Fan Fiction |
by Jenny Tran
After the meeting, Mia pulled Ted aside “Hey, I wanted to talk to you about Erin.”
“What about her?” Ted asked while his teammates began to disburse “Is it about this morning?” Mia nodded “She was acting strange wasn’t she?”
“Yes. And if it continues, we might lose her.” Mia thought of the worse case scenario “I think someone can help her but I’m afraid to tell you…”
“Reina.” Ted said flatly.
Mia wrinkled her brows curiously “How did…”
“Hunch.” Ted smiled “Actually, Doug told me.”
“That little snitch!” Mia muttered. She quickly brushed it aside since they had more important things to do “It’s visiting time right now. We could go.”
Ted nodded as he pointed to his car and the two traveled together to the jail “You know, there’s a 99.9% chance that she’ll say no.”
Mia understood it too “I know. But we have no choice. She’s the only connection to him.”
They pulled up to the parking lot where both were scanned for weapons. They were escorted inside by two security/policemen where then Mia gave them the name of the prisoner. The two sat in the small stall with two broken chairs as they waited for Reina. She walked outside, her eyes darkened when she saw the two. She was use to seeing Mia but not Ted. Reina was not a person that liked surprises “What do you want?” she asked bluntly with a hint of annoyance.
“We need your help.” Mia cut to the chase.
“TK’s been doing his job.” Her lips curled into a wicked smile.
“Yes.” Ted mumbled, “Could you ask him to stop? I’ll do anything…just stop giving him ideas.”
Reina’s eyes were cold as ice when she turned to Ted’s earnest face “I had him kill one guy and yet there’s still another idiot that would die for her. What has she done to deserve such loyal men?!” jealousy and rage written all over her face as she spat each word out with hatred “Why should I go against him? He’s done everything I wanted…torture Erin, kill Brad and not to mention the plan to destroy the P.R.A. It’s working beyond my wondrous dreams.” The leering smile appeared.
“Reina.” Mia said her name softly as she got her attention “I don’t know why you hate Erin so much but it sounds you are envious of her. But what you don’t know is that she is going through pain with each day passing. Since the death of Brad, she has not been herself. When TK kidnapped her, she wanted to give up. She was blind from the fire and now she’s being controlled by TK.” She could feel Ted’s eyes on her but she didn’t have the time to explain everything.
“She’s blind?” Reina asked, her eyes dazed upwards “There is a God.”
Mia turned to Ted, it looked like they would never get to her “Reina, please! You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into. TK is not a simple person. He’s a mastermind, if he doesn’t get his way, he’ll do anything.”
“My kind of man.” Reina said, she was not faltered by their warnings.
“What will it take for you to help us?” Mia asked helplessly.
“Nothing.” Reina got up as she began walking away as she dragged her feet. Mia noticed her left leg had a little limp.
Ted turned to Mia “What now? She’s not budging.”
“I know.” Mia let out a sigh “Let’s go back first.”
“Wait.” Ted caught up to her when she rushed out of the visiting area “What were you saying about TK controlling Erin?” Mia dodged his eyes “Mia, tell me.”
She finally looked up when they were outside by the car “There are some things that’s better left unsaid.” Ted tilted his head confusingly “Just trust me on this.” He eventually nodded before getting in the car.
************
As promised, Chuck dropped by Erin’s apartment that night with dinner. Shelly opened the door when he arrived “Uncle Chuck!!” she threw her arms around his neck like a little girl with her father.
He chuckled heartily while returning her hug “Shelly.” They had only seen each other once since Erin had found out. The two had a quick bond when they spent the whole day together. When the two broke apart, his eyes saddened when they turned to Erin “How are you doing, Erin?” he asked.
Erin smiled crookedly “Why is it that you give Shelly a special treatment and you talk to me like I’m about to die?”
Chuck quickly sat down next to her “I didn’t mean to pity you…it’s just…”
Erin knew why he hesitated “Shelly, can you take the dinners inside the kitchen and heat it up?” Chuck gave Shelly the bags as she took them to the kitchen “It smells good.” The delicious aroma of lobster fettucine filled her nose “So are you going to stammer through the whole conversation?” she teased.
