Stolen From My Eyes

Elise’s emotions and thoughts were in a frenzy. She had learned her father was a murderer and her nurse was actually her grandmother, all in a very short amount of time. After stating yet again that she wasn’t feeling very well, Elise slipped away from her grandmother and went to the tower room in hopes of finding Gerard or a note from him.

She was in luck; she had been up there no more than five minutes when he stepped out of the shadows, a grim expression on his face. “What all did you remember this time?” He asked, seeming to know.

She quickly explained the scene on the landing with her father and her mother. Gerard listened and then shook his head when he was finished. “I’m glad that you finally know the truth about your father. But you haven’t remembered the most important one yet. I was so hoping that maybe you’d remember both.”

Elise realized he was talking about her actual accident, so soon after her mother had been…killed. Now that she knew what her father was capable of, she had a very bad feeling about the whole thing. “What do you suggest?” She asked quietly. “I’ve already met with him, but only so much has come back.”

Gerard seemed to be deep in thought, and so said nothing for a few minutes. She shifted restlessly, her eyes moving around the room but not really seeing anything. “Did you know Mrs. Everly was my grandmother?” She asked, just to break the silence.

“I did.” He replied. “But it wasn’t my place to tell you. So please, don’t be mad at me.”

She nodded; being mad at him hadn’t really crossed her mind. She was simply wondering if she was the only one out of the loop. And it seemed she was. “I think I know what you need to do.” He said finally, sounding hesitant.

“What’s that?” She asked curiously, not liking the way he was looking at her.

It seemed like he was stalling as he cleared his throat. “I think…you need to convince Dr. Hayward to let you go home even sooner. I have a hunch that when you’re back home, it’ll be the trigger needed for everything to fall into place.”

She could hardly believe that this was his solution. “Are you mad?” Her voice was mixed with amazement and anger. “How can you possibly ask me to do that when I know what my father has done? This is too dangerous!”

“You’ll have to go back anyway.” He insisted. “This will just speed up the process. The sooner you know everything, the sooner you can decide if you really want me to help you.”

“Of course I want your help!” She said in exasperation. “Why would I not? Don’t make me go back there; please.”

The pain in his eyes was too much to bear, and so she turned away from him, slumping her shoulders in defeat. She knew he would not change his mind, that he firmly believed he was right. But what if something bad happened to her before anything came back? How was she supposed to protect herself from her own father?

“You won’t be alone,” He said in a soothing tone, trying to calm her down and convince her. “I won’t leave you unprotected.”

Still, she wasn’t sure if this was a smart choice to make. “Please, Elise,” He begged, nearly getting down on his knees and groveling at her feet. “I would never ask you to do this unless I was certain.”

“Okay,” She finally relented, not being able to take the pleading. “I’ll give it my best shot, I suppose.”

Gerard was so relieved that he seemed to forget his own rules about touching her. He grabbed both her hands in his and squeezed them tight. The contact seemed to send a jolt through him and he quickly let go. “Mrs. Everly should be able to help you achieve another audience with Dr. Hayward.” He said in a rush, his eyes glowing slightly.

He was acting very peculiar all of a sudden; perhaps it had something to do with him grabbing her hands. While she was thinking about that, an entirely different thought popped into her head. “Does Grandmother know about what Father did?” Her voice was strained, hoping for a certain answer.

“She suspects,” He said gently. “But has never had any concrete evidence. Her and your father have had a strained relationship for quite sometime, ever since she found out how he treated your mother.”

“He wasn’t always like this, was he? That picture she showed me, of when I was little…he looked so happy and proud.” Elise wondered aloud.

Gerard shook his head. “No, not until he started drinking heavily after some business dealings fell through. Before that, if I’m correct, he was a very loving husband and father. He changed dramatically. But I suppose that’s what excessive amounts of alcohol will do to a person.”

Elise felt a sadness like she had never known at the thought of what her father could have been. Gerard could see he had further distressed her and wasn’t sure what to say to make it better. So he remained silent, instead holding out a closed fist. Elise stared at it for a moment. “What’s that for?”

“Put your hand under mine.” He said simply.

So she did what he said. His hand gently touched hers as something fell into her palm. He removed his hand, and she looked at what he had given her. It was a pretty, delicate heart-shaped locket. It was silver, with a short chain. Using her thumbnail she opened it and smiled when she saw the two pictures inside. One was of her mother, a calm smile on her pretty face. The other was a younger version of her grandmother, sticking her tongue out at whoever was taking the photo. A smile lit up her face, and her heart felt lighter than it had since she had woken up at the hospital. “It’s beautiful, Gerard!” She laughed quietly, looking up at him with a bashful expression. “But where am I supposed to put a picture of you?”

She was startled by her own boldness; hadn’t meant for that to actually come out of her mouth. But it had, so she waited with bated breath, unable to look at him. A hand gently tilted her chin up, his eyes burning into hers. “Right here,” He said, touching her forehead, and then the spot over her heart. “And here.”

Her cheeks felt like they were on fire from blushing so much. “I don’t plan on staying away long enough for you to need to look at a picture of me.” He said seriously. “Unless, of course, you want me to go away.”

“Never,” She said without thinking, and then gulped.

For a few hurried heartbeats she could feel him gazing at her. And then his lips lightly brushed hers. It was so gentle and fleeting that it took her a moment to even register it had happened at all. With a gasp her eyes shot all the way open, but he was nowhere to be seen. We’ll see if you change your mind once all your memories come back, his musical voice reached her ears.

But something inside of her knew that she would never change her mind about that.