Chapter 11

Two years ago

“Honey, come down already! We're going to be late,” Leah Donovan called out to her daughter upstairs in haste. They had to get going or they were going to miss their reservation. “Jesus, are you giving birth up there?”

“Wouldn't you just love little grandchildren running around the house,” Lena said, running down the stairs like a mad woman, waving the camera in her hands. “I got it.”

“Thank God,” Steven muttered under his breath.

“I heard that.” Lena threw him a look. “Now, smile and pose for the camera. I'm not letting you both go out without getting a picture first.”

They stood close to each other, smiling and looking into the camera. “I don't see the big deal,” Leah said, talking with her smile.

“Oh, there is. It's your anniversary, Mom. Twenty-eight years. You should be proud. Not every marriage lasts that long.”

She took a couple of pictures, deciding to stop when she caught the glare her dad was throwing her. “Okay, okay,” her hands went up in the universal sign of surrender. “I'm done.”

“But you sure you don't want to come with? We're okay with it.” Steven's brown eyes softened. Lena had gotten her only her eyes from him, the rest of her features from her mother. Steven had sandy blonde hair, while Leah was blessed with a dark, brown color. Her mother's skin glowed a beautiful bronze, and Lena was thankful for having inherited it from her.

She shook her head. “Nah. This is the one time where I don't have to impose. Besides, you two deserve this time together. Go and have fun,” she cooed. “I'll be fine.”

Giving her a last look, they swung around, headed for the door. “We’ll be back by eleven. Don't wait up if you can't, 'kay?”

“Okay.”

The sound of the door closing brought a weird kind of silence. With the camera still in her hand, Lena smiled to herself. Twenty-eight years. Wow, that had to be a journey, she thought. Being with someone that long was scary. In all honesty, the only marriages she'd seen last more than twenty years were her parents' and Gabe's parents. Caroline's mom had remarried, going on to five years.

She strolled to the kitchen, grabbing a glass from the shelf. Looking through the fridge, she took out a bottle of wine. What did it feel like to be in love? she wondered as she sipped from the glass. It was a foreign feeling to her, but seeing how happy her parents were, she guessed it was probably worth all the fuss.

Personally, she thought it was overrated, love, that is.

Five minutes later, she was in her room, laptop on her laps, as she watched some shows on Netflix. She shrugged. She'd probably cross that bridge when she got to it.

****

Ding dong!

Ding dong!

The knock at the door woke her up. Lena jolted awake with a start, her eyes flying to the clock on her bedside table. 12:45 a.m., it read. Weird, she thought as she got up, sluggishly tying her robe round her waist. Her parents had said they'd be back by eleven tops. If it weren't them, who'd be knocking on the door by this time?

She dragged her feet across the room to the hall. Upon nearing her parent’s room, she quietly turned the knob and peeked inside. No sign of them. Lena sighed. It was them after all. What took them so long, anyway?

Her slippers made small sounds as she descended the stairs, fighting back a yawn. God, she was tired. She'd been up till eleven watching movies on her laptop.

Ding dong!

The doorbell rang again. “Calm your horses. I'm coming,” she let out with a yawn.

The manly face at the door wasn't who she was expecting. “Uh, yes?” She hugged her robe to her body, the cold air prickling her skin.

“Good morning, miss. Are you Lena Donovan?”

Lena noticed his outfit. He was clad in a police uniform, his badge sticking on his chest. “Who's asking?”

“I'm officer Lewis Duncan. NYPD.”

“Why are you here?” Her voice was apprehensive.

“Do you know Leah and Steven Donovan?” he asked, his gaze holding her.

For the first time, Lena noticed the female standing next to him, but at the moment, she couldn't bring herself to care.

“Y... Yes. They're my parents. Why? Did something happen?” Her eyes were wide, her heart stuck in her throat. Her hands shook as each second passed and her eyes became moist.

Officer Lewis shook his head sadly, his eyes carrying pity. He didn't know how to tell the young woman that she'd just lost both her parents in the same night. God, that wasn't something anyone should have to hear. “It was an accident. I'm sorry.”

“Oh God,” she muttered, and reality washed over her like a bucket of cold water. Her knees failed, bringing her to the floor. “No,” she said, tears rolling down her cheeks. “No,” she cried, shutting the two people standing in front of her out. She didn't want them; she wanted her parents.

She wanted only them. Just them.

****

Present A tear slipped out, splashing on the gravestone. She swiped at the stream of water, sniffing quietly. “Sometimes, I still can't believe it. It was so abrupt, still seems like a dream.”

Lena traced her father's stone. She stared at the words engraved on it: Steven E. Donovan. Father, husband, friend. She had no idea if her parents had any siblings. They never spoke about their families, and Lean didn't seem to have any problems with it then. No one else except their close friends had attended the funeral. Now, it hit her that she was all alone, without any blood relatives.

“Hey Dad,” she smiled. “I met a boy. And yes, Mom, he's extremely handsome. A bit arrogant, but handsome nonetheless. He's very mysterious, and I know what you'd say if you were here, 'stay away from danger'. I've tried, I honestly have but there's just something about him that pulls me closer.”

She arranged the flowers she bought on both graves, shrugging. “He is larger than life though.”

Sitting cross-legged on the grass, she made herself comfortable. “Gabe's fine. George and Anne misses you. They've promised to drop by sometime this week. Caroline's okay too. I think she's in love with Gabe but what do I know,” she rolled her eyes. “Bunch of idiots. Blind as a bat.”

She frowned, “I really miss you both. So much.”

For the next few hours, she sat and cried, reminiscing the few years she got to spend with them. Shutting out the rest of the world, she smiled, laughed and cried over the good moments, the bad, and the funny. Life had been so much better with them by her side. Her mother's smile, her father's deep voice. They'd brought light to her life and when they died, they took a huge chunk of it with them.

Eventually, she fell asleep, lost to the world with a smile on her face.

What she didn't notice was the shadow behind a tree, across the graveyard, watching her closely.