Chapter 5

Iris covered herself completely with the duvet as soon as his father left the room. If she followed what her father just said, that meant someone had entered her room. But how would she ever be able to make someone understand? There was no proof that a man was there in her room. Even if he was, why couldn't she shout or move her body in the first place? That meant it was only a dream.

"The city is not safe for you." Her father had been saying the same thing since she had come. There was always a concern in his voice. The fear started to take over as this was the first time she had such a terrible nightmare.

David was the last person she had contacted before going back to sleep. Without wasting a single moment she took the cell phone from the nightstand and opened the message inbox.

"I am coming back to the UK by tomorrow's flight."

Typing a single message she hit the send button and waited for his reply. Within a few seconds, the reply came from David's side.

"Is everything fine? You told me to be there for a week or more."

"Yeah. Just not working out. Dad will be coming back too." Iris

"I will be waiting for you. Miss you love......" David

"Miss you too." Iris

Iris kept the cell phone back and decided to sleep brushing off all such thoughts she had earlier. No way she would be able to change her perspective but all she could do was leave this scary city. Nothing seemed good or positive since she had come. That shadow, that growling now nightmare. She was just praying for the night to pass early.

The next day Iris woke up late due to the exhaustion she felt after the nightmare incident. Putting her feet on the rug she yawned, stretching her hands and neck. After rubbing her eyes lightly she walked inside the washroom to finish her morning business. While she was brushing her teeth her eyes suddenly landed on her left arm. There was a dark red patch just around her wrist. As much as she remembered, she didn't get hit by anything to earn such a red bruise. It looked like some put enough pressure on that particular area to leave the bruise. Her mind was still wrapping around the events when everything started freezing around her.

She remembered something prominently. Last night only she had felt utmost pain on her left arm as if someone was putting huge pressure on it. If that wasn't a nightmare and someone had come, then the only proof she had got was the mark on her wrist.

For a second her surroundings spun and she stumbled to her place holding the toothbrush in her hand only. Even if her skin wouldn't be milky white, the scar wouldn't be hidden easily. It was utterly visible to everyone. Rinsing her mouth immediately she dashed out of the washroom to stomp down.

Her father was busy making breakfast. The aroma of freshly cooked pancakes hit her nostrils but she chose to ignore that. Rushing towards him she pulled his hand abruptly to grab his attention.

"Dad.....I told you...I told you....." She started shouting frantically without letting her father understand the exact reason for her outburst. His expression changed into a shocked one seeing his daughter's scared expression.

"What happened? What have you told me? Take a deep breath, Iris..... You are panicking...." Looking at his daughter's abrupt breathing system and scared face Tyler became more than confused.

"Dad....that was not an exam...dad...." She jerked her father's hand whereas Tyler made her sit on the stool placed near the kitchen counter. Extending his hand to grab a bottle of water, he passed that to his daughter to drink down.

"Wait... Take some deep breaths....cool down... " Tyler kept on coaxing his daughter seeing her getting nervous without a reason.

After a few seconds, Iris became a little normal and kept the bottle away after chugging down some portion of water. Whipping her lips with the back of her hand she extended her left hand towards her father to give him a proper glance at that red mark.

"Dad... Look... It was not there... Last night... It wasn't a dream... It was real... Someone came...Dad someone touched me inappropriately...dad..... Are you listening?"

Tyler held his daughter's hand and carefully looked at the mark. With time his eyes widened but he didn't speak a word. Slowly he walked toward the freezer and grabbed an ice pack to rub it on her wrist without uttering any word.

"Dad... " Iris tried to grab his father's attention when Tyler's eyes snapped open towards her. For the second time, she felt his father's eyes grow one or two shades darker than his natural color. It looked different to her.

"Dad....". This time she softly spoke, bringing out her father from a small daze.

"I told you not to come back, Iris. Pack your things. You are leaving for tonight's flight." His face was straight and that was more of an order instead of something like a request. Timidly Iris parted her lips to ask again.

"Dad, what's wrong? Please tell me. Who was he? Someone has come, right?"

Tyler was tired of hiding but all she needed at that moment was not to scare her. He was determined to send her daughter back by any means.

"Iris, sweety, please listen to me. I will explain anything and everything to you. But not now. You need to go back to the UK as soon as possible."

Iris found the situation almost out of control watching her father's fear and other concerned words. She nodded meekly, accepting whatever her father was saying.

The next half an hour went in munching breakfast and passing sorry glances to each other. Neither Iris expected to face such a tremendous situation nor her father had thought such would happen in actuality.

"Go upstairs and pack your things. I am going to drop you off by myself. Jeremy had arranged a flight for you."

