Chapter Two – An Unwelcome Message

Silence. There was a great deal of it following Sheriff Seth Lawrence's words. The three women standing around him who had been quite avid in their attempts to retrieve information before, suddenly did not know what could be said in response to such a statement. Laura opened her mouth and looked as though she was preparing to let out a good line of curse words at him again, but after looking to her niece at her side, she thought better of it and closed her mouth instead. Jessica had opened her mouth as well, around the same time that Laura had closed hers, ready to ask for some more information concerning the apparent murders of a family in Packer's Grove, Pennsylvania that had been similar the murders of her best friend's parents(a piece of knowledge that she had been completely oblivious to a moment before), but she also ended up just shutting her mouth with the sudden lack of courage to break the thickened silence. The only one who didn't really want the silence to end was Lily.

Seth, who had yet to take his eyes off of Lily's face since the silence had begun, waited-hoped-for anything from the girl, any kind of reaction: crying, shaking, even screaming. To get such a reaction could very well mean the beginning of an inevitable trip down memory lane, a trip that he desperately needed for her to take. He needed answers to the millions of questions that had yet to be answered concerning her parents' murders. She had been spared the interrogation fourteen years before because of how traumatizing the events had been for her, but Seth could not spare her that now, especially since the murders appeared as though they were going to be repeated again. Unfortunately, Lily Jones was not reacting at all the way he hoped. She wasn't crying anymore like she had been a moment before when she had been waiting for the answers that only he held. Now that she knew them...she didn't seem to be reacting at all.

Lily was staring at the ground, seemingly studying the dark green bag she had been carrying with her ever since she had gotten out of Jessica's car, but in reality, she was staring past the dark green material at the red notebook she had been doodling in during class. The doll sketch that had been forgotten ever since she had walked out of Professor Maren's office had suddenly came back into her mind, though it seemingly had nothing to do with the new revelation that had come from Sheriff Lawrence. Deep down, however, Lily knew that the doll had everything to do with what had been said.

“Sweetheart?” Laura gently called out to her, most likely uneasy at her long silence. “Sweetheart, I think you should go inside. You look pale,” she then whispered as she squeezed Lily's hand.

Lily finally looked up from the green bag at her feet and shook her head. “No, I want...” she began but then faltered as she came to realize that she really didn't know what she wanted. If she could have what she wanted, she would have preferred to have never met the man before her or heard anything he had said. She wanted the new information that had come from his lips to disappear from her head and from her heart, and she wanted to get back to the life she had been living once more. She wanted to forget again.

Again? She asked herself, suddenly pausing. Is it true? Did I force myself to forget my own parents' death? She paused again and felt a twinge of pain right behind her eye that had suddenly started to throb. Obviously, if you can't even remember the fact that your parents didn't just die but were murdered, she then thought to herself while pressing her thumb and pointer-finger to the bridge her nose to try and relieve the throbbing in her head.

After trying to get the pain under control, she slowly dropped her hand from her face and looked up again. Looking around at the three faces that were still looking at her expectantly, Lily came to realize that they were still waiting for her to finish. It appeared as though she would be the one in charge of the future decisions. It only seemed right since it was she who had to make the decision of whether or not she was going to help the sheriff. It was her decision whether or not she would try to remember or to keep on forgetting.

No, she cried out silently. Forgetting is not an option, and you very well know that.

“I want to help,” she finally spoke out firmly to all of them, though her words were directed more to Seth than to the women standing beside him. “Let's go inside and see if we can figure this out,” she then stated quietly and then turned, heading into the house without so much as a glance back to ensure that they were following her. She didn't need to look back to know that they would follow her-each of them for own reasons: Seth, because he was possibly going to get the answers he had driven from Pennsylvania to get, Laura, because she was going to try and protect Lily from getting hurt or falling back into a past that was so dark, she had forced herself to forget before, and Jessica because she was her best friend and knew that Lily was going to need her.

She felt like a zombie as she entered the house and hurried up the two flights of stairs that led to the floor that she and Jessica shared. She had unlocked the door and had already shed her bag with her sweater in her room by the time the others finally caught up with her-Jessica with her arm entwined through Laura's who looked a little winded from the walk.

