“Katrina Hampton?”
“The one and only,” Eva sneered. “Usually, it’s just verbal but, somehow, this time she was more upset.”
“What was it about?”
“It’s so stupid, you won’t believe it.”
“Really?.”
“It’s a boy,” Eva sighed.
“It always is,” Amelie smiled. “Just keep this compress on and you should feel much better tomorrow.”
“Thank you, I really appreciate it.”
“You must be careful, Eva,” she suddenly added, much more cautiously, “you can’t go a
round this place, allowing them to spill your blood like that. It’s too risky, too dangerous.”
Amelie seemed to be speaking in code. Eva eyed her strangely, not understanding what all this meant. No one was spilling her blood on purpose. This was a stupid mistake, one that wouldn’t happen again. Eva would make sure of that.
“It’s not a big deal, really…”
“You don’t understand,” Amelie took one step closer to Eva, almost invading her personal space.
Eva felt like taking a step back, but she had already done that once today and it didn’t end very well. This time, she would stand her ground - no matter what.
“You are in more danger than he thought, than we all thought.”
“And who are you?” Eva wondered.
Now, she was looking around to see if anyone was passing by. Amelie was talking cryptically and she was beginning to sound increasingly crazy. What if she was dangerous? Was Eva even safe with her out here, with no one around?
“Me and my husband, Sorwyce,” she suddenly said. “And, Roman…”
Upon hearing that name, Eva felt like something hard had smacked her right in the face and she became numb. Completely and utterly numb. She couldn’t hear, she couldn’t speak, she couldn’t see, she couldn’t move. She was like a puppet in a theatre, where the ultimate puppet master was responsible for pulling all the strings.
“Your father is alive,” Amelie finished her sentence.
Eva wanted to shout for her dad. She wanted to shake the answers out of Amelie, in case she refused to give any. But, when she opened her mouth, only air came out. She was in shock, unable to say anything.
“I know this is a huge shock,” Amelie continued, “just breathe and try to calm down.”
Eva’s mind was screaming.
Calm down!!? You are telling me that my father is alive, after everyone else told me he died in that car crash! You can’t expect me to calm down!!
But, none of those words came out. Instead, there was silence and a piercing pain deep inside her head.
“Just breathe,” Amelie guided her gently.
Eva realized that this was the only thing she could do on her own. So, she took a deep breath, then exhaled. She repeated the motion. Her mind was washed over with images of her dad: teaching her how to ride her bike when she was four, their trip to Disneyland and how they allowed her to be dressed as Rapunzel the whole day, lazy afternoons at home playing cards and board games, her last birthday and the leather bound journal her dad had gifted her.
She opened her eyes and took another deep breath.
“My dad?” she spoke in a voice that wasn’t her own but at least she was talking again.
“Yes, Eva,” Amelie smiled, seeing that she was out of shock.