My world is caving in (Danton)

[Theola Lloyd]

When Theola got of the plane she didn't wait around to pick up her luggage. She hadn't brought any. She just wandered almost in a daze through the airport till she found her way outside. The air was warm and uncomfortable here and again her eyes began to well up with tears but she bit them back. You're not going to cry Theo, you're just not she told herself repeatedly. Raising her hand she called out for a taxi it took her two tried before one stopped in front of her.

Climbing into the back she told the driver where she wanted to go. She was heading to the university of Miami. The journey wasn't that long or maybe it was she wasn't sure of anything anymore. After what could have been 10 minutes or half an hour or half a day the car stopped. The driver turned around smiling as he told her how much she owed. Thrusting her hand into her pocket she sifted through the notes until she got something close to the right amount. "Thanks, keep the change." She told the driver already climbing out of the car and unsure if there was even change in what she had given him.

For a while she stood outside the building wondering what the hell she was doing. Here she was, somewhere she'd never been looking for people she'd never met without knowing their actual address. The tears tried to come yet again and again she fought them away. Without knowing it she began to walk up to a student. She gave them a name and asked them if they knew him. They didn't. She moved onto the next student. And the next. And the next. Until finaly one of them said they knew him. Her heart began to pound faster than it already was. She asked an other queastion "Do you know where he lives?" They did. "Can you give me directions?" They could. She barely had time to express her gratidude when her legs began to carry her in the direction showen. She would walk it she hadn;t brought a lot of money and she still had to find a hotel room.

Not much later she was there. She stood outside the ultra modern house a lump rising in her throat. You can do this Theo She told herself as she started up the path. With each step forward she felt like turning back and running as far away as she could but before she knew it she was at the door. Raising her small hand and curling it into a fist she banged on the door as hard as she could. "Please be home." She said outloud as a cold sweat began to mist over her body.

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[Danton Lloyd]

The first thing Danton Lloyd noticed, when his sleep encrusted eyelids peeled themselves apart, was that he had a hangover. He groaned quietly to himself and rolled onto his back, gazing up at the ceiling. It was pristine, a crisp white without stains or cobwebs, almost too white. He had to admit their house keeper, Greta, was doing a good job. With a low creak, Danton's bedroom door was swung open, and claws clattered against the wooden floor, Danton pushed himself up, with much protest from his already pounding head, and hung over the edge of his large bed to ruffle the Staffordshire Bull Terrier's ears. Trent was their family dog. With a large, loud yawn, Danton pushed back the covers and sat up.

The second thing he noticed, was that he was naked. Now, with the door wide open, it was possible to hear the loud, tone deaf, random noises, cacky, manufactured poppy rackett that Ruane called music playing. She liked to play it every day, and it drove Danton insane. He wondered just how loud she had to have been playing it for it to vibrate around the large house like that. He sighed and stood up. If he lived alone with the dog, Danton would be happy to stroll around the house completely naked at his own, morning after the night before pace, however, he lived with his younger sister, sometimes much to his dismay, and it was neccessary of a nude awakening to find some sort of clothing article to cover himself with. Striding over to his wardrobe, he wondered briefly what had happened to his clothes from the night before, as they were not strewn across his bedroom floor as they usually were when he woke up naked. Not putting any particular thought or effort into dressing this morning, since he was yet to cure his hangover and have a shower, He pulled a white tshirt with the slogan Music is the Weapon of the Future written across it, over his touselled, bed head of hair, random tutfts of blonde hair sticking up at random places from both sleeping and running his hands through his hair. He did so now, and for some apparent reason, he smelt his fingers. Cigarettes and alcohol, but he was pleased to note no vomit. The day had most definitely gotten a slight bit better.

To finish off his random morning ensemble, Danton simply pulled on a pair of grey checkered boxers before shuffling out into the hallway, where the music got louder, causing a firework of agony to go off in his temples, and down the large staircase to the ground floor. In the kitchen, sunlight poured in, much to the regret of his sore, hungover, just woken up eyes. They were bloodshot and painful with large dark bags underneath them, he would most definitely have to take the day off to recuperate. Opening the large fridge, in the Miami heat the brief burst of cold air was welcome on Danton's skin, and he took a little too long, perhaps, to get the orange juice. As he was pouring himself a glass of his beloved hangover cure, a loud banging vibrated from the front door, across the spacious hallway, along the floor tiles and up through Danton's feet into his head, making him wince with pain. At least, this was how he imagined the path the noise to take, he wasn't actually sure.

Deciding whoever it was could wait, Danton drained his glass of orange juice and placed the empty glass in the sink before he padded along the hallway in his barefeet. He opened the peep hole to see who the hell could be visiting so early in the morning. Or so he thought, a quick glance at the clock on the wall told him it was mid afternoon, much later than his senses had told him. The booze must be taking a longer effect than he had orginially thought. Mentally, he cursed Lyon and his ever full hip flask, although it had made for a very enjoyable Guy Fawkes, that he couldn't deny. Danton didn't recognise the girl on the doorstep. She had red hair but she wasn't Lottie, that he was most certain of. Curiously, he pulled open the door to find a rather hysterical looking young woman staring back at him. He was quite taken aback, he wasn't used to finding damsels in distress on his doorstep. Most females that found their way to the Lloyd residence, no matter who they had come to visit, were of the self assured, look at me variety. Danton cocked his head in question.

