"Lizzie, can I ask you something?"
Lizzie peeled her eyes away from the city lights to glance at Anya, who appeared by her side and nodded. They had just gotten back from having dinner at the pizza parlor downstairs. She had eaten a lot and felt bloated, so she decided to go out onto the living room balcony and get some fresh air.
"I hope you don't mind, but can you tell me what happened to you and your mom after Caitlin died?"
Lizzie kept her eyes on the horizon, her hands gripping the railing tightly.
"I know talking about it is hard for you," Anya said gently as she placed a hand over hers. "But it's important that I understand your situation and why you no longer carry the Reinhart name. Can you help me do that?"
Lizzie kept her eyes down and stared at her lap. The past two years were the darkest times of her life. She had wanted to bury those two years and pretend it never happened. There were even times when she would think she must have died and everything that was happening to her was all just a dream.
Yet somehow… she felt like something inside her was waking up. Ever since she met Anya, something in her heart began to stir again.
She felt Anya squeeze her hand gently. She looked up and saw her smiling warmly. She was like a ray of sunlight that drove away all the dark clouds that covered her.
There was something about this woman that made her feel warm and… safe.
"It's okay," Anya said, taking one step to the side. "You don't have to force yourself. I can wait 'til you're ready."
The moment Anya's hand left hers, Lizzie instantly felt cold. It was as if a connection was broken. Her hand moved before she could even think, and the next thing she knew, she was gripping Anya's wrist.
"S-she promised me she would talk to Dad when I turned 18," Lizzie said quietly. "C-c-caitie. She p-promised she would make my dream come true. She-she promised she would make me a star. But sh-she l-lied. S-she went a-a-and left me and Mom all alone."
Her body began to shake with racking sobs. "They all l-left me a-alone. First it was C-claire, then Caitie, then M-m-mom. C-caitie promised, s-s-s-she would never leave me alone. B-but she lied. C-caitie also left me behind."
It was as if a barrier had been broken, and all her sorrow and despair began to overflow. She felt hurt, betrayed, and—most of all—lonely.
Suddenly, she became covered in warmth as Anya pulled her close.
"It's alright. It's okay. I'm here," she heard Anya say as she felt Anya's hand gently pat her back. "You won't be alone anymore."
"M-mom and Dad did, did everything to find her. B-but all they found w-was her car. I-it f-fell to the s-s-sea. T-they couldn't find her. S-she was g-gone.
"I p-p-prayed. A-and prayed. And prayed t-that s-s-she w-would come back. M-m-maybe it was a p-prank. M-m-maybe she w-wanted to s-s-surprise me on m-my 18th b-b-birthday.
"B-but she d-didn't come. I-instead, that h-h-horrible woman came. S-she showed Dad a d-d-document. I-it was a d-DNA test. D-dad got mad and s-s-slapped Mom's face s-so hard she, she fell to the g-ground.
"I tried to stop him. B-but when I held his arm, h-he pushed me away and told me… h-he told me that I… I… I was not his daughter!"
Lizzie cried harder.
"Sh… it's alright," Anya said, trying to soothe her. "Come, let's go inside."
Lizzie was guided inside the living room, where she was seated on the couch, still sobbing.
"Drink a little," Anya said, handing her a glass of water from the kitchen. "Slowly. Slowly."
Anya sat beside her and rubbed her back, trying to calm her down. Slowly, Lizzie's sobs subsided, and she began to breathe deeply.
When she had finally collected herself, she felt stronger. Like a huge weight had been removed from her shoulders.
"The next thing I knew," Lizzie continued slowly, in a somber manner. "Mom had fainted. She was taken to the hospital by an ambulance and was unconscious for two days. When she woke up, she wouldn't see me and would ignore me when I was inside the room.
"Her mind quickly deteriorated a few days later. She began to hallucinate. The doctor said it was a sudden onset of dementia. She was losing her mind."
Lizzie placed her elbows on her knees and rested her forehead on her palms.
"Soon, I was called to the administrative ward. Mom's hospital bills were mounting. I couldn't understand. The family had shares in the hospital.
"That was when I finally learned that Dad had abandoned us. The DNA test result showed that he was not my father. My name was taken down from the registry. And with that, Curtis Reinhart had cut his ties with Mom and me."
—-------------------------
Anya sat alone in a bar a block near her home, sipping a glass of whiskey, as she pondered over what happened a while ago.
She left an exhausted Lizzie at home after tucking her into bed and making sure she was feeling better before going down to take a walk, hoping to calm down her own emotions. But after walking to the next block, she realized she needed something else.
She thought that after all that she had experienced, she would be steadfast enough to handle things without getting herself emotionally involved. She didn't expect she would have her heart crushed into a million pieces once again after hearing from Lizzie herself how her life had been in the past two years. Annaliese never recovered. She died of a heart attack in the hospital months later. Lizzie didn't just lose a mother and a sister that year. She also lost a father.
Anya gripped the glass tightly. She needed something to vent her anger, but the nearest firing range was already closed. She could only hope to drown herself in whiskey, else she would have gone and placed a bullet in someone's head.
She had already drunk half a bottle when Erica arrived.
"Take this," she said as she handed Erica a small ziplock bag containing a few strands of hair. "Have it tested."
"Miss," Erica said with concern. "You're already drunk. Let me take you home."
Anya nodded, and the two staggered out of the bar and into Erica's car.
When they arrived at the building's back entrance, Anya insisted on going upstairs on her own and sent Erica home. The elevator was already open and she half-ran to catch up to it, zigzagging all the way before stumbling into the elevator. She leaned against a wall, chuckling.
"Anya?"