Chapter 15: Who He Really Is

“President Cilark.” Griffin addresses him with a nod. I bow my head and try to keep the president from recognizing me. ‘Why does the president know Griffin? Why is he here?’ I ask myself as I frantically think of a way out of this mess.

“Oh Griffin, that is no way to talk to your father.” Cilark says in a humorous voice. ‘FATHER!’ I scream in my head. I try not to look up as the two of them talk. “Who is this lovely, shy girl?”

“She’s just my friend, Willow. She just moved here from a small town.” He tells his father in a cold voice and then turns to me. “Willow, this is my father, President Cilark.” I can tell he dislikes his dad greatly, but I don’t really understand why. ‘I know why I hate him, but why would his son?’

“It’s a pleasure to meet you sir.” I whisper in a voice that doesn’t sound like my own. I try to make it sound as innocent as I can.

“It’s nice to meet you too Willow.” Cilark says. There is something off about his voice and I try to focus on a strand of grass in my fingers. I keep my breathing calm and my muscles relaxed. “I just came to tell you, Griffin that I will be able to stay in for dinner tonight. You are welcomed to join us Willow.” He offers in a gentle voice that is so much like the one I heard when he came to visit me.

“Thank you sir, but I don’t think I will be able to go. I am going to be busy.” I lie. There is a long pause as Cilark thinks this over.

“Ok, well I hope that we can have you as a guest sometime soon.” He says before he leaves me and his son alone again. I finally look up and I’m not really sure what expression is on my face, but I know it must not be a happy one.

“Listen, Willow, I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you exactly who I am. It’s just that, I don’t really enjoy telling new people that I’m the son of the ‘famous’ president. I never know who truly is my friend.” He says in a quiet voice. My face is starting to soften, but I don’t completely relax. I am technically on my first date with the son of my biggest enemy.

I abruptly stand up and I don’t really know what I’m planning on doing, but I find myself walking away from him. He grabs my hand and I stop and stare at him. I am staring directly into his eyes and there is nothing but loneliness in them. “Griffin, I just don’t like being lied to. I understand why you did it, but I need some time to think about how I feel. I love your father, he is an amazing man, and you are just as amazing, so I don’t know why you lied.” I continue to be a hypocrite. I feel pretty bad about lecturing him for doing exactly what I’m doing.

“Willow, I’m really sorry. Please look past this.” I simply nod at him and then start walking away. I reach my house and I run straight to my room. I fall onto my bed and stare up at the ceiling. ‘How unlucky can I really get? It seems like everything bad that can happen is happening.’ I soon fall asleep while staring at the dull ceiling.

The sun is shining over me and Griffin as we stand in the park. There is something a bit off about this scene though. I look over at Griffin and I notice that he has a cut going down from his left temple to his chin. It is still bloody and looks like it was made from a scalpel. I reach up to touch it but he stops me. He grabs my wrist and slowly turns to face me. The first thing that strikes me is the fact that his normally ice blue eyes are now a familiar and warm green.

“What’s wrong Willow?” He asks as I place my hand on his bloody cheek. He gives me a nervous laugh and places his hand over mine. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

“Your cheek is bleeding. Don’t you notice?”I ask him in a monotone voice. I move my hand away and look up at Griffin. Behind him I notice President Cilark watching us. I stare directly into his eyes and I see that he pulls something metallic out. Everything feels so calm though.

He raises the gun and points it at us. My eyes get wide and I pull myself closer to Griffin. I look up and I see that Cody is now holding me and smiling down at me in his arms. “I love you.” He whispers. The trigger is pulled and the gun fires the bullet directly into Cody’s chest. I squeeze my eyes shut but the nightmare doesn’t end.

“Now it’s your turn Katherine.”Cilark announces as I stand in a pool of Cody’s blood. I start to scramble backwards but I feel a pair of hands grab me and hold me in my spot. I start thrashing around and screaming at the stranger to let me go. Everything is in slow motion.

“Willow, please stop moving.” Griffin whispers in my ear. I freeze in my spot and I try to turn so that I can see him. The look on his face is the same that I saw on Cilark’s face when he was visiting me; triumphant and scary. “Goodbye.” I hear the gun go off and I feel the bullet penetrate my back and the blood drip down it. My eyes are wide and I can’t catch my breath.