"Who are you?!"

He asked somewhat bluntly in his gruff English accent.

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[Theola Lloyd]

No one was coming and the tears were back again but she didn't let them fall. She wouldn't. She thought of trying the door again maybe they didn't hear her. Her next thought reminded her that she had banged on it like a mad woman so she left it. One hand rested on her stomach the other began to rake itself through her long hair. What was that, Theola could have swore she heard someone moving toward the door. Biting down on her lip she prepared herself for what was about to happen. The door opened.

She stood for a moment looking at the bo... man who opened the door. She studied his face carefully and it was defiantly familiar. His eyes especially. The tears came and this time she couldn't stop them. They weren't pretty tears as she began to almost wail and her nose got red as her hair. She stepped forward leaning her head against his chest and wrapping her arms around him. Stop this at once, you're acting like a fool she kept telling herself but she couldn't stop. "Dan...Danton" She began not sure if she was asking him or telling. "Daddy...Business trips...Dai...Stupid...Photo...Other" She spoke in full sentences but only these words manged to make themselves heard above her hysterical crying.

She pulled away from him and dug her hand into her deep coat pocket. A second later she pulled out two photographs. Each was beginning to curl and bend from being stuffed in her pocket for what must have been almost a day now. One picture was of her last year with her dad just after they moved to Japan. He stood with his arm wrapped around her shoulder, his eyes looking down at her in that way only a father can look at his daughter as she smiled broadly to the camera. The other was older. Her father was in this one as well and at a glance someone may say she was as well , with her older brother. but Theola didn't have an older brother. No this picture was her father with two strange children. A girl no more than a baby and a boy who couldn't have been more than two or three years old.

Looking at these photos made the tears come faster and the sobs grow louder now sounding like someone was torturing her. She offered the pictures to Danton, almost throwing them at him as her whole body began to shake. Her eyes locked on his she waited for his reaction. One hand again resting on her stomach almost protectively.

[Danton Lloyd]

Danton was quite unnerved to see the unfamiliar girl on his doorstep burst into tears, and even more so when she flung herself at him. He had no idea who she was, or what the wailing which was seemingly supposed to make comprehendable noises were meant to mean. He merely stood, his hazel eyes wide with shock and staring straight down, at the top of the girl's bright red hair. He had no idea what in the world he was supposed to do. He hoped Ruane didn't take it upon herself to wander down the stairs right this minute, for her seeing a strange girl in hysterical tears clinging to him would only cause him more toubles. Ruane was extremely over protective of her older brother, just as he was of her, and she liked to be informed of his female friend's identities.

"Look, I think you'd better come inside"

He began. He wasn't particularly sure if he really wanted this mad woman, for that was what he had decided she was, in his house, but his neighbours were starting too look and he thought he'd best save this poor girl, whoever she may be, from the embarrasment and ridicule she would surely suffer from them. He only began, however, because at that very minute, she released him and took a step back, delving deep into her pockets. He took the photographs she offered out to him and peered at the top one. It was indeed one he recognised. One of he and Ruane with their father when she had only just begun. Strangely, the other was also one he recognised, one his father had kept on his desk at home. Danton recalled asking about the girl Mitchell stood with once, two or so years ago.

"It's a girl who works at my company"

He had replied

"She's like a daughter to me"

At the time, Danton had merely shrugged and put it down to one of his aging father's eccentrics, but now, with the woman that stood before him, tears snaking down her crimson flushed cheeks, everything seemed to fall into a place. It seemed to Danton as though a very heavy weight had been lifted from him, yet he had began to spiral downwards into a dark pit he had never entered before both at the same time. He was very quiet, but his grip on the photographs tightened. For what seemed like a very long time, Danton's eyes met her's in what was almost a dark understanding, then, without warning, he stepped back into his house and disappeared into it's rooms, leaving the door wide open, signalling that she should follow.

Inside, he sighed and strode to the living room, his mind was whirling around, getting on one fairground ride after the other. He sank down into one of the large red sofas, his head in his hands. Now was so not the time, not with this awful hangover pounding in his temples. He felt as though he was being punished for something, silently, he vowed never to drink whiskey at the beach again.

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[Theola Lloyd]

It had took him a minute but the way he looked at her now she could swear he understood what she had discovered. She wiped at her tears with the back of her hand but only smudged her once immaculate make up even more. Oh how she wished she could have met him with her usual confidence. She should be gently explaining it all to him and Ruane. After all she is their big sister she thought. It didn't seem real she wasn't a big sister yesterday and now she was staring at her brother with tears in her eyes.