“Erin…this is serious.” Chuck said solemnly.
“Isn’t it always?” she smiled “It’s about TK isn’t it?”
“If you already know.” He sighed “Why?”
Erin’s lips slowly curled downwards “I’m not sure.” She shook her head “I just felt his remorse and something deep down told me he was not all to blame.”
“But he’s the one that pulled the trigger.” Chuck reminded her.
“I know.” Erin could never forget it “I just think it’s not the time to crucify him to the cross yet. I just want to give him a chance.”
He could feel the blood traveling up to his face “To do what? Kill another person??” he was outraged by her calmness and her ability to forgive a killer.
“No, to turn back to the good side.” Erin said firmly “I am in as much pain as you could imagine if you lost a loved one. Trust me, Uncle Chuck, I would never forget that day I witnessed Brad’s death. It haunts me every night! But don’t forget what this team is about. Joe created us to save the lives of many people, we’re not here to serve justice, leave that in the hands of God. He will get what’s coming for him.”
He shook his head with a snicker “You say it so easy yet you can’t find a way to forgive Reina.”
At the sound of her name, Erin shivered from the chill that ran through her body “I refuse to forgive her because she had no reason to hate me, to hurt my friends and to kill Brad. But she did it…TK was only a mouse compare to her, the owl. The wise owl. She won’t rest until she brings us down. Until she brings ME down. But I won’t lose to her little game. I’ll show her.” The serious tone in her voice made Chuck look at her carefully. Mia was right, she has changed.
“What’s wrong with you Erin? It’s like you’re looking through a transparent wall yet you still can’t tell what’s going on. How did he manipulate you?” Chuck asked.
“He didn’t!” she insisted “Why do you guys assume TK is the bad guy?”
“Because he is!” Chuck argued. He wanted to slap the sense into her but there was something oddly strange about her that day. He didn’t notice before but something had made her change overnight. He vowed to himself then and there that he would get to the bottom of the whole mess.
“Dinner’s ready!” Shelly announced as she returned with a pink apron around her waist.
Chuck stood up “I’m not hungry. You girls eat. Shelly, call me if there’s an emergency.” He left without turning back.
Shelly looked at her sister with wondering eyes “What happened?”
Erin stood up as she reached her hand out and Shelly quickly came to her side “Uncle Chuck is in a bad mood.”
“Why?” Shelly led Erin into the dining room.
“He has a lot of things on his mind.” Erin sighed as she touched the chair and sat down carefully.
“I see.” Shelly nodded as she took off the apron. She took a whiff of the food “Ga Jei, why do all the dishes have lobster in them?”
Erin froze as her mind recalled the scene clearly. The day she was wandering the streets and saw Chuck eating a dish of lobster legs. The conversation they had was embedded in her mind. She really looked up to him and it seemed she had hurt him pretty bad this time “Was I wrong?” she questioned herself.
“Wrong?” Shelly looked at her sister strangely “Ga Jei, you’ve been acting very strange lately.”
That was the fifth person that told her that, she counted. Maybe something was wrong with her? But what? She turned her head to Shelly “Just lately?”
“No, actually it’s just been these last two days. You’re so calm…Uncle Chuck told me that we’re still targeted by that man.” Shelly widened her eyes “Did he poison you?!”
Erin laughed with her head shaking “Silly girl. He didn’t poison me. How could he? He couldn’t even get two steps closer to me without the team hounding him.”
“But are you forgetting about the island? He brought us food.” Shelly pointed out.
“Then you are poisoned too.” Erin replied logically.
Shelly tilted her head “Oh…that’s true. He only gave me bread and water.”
“I only ate the first two days, after that I stopped eating.” Erin sighed, she wanted nothing more than to forget about those days on the island.
“He fed the mayor the same food too.” Shelly said before digging into her pasta plate.
“The mayor? You knew he was there?” Erin asked curiously.
Shelly swallowed before continuing “Yes, I heard him in the room next to me. He was moaning for help. Then TK would come in and beat him.”
“How did you know he was the Mayor?”
