Stolen Secrets

Stolen Secrets- Chapter 23

~Natalie~

“We’re going to go do something today,” Jeff announced when we woke up Monday morning. I pulled his arm across me, craving the body heat. It was still chilly even though it was spring now.

“But I need to find my dad,” I argued.

Jeff shook his head. “Angel there’s nothing more you can do. You could go back to his office and look for hours but not find anything more. We have to leave it to the cops now.”

“But I could-” Jeff shook his head.

“Your dad didn’t want to be found. That’s why he did everything so carefully. We won’t be able to find anything more.”

I pouted and looked down at the bed. “Thanks Jeff,” I muttered. “Way to make me feel better.”

Jeff put his arm around me in a half hug. “I don’t know what else to say other than the truth,” he said softly.

“No you’re right,” I said. I pushed back the covers and stood up. “Let’s do something fun today. It’s spring break, we deserve some fun.”

Jeff looked at me with his head cocked to the side, probably trying to figure out my sudden change of heart.

“What’s with you?” He asked. Not rudely, just blunt.

I shrugged. “Dad wasn’t taken, you’re right. This was what he wanted. He didn’t want me.”

“No Angel, don’t think that,” Jeff said scrambling off the bed to come stand at me I was searching through the drawers I had cleared out in his dresser for my stuff. He had the top two, I had the bottom two. All the stuff that didn’t fit was in a box we had stolen from Brandon’s room.

“Jeff it’s true,” I said not even bothering to disguise the hurt in my voice. “But it’s fine, I knew this would happen when they adopted me.”

“How old were you then?” Jeff asked suddenly changing the topic.

“I was five.”

“How many families did you, um, go through?”

“None. No one wanted me.”

“See, your parents had you for more than ten years. That has to show you how much they love you,” Jeff said taking my shoulder and forcing me to look at him.

“If Dad loved me so much, why did he abandon me without even saying goodbye. Why didn’t he even have the decency to make sure I had somewhere to go before he left me?” I asked him. I had been thinking those things since he left, but this was the first time I had voiced them.

“But you did have somewhere, I would always look out for you. Your dad knew that,” Jeff told me.

I shook my head. “That doesn’t explain why he didn’t say goodbye, or even give me a clue that he was preparing to leave me, the girl he had pretended was his daughter for eleven years!” I couldn’t help the fact that my voice shook on the words.

“He went to protect you Angel,” Jeff said softly, probably surprised at my outburst.

“Protect me? How is he supposed to do that when I don’t even know where he is? How can he protect me when he is sitting around talking to the man who did this to me?” I pulled down the neckline of my shirt to my collar bone. There were deep cuts there that weren’t healing as fast as my other ones. They were purple with bruises still and swollen slightly.

Jeff flinched when he saw the cuts. “Give him a chance Angel, he’s your dad. You didn’t seem him when you were gone. He was so scared and worried and…lost without you. Whatever he’s doing, he has a plan.”