“Oh...Oh, dear, I forgot how high the two of you live up,” the older woman commented as she slowly caught her breath again, sitting down on the only piece of real furniture in the living room, which was a purple leather loveseat.

Jessica had seated herself next to her while the sheriff, whom Lily could not help but notice looked a great deal better in the bright light emitted from the girls' lamp, pulled up the chair from the computer desk and faced it towards them with his back facing the door. Lily, the only one left without a proper seat, was left with the beanbag chair that she and Jessica had chose to buy instead of a more traditional recliner.

“We can trade,” Jessica suggested, preparing to rise from the chair.

Lily shook her head. “No, it's fine,” she said quietly and sat down on the large bean bag before the red-head could object.

With everyone seated, a silence once again fell amongst them, though this time it was filled with intensity due to the fact that everyone knew what was going to be discussed now. Jessica, Laura, and Seth all found themselves looking to Lily without really noticing it, considering that once again, they had left it up to her to decide where things should be headed.

Understanding the role that had been silently bestowed upon her, Lily let out a heavy sigh as she raised her eyes to look upon the sheriff whose eyes were still focused on her.

“You...” she began but once again faltered as she gathered up her courage again. “You said that there were murders that you were fairly certain resembled my parents' Sheriff Lawrence,” she stated quietly. “How exactly are you sure that they were done by the same person?”

Seth looked down at the girl sitting surprisingly rigid in the beanbag chair in front of him and saw the determined look in her eyes. He could see that she wanted information, but he could also see that she didn't really want to know it at the same time. Considering what her aunt had said about her forcing herself to forget, he suddenly became uncertain of whether or not he wanted to reopen that up for her again-case or no case. Seeing her face made him remember the look in his own father's eyes the days, even months, following the murder of the Jones couple. He suddenly remembered seeing the haunted, haggard face of his father, who, to this day, still went to therapy sessions on Thursdays because of the nightmares that he still had concerning the events that the girl before him had blocked from her own mind. Did he have a right to force those memories to resurface?

The sudden image of the Abbot girl, whom had been found by his deputy two days before, popped into his head, and he knew that he would ask Lily to try and remember. Even if she didn't want to, or even couldn't, he needed for her to try because as he had said before, she was their only hope in finding the people who they were more than 50% certain was responsible for the death of her parents and the Abbot family in Packer's Grove.

“I'm unable to give any information away concerning the murders, considering how we have yet to even find a suspect, but based on the files concerning your own parents' murders-that was left unsolved after fourteen years-we found that the bodies and the wounds inflicted upon each individual, save for the daughter, corresponded perfectly with your own parents' murders. Our certainty that it was not a copycat became apparent after we found consistencies with the murders that were never made known to the public or even a good number of the people who were part of the previous investigation team. The reason we came to you was because you would have been the only other person who could have possibly known all the details of the murders considering that you survived the first one without so much as a scratch,” he explained somberly. “So any insight or details that you may have remembered would be appreciated more than you could know.”

Jessica furrowed her brows and folded her arms in front of her chest. “But Laura just told you that Lily doesn't even remember,” she remarked uneasily. “And I know that she isn't lying because Lily hasn't even told me about her parents' being murdered, and I'm her bset friend.”

Seth nodded solemnly. “I am aware of the fact that Miss Jones has seemingly forgotten the events,” he stated quietly. “But the fact remains that she is the only one who may have seen the murderer. If she could possibly remember, she would be capable of pulling him out of a lineup or even finding him so that we can bring him to justice. It's a lot to ask, but we need her to remember whether she likes it or not,” he finished quietly.

Jessica's and Laura's mouths fell open at the same time, and Lily could just feel the temperature suddenly rise in the room as she felt the heated anger come off of both women. She knew both women well enough to know that they were outraged and knew that she needed to intervene before physical action was actually taken against the sheriff.

