed, it all comes back together.
"Nathan?" I say.
He's sitting on the floor, his back up against the side of the bed. He clears his throat and gets to his feet as if my voice is his cue to move. "Don't worry, nothing happened." I can't decide if he means between me and Yuri or him and I. I look down at what I'm wearing. I'm still in the same blouse and jeans I wore when Nathan dropped me off at the bus station. "I'll get you something to eat," he adds and then heads down the stairs.
I hesitate for a moment. Do I stay? Should I leave? I see my knapsack is next to the stairs. Nathan must have brought it home with us. My first instinct is to grab it and scatter, although something inside me tells me it's the wrong things to do. Nathan deserves more than that, especially since if it wasn't for him, I have no clue where I'd be. I get to my feet and pull off my wet boots, kicking them next to the bed. I walk over to my knapsack and, with haste, get changed into my other set of clothes. Right after I run a brish through my hair and tie it into a ponytail, Nathan's coming up the stairs.
He doesn't say anything when he makes it to the top. He's got a wooden tray in his hands that holds a small bowl of soup, a glass of water and a plate of noodles. To me it seems like a strange meal for morning until I realize that it isn't morning at all. I've slept for more than fifteen hours. When I check the time, it's almost five at night. Nathan places the tray on top of the dresser and takes a seat on the side of the bed. He's not looking at me. If anything, he's positioned quite the opposite. His back is facing me, his back hunched and his shoulders rolled.
"So..." he breathes. "You're an Alto."
I don't confirm or deny this. I'm sure by now he's figured it out. I saw what they're broadcasting over the news. And hearing what Yuri said, there's no denying the fact that I am the missing Delilah Alto of Sunset Valley.
Nathan chuckles, but I know there is nothing funny about it. "I knew something was off about you, but I never expected anything like this. Do you know how bad it is that you came here? Riverview of all places an Alto shouldn't be."
I don't say anything.
"Everybody who lives here has been affected by the Alto's one way or another. Whether it's been through a marketing scam or Nick Alto's crimes..." He glances over his shoulder at me. "You've walked straight into the lion's den. Do you know how bad this could be?" He pauses. "Delilah?"
I break my eye contact as my throat tightens with worry. It seems the farther I want to go to get away from my past, it's always there stalking me. I can't truly get away from who I am no matter how hard I try and I hate it. I chew the inside of my cheek as Nathan gets up from the bed. Maybe he's impatient because I don't know what to say or that my ignorance has led me to this very place. I don't know. I don't know anything anymore and I hate myself for it. Everything has been leaving my grasp since that night with Vita at the Bistro and no matter how hard I try, I can't keep a firm grip anymore.
My head falls into my hands as I drop onto the bed, finally my voice able to form a sentence. "I know. I just don't know what to do anymore," I sob. "I have lost everything and I don't know what to do."
For the first time, in a very long time, what I say is the truth. There's nothing superficial and I'm not hiding behind the mask I tied the moment I left Sunset Valley. No, that was stripped off of me the moment Yuri took me to the ground. And now I sit in the apartment of the people who have been hurt by no other than my very own family. I am a rabbit herded into a room packed with wild dogs. And Nathan. He must be so happy to finally make his case. He's been skeptical of me since the very moment I stepped foot on this property. Now what? Will I be the next meal as he flaunts his newfound information around the house because he was right? That I wasn't all that I seemed?
"You're going to be fine." I wince momentarily as I feel Nathan sit right next close to me. We're sitting so close that the sides of our legs touch and he puts his arm around me. My first instinct is to push him away. But the strength in his arms and the way he pulls me in closer to him stops me. I haven't felt this close to anybody since Vita left, physically or emotionally. I can smell the scent of his aftershave and, with hesitation, I lower my head onto his shoulder.
We sit like this for a long time. The tears have long since stopped, but Nathan is still there. He's quiet but there. Using my eyes only, I catch a glimpse of his reflection in the picture frame in front of us. He looks uncertain of our situation. Maybe, or probably, of me too. To be completely honest, from here going forward I don't have the slightest idea of what I'm supposed to do next. I had been so focused on getting to Bridgeport that I lost sight of what was going on around me. The people I've encountered and how they've all been affected by something my family has done.
"I'm sorry," Nathan speaks through the silence only broken by the whistle of the wind.
I look up at him. "What for?" For all that he's done... From saving me from Yuri to being right here when I need somebody most... What possibly could he be sorry for? He's the only person I've been able to relax around for a long time.
"Everything. I shouldn't have left you yesterday at the bus station, and for how much I've put you through since you got here." He pauses. "I'm not a nice person--"
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