"Just shine like you always do."
Gwenn Davidson has always known she was adopted, but after clearing up her stuff for her first move out of her parent's house, she finds an old blanket gifted to her by her birth mother that triggers an avalanche of...
GWENN LEANED HER HEAD out the window, closing her eyes as the wind soared through her face and messed up her hair. She blinked slowly, her lips stretched into a permanent smile as the calming heat descended over them the deeper they drove into Arizona. The radio sang alternative rock songs to them, filling the comfortable silence with its tunes. Orange sun rays shone overhead in, illuminating them as they weaved through deserted roads. Everything brought a sense of calm through her chest, spreading warmth all the way down to her toes.
But whenever she remembered why they were in a different state, a jolt jerked her upright and her brain overworked itself until she grew dizzy.
She was on her way to find her biological mother. After months of wondering and conjuring imaginary visions of how the woman who birthed her was like, she would get real answers. Answers her parents withheld from her. Answers as to why she was the way she was. She would know everything.
"We're getting closer," Ronan spoke. She lifted her head from the window edge, smoothing down her hair. He pointed at the GPS app on his phone peering up from the cupholder. "Fifteen minutes to Braunson Valley."
Anticipation thrummed through her veins. A heavy ball formed in the center of her chest, proving it hard to breathe, but she managed to keep herself in check. She would not loose her head when she was so close to meeting her biological mother. She would be calm, cool, and collected, and whatever other cliché about being clear-headed.
Ronan turned into a tiny dirt road. She leaned away from the window as the tires kicked up the muck and dust. They drove through what seemed like an empty lot of land, but after a few minutes, a small neighborhood of houses came into view.
They were one-story houses with barely any drive-in space available. Mold crawled up most of the walls. Gutters hung from the sides of houses, so close to crashing entirely. Bushes planted by front porches and doors held no leaves, barren and dried up. None of the front yards had bright green lawns, instead sporting dry, brown dirt, which the wind blew out through the rest of the street.
When the GPS announced their destination was on their right, Gwenn looked over at the small, run-down house. Its entrance was bare, with a cracked paved elevation that led into the front door. A sunflower plant grew on what could've been a front lawn, but it could barely lift its stem to follow the sun. The windows on the house sunk inward, the metal bent in areas like someone had tried to escape but failed.
Gwenn reached out without thinking, grasping onto Ronan's hand for stability while looking out at the house. He squeezed their fingers together, and her pulse relaxed somewhat. But the thought that the woman who gave birth to her could be on the other side of that old door sent her nerves on a spazzing field day.
"I'll be right beside you," Ronan said, nodding over to the house. "You're not alone."
She let go of his hand, shooting him a grateful smile, before opening the door. Waving her hand across her face to rid of dust particles threatening to fall into her eyes, she stood in front of the house. It was worse than Mrs. Pedley's wooden house, which looked like it would fall apart within seconds. This house stood taller, yet appeared like life had been sucked right out of it. Gwenn took a deep breath, hoping she would feel good and prepared for whatever was on the other side.
Ronan walked up beside her, pressing a hand on her back with the softest touch. She stared at his face, wide-eyed, then turned to the house.
Without either of them saying anything, she trudged forward, kicking up dust under her brown lace-up booties. The soles scratched against the jagged pavement as she went up the crumbling steps. Before she could lose all of her courage, she lifted a fist to the door and knocked.
Silence followed as she waited, threading her fingers together to hold herself together. She stood for a few minutes before going up and knocking again. That time she heard mumbles and the footfalls of a few people echoing on the inside.
Her heart sped up. She imagined a petite woman opening the door with matching blonde hair and height with clear, blue eyes like her file had specified. Maybe she would look like an older version of Gwenn.
Instead a tall, middle-aged woman sporting a tattered short-sleeved tee that stuck to her sweaty skin and low rise yoga pants stained with what she hoped was pasta sauce threw the door open with brute force. The woman sneered down at Gwenn. "Who are you and why are you at my door?"
Gwenn stepped back, taking another breath to calm her fraying nerves. "Hello, I'm Gwenn Davidson. I was just wondering if you by any chance had any information on Ruth Elizabeth Woods."
The woman studied Gwenn in her clean emerald green sweater and light denim shorts, then stared into her eyes. She puckered her lips as her face curled into a snarl. Frizzy, unkempt dyed red hair fell over her forehead when she snorted, loud and clear, as they stood in silence for a minute. "Pathetic," she huffed, and stepped back into her house, the floorboards squeaking under her weight.
"Wait-" Gwenn reached forward, wanting to say more, but the woman scoffed once and slammed the door in her face.
She blinked at the rattling door, standing there like her feet were stuck to the ground. Ronan placed his hands over her shoulders, turning her away from the entrance. The slamming door replayed in her mind as he dragged her out of the property.
"Maybe she doesn't know about your bio mom," Ronan offered as they neared the truck. She could only nod, blinking back prickling tears. "They could be the newest family that moved in."
"Yeah," she sighed, closing her eyes. She needed to come up with a plan. Something to follow to find where her biological mother was if not there. Ruth Woods had to be somewhere.
"We'll get to the bottom of this, honey," Ronan cut through her racing thoughts. "Let's regroup and brainstorm-"
His words were interrupted by the insistent vibrations coming from her phone. She shook her head and fished it out of her pocket to stare at Wolf's contact. When his name disappeared she saw the numerous calls hounding her notifications. Her throat clogged when another call took over her screen.
She pressed the phone to her ear. "Hello?"
Wolf laughed from the other end, but it didn't hold a single drop of amusement. "You're done for, Davidson."
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