We spent the rest of the day together in the lounge room watching happy things on the television. It was nice to spend time with my real family knowing they would never treat me the way that thing who gave birth to me did. I still can’t believe she hit me, and to be honest I can’t understand why I wanted to believe her story. It was obvious to me now that I look back, that she must have been high those few times we met. I’m sure she wanted the money to get her next fix, and there’s no way I’m doing that. There’s no way I’m seeing her ever again!

Aston is staying over and Dad and Ast had a good chat about everything that has happened. Dad wanted to make sure Aston was really in this, and that he could look after me because I’m fragile at the moment. Aston made it very clear and he assured us all that he’s in this with me for the long haul, and it made everything feel better. Knowing how much I must have upset him today with my words makes me feel terrible and I plan on rectifying that tonight.

“I’m so tired,” I say to no one in particular as I nuzzle into Aston.

“You’ve had a very emotional day sweetheart, I’m not surprised at all. Why don’t you head up to bed and try and have a good night’s sleep?” Mum says.

I look up at Aston who nods at me and I sit up on the lounge.

“Sounds good to me. Thanks for everything today guys, you were really there for me and I know now that I’m loved by you all and that’s all that matters,” I say and everyone smiles.

I stand with Aston. “Goodnight guys,” I say and they all say goodnight back.

“Oh, and Aston,” Dad says gaining his attention.

“Yeah?”

“Just look after her tonight, okay? And if you need us come and get us. We’re just down the hall.”

“Sure thing. C’mon miss, let’s get you some sleep, hey?” Aston says and I nod as he takes my hand and we walk out of the lounge room toward the stairs hand in hand, I lean in and kiss his cheek.

“What’s that for?” he asks and I smirk.

“Just because,” I say and he chuckles and we climb the stairs and head into my bedroom.

“How are you actually holding up?” he asks as we walk in and he shuts the door behind us.

“I’m okay. I think realising that she wasn’t who I wanted her to be was hard, but at least I know now. Now, I can move on with my life and not worry about my past because my past is something I do not want to revisit.” I pull my shirt off over my head and take off my bra.

“Well, I’m proud of you. You could have fallen down into a heap, but instead you’ve come to the conclusion that she isn’t worth your anxiety and I’m very proud of you baby. You’ve come a long way,” he says while pulling off his shirt and undoing his jeans.

I pull off my pants and take my grey Slayed T-shirt and pull it over my head and walk over to Aston, who is now dressed only in his boxer briefs.

“I’m sorry about today,” I say wrapping my arms around his waist and pulling our bodies close.

He smiles and shakes his head. “It’s already forgotten, baby.”

“No, really, I mean it. I should have listened to you. You were right all along and I pushed you aside when things got tough. I promise to never do that to you again. I know now to listen to you, and not to jump to conclusions because we don’t agree on something.”

“Annie, I don’t care if don’t listen to me, but pushing me away was hard and I honestly never want to feel like you are slipping away from me. I’ve had that feeling before and I had it again today. It terrifies me, Lennox because I simply cannot exist without you,” he says and I lean on my toes so I can press my lips to his. I kiss him softly and he kisses me back with a little more force. I smile against his lips and he runs his hand through my hair pulling me to him. His other hand slides down my back to my arse and he squeezes my cheek making me giggle. We part our lips and he looks me in the eyes and they are filled with love.

“I love you, Annie. Never forget that, okay?”

“I know. I love you too, Aston, so much.”

“Right, let’s get you into bed.”

I nod as we get into my soft and comfortable bed. He lays on his back and I snuggle into his side and rest my head in the crook of his neck as I gently stroke his chest.

“Goodnight Lennox.”

“Night Aston.”

Right here in Aston’s arms is where I feel at peace. A peace I haven’t felt for a while. Maybe knowing my birth mother isn’t someone worth knowing, has made me feel lighter somehow? Maybe the fact that now I don’t have to spend time getting to know a stranger is a good thing. I wasn’t comfortable around her, and who knows how long she would have stuck around for anyway. I see this as a good thing. A blessing. My life was just fine before Loretta Banks showed up and it will be fine after her too.

 

***

 

The music notes are floating around in a circular harmonious pattern. I smile as the rainbow effect flowing from them only makes them sound better. They fly making music that fills my head full of hope and wonder. Full of excitement and the thought of second chances. Aston is sitting under the willow tree and he looks up at me and smiles so brightly that the flash of light from his brilliance forces a thrill of excitement to run up my spine. The music is getting louder and I love the new song playing in my head. There’s no lyrics, but the sound of the notes is electrifying. I’m in a happy place right now and I smile as I open my eyes to see Aston walking toward me. He takes me in his arms and leans in kissing me tenderly.

 

Suddenly everything turns black and I’m slightly disorientated. I hear struggling, but I can’t quite figure out if I’m still dreaming or if I’m crashing back to reality? I open my eyes as I feel a hand on my arm and I’m being pulled from my bed. I look up to see Loretta leaning over me. I look down at the floor and see Aston laying on the ground with blood pooling around his head. I go to scream, but she covers my mouth with a rag and as I breathe in the toxic fumes, I struggle against her as hard as I can, but everything seems to be failing. I can’t move my arms anymore and my eyes seem to be closing on their own and I’m powerless against it. She drags me out of bed and toward the door and the last thing I see is Aston laying on the ground and not moving.