“Grif-Griffin,” I mutter as I fall to my knees and collapse to the ground.

I awake abruptly and I have to bite down on my pillow to keep in a scream. It is as if I was really shot, the pain running through me makes me almost scream. It takes a few minutes for the pain to go away and my muscles to relax. Now I actually notice the tapping at my window. I feel confused because I am on the second floor, so it is pretty hard for someone to be knocking on it. It is only eleven at night, but I would expect most people to be asleep or to be out with friends. I go to my window and try to find any kind of movement out on my yard. I open the window and lean halfway out of it. “Willow,” The voice cuts through the silent night like a razor.

“Griffin, is that you?” I ask into the dark yard. I feel a little worried as I think back to my dream. He is one of the last people I want to see right now. Griffin moves closer to my window so that I can see him in the light that is pouring from my room. “What are you doing here?”

“I want to ask you if you want to come to a party. My friend is celebrating his birthday at the night club that we met in. Do you want to come with me?” I am about to say no, but now I finally get an idea. ‘Griffin is the son of the President. If I get close to him then I can get close to his father and to winning the rebellion.’

“Yes, I would love to go with you. Just give me a minute.” I run to the closet and start to get dressed. I am now wearing a short red dress and high heels that looks like they are made for the night club scene. I tie my hair in a high ponytail and don’t even bother to put on a lot of makeup, except some lipstick.

The moment I step outside of the house I find Griffin standing in front of me in nice black pants and a plain white t-shirt. “You look great.” He says as we start making our way towards the club. It is a little awkward, but I can tell Griffin is happy that I forgave him.
“I’m sorry for over exaggerating about you lying. I understand why you didn’t tell me, but just promise you won’t do that again.” I tell him with a smile. I am trying my hardest to not think about my own lies. I move closer to him as we walk. I need to make Griffin trust me enough to invite me to his house so I can find out more about his father. “So, how did you find out where I live?”

He gives me a somewhat shy smile that makes him look like a little kid. “I had to ask just about everyone in this part of the city. One of the girls said that she used to know you from your old town.” I know it must have been one of the other spies. I totally forgot to go visit any of them. I feel bad for almost forgetting my role as a leader.

“Oh, yea she was the one that suggests I move here. I’m really happy she gave me the idea, because now I met you.” I tell him with a smile and try to make him smile at me. ‘Dating; that’s what I need to do. I need to make Griffin want me to be his girlfriend.’ I think as I place my hand right next to his, so close that the backs are touching.

“Willow, you are really cool. I hope that my dad didn’t intimidate you or anything.” He says with a smile as his fingers lightly intertwine with mine. I give him a bright smile and we are now in front of the club. It is even more jammed pack then the other night. Griffin doesn’t even stop to say hi to anyone, we walk right into the club and go straight to the host of the party.

“What’s up Griffin?” A boy asks from in front of us. He looks about nineteen and I think it’s his birthday. There is a birthday hat on his head, but in this kind of club I wouldn’t assume anything. He has long, shaggy dirty blond hair and dark brown eyes. His pale skin makes him look a little weird, but so does the fact that he is almost 6’7. He looks at me and then back at Griffin and gives him an odd smile. “Who’s the hottie?”

“This is my friend Willow Frost. Willow, this is the birthday boy, Dominic.” He says with a grin as I shake Dominic’s hand.

“It’s a pleasure to meet such a beautiful young lady like you.” He kisses my right hand and I involuntarily move closer to Griffin. Dominic gives me a kind smile and drops my hand. “I’m so happy you both came. Tonight we are going to party like its 2012.”

“Cool dude, I’m just going to take Willow to go meet everyone else.” We say goodbye to Dominic and Griffin drags me around to go see all of the people he knows. We see almost fifty or more people in only two hours. It’s a little annoying having to see all these strangers, including the fact that half of them are just over the top and spoiled. Many of the girls act hostile towards me when they saw me holding hands with him. The boys on the other hand, are a lot nicer and actually flirt with me. I’m not sure if it’s because they actually are attracted to me or if it was just for the fun of annoying Griffin; because that’s what it seemed like.

“You sure are popular.” I yell in Griffin’s ear as we stand at the bar. The music is blasting and it is now harder to hear and to talk.