“I understand your reasoning, Sheriff, but up until a few moments ago, I was completely unaware of the fact that my parents were murdered,” she stated softly as she looked solemnly up into his face. “I know that it would be too much to ask for your trust me, considering that the lives of three people have been taken away, but I truly don't remember anything concerning their deaths...I can't even remember living in Packer's Grove, let alone being there during my parents' murders,” she then stated, forcing her voice to remain steady even though her heart felt like it was shriveling up in her chest as she spoke.

Seth nodded gravely. “I will say, right now, that I do think that you are sincere when you say that you have amnesia, but right now, I am desperate for any information you may have locked inside your brain. Like I said before, you are the only hope for this investigation, and I stick to those words because I still believe that you may have the details of those murders somewhere, Miss Jones. I'm just asking that you allow yourself to try and remember them for the sake of the investigation.”

Lily nodded slowly as she folded her arms across her chest and averted her eyes to the ground. “I promise you that I'll try, Sheriff Lawrence, but...I can't really promise you that it'll come. If I've suppressed it for so long, I don't really know what I can do that would just make them come back,” she stated quietly.

“If...If I showed you some pictures from your old house...do you possibly think that something might come up? From what I've heard of amnesia patients, the best thing that helps them, other than actually being in a familiar place, would be to see things from the past that was forgotten,” he said, though she could tell he was trying to restrict the hope that had started to rise within him. “Would you be willing to look at those pictures? I wouldn't show you any of the actual murder scenes, but I could show you pictures of your old room and the other rooms of the house. I'm sure that if you could just look at them, you would...”

He had started babbling on at this point, which caused Laura frown at him sternly, making him to drown off. He had been so caught up in the hopes of actually catching the murderer that he had failed to notice the sudden haggard look on Lily's face.

Laura turned to look at her niece with pleading eyes. “Are you sure that you want to do this, Lilian?” she whispered to her quietly.

Lily nodded her head slowly even though her head was filled with everything but certainty that she wanted to remember. “Obviously, I do, Aunt Laura. I want the person who killed Dad and Mom to pay for what they did to them....and what they did to me, too,” she then said solemnly, her voice now filled with a stronger conviction than before.

Laura shook her head solemnly. “God may have made you forget for a reason, Lily,” she commented forebodingly. “I mean, it wasn't just the murder you forgot when you were little, dear. You also forgot everything before the murder...and the few weeks that followed it as well.”

Lily shook her head in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

Laura sighed before going on. “I still remember those days clearly, so I can tell you right now that they weren't good days at all,” Laura explained-her eyes taking on a faraway look as she suddenly became lost in her memories. “You wouldn't eat, you wouldn't sleep, you wouldn't even cry those first few weeks after the murders. You just...You just acted like a rock, doing nothing but stare out the window of your room from your bed like a statue. The only thing you would say was that you wanted your doll. You wanted Anna or something like that, and when I told you that I didn't know what you were talking about, you just went back to being like a rock again, but unlike a rock, you were just getting weaker and weaker,” she finished sorrowfully.

“Anna?” Lily cried out softly. “You said that I asked...for Anna?”

Jessica's mouth had fallen open at this point as she stared at Lily with disbelief. “You were calling out for Anna in your sleep,” she said softly. “You said that you didn't remember saying it, but you did call that name out, I can remember it clearly.”

Laura frowned at Jessica and then at Lily. “What are you talking about, darling?” she demanded with that protective tone so strong in her voice that Jessica involuntarily leaned away from her.

Lily shook her head. “It was nothing, Aunt Laura,” she lied, knowing full well that she should tell her, but she didn't want that brought up now and shot Jessica a look that conveyed just that. “I just fell asleep in class and was mumbling a bunch of stuff,” she then explained, not knowing whether or not Laura would believe her.

“You said that I was getting weaker,” she said, trying to get her back on the topic at hand. “Is that when I finally forgot?”

Laura looked at her sternly as if she knew what Lily was doing, but she then looked down at her feet as she began to wring her hands in her lap. She was getting fidgety and Lily could see it clearly, which only meant one thing - something had to have happened back then that had made Laura uneasy because it was clearly expressed on her face now, and it was obviously concerning how she had suddenly forgotten the horrid fact that her parents had been murdered.

