Hyde (6 page)

Her throat was raw, “I need some water.”

Roland passed her a glass from her nightstand.
She smiled weakly taking it, “Thanks.” The water felt amazing.

Everything from before the change came rushing
back, “My aunt and uncle, I need to deal with them.”

Roland nodded, “Yes Mr. Dragomir was kind enough
to fill me in on the latest discovery although I dare say he might
have known the entire time.” He looked at her deeply, “Forgive me
for assuming you had done it.”

She shrugged, “Nothing to forgive, it isn’t
exactly impossible I would kill someone when, I uhm change.” She
hugged him tightly. She looked past him at Marcus, “What did I look
like?”

He raised an eyebrow, “Do you truly want to
see?”

She nodded pulling back from Roland whose face
grew severe, “Don’t look.” He warned.

She shook her head, “No I need this. I need to
see what happens. I can't stand not knowing.”

He closed his eyes and nodded, “Just as your
father would have said.”

He stood from her bedside and walked to the
doorway, “I will leave you two to it then. I will make you
something to eat.” He left the room silently as usual.

Marcus walked to her side pulling out his
iphone, “I think I can reasonably say that man doesn’t like
me.”

She frowned at him, “No kidding. You don’t
exactly inspire trust in people.” She felt as if she had known him
an eternity. It was possibly from reading about his life from her
father's perspective. To her father he was a savior and true
friend. She didn’t quite share her father's beliefs. Something
about him bothered her, perhaps the way he made her feel.

He touched the phone several times and then held
it to her face. She took it as the video he filmed started. She was
in the forest behind her house, she screamed in agony clutching her
face. Her knees buckled. She knelt on the forest floor screaming as
her face twitched unnaturally. She felt her eyes widen at the
sight. She fell back with her legs trapped underneath her. Her skin
quivered and twitched as if snakes slid around under it. Suddenly a
leg shot out from the forest floor stretching to size of a whole
human being. The other leg did the same. Muscles bulged from her
veining legs. Her pants and socks ripped revealing her ruddy skin.
Her body grew from the waist up, again shedding her clothes, except
what seemed to stretch with her. Her head shook back and forth
violently.

She turned away from the phone for a moment as
the screaming grew to a horrendous level. She sounded as if she
were being murdered slowly. Her face seemed to rip as suddenly the
screaming stopped. Where she had been, stood something she couldn’t
imagine. It was nearly identical to the thing in the movie she had
seen of her father.

It was huge and bulging with hideous features.
It was a monster of horrifying proportions. It looked around
itself, smelling in the air. It looked at the phone and laughed. It
charged at Marcus but the video ended suddenly. There was no hair
on its head, no feature that looked as if it could be her, except
the eyes. They were her honey brown eyes.

She sat still horrified.

She looked at Marcus, “It's true. It's all true.
I’m a disgusting freak.”

He laughed, “That’s not you, that is something
unnatural Hanna. It’s a part of you that can't be controlled nor
helped.”

She sighed, “I need to find my fathers chemist.
I need the elixir he was working on, Roland said its something that
will control the changes.”

He smirked, “Do you have any idea who it
was?”

She tilted her head, “I thought maybe you but
really there are so many secrets I haven’t been able to find my way
through them all yet.”

He clasped his hands together, “Well you are in
luck, I have been helping your father with his work for a couple
hundred years. I know of the tincture you’re thinking of and yes
the whole point to it was he would be able to control himself while
changed. I believe the main feature was that he would control when
he changed, change at will so to speak.”

She shivered thinking about the hideous creature
she had become, “Why would he want to change?”

He shrugged, “I need to discuss the possibility
of a partnership with you.”

She blushed, “What kind of partnership?” She
couldn’t help think of the scent of him and the passion in his
kiss, as he spoke of partnerships.

He chuckled to himself quietly, “Not the kind
your wicked mind is negotiating. No, your father and I had an
agreement which required an exchange.”

“What kind of exchange?”