“Thanks to my father.” He mutters. It’s super hard to hear but I manage to read his lips. I give him a sideways smile that makes him relax a little.

“I doubt this is all from your dad. You are an awesome guy and I was your friend even before I found out who your dad is.” He smiles at me and we spend the rest of the night going between dancing and sitting at the bar relaxing.

After the party, Griffin decides to walk me all the way home and I watch as he left. I go to the living room, turn on the TV and start watching as Cilark gives a speech about how amazing Imperium is. “There he goes again.” I mutter to myself as I prepare to shut off the TV. At the last second something he says catches my attention.

“I understand that there have been rumors about so called rebels entering the city, but I can assure you all that there are no rebels and there is no rebellion that will be taking place at all. To be sure of this, we have with us one of the alleged ‘rebels’ with us.” He steps aside and I see one of the spies, Christina, dragged out in handcuffs. I move closer to the TV but I can hear the phone ringing in the library. I am tempted to run and answer it, but I can’t pull myself away from the screen. “This young lady has been accused of being a rebel, and she has pleaded guilty of plotting against me. Although she claims that there are no other people who have been plotting.”

The fear in Christina’s eyes is so clear and I can’t help but feel complete sorrow for her. This is my fault. I should have been helping and leading the other spies instead of partying and flirting with the enemy’s son. I stare back at the screen and I notice the guard behind her pull out a gun.

“To put this to end, we shall shot this young lady until she reveals who is with her or until she is dead. This should show that if anyone else is plotting against the government, they should give up now before you end up like your dear friend.” There is a hint of excitement and joy in his voice that makes me feel utterly disgusted and ticked off. He nods to the guard and he pulls his hand back and starts shooting Christina. He makes sure that he isn’t shooting him anywhere that could kill her. Her scream cuts through the momentary silence. I cringe at the sound as the bang of the gun goes off and she screams in pain.

This continues for twelve minutes straight until she is bleeding too much and passes out from the pain. The last thing I see before the TV goes black is the pain clear on her face. ‘How could people stand back and watch this? Why did no one help her?’ I ask myself as the tears start to roll down my cheeks. The phone begins to ring again and I have to drag my body to the library to answer it.

“Hello?”

“Kat, did you watch Cilark’s speech?” Marie asks from the other end. I recognize her voice quickly and I lean against the desk as I sit on the floor. It feels good to hear her voice. Now she is the second familiar voice that I got to hear today.

“Yea, I just finished watching it.” I say barely in a whisper. Marie lets out a sigh and I close my eyes a little as I try to relax. “It’s my fault. I was focusing so much on getting close to Cilark that I completely forgot about seeing the spies.”

“It’s not your fault. Cilark has his own spies in town, so it’s actually a good thing that you didn’t meet up with them. It would have drawn too much attention to you guys.” She says in her reassuring voice. “How is everything going though? Cody told me that you are having problems fitting in.”

“I was, but now I made a break through. I am officially friends with the president’s son.” I tell her in a proud voice. I can hear Marie gasp in shock and I can’t help but laugh a little.

“No f***ing way. I can’t believe you managed to get to know Griffin Cilark.”

“Yea, I might even become his fake girlfriend so that I can get close to Cilark.” I hear something beeping behind her and she tells me that she has to go in a hurry soon and then hangs up. I sit in complete silence and try to stay focused on my mission. Christina’s death is horrible, but I can’t let it get to me. I have to make sure I focus on the actual rebellion.
Chapter 16: Time Passes and I Get into the Lion’s Den

“Willow, I know that you are nervous about this, but I think you should meet my dad.” Griffin announces as we sit in my living room on the couch. I am leaning against him and we are watching a movie. It has been a month since we started ‘dating’. So far I have been doing a good job at keeping away from Cilark, but a pretty bad job at getting into the house.

“I don’t know. Your dad must be busy and I think it would just be a whole lot easier if I just didn’t meet him for a while.” I try to think of a way to get out of this. For the past two weeks we have been discussing this and I have probably used every excuse in the book.

He gives me a look of confusion and takes my hand. “I thought you always wanted to meet my dad. Is there something wrong?” I can tell there is a bit of concern in his voice. I give him a reassuring smile and pull him close to me. Griffin leans in close to me and I can tell he is about to kiss me, but I move my head to the side so he just kisses my cheek. “There it is again. We have been dating for a month and we still haven’t had our first kiss. Every time I try to kiss you, you always turn away.”