“Aunt Laura?” Lily prodded her gently.

Laura continued staring at her feet as more tears suddenly began to course down her face.

"We really thought that we were going to lose you. You had gotten so weak you eventually collapsed, so we rushed you to the hospital. The doctors said that you were so weak and they would have hook you up to an IV to keep you hydrated and fed. They thought that it was a psychological problem that was making you so weak. They thought that the outlook looked bleak,” she cried, her voice choking up as tears continued to course down her dark brown cheeks. “I don't think I ever cried so much as I did that night. I cried even harder for you than I did when I found out that I had lost my only sister. I truly thought that my heart would break right there and then.”

Lily reached out her hand and placed it on top of Laura's. Wrapping her fingers around those of her aunt's, she looked up into her face with so much love and adoration, the other two people in the room averted their eyes, suddenly feeling like they were intruding on such a personal family moment.

“I'm so sorry I caused you so much trouble, Aunt Laura,” Lily whispered. “I...I still don't remember any of it, but I know that I would never want to hurt you. I understand, now, why you don't want me to know,” she then said softly.

' Laura wiped the tears from her face with the side of her free hand and sighed. “You don't need to apologize, darling. I know full well that you didn't mean to do that to yourself. You just acted the way any child would when placed in such a horrible situation.”

“But how did I make it, then?” Lily asked softly, uncertain whether or not she should continue pushing for information. She could see the wariness and tiredness in Laura's eyes and did not want to push her any further if it hurt too much for her.

Laura continued wiping at her eyes but looked at Lily solemnly when she finally dropped it into her lap. “I...I don't really know what happened to change things, Lily. All I know is that it was so very fast that even the doctors were left stumped by it all. One night we thought that we were going to lose you and then the very next morning, I walked into your room and saw you sitting up with color in your cheeks and a smile on your face, asking me for breakfast,” she answered with a small shrug of her fairly broad shoulders. “Your uncle and I were just so happy that you were making a recovery that we really didn't care much of how it came to be. We thought that it was a blessing and we left it at that.”

Lily nodded as she slowly released her aunt's hand and folded both of her hands in her lap. “So...you don't know how I forgot my memories,” she stated rather than inquired, sullenly.

She knew that Laura was lying, and she knew that something else had happened, but she had seen in the older woman's eyes that the secret she was hiding from her was one that she was unprepared to voice to her alone, let alone to a small group of people-one of them being a near complete stranger.

“I'm sorry I can't tell you more,” Laura lied, the regret evident in her voice that only Lily could read after years of living with her. “I just wanted you to know what things were like before you tried to remember everything again, case or no case.”

Lily nodded again. “I understand, Aunt Laura,” she lied back. “And...I think that you're right. Maybe it would be best to keep those memories hidden,” she then remarked.

Laura beamed with such a relieved look in her face that Lily felt a tinge of her own regret at the fact that she was lying to the woman who had gone through so much for her. “I'm so happy to hear that, sweetheart,” she said and then looked to Seth. “But I am sorry about your case, Sheriff Lawrence. I do hope that you can find the person who did this, and I hope that you make them pay for what they did to my sister and her husband.”

Seth's face had fallen at this point, his face completely haggard and wary, aging a good five years in a matter of minutes. “I understand your position and yours as well, Miss Jones,” he said to Laura and Lily, taking his turn to bat at the lying game. “I just wish that I could try and convince the two of you how dire the situation sits, right now. Though, I had figured that this was a long shot to begin with, I will just say that I....I hope the best for you all,” he started but then finished with an unconvincing remark.

Lily looked up into his eyes and sighed. “I am sorry, Sheriff,” she responded solemnly. “If, by any chance, I do remember anything, is there a number where I can contact you?” she asked softly.

Seth nodded tiredly as he reached into the back of his plaid uniform slacks and pulled out a small square matchbook. “I'm staying at a nearby hotel for the night before I head on back to Packer's Grove, tomorrow morning. If you do have any information or wish to possibly reconsider,” he said this with a small glint of hope as well as pleading in his voice, “then you can call me here. I'm in room number 32A.”

