Skye's POV

I walk into my father's house and see him sitting on the couch. He has a blanket draped over his shoulder and his face is pale. "Daddy, are you okay?"

He looks at me and says. "No, I'm not." Lowering his voice he adds. "The painkillers they give me seem to be making me sick. If they keep this up I'm not going to be around for much longer."

I need to get him away from them. How am I going to do it when I don't drive?

Sitting next to him I wrap my arms around him and whisper. "I'm sorry I can't get you away from here." A tear drops from my eyes and he wipes it away. I lie my head on his shoulder. "What are you doing tomorrow?"

"Nothing, why?"

"Grandma wants us to go to the house."

A smile spreads across his face. "I haven't been there in a long time. How are we going to get there?"

"I'll have Chelsea drive us."

"Okay," He looks around the house and then lowers his voice. "Is there a reason why you don't drive? I know you went for your driver's licence at sixteen, but you stopped driving when you turned eighteen."

There was a field party on the Maclean's property, which is a thirty minute drive away from my family's Beverly Hills home.

I had a drink and partied until midnight. When I had enough I said 'goodbye' to my friends and climbed into my car.

On the way home I was t-boned by another driver and my car ended up in a ditch.

Before I passed out I saw Nicole standing with a guy and they both were laughing.

I left the hospital a couple days later and learnt that Nicole was lying to my father and told him that I was spending a couple nights with a friend.

She made him believe I was on a camping trip and not close to dying.

Looking at him I say. "I was t-boned after a party and ended up in hospital."

Dad's face pales. "I remember that."

How? He wasn't there when the accident occurred.

"How, do you know about this?"

"Jaxtyn, he came to me after you were admitted to hospital. He was the one that found you." His eyes become misty. "I can't forget the look on his face when he walked into the house to tell me."

I grab his face and look into his blue eyes. "I'm here, Dad."

"Jaxtyn, looked broken. It was like his life was drained from him."

"What was he doing in town?"

"He was surprising his mother for her birthday."

"Oh,"

Dad wraps his arms around me. "When Nicole was feeding me all the bullshit about you being at a friend's house I knew the truth. I went to hospital after Jaxtyn left and stayed by your side, until Hannah called me frantically and told me that Nicole went missing. I left the hospital to find her and that's when they let you go. When I returned home after finding Nicole with Josh I was surprised to see you on the couch. Nicole made you lie to me about being at a friend's house, but I didn't want to catch her out on a lie. You know how that girl can be."

"She's manipulative and bends stuff so it's her word against everyone else's."

Dad looks at the clock on the wall. "How are you going to get home?"

"I'll call an Uber. They're usually a good car company."

"Jaxtyn's Mom will drop you off when we leave." Looking at me he says. "Can you get me something to eat I'm hungry?"

"Sure," standing up I walk to the kitchen. Opening the door to the kitchen I don't see anyone in there. On the table I see heaps of medications and some are things I've never heard of.

Pulling my phone out of my pocket I type one of the medications into the search engine, 'Oxymorphone.' It comes up with the definition.

A drug used to treat moderate to severe pain. It is also used as a sedative before surgery, during labour, and to treat anxiety caused by some medical conditions. It is made from morphine and binds to opioid receptors in the central nervous system, Oxymorphone hydrochloride is a type of opioid and a type of analgesic agent. Also called Numorphan and Opana.

Reading further with the search I see some side effects that Dad could have from being on medication that he shouldn't.

​Constipation
​Nausea
​Drowsiness
​Dry mouth.
​Vomiting
​Dizziness
​Trouble thinking clearly
​Delirium or hallucinations
​Trouble sleeping

What the hell are they doing to my father?

Going through my phone I look for Grandma's name and send her a message.

Me: Grandma, you need to get Dad away from these people. They're doing something to him.

A couple seconds my phone goes off with a reply from her.

Grandma: What's Darius doing tonight?

Me: He's going to the Country Club to meet Jaxtyn.

Grandma: Good, I'll take him home from there. Thanks for checking on him today. At least I won't have to worry about him another night.

Walking over to the fridge I go through it and grab some fruit. Cutting up the banana, apple, and rinsing the grapes under the sink, I carry it into the living room where I see dad talking to himself.

As I get closer to him I hear him say. "Oh, Lara. It's good to see you again, my beautiful wife." he reaches his hand out and stops it mid-air. "Our daughter and I miss you so much. Skye is so beautiful. She looks like you did when we got married. We're lucky to have a beautiful girl like her. I love you."

He's seeing things.

A tear falls down my face as I watch him hallucinate my mother. "Dad,"

He turns towards me and a smile spreads across his face. "Your mother is standing in front of us. You should say 'hello' to her."

I move over to him and touch his face. "She's not here, Dad. Mom, is dead."

Dad looks at his lap for a little bit and then eventually he comes back into himself. Turning towards me says. "Did you get me something to eat?"

"Yeah," I place it on the table in front of him with a bottle of water. "You should drink this too."

Where's Hannah and her deceitful daughter? I haven't seen them since I got here.

"Dad, where's Hannah?"

"She's out with Nicole. They told me they were going to be out late because the shops are open longer."

That's great. We'll be able to get Dad out of here without them interfering.

After Dad finishes his food the intercom goes off and I know it's Jaxtyn's Mom. Walking over to it I say. "Hello, Mrs Emmanuel."

"Hey, Skye. Can you let me in?"

"Sure," I buzz her in. "I'm going upstairs for a minute. I'll be back soon. Running up the stairs I head to Dad's room and select a small selection of clothes that I know won't be missed in the wardrobe.

I don't want Hannah to know that I got Dad out of this house.

After packing a bag I walk back downstairs and head to the living room where Dad is still sitting. I help him up and we head outside to the car.

A/N: It's 2020 in Sydney (Australia) I would like to say HAPPY NEW YEAR. I'll have more chapters posted during the day.