I think about this and I realize that he’s right. “Griffin, I don’t mean to do it. I swear I didn’t, I guess it’s just that I’m nervous about having my first kiss.” I try to explain. I know the real reason is pretty obvious; Cody. It would feel like I’m kind of cheating on him if I let another boy be my first kiss. I know I never told him my feeling for him, and it’s still a little confusing, but it just wouldn’t be right.

“Willow, there is nothing to be nervous about. Are you sure you’re okay with me being your first boyfriend?”

“Of course I do.” I say quickly. I can’t afford to lose him just yet. I know it is heartless of me to be using him like this, but I really need to get into the mansion and find secrets. But to be honest, it’s not that bad spending time with him. I move closer to him and ask, “How can I prove it to you?”

“Come and meet my father.” He says without any hesitation. I stare into his eyes and I can tell he is perfectly serious. I bite my lip, but I really need this.

“Why do you want me to meet him so badly? You don’t even seem to really like him.”

“Yea, but I want him to at least meet you. The sooner he meets you, the sooner he will stop asking me about you.” He explains as I play with his fingers. The movie is now ending, but we still have an hour before he needs to leave.
“What do you want to do now?” I ask him as I stand up and stretch. I look down and I see that he is picking up a book from the coffee table. I had been reading some of the books from my library for the past week every night.

“How about you read this to me? Or I can read it to you.” He offers as he hands me the book. I look at it and I notice that it is the book that I read to Cody so long ago. My breath catches in my throat as I stare at the book. I open it and start reading from the beginning.
* * *

We are outside of President Cilark’s mansion at the center of the city. I am holding Griffin’s hand and I know I must look super nervous. The outside of the mansion is crazy. It is all white with four floors and several windows. It looks like the kind of mansion that you would only see in England or something. The yard looks beautiful and the entire thing is guarded by a high, about 9 foot, electric gate.

“Don’t be nervous.” Griffin tells me as he squeezes my hand. I smile at him and try to calm myself. I’m not ready for this at all. If Cilark recognizes me then he will tell Griffin and he will get mad at me for lying to him.

“What if he doesn’t like me?” I ask with a worried expression. The smile on his face makes me feel a little less nervous. His blue eyes look even more striking now that he is wearing a black t-shirt and faded blue jeans. His hair looks like he just woke up and even a little darker. Overall, he looks a lot cuter than usual.

“I doubt that will happen. You are an amazing person and only an idiot wouldn’t like you. Plus, it wouldn’t even matter. I like you and that’s the point.” I smile and give him a light kiss on the cheek. We start to walk up to the gate and I keep messing with my dress. I pull down on it subconsciously and Griffin just chuckles. “Stop messing with your dress. You look perfect.” I am wearing a red plaid dress that barely reaches my mid-thigh. It is strapless but I am wearing a long sleeve, black, thin shirt under it. I smile at him and I watch as he approaches the key code.

I stand right behind him but peer over his left shoulder in order to see the numbers. He pauses for a moment before typing in the numbers: 8, 3, 2, 6. I am repeating these numbers in my head as he guides me towards the house. Every step we take brings me closer to entering the lion’s den. He takes out his key and slowly opens the door.

“This is my house.” He says as he swings the door open. It is amazing. The door opens to a grand hallway filled with more doors, pictures, a few statues from Italy, and a grand staircase in front of us. The floor has a brownish red carpet and the walls are all red with a golden flower pattern along the top edge, near the ceiling. The coolest part about the ceiling isn’t the extravagant chandelier; it’s actually the way the ceiling is made. It is completely made of mirrors.

“Wow, this is amazing.” I say as I take a step forward.

“That’s not all there is. There are still more rooms to show you.” I smile at him and I know that this means I will get to see where Cilark works. He takes me into the first room on the left and I am even more stunned. Griffin says it is the piano or entertainment room. There is a giant, black grand piano in the far right corner, near the floor to ceiling window. On the opposite wall there is a flat screen TV with a couch, two love seats, and a coffee table. The entire room is a bright white color that makes me feel a little empty on the inside.