“I just want to say I'm sorry again, Sheriff,” Laura chimed in at this point, with her voice slightly more cheerful and a great deal more civil now that she believed her niece was going to remain oblivious to her previous memories. “I wish you the safest drive to your hotel and the safest journey back to your home, tomorrow.”

He nodded at this and gave Lily another quick pleading look before he turned and walked out the door, leaving the three women alone in the room with the giant elephant that had filled it up a moment before.

Jessica was looking at Lily thoughtfully while Laura struggled to rise from her own chair, preparing for her own departure.

“Well...” she said with a small huff as she finally stood up, though she was a little short of breath from the exertion. “I think that it has been an extremely long day, and I'm sure that the two of you will want to get ready for bed as you should be,” she said with the smile still plastered to her round face. “I think I'll be heading back to Oxford before your uncle starts to worry about me.”

Lily rose to her own feet as well and wrapped an arm around her aunt in a half hug. “You should stay the night,” she offered softly. “I don't like the idea of you driving forty minutes by yourself on the highway at night. You can call Uncle Henry and say that you're heading home tomorrow morning and then you can sleep on my bed tonight.”

Laura waved her hand in a dismissing gesture. “I'll be fine, darling,” she said softly, though she voiced it with that same adoring tone she had used when she had found out that Lily wasn't going to try and remember. “Your uncle can't sleep without me with him, and I have to be there to wake James' lazy bones tomorrow or he'll sleep right through school,” she then remarked gently as she wrapped her own arm around Lily's shoulders.

Wrapping her other arm around her aunt, Lily embraced her aunt tightly. “Please drive safely, then,” she said softly as she hugged her firmly. “And call me when you get home no matter how late it gets so I know that you made it back safely,” she then ordered her firmly.

Laura grinned and turned to look at Jessica with a playfully wary look. “You wouldn't think that I was the one who raised her, would you?” she asked the redhead jokingly. “Such a caring girl I have, don't I?”

Jessica giggled lightly with a small shrug. She waited for Lily to disentangle herself from Laura before she then, too, hugged the woman tightly as well.

“You'll have to answer me, too, if you don't drive safely,” the redhead whispered as she, too, finally stepped back from the woman.

Laura made another waving gesture with her hand. “The two of you are such sweethearts,” she remarked as she beamed at the both of them. “I love you, both, and expect both of you to be over this weekend for Sunday dinner, you hear?”

Both girls nodded their acceptance and then waved together as Laura Sanders finally turned and made her way out their door, making her way back out to her car that she had hastily exited a little over an hour before. She stopped and waved at both girls who were watching for her at their window as she stepped out onto their front lawn. Blowing both of them kisses, she then walked the rest of the way to her car and got in. Both girls continued to watch her from the window until the car had finally disappeared down the road that it had made such a noisy entrance in before finally retreating into their apartment.

As soon as they had walked back into the living room, Jessica looked at Lily with open doubtfulness in her eyes.

“You lied, didn't you?” she cried out accusingly. “You remembered something before. Why else would you have called out your old doll's name? You're just hiding it from her because you're planning on doing something about it, aren't you?”

Lily plopped down on the loveseat and looked up at her roommate solemnly. “I have no idea what you're talking about,” she then answered with feigned ignorance, knowing that Jessica could read her like a book.

“You are so full of crap,” the redhead called her out coolly.

Lily shrugged. “If you don't believe me, then what do you think that I could possibly be planning, then?”

Jessica folded her arms in front of her chest stubbornly. “You're going to try to remember everything and you're going to call the hot cop so that he can solve the case and come and thank you in a very creative way,” she said with a suggestive wave of her brows.

Lily rolled her eyes, though a telling smile had suddenly crossed her lips. “Fine, you got me, but not completely,” she relented. “I did lie to Aunt Laura, but only because I know she would probably have a heart attack if she found out what I was really planning on doing,” she said conspiratorially.

The redhead brightened up immediately as she sat down right next to Lily. “What are you planning on doing?” she asked pleadingly. “You have to count me in, whatever you do.”