“A simple one. I would need only a few droplets
of your blood every now and again in return I would give you what I
gave him.”

She nodded, “Help in chemistry.”

He looked puzzled for a fleeting second and
smiled, making laugh lines appear around his ancient eyes. He
looked older for a passing moment, as if a shadow had cast upon the
room. It was lifted as quickly as was set, "Not exactly but
yes."

“So you will take a bit of my blood and you will
work on the elixir my father was trying to perfect? It will cure
me?” She asked again watching his eyes intently.

He nodded not flashing even a slight hesitation,
“Precisely.”

“Your meal my dear girl.” Roland interrupted
carrying the tray to her lap.

“I will see myself out Roland,” Marcus winked at
her walking from the room.

She looked at the tray and then Roland, “How did
you know?”

He chuckled, “Oh trust me, your father hasn’t
cooked a meal in the seventy-five years he and I have known one
another. I made this for you as a small girl.”

She looked at the chocolate chip pancakes with
happy and angry faces and frowned, “Why don’t I remember you?”

“We were never to meet you and I.”

“Why?”

He sighed, “Can't we just leave it at that?”

She nodded, “For now.”

She watched as he left as silently as he
entered, as always.

She looked at the phone beside her bed and
called out to him, “Roland wait, I want to call that police
officer.”

After a second he poked his aged face back in,
“The young officer from the hospital, his name was Andrew
Paulson?”

She nodded, “Yes.”

He nodded leaving again and shouted at her from
the hall, “I will find the number and arrange for him to come right
away.”

"No I want to call. Please."

She picked at her angry faced pancake,
remembering how she had always eaten it first. She always wanted
the anger gone first. It had always made her parents laugh. She
remembered the pancake but never her parents making them, they just
brought them in for her. She thought back at all the meals,
realizing every meal was that way. She wondered what Roland could
have done in his past that would warrant treatment such as he had
endured. He had never eaten with her family, she had never even
seen him until he found her in the forest.

The pancake tasted perfect, she savored the
memory they brought. She remembered her parent's faces, together
they had seemed happy. She remembered her mother’s face. So
beautiful. Raven black hair, stark white skin with subtle freckles,
grey eyes and a bow mouth. She was a tiny woman, shorter than
Hanna. Her mother had looked plain upon first sight but when she
smiled it was as if her heart shaped face exploded beauty. Her
perfectly straight teeth glistened brightly, her eyes sparkled, her
lips remained full even in a smile. Her dark eyebrows framed her
expressive eyes, as if a painter had brushed them on to ensure
every face she made was enhanced.

She looked at the huge mirror at her bureau
wishing she could see something of her mother in herself. Her thick
strawberry blond hair was her father's, her thin upper lip that
vanished when she smiled was her father's, her honey brown eyes
surrounded by thick black lashes were her father's and her thin
face was also her father's. She looked at herself seeing nothing
but her father.

She closed her eyes trying to remember what her
mother had looked like right before the accident. She had promised
herself she would never forget her face. It had grown harder to
remember it exactly, as the features faded with the time.

She remembered her father before he’d grown
sick, she remembered him standing tall and proud smiling at her
when she had graduated. He smiled and yet somehow his face was
still hollow and distant.

Suddenly her memory of him had become altered,
she saw a something in his eyes she hadn’t seen before, regret,
love, and fear. She could see it on his face as plain as the nose
on her face, which was also his.

Tears welled in her eyes, realizing he had loved
her all along, he had wanted to be with her. He chose her aunt and
uncle to protect her and keep her out of harms way. He sacrificed
the relationship they might have had to ensure she would always be
safe and away from the dangers he possessed.

Lastly she recalled Rebecca, she felt relief
seeing her friends face. She knew Rebecca had died as a result of
being her friend but at least she knew it hadn’t been her fault.
She breathed a freeing sigh thinking of her friend until she
remembered the cookies, her aunt had made them for her. Her aunt
hadn’t thought Rebecca would come home with her. Her aunt hadn’t
been home, they ate the cookies from the plate. They were laughing
about the recent Saturday Night Live skit, before getting in
Rebecca's car to go for their Starbucks. She realized they had
already ingested the poison when they had gone for coffee.

