"What did you bring me for Christmas?" I asked my dad as I held on his shirt and jumped like a little puppy.

"You have to wait after dinner, darling," he winked as he said. I huffed with arms crossed as he chuckled and kissed my forehead, holding me in his arms.

"Let's go see your mom." He said as he entered the kitchen.

"Dad, why is mommy crying?" I asked with my little thumb inside my mouth as my wide blue eyes looked at mom on the ground crying.

"He doesn't love me," she wailed, "he never will!" she cried even harder.

"Mommy, don't cry." I wiped a hand to wipe my tears.

Dad placed me on the couch in the living room and said, "I'm sorry, honey, I will talk to mommy and come back." I nodded as my dad stormed off into the kitchen.

I opened my eyes to see Levy with a gun in his hand and my dead mom as her eyes stared up the wall.

"Thank you." I told him in serenity as I looked up at him, teary-eyed and he took a deep breath to contain his emotions when he neared me.

"We have to go to the hospital, your ankle is getting worse." He murmured as his arms lifted me and I closed my eyes again.

⋆

"Miss Lia Maxwell, you should be feeling better now." The nurse kindly said and I smiled at her.

"Thank you." she smiled back at my gratefulness and went outside, I couldn't feel my ankle, I took a look quick on it as it laid on the hospital bed, the constant reminder of my much-needed confrontation.

"Hey, I brought water." my thoughts about my dad were cut short as Levy said when he came back with a tired expression on his face and sleepless eyes.

"Did the police suspect?" I asked in a scratchy voice and torn chapped lips from how much I bit into them when I thought about my dad.

He laughed. "What's so funny?" I asked when he stopped and gave me my water.

"Out of all things you went through, that's what you ask first." He  commented and I let out a laugh, he was right, after my dad's announced death, I couldn't think straight. It was like my brain was not aware of anything, it was numb like my heart.

I took a big gulp of water and licked my lips as I remembered another crazy flashback of myself and dad playing chase in our small backyard. My dad was a free spirit who didn't deserve to be killed by his own wife, the one who tried to make my mom love him.

He knew all along that mom had a crush on Levy's dad but he didn't say anything. My heartbeat increased when I realized why. He didn't want me to hate Levy for it. He wanted me to be always happy with my life.

He used to fight less with my mom because he wanted to protect me from himself, he had to live through with the hurt that his wife would be incapable to love him.

Guilt washed over me as I let out emotional sobs as my eyes shed tears and Levy's arms comforted me. He murmured sweet nothings into my ear as I silently mulled over my precious memories of my dad.

"I'm sorry, dad," I burst out more tears as I croaked, "I'm sorry I had to make you live through that pain." I muttered as Levy wiped my tears away and kissed my forehead.

"It wasn't your fault," murmured Levy when I told him what I discovered from the first flashback I had in my house. "It was his choice, he loved you, Lia." He defended me as he gave my tear-dried cheek a kiss.

Mrs. Christina and Mr. Clay came over to wish me a better recovery and I hugged them both in return for their kind wishes. Levy never left me but I could tell he didn't sleep and that trip exhausted him so I scooted for him on the hospital bed and he got under the covers, instantly slept like a baby.

"You know, he had a feeling that something happened to you the moment we got back home," Mrs. Christina said as she looked at me. "He didn't say anything to us, the moment he stepped in the house, he ran out in a hurry and we stood just looking at our lunatic son yelling 'no, no!" over and over." She spoke as her eyes shined at her sleeping son.

"I want to thank you for giving birth to such an angel," I told her, "he saved me from the constant reminder of my dark past." I admitted as I shared the same look his mom gave him to Levy.

"I'm glad you two shared a bond together, I thought you were going to run for the hills when you found out that he was a killer." We both laughed as I wiped a stray tear away.

"Mrs. Christina, believe me, I am not normal either, I love your son for his heart, not his killing history." I informed her with a small smile as my hand stroked Levy's hair.

"I know that baby girl, we all love you and consider you as our family." she reminded me with a smile as she stood up and sat beside me on the other side of the bed as she gave me a kiss on my forehead.

Mr. Clay just stood up with arms crossed, he was not that much of a talker but he apologized for my dad's death and I told him it wasn't his fault, it was my mom's but there was one question in my head for him.

"Mr. Clay, did you know that mom had a crush on you?" I asked him curiously. All of the attention was directed at him as he sighed.

"I was going to marry her before I met the love of my life, Christina." He said as we both widened our eyes in shock at Mr. Clay, who looked at us guiltily.