Lily leaned in so that her face was right in front of Jessica's and glanced at the door as if to make sure that no one would interrupt her before she whispered quietly to her, “I'm going to Packer's Grove, tomorrow, and I'm going to force myself to remember the murders,” she whispered with a sudden seriousness.

Jessica, still grinning, smiled even wider. “So you do want to help hot sheriff!” she said excitedly. “I'm so going with you.”

Lily shook her head with her face still solemn. “I'm not going to remember for him, Jess,” she remarked with a sudden coldness in her voice that caused her best friend's smile to vanish from her lips. “I want to remember because I have the weirdest feeling that I'm the only one who can find out who killed my parents and that family,” she finished quietly and looked at her best friend worriedly. “Does that sound crazy to you?”

Jessica shook her head, but the look in her blue eyes told a completely different story.

The dark girl sighed as she brought her knees to her chest and propped her chin on top of them. “I still don't know how or why I forgot that my parents were murdered,” she said with her eyes suddenly growing distant. “All I know is that it bugs me that the person who did it was never caught or brought to justice, and there's a nagging feeling that the reason they didn't pay was because I forgot everything.”

Reaching out and wrapping a comforting arm around her, Jessica frowned. “You were six, Lily. You did the only thing that would keep you sane,” she whispered gently.

Shaking her head again, Lily wiped at the tear that had slipped down the side of her face. “I'm furious, Jess. I'm furious at myself for forgetting and I'm pissed at the one who did this. The only thing I can think of, right now, is how badly I want to catch them and make them pay,” she cried out through clenched teeth.

Jessica rubbed Lily's shoulder in another attempt to soothe her. “No one blames you, Lils. Anyone would feel the same way as you in this situation...if something like this ever really happened outside of a thriller novel,” she then said, surprisingly bringing a smile to both girls' faces.

“Are you still with me?” Lily questioned quietly as she looked up into the blue eyes of her best friend.

Jessica frowned. “Well, If I really understand what you're trying to say, which I'm not sure I do, I take it that you're wanting to go to the small town where you were raised but forgot, where your parents died-or were rather killed, so that you can remember the person who did it so that you can possibly make them suffer or even...kill them,” she itemized with a furrow of her eyebrows. “Did I get that right?”

Lily squinted her eyes bashfully and slowly nodded. “Yeah, I sound crazy, now, don't I?”

Jessica squeezed Lily gently as she grinned and nodded her head. “You do...but I guess that just makes me extra crazy because...I'm in.”

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

As soon as Lily verified that Jessica was serious about her plan, she told the redhead to go and pack her things for the trip while she went into her room and called Seth to tell him that they were going to be accompanying him to Packer's Grove. She wasn't going to tell him what her true intentions were for going, of course, but she had figured that she would need his help along the way in order for her to be able to have access to the information that would trigger her memories and help her remember that night that she had managed to block out all those years before. She just hoped that he would still be willing to help after the charade she had put on in front of her aunt.

Reaching into her bag, for her phone, Lily suddenly felt the plastic cover of her notebook and quickly pulled her hand back out as if she had been burned by it. The sudden flash of memory of the doll and the sudden revelation from her aunt that had revealed the strange doll's part in her past came back to her mind and sent a shiver up her spine as she once again reached into her bag and pulled out the notebook from inside, laying it on top of her desk. Her fingers were trembling on the cover as she felt herself hesitant to look upon the face of the creation she had made in class. Somehow, she knew that the doll had its part to play, and yet the ridiculousness of such a thing happening made her think that she was just being childish and silly, which made it easier for her to open the notebook completely.

As soon as she had flipped to the page where she had sketched the doll, Lily suddenly felt her like her heart was about to explode out of her chest and felt a cry come up her throat that she just managed to keep in. Her eyes, however, remained glued to the crude drawing she had made in class or rather the blank space in the margin that she had sworn was empty when she had closed it before. Written on the page in a foreign, child-like handwriting that her hand had somehow written without her knowledge was a message that was addressed to her.