 

***

 

The music in my head is now dark and ominous and the notes sound like danger and impending doom. I don’t know how to stop the thunderous deep, dark, notes from forming in my mind. Everything is so dark and I can’t think straight. I hear a loud crash and my eyes fly open to see nothing but darkness. I move my hands, but they’re tied tightly behind my back. I don’t have enough energy to scream, but as my eyes focus and I notice something covering my face. I shake my head trying to move the fabric off of me, but it won’t budge. Then I realise it’s covering my entire head. I get a sudden boost of energy as terror floods through my veins and I start to move around trying to free myself from whatever is restraining me. I start to breathe really heavily as I wonder what the fuck is going on. Then a memory of Loretta grabbing me and Aston laying on the ground hurt, flashes through my mind. Pain rips through my chest as I think of Aston and I scream out loud hoping someone can hear me.

“Hey, shut up,” I hear Loretta say and then the bag over my head is pulled off and I can see her looking at me and smiling. I open my eyes wide as I look into hers. Her pupils are dilated and she looks completely off the planet. “There she is, my little girl,” she sarcastically mutters and then she throws what I can now see is a pillowcase over onto the floor. “Smile for the camera, honey,” she snaps and I shake my head trying to get my bearings. A flash goes off in the dimly lit room disorientating me and I close and open my eyes a few times trying to rid the white glow in front of them.

“I told you this wasn’t over,” she barks and I open my eyes fully to see her standing with one hand on her hip and her lips forming a smirk.

“Why are you doing this?”

She laughs. “Wow, they really raised you dumb. Didn’t they?”

“Loretta, why am I here?”

“As in tied to a chair in my basement?”

I raise an eyebrow. “No, why am I—”

“I know what you mean, honey. I'm being evasive,” she hisses and I look around the small, dank room. There’s a staircase leading upstairs and the door at the top is shut tight.

“What do you want?”

“Are you really that stupid?”

“Money? This is all about money isn’t it?” I ask and she smiles.

“Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner. Winner, winner, chicken dinner,” she says sounding completely off her face.

“So tell me how much, and I will get it for you. Just let me go.”

“Oh honey, I want to have a little fun with this. I need to show you that I am the one in control. That I am the one who deserves all the fame and fortune, not you.”

I furrow my brows. “Why would you want fame?”

She rolls her eyes. “With fame comes fortune, and by the end of tonight everyone will know who I am. Everyone will know I am your mother, and that I made you who you are.”

“You didn’t make me who I am. My parents did that,” I reply and her smile fades to a frown. She walks across to me with heavy footsteps and backhands me across my face. My head snaps to the side and I wince in pain as I let out a small yelp.

“Don’t say that ever again. It’s my blood that flows through your veins… not theirs. You are an image of me.”

“I am nothing like you!” I yell and she raises her eyebrows.

“Oh Acacia, you are everything like me. Where do you think your music comes from? Not Colt that’s for sure. I was born a musician, Acacia, and I was almost famous. I was a singer in a band and I loved the life it gave me. Freedom to party when I wanted, freedom to be with who I wanted, freedom to drink and do drugs when I wanted. Then you came along and fucked it all up. I was pregnant, so they kicked me out of the band. I lost everything… everything, all because of you!”

“I thought you were a hooker?”

“Honey, money is my driving force closely followed by fame. Just because I was sleeping around and getting paid for it doesn’t mean I was doing it with scum. The men that were paying me for sex were record label execs, band members and managers. I was a wanted commodity back in the day, and then you came along and fucked it all up. I tried to get rid of you. I paid a guy to punch me in the stomach, but it didn’t work. I used drugs and drank endlessly to get rid of you, but nothing worked. You were determined to ruin my life!”

“I was a baby, how could I have been responsible for ruining your life, Loretta? That’s just stupid,” I say and she glares and then backhands me again. My head flings to the other side and I breathe in and out quickly trying to recover from the sting.

“Because I was fat and hormonal, so no one wanted me anymore. The money dried up because no one wanted to have sex with a pregnant woman. The band kicked me out, so I lost my one and only chance at making it big. And that, my dear, is completely your fault!”

It’s not my fault she was a slut and slept around without protection. “So, why are you holding me here? Why don’t you just let me make a transfer into your account and then you can let me go?”

She laughs a belly laugh. “Because your Mum,” she says the word Mum with disdain, “needs to pay for treating me so badly. She thinks I’m scum, but really it is you who is the scum. She needs to know her daughter is a waste of space. Something that should never have been placed on this earth. You, Acacia, are the bain of my existence. I was waiting for you to get rich and famous enough so I could boost myself in the process, but you had to go and deny me the money that I rightfully deserve!”

“You rightfully deserve a strait-jacket,” I murmur under my breath.

“What was that?” she says stepping up to me and getting right in my face.

“I said you deserve to be respected.”

“Yes… yes, I do,” she exclaims and then walks over to a desk where a laptop sits.

“What are you doing?” I ask and she smiles sitting down in front of the computer.

“Letting the world know I have you for ransom.”

“The world? Shouldn’t you just be letting my parents know?”

“I want the fame, Acacia. Just think of all the people who will want to interview me after this. Think of the movie they will make of us. Think of all the publicity I will get and then think of all the fortune that goes along with it.”

Doesn’t she realise she won’t get any of that because she’ll just go straight to jail for kidnapping? I decide not to bring that little fact up in case she decides to change her tactic.

“You’re right, you do deserve fame. I’m sorry I messed up your life.”

“Finally, something worth listening to coming from of your mouth.” She presses some buttons on the laptop. “Right, there we go. When your parents wake up, they will see the ransom demand and your photo for proof. I should expect the money in my account in a few hours, then I will let you go. Well maybe. Not sure, I might kill you anyway. Just think of the publicity then? The headlines, the notoriety of being the one who killed Annie Slade!”

I tense up.

Now she really has my attention.

My heart races so fast and I feel like I want to puke. How can she do this? I’m her own flesh and blood and yet all she cares about is getting her fifteen minutes of fame. And right now I believe she will do absolutely anything to get it.