CHAPTER 5

          Seven years have passed since that night and her father's mental health become worse. Andrew got much more impulsive and nervous. Staying at the Graysons' ranch had turned out to be a good thing, at least it had offered Isabelle plenty of places to run and hide when her father was acting like a mad man. Her father's company, which was on the verge of bankruptcy before the accident, was sold to Chris Grayson. A good amount of money got into Andrew's account, enough to buy for both of them security and comfort. The thought of having so much money was always soothing for Andrew.

          The other thing that was bringing him a certain peace was a crazy idea that he was having for a few years now and that he let slip to Isabelle in one of his ‘good’ moments. He was trying to push her toward William, Christopher's son, telling her that he would make a good husband to her. Yes, he was a very handsome, intelligent man, but William didn't care about her and Isabelle didn’t care about him, not that way. In truth, she wasn’t interested in falling in love and she didn't want to get married. Love wasn’t always the cure for everything, love didn’t save her parents. She was fine all by herself; she was all right living without love for twenty-three years and she will continue to do so. She didn’t need a man in her life.

           She got off the horse and looked at the countryside around her. Everything was so wonderful, especially the ocean that unveiled in all its splendor right before her eyes... Spring had just arrived, a season filled with changes in nature and in people. Also, in Isabelle’s life there were some changes, but not the right ones. Her father situation got even worse; he had become a tyrant. For him, remorse or pity had no meaning. But despite all this, Isabelle had chosen to stay by him. She was an intelligent woman and understood that between the accident that happened seven years ago and the radical change in her father's personality there was a sort of bond. She adored her father before the tragedy hit them and, of course, she couldn't leave him now when he needed help. Her loyalty towards her father won’t vanish now. Besides, where could she go? She had no money and Andrew kept all their money in the bank. He didn't let Isabelle take a job because in his mind, her job was to take care of him and the house they were living in.

             Being close to her father became a harrowing and, at times, a very dangerous thing. His crises were extremely frequent now. Everything was a good reason for him to get mad: the food was too hot, the things on his desk weren’t placed as he wanted them, somebody moved his favorite armchair. Sometimes he would scream at her, sometimes at Lucy. And, in order for him to stop yelling, both would choose not to argue with Andrew.

           Isabelle started pacing back and forth, stopping every now and then to admire the vastness of the ocean. She was feeling so good here, she didn't want to go home, not yet anyway. This was her favorite spot in the whole ranch. Here, in front of the ocean, she was feeling different, here she was the real Isabelle, the one who was always smiling, who could freely express her point of view without feeling the fear of being insulted or beaten, who was able to walk with her head held high, who could look without feeling ashamed in people’s eyes, Here she wasn't the same Isabelle who was crying every time in front of the mirror while counting the bruises that her father's ‘love’ left on her body.

          She looked up at the sky and saw a flock of sparrows flying across the sky, playing with each other, enjoying the freedom that flapping their wings was giving them. Isabelle followed with her finger a playful little bird. She was so envious of this little sparrow, of her freedom, of her happiness, of her joy, of the wonderful way she had to enjoy this fantastic spring day. Isabelle shook her head and felt a strong need to sit down, to stay there a little longer.

“How I wish I could fly...” she whispered wiping quickly her tears. “I'd like to fly away from here, somewhere where I can start my life, without fear, without violence, without tears. I'm twenty-three, I should do something meaningful with my life... But if I’ll go away, what will happen to my father? Who will take care of him?”

            In spite of her personal tragedy, Isabelle managed to finish high school top of her class and she hoped to continue her studies at a good college, but Andrew slapped her told her that it was useless, that a girl so dull, insignificant, and... unintelligent like herself should stay at home and stop dreaming impossible things. But she didn’t let her father’s words bring her down. Every evening, hidden in her room, she read every single book in her father’s library. Andrew took away her laptop, deciding that she won't be needing it anymore. She had everything on that computer: her poetry, her thoughts, her music... her entire world. After that, he took her books and diaries and burned them... almost all of them.

           But even so, she kept doing her thing. The drawing tutorials she had always seen on YouTube would’ve helped her a lot, but even so, she learned to draw all by herself. Isabelle was also speaking extremely well French, Italian, and Spanish. Apart from these little things, Isabelle loved to sing. She had always loved it. Now, she wasn't overly good, but Isabelle was able to carry on a tune without problems. Her father didn't know these things. There were so many other things about her that he didn't know since Isabelle had learned to hide from him this part of her character. She kept his temper and ideas at bay just to avoid another fight with him.

             But even if she was trying to live her life the best way she could, Isabelle hadn’t lost hope of seeing her father return to be at least half of the man he had once been. On one of the few trips to town, Isabelle had consulted a doctor about Andrew's frequent headaches and he told her, from what little he had understood from her descriptions, that the lack of oxygen in the brain and the strong blow that he had falling down the stairs, had had devastating effects on his way of thinking and relating to others. The brain had suffered bruises that for the moment were small and almost invisible, but, in time, they might be the cause of his death. The doctor told her that he would like to see Andrew, in order to give a correct diagnosis, but when Isabelle, with so much care and attention, suggested to her father to see the doctor, Andrew became more violent than ever and she had to run and lock herself in her room. From that moment on, Isabelle avoided mentioning anything related to his headaches, as every crisis risked killing him.

                Isabelle got up from the grass and decided it was time to go back home. Her father could wake up at any moment and there would be trouble if he would found out she wasn't in the house helping Lucy with all the chores. She approached her horse, but her eyes were caught by a man who was riding a magnificent black horse. It was an image so... perfect The rider and his horse were in such harmony, it was something Isabelle never saw. She had learned to ride once she got to the ranch, but she was all right. She learned to do it because it was the only way to escape the ranch when her father had his outbursts.

              Looking at the stranger, her heart began to beat extremely fast. He changed direction and started riding towards her. Isabelle got scared and got into the saddle trying to get away from this place as quickly as possible. She couldn't stand there and talk to a stranger. The horse followed Isabelle's lead, but the man cut her off and started to stare at her. His eyes were like ice, they were piercing her soul and freezing her blood. Isabelle tried to leave, but he blocked the road again. This man, his way of looking at her while going around her in circles, was annoying her a lot.