“Because TK said it a few times.” Shelly replied.
Erin nodded as she pondered about something “Did he let the mayor go on purpose?” she asked herself “But why…”
“Ga Jei, the food’s getting cold. You should eat first. Mia will be home soon, you can talk to her about it. I’m sure she has some good insights.” Shelly smiled and she remembered her sister couldn’t see. Her face fell “Ga Jei…will you ever see again?”
Erin was having trouble getting the pasta on her fork “I hope so.”
After dinner, Mia came home. Her eyes wandered to Erin, who was sitting on the couch quietly while Shelly washed the dishes and got ready for bed. Mia began walking towards her room when Erin stopped her “Sit.” She ordered sternly.
Mia halted as she turned and hesitantly took the empty seat next to Erin “What?” she asked.
“This isn’t about TK.” Erin warned, “You know where I’m getting at.” It wasn’t a question, it was statement that was true.
“You don’t understand.” Mia sighed tiredly.
“Then make me.” Erin said.
Mia curled her legs up on the couch “I know it is wrong to lie to Darren. I feel horrible but after I learned the truth about Ethan’s feelings…I was torn. I didn’t know what to do, it took me days to come up with an answer.”
“I know Ethan likes you.” Erin said flatly.
“No, he doesn’t. He’s in love with me.” Mia sighed “That guy would do anything for me. I know he would love to take Darren’s place in my life, but he’s so righteous that he would never turn on a friend, not even a stranger. He doesn’t know Darren, he could easily say ‘forget him’. But he didn’t. If he was a bad person, it would have been easy for me to choose. Doug is right, he’s perfect for me. We have a history of friendship and he would die for me.” Her eyes were glossy as she talked about her feelings.
“Darren loves you.” Erin felt her friend needed a reminder “He went through hell when you were kidnapped and then you were in a coma. When you woke up, we thought you would be okay but then you have amnesia. How could you put him through all that and choose someone else?”
Mia’s brows furrowed “I know it sounds bad. But I want to be fair…to Ethan and to Darren. He loved no one else before me, he has a chance to find someone else better than me. I’m not saying Ethan is better than Darren or vice versa…but I want to give him a fair chance to be with me. I want to give myself a chance.”
Erin let out a long sigh, she knew her friend had her own way of thinking. As much as she didn’t agree with it, Erin knew it was impossible to change Mia’s mind once it’s set. She just wanted to see everyone happy. She heard from Becca that the new girl was a handful and she was living with Darren until Joe comes back. It sounded like they had a connection “I just hope you know what you’re getting yourself into.” Erin warned her for the last time “The heart is not something you can play with.”
“I know.” Mia replied. She had thought about it too long to back out now “The only thing now is to get Ethan to date me.”
Erin laughed at the thought “Getting the guy that loves you to date you? Gee, that is hard.” Sarcastic remarks only made Mia laugh now “How did it start?” Erin asked more solemnly.
“I had these flashbacks when I talked to Ethan.” Mia recalled “Then he told me he had all of our high school memoirs in a box on top of a shelf in his office. I reached for it and a surge of memories came rushing back. I remembered everything in high school. Then I began to have dreams about Reina, that’s why I made Doug take me to see her. She told me many stories, most were lies that I knew instantly. There were true ones too, like the time we were friends. Then one night, I had a dream that I was locked up in a dark room. I was trapped somewhere and my body felt heavy yet I didn’t know how to get out…”
“You were in the bag with a weight tied to your feet when Brad found you.” Erin finished for her.
“Yes.” Mia nodded slowly “I woke up in a pool of sweat. Everything came back to me. I was so happy that I wanted to wake you in the middle of the night to tell you. But I saw my old high school yearbook laying out on the chair by my bed. I was looking at it the night before. That’s when I stopped myself and was reminded of Ethan.”
Erin nodded with a small smile “Although I don’t agree with your hiding the truth from everyone. But I’m so glad you’re back.” She opened her arms and Mia giggled as the girls hugged it out.
“I’m not ALL back.” Mia pulled away with a laugh.
“Yes, you’ve gained some new personalities.” Erin laughed.