“The number.” She opened her eyes to Roland's
smiling face and a piece of paper in his hand.

“Thank you.”

He nodded regally and left the room ever
silent.

She picked up the phone, taking a breath trying
to figure out her story.

Chapter Six: In that a gun in your pocket, or are you happy to see
me?

“The young officer is in the front room.” Roland
spoke again sneaking up on her.

She smiled, “How do you do it?”

He smiled, “I have no idea what you are
referring to but I will let the young man know you are coming
down.” He was gone again making no sounds, his feet never scuffed
or shuffled or made a single step noise on the hard woods.

She looked at herself smiling, her afternoons
reflection seemed to increase the amount of pride she felt seeing
her father's face in her own. The navy v-neck sweater and black
skirt offset her red hair. Her pale skin and slight amount of
freckles seemed to glow in the color. The leather knee-high wedge
boots fit like a glove as if they had been made for her huge size
nine feet. She even loved the argyle knee socks he had left her in
the bundle. She tried not to think about the fact he had also
picked out her under garments. She imagined it was equally as
painful for him.

Her straight thick hair looked shiny from the
amazing products Roland always seemed to supply the house with. She
wondered if he hired a personal shopper or if he honestly knew what
Alterna’s Bamboo Collection for shiny hair really was. She loved
the silky feel of her hair but had been stunned by the price of the
small bottle.

She left the room wondering how the conversation
would go, once the young police officer knew the truth about her
friend's disappearance.

Hanna smiled seeing Officer Paulson in the front
room, admiring her father's painting above the mantle of the lit
fireplace. The room was warm and inviting with over sized dark
leather furniture and over sized rubber wood coffee tables. Her
father had actually picked the stone around the fireplace from a
river, he hand selected every stone. Since learning so many of his
hidden truths she pondered what year it had been exactly he had
selected the stones? She had assumed he had bought the house when
he had brought her there, only months prior. Seeing the way Roland
fit into every nook and cranny made her more convinced it was
possible her father had built the house.

“Good evening Officer, thank you for
coming.”

He turned taking her breath away. His piercing
blue eyes sought the truth out, speaking directly to her soul. He
smiled preventing her breath from returning completely.

“Hanna it's so nice to see you again. How are
you?” His tone was genuine as were his eyes.

She shrugged, “Getting better I guess, I need to
tell you something.”

She pointed to the large couch, “Please take a
seat Officer Paulson.”

“Thanks and it's Andy. So you live here
then?”

He sat next to her instead of across the sofa.
She smiled sweetly batting her eyes lashes, “My parents are both
dead.”

He nodded, “Yes I’d heard of the passing of your
father recently.” His eyes grew full of concern, “I’m so sorry.
You're so young to be an orphan.”

She nodded, “Thanks, anyway when my father died
he left me some family secrets. Secrets I hadn’t been made aware of
until recently.”

His eyebrow raised, “Secrets?”

She nodded, “Yes.” She treaded very carefully
around him knowing her heart wanted to tell him the entirety of the
tale, “My mother died in an accident and so my devastated father
felt it would be better if I were raised by my aunt and uncle. His
life style never suited a child. They have raised me for eleven
years.”

He followed with nods.

“Anyway it turns out my aunt and uncle have
enjoyed certain aspects of my being there more than others.”

His brow furrowed, “What aspects?”

She bit her lip, “As I’m sure you noticed this
house is nice, my fathers things are all very nice. He had a lot of
money, he compensated them to ensure I never went without.”

He frowned, “He paid them to take care of
you.”

She nodded, “I didn’t know about this. I was
only informed after his death. I turned eighteen and apparently was
then given an enormous amount of money in trust. No one ever told
me about the money.”