We go to five more rooms and they are all equally fantastic. There is a dining room with a table that is about ten feet long and can sit up to twenty people all together. There were three windows that Griffin says are always covered at night because his father loves to use only candles during dinner. Next we go to their guest room, kitchen, bathroom, and den. The den is what I’m mostly interested in. Apparently it is the one place where Cilark keeps all his papers and computer. The only problem is the fact that this was a little too easy.

“Do you want to see the upstairs?” He asks as he takes my hand. I smile at him and we start walking towards the stairs. I look to my right and notice another door that we hadn’t gone through.

“What’s that?” I ask as I point to the door. An odd look crosses Griffin’s face as he looks at it. Now I am intrigued and want to know even more. “Is it a big secret?”

“No, it’s just the basement. Don’t worry about it.” I nod and we start walking up to the second floor. This one is filled with the bedrooms. There is the president’s room at the end of the hall and to the right of that is the bathroom, guestroom, and then another guest room. To the left of Cilark’s room is yet another guest room, another sitting room, and then Griffin’s room. Before I see Griffin’s room, he brings me up to the third floor.
This is just one simple room; the library. It is huge and all the walls are completely covered with books. Even over the door is a book shelf. In the center of the room are a desk, couch, a love seat, and a coffee table. The walls are about twelve feet high and completely filled. The ceiling is a giant window or something. There is a lovely sky view and I am happy it is evening. The entire sky looks orange and pink and it is all breathtaking.

“Griffin, your entire house is amazing. I’m so happy I came here.” I move closer to him and kiss him on the cheek. We are sitting in the loveseat in the library when President Cilark walks in.

“Griffin, it’s so good to see that you finally brought your girlfriend home to meet me.” He says as he approaches us. I automatically look down and stare at the ground. My breathing is becoming a bit shallower and I feel Griffin stand up to greet his father.

“Hello father. I thought it would be nice for you and Willow to finally meet.” He takes my hand and brings me over to Cilark. I shyly shake his hand and try my hardest to not look up or let him see my face. “Ok, dad this is Willow Frost.”

“It’s a true pleasure to meet you Ms. Frost.” He says in a distracted voice. I nod my head and move a little closer to Griffin. “So, tell me about yourself Ms. Frost.”

“There isn’t much to say.” I tell him in a quiet and innocent voice. Griffin’s arm is around my waist and I take a small step away from Cilark. The door opens and one of the cooks walks in to announce that dinner is ready. We all go down to the dining room and sit at the table. I was hoping that Griffin and I would sit on the opposite side of the table from Cilark, but I am wrong. Instead we are sitting right next to him, Cilark at the head with me on his left and Griffin on his right.

The servers come out and place a salad in front of us. I’m a little nervous because I’m not really ready for any of this fancy stuff. There are three forks on my left, two spoons and two knives on my right. I don’t really know what all of them are for so I just watch as Griffin eats. It is silent the entire time we eat the salad and I use this as my excuse to not look up.

“Willow, are you ok?” Griffin asks as he reaches across the table and takes my hand. I just nod at him and stuff my mouth again. Soon the salads are taken away and the servers bring out a plate of pasta. It’s a type of spaghetti with mushrooms and beef.

“Ms. Frost, you have been very quiet. My son said that you always wanted to meet me, is that wrong?” Cilark asks as he stares at me with a sideways glance. I bit my lip but shake my head.

“No sir, I’m just so nervous.” I say quietly. I try to keep my voice disguised, but not too much that Griffin will be confused.

“There is nothing to be nervous about. I won’t hurt you.” He says as he continues to stares at me. I glance at him quickly and see that he has a creepy smirk on his face. ‘Cr**, does he know who I am?’ I wonder as I try to keep from panicking. I just nod my head again and start to pick at my food. In one millisecond Cilark has his hand on my chin and he turns my face so that I’m looking directly at him. I am scared as he studies my eyes and then gives a little chuckle. I pull away quickly and look back down. ‘No, I have colored contacts and short dyed hair. Can he really remember me this well?’

“Dad, what the f*** is your problem?” Griffin yells at his dad as he takes my hand. I look up at him and I know that he can see the clear fear in my eyes. I slowly turn back to Cilark and I know that this is all over. He smiles at me and a shiver runs up and down my entire body.
“It’s a pleasure to see you again Katherine Renner.”