“Oh, my God.”

“It’s really you!”

“In the flesh!”

“Oh Lacy… we were so sure you’d died.”

If nothing at all, her parents still expressing this level of emotion after going out of their way to come off just like every other parent in the higher societies—detached from their children— should have confirmed Lacy’s theory that something was seriously wrong.

Two hours had already passed since the guard had opened the huge gate and ushered her and Ash in, trying hard not to gape at the pleasant surprise staring at him.

Even Ash was long gone now, softly bidding her his goodbyes after her parents had barely paid him any mind since sharing their heartfelt appreciation and trying to offer him a huge sum of money for safely returning their last child to them, to which he had proudly declined. It had surprised Lacy greatly, especially taking into consideration the fact that she had seen their living conditions. Now, while it wasn’t so bad, a security guard’s room, no matter how furnished was most certainly not the right living conditions to house an old woman and her two sons, but Lacy kind of understood the pride and the rationale behind his rejecting the money, seeing as it had been her own reason for breaking away from her parents in the first place.

“Your sisters are already on their way, oh my God… this is such a beautiful miracle,” Her mother squealed again, wrapping her hands around her once more.

“I still can’t believe that my little girl has returned to me, Elvyra…” Her father boomed, a super dazzling smile on his slightly wrinkled face. “Well, you’d best believe it, Phil dear… and after so many years too. She has finally been returned to us.” She squeezed his hand affectionately.

In that moment, Lacy was pretty sure she had gotten way more love and physical touch from her parents in the last two hours than she had all her life, and it made her all the more curious. “You know, mother… I barely recognized the streets on our way here, and if it hadn’t been for the fact that I hadn’t forgotten our address, I’m pretty sure I would have gotten missing.” She admitted softly.

Would it come as a surprise if I told you that her parents’ house had not been her first option once they had gotten out of the forest and into the streets?

No?

Well, I’m telling you now.

Lacy had had no desire whatsoever to see her parents.

She had instead gone straight to her old apartment, but someone else had been in the space… a very angry woman who had threatened to call the cops on her if she didn’t get off her property. Under normal circumstances, the old Lacy would have called her bluff, but this Lacy suddenly seemed tired and so not in the mood to argue, and so she and Ash had just left.

They tried a few of her friend’s houses next, but they had either moved out of the country, or their neighbors were not willing to share any information with a girl who seemed so lost, and why wouldn’t she when the houses and apartments they used to live in were now so completely unrecognizable. With no hope, she had gone to the hospital she worked at, but to her total confusion, the building was now a corporate skyscraper, Langdon Heights proudly written on its huge glass doors instead of the St. Andrews General Hospital she had been expecting to see. Finally, completely overwhelmed, she had told Ash that they’d be going home to her parents, because one thing Lacy knew without a doubt was that, no matter how things changed, her parents’ house was one thing that she could always fall back on to remain the same.

So now, here she was.

“Everything’s so overwhelming, mother… father, I—I have so many questions,”

“And your mother and I will do our very best to answer all of them,” Her father smiled lovingly at her, reaching for her hands and squeezing lightly, “We’re just so glad to have you with us.”

“So how long have I been gone?” She asked, noting with growing nervousness how her parents swallowed almost painfully at her question.

“You’ve been gone for five years, child.” Her father admitted softly.

For a while, the only thing Lacy heard was the loud thud of her heartbeat in her ears as she processed what she had just been told.

Five years?

Five years!

“Are—are you… are you guys sure of what you’re saying?”

“Yes, Lacy. You’ve been gone for five years,” Her mother confirmed, wiping a tear from her eyes. “We had practically given up any hope of you being alive at this point, and we were just waiting for the seventh year after your disappearance, so we could confirm your death.”

Wow.

It all made sense.

The way the city had totally changed almost beyond recognition, why her apartment had been given to someone else… why her camping mates had stopped searching…

Five years.

Hell, even a year would have brought about a lot of changes that would make the city unrecognizable, much less to talk of five. It was even a wonder that she had been able to find anything she had been looking for.

“I can’t believe I’ve been gone for five years.” She whispered softly, completely befuddled. “But—but I cannot remember anything that happened during that long period, the last memory I have is of getting away from my camping team, and stumbling into the forest. That’s all I’ve got.”

“What about the man who brought you here? Were you staying with him in the forest?” Her mother asked, a look of disapproval already starting to form on her face.

“He and his brother found me in the forest this dawn.” Lacy told her family, “Apparently, I was so scared when I saw them that I began to run, but they couldn’t exactly leave a clueless lady in the woods alone, and so they followed me. I must have bumped into something and passed out because, when I came to, their mother was trying to revive me.”

“I see,” Her father replied stoically, “We shouldn’t have let him leave. I have a lot of questions I want to ask him now.”

“It’s alright, father, they have done enough for me.” The human girl answered, “They’re quite poor people, and so the very fact that they took time off their probably busy schedule to see me home safely is already enough.

“Well, that is true.” Her mother conceded begrudgingly, smoothing her tweed skirt suit and standing up. To think that had her daughter been a few minutes late, she would have missed this glorious reunion because she would have been on her way to a UN meeting in Dublin. “Come on, Lacy… your father and I are taking you to the hospital this instant.” She declared, looking to her husband for support… one he didn’t hesitate to give. “Yes.”

“But father, mother,” Her gaze flitted between the two of them, “I’m perfectly fine.” She protested weakly.

“You call not remembering all that has happened to you in five years fine?” Her father shot her an incredulous look. “You’re clearly not. Look, Lacy, this isn’t up for discussion, we’re taking you in for a complete assessment.” He finished in a tone that brooded no room for protests.

“And what about Eliana and Elise?” She asked after her sisters who she had been told were on their way. It didn’t matter that she was grasping for straws here, she just wanted her controlling parents to slow down a bit. She had barely been three hours in their house, and she was already remembering all the reasons why she had left.

All she got was, “They can surely meet us at the hospital, it’s not a big deal,” From her mother, and she shut her mouth and trudged wearily after them.

She was going to give them this win for now, given how tired she was from still trying to make sense of everything, but next time they tried this controlling s**t on her again,

She wasn’t going to go down without a f*****g fight.

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