Generation 1, Chapter 1

This was it. Sunset Valley. I was finally here.

Part of me couldn’t believe this was real. It had to be some sort of crazy dream. Soon I would wake up and be back to my old life, back to being Annalise Porter. I would have never had the courage to leave, but somehow I had. I wasn’t Annalise anymore. I was Nyx now. Nyx Doe.

I had taken everything I could easily pawn and run. He had always said that the only thing I was good for was stealing. I was thrilled to be able to fling that judgement in his face.

It was strange, though. I'd always thought that I'd be happy once I got here. I could finally be carefree, but I still felt the same. Scared and guilty. What if they found me here? Going back would be a thousand times worse now that I'd tasted freedom.

And speaking of freedom… what was I supposed to do for a living? The money I'd gotten from pawning my jewelry wouldn't last long, and I couldn't easily get a job. I had no formal schooling, and I was living here under a false name. Even if those things hadn't been true, I had no real marketable skills. As much as I hated to admit it, he'd been right when he said I was only ever good at stealing.

So as much as I despised the idea of returning to my roots, I got a job at the abandoned warehouse where the local criminal outfit had its headquarters. I planned to lie as low as I possibly could. The last thing I wanted was for one of my coworkers to connect me with my father and his Dragons. I had covered up the tattoo on my neck to the best of my ability, but there was always a slim chance that someone here knew what Chance Porter's daughter looked like.

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After a few weeks, nothing had happened, but I was still scared of my own shadow. I woke up sweating almost every night, terrified that he was here to take me back home. The other dreams were even worse, though.

“So you are my daughter after all.”

“I'm nothing like you.”

“Aren't you, though? You ruined three lives because you wanted the Sekemoto boy. There were times when I doubted it, but it seems my blood really does run in your veins. Congratulations. You've earned my respect.”

Those were the nights when I woke up crying.

I hated myself. The guilt from what I'd done was eating me alive. At the time, I'd known it was wrong, but I'd been insane with jealousy. Now, weeks later, I was feeling the full effect of my remorse. I knew there was only one thing I could do to absolve myself. I also knew that it would hurt like hell to do it.

I found myself staring at the paper in my hand, pretending to read it. 24 Sim Lane.  This was definitely the right address. I'd already double-checked five times, and I knew that I couldn't stand on the doorstep much longer without looking like even more of a creep than I already did. Just knock, Nyx. It isn't that hard. Except that it really, really, was. I knew that he wasn't the only one who lived here. What if someone else answered the door? What would I say? Had he told them about me?

I finally managed to dismiss my spiraling thoughts and knock. It felt like I was waiting forever, but I knew it couldn't really be more than a minute.

When the door finally swung open, we both just stared at each other for a moment. He spoke first.

“Lissie?”

Tears sprung to my eyes at the sound of his voice. “Lee,” I whispered. “Lee, I'm so sorry.”

Author's Note: Sorry about the facial expressions in some of these pictures. I like to think that Lee shocked himself cross-eyed when he saw Nyx standing on his doorstep, but I know it looks kind of ridiculous.