He signaled for her to follow him inside which she dutifully did. Her eyes danced around the house as she stayed not to close but never more then a few feet behind him. Reaching the living room she waited for him to take a seat not sure if she should sit next to him or not she sat on a chair facing him. She placed her bag on the floor by her feet. A silence fell between them for what felt like days. "I'm Theola..." She said holding one hand to her chest as the other rested gently on her stomach. What else are you meant to include in an introduction to your brother. She decided the best bet would be to tell him why she had suddenly rocked up on his doorstep.

"I found out about you, you and Ruane yesterday. Half of me thought it was a dream and the other half well it knew it wasn't. I thought you should know too." She paused not sure why but then added "We're family know, you had a right to know, i came as soon as i could." That was all she could get out through her still flowing tears. She hated that he would probably forever remember her on this day showing up and acting like a fool but how was she supposed to act?

Now it had begun to sink in just what she had done. She left her whole world behind her. The only things she had now were the contents of her hand bag and thing growing inside her, not a baby, not yet. Should she say something else or would that be overloading the poor boy who was obviously not long up's brain. As was her habit she started to nibble on her lip as she studied his reactions trying to work out what or if she felt anything toward him.

[Danton Lloyd]

Silently, Danton listened to this woman's words. This woman, this girl, his sister yet he refused to think of her as such, not yet. She was indeed his sister the way two of his cousin's were brothers, they shared the same father, half the same genes. The only sounds, once she had finished speaking, were that of the clock ticking and Ruane's music playing over head, he could hear her moving around. She was his sister, he reminded himself. Their genes, although obviously paired up differently, were the same, exactly the same. Their chromosones matched. If he needed a transplant the doctor's would test her and most probably find a match. She was the girl his mother and father had brought home and lain in his lap when she was only a day old. His father. He would never think of his father in the same way again. Mitchell had adored Danton, his boy, he had taken him everywhere, shown him around LPR when he was three years old. He and his father, they even looked the same, but here, here was this girl that claimed, so tearfully, to be his sister. This girl his father had also fathered. This girl that called the man he called Dad, Dad also. He couldn't help but think of his mother, wonder if she had known, and then, of course, his train of thoughts led to this girl again, and her mother, for it was certain she indeed had one. Danton couldn't help but compare this girls looks with that of their father's other daughter. Their mother's must have vastly different appearances, he realised, for this girl infront of him bore hardly any resembleance to himself and Ruane.

He let out a long, loud sigh and sat back, his head resting on the back of the sofa he was sat on. His eyes flickered over to the redhead,

"Theo-la"

He tried it out, quietly to himself, although in the piercing silence she would have heard him clearly. A new thought suddenly struck him. Ruane. She was only upstairs, and she could come down at any minute, he needed to resolve this, quickly, and he himself would tell his sister in his own time, he wanted to protect her. He sat up straight and looked Theola in the eye for a moment, before standing up again and drawinh himself up to his full height of 6ft 4, he took in her lack of luggage,

"How long are you planning to stay in Miami?"

He asked, curiously, even as a small child he had always known the limitless funds were due to his mother's side. This girl was his father's daughter, and his father was nothing more than a succesful business man, a sheep in wolf's clothing, if you will. He knew whatever funds she had would run out if she stayed in one of the over priced Floridian hotels for an extended period of time, and as much as he hated his father right now, he had never been spiteful. His hazel eyes flickered towards the door. He was indeed very wary of Ruane appearing at any minute, especially since it was nearly time for her to depart to go to school.

"Do you need somewhere to stay?"

Although it was a gentle question, Danton's tone was more desperate than gentle.

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[Theola Lloyd]

He done what most people tended to do upon hearing her name. He repeated it to himself, trying it on with his accent. Now she thought about it his accent wasn't that different from hers. They weren't the same but were both English and with no more than a few towns different at most. A lot of people have the idea that all English accents are the same but there are subtle differences from town to town. She had grown up probably no more than a few hours away from him most likely. He was standing now, he was tall like her, their father.

"How long are you planning to stay in Miami?"

This hadn't even crossed her mind before. She hadn't really been thinking this whole thing through properly. If she was going back it would have to be soon before she started to show. Many airports were weary about pregnant flyer's. She knew however her father would be furious when he found out. He had always told her that she would make a fine business women and she was sure that having a baby at 21 didn't fit into his plans for her. "I don't know." She said quietly almost to herself not even sure if she could go home.

"Do you need somewhere to stay?"

Wow she had never expected this from him. Sure he was her brother biologically but he was also an almost complete stranger. Reaching her hand back into her coat pocket she pulled out a handful of money. A little less than $100. Biting down on her bottom lip she knew that she wouldn't be able to afford a hotel, not even a bad one for more than a week. "Only if your sure, but i will try find somewhere else" She said not wanting him to feel like he had to let her stay. She guessed she should also tell him about the baby since she didn't know how long she would be staying or if she would find somewhere to live. "I think you should know though, If i can't find somewhere else. And i don't know how long I'm staying. I'm pregnant." She blurted it out all in one breath her hand resting on her stomach as her eyes tried to look anywhere but at him.