Iris found his father's tone more of a command. Hurriedly she went back to her room to gather up her leftover clothes and documents. There wasn't much that she had unpacked. Barely 36 hours had passed and so many things happened just in a blink of an eye. Grabbing her passport and visa she dumped the rest of the things in her backpack.

There wasn't much that she had carried back while coming down to Seattle. The room held many more memories than her age. Each corner of the house held her mom's voice, her dad's fun events, and their happily ever afterlife. While she was busy packing her father was pacing downstairs holding a cell phone tightly in his palm.

Tyler was trying to call Jeremy who was the only trusted man he had. On the third RI,n,g Jeremy picked up the call looking at the wall clock.

It was neither morning nor afternoon. He was startled a little seeing the sudden call but remembering their last conversation, he didn't hesitate to pick up the call immediately.

"Tyler, what happened?" Jeremy asked with concern.

"Jeremy, my daughter Iris. We need to save her." Tyler was panting hard while speaking knowing that situation was going out of his.

"What? What happened to her now?" Jeremy immediately straightened up on his bed clutching the cell phone tightly.

Tyler explained last night's incident that had happened. He clearly said that Iris didn't share the entire nightmare story but she was afraid like anything. He also mentioned how wrong he was about her nightmare when she showed him her wrist today morning.

"What?" Hearing the part about Iris's incident Jeremy started sweating profusely. To brush off a few thoughts he asked again to reconfirm the situation.

"Are you sure that she didn't get hit from somewhere else?"

"Jeremy, do you think I won't recognize the scar or mark? We both know exactly how it looks. I am telling you it is the same that was printed on Iris's wrist."

Tyler almost yelled over the call while speaking the last part of his sentence. He lost his sanity too amid such uncertainty.

"Get her out of the city as soon as possible. I am going there too." Jeremy finished talking and climbed down from his bed. Rushing towards the washroom he mumbled under his breath.

"How did you fall in his cage child? How?"

Iris came downstairs and found his father sitting in a small bag. She didn't understand what it was for. Grabbing her luggage she walked towards his father who was having a deep frown along with a sweating forehead.

"When is my flight dad?" Iris spoke meekly.

"Evening 6:00 p.m."

Before Iris could speak further, mentioning the reason for leaving so early, his father added again.

"But you would be staying inside the airport. No matter what you won't come out."

Iris frowned looking at her father. He never looked so distressed in all these years. There was always a calmness on his face. Even though she was itching to ask him about spending such hours inside the airport, watching her father's hard expression she decided to abort her plan for the time being.

"Fine." She nodded, exhaling a deep breath and walking out of the house silently. As soon as she stepped out, she found Jeremy standing there too with an equivalent worried face.

"Uncle Jeremy. How are you?" She politely asked him and he nodded, taking two steps at a time to reach her.

"Show me your hand." He hurriedly said and grabbed her hand to have a look. Iris didn't understand why all of a sudden he was hovering over a scar or a mark that she had only shown to her father.

"Uncle, it is fine... I mean....." She was cut in between when Jeremy's shocked expression stopped her.

"Tyler, yes it is." Ignoring Iris he called Tyler to speak.

"I told you, Jeremy." His father replied, taking Iris's bag to dump in his car.

"Fine. Send her back immediately." Jeremy nodded his head and walked back to his car.

Loading her luggage Tyler opened the car door and Iris slid inside. Securing herself with the seatbelt she tried to ask about Jeremy's behavior but again he was stopped by her father.

"No words Iris. We can talk about it later." Tyler knew her daughter's mind was getting clogged with thoughts but he was not interested to give her one after another blow.

"Fine dad. We seriously need to talk." Iris was serious at that moment but her father just roared the engine to bring the car alive.

Tyler kept his eyes fixed on the road while driving the car at a moderate yet fast speed. His knuckles already turned white as he kept on driving towards the airport. Jeremy's car was just behind them.

Half an hour passed as she checked the leftover distance, it showed only five kilometers. Turning her face towards her father she thought to calm him down a little knowing that she was utterly worried and disturbed.

"Dad, it's just five kilometers away. Now relax. We can easily reach....."

"Shit......." Her words didn't get the chance to complete when his father pressed the car's brake abruptly, cursing under his breath. Jolting at her place her body swayed forward but due to the seat belt, it jerked back immediately.

When her eyes landed in front to know the reason for such an abrupt action taken by her father she found one black Audi was blocking their path horizontally.

For a second none of them spoke. Tyler's eyes narrowed at the car and Iris got utterly disturbed looking at the car and thinking about the driver's insanity. Slowly the door of the car opened and two men came out wearing black business suits. Before she could get a hold of them her father's fearful voice made her panic.

"No matter what, you would run away from here and won't look back at me. He is here."