Till Death Do Us Part - A Morira Novel

Chapter 3

After hours in the car my butt was getting sore and the silence was almost tangible. I had been staring out the window stubbornly for the last hour, not wanting anything to do with my legal guardians, and they hadn't been speaking either. They had exchanged glances and small smiles, but other than that, they were as quiet as I was. Perhaps stubbornness ran in the family; then we definitely had something in common.

Though I didn't want to be the one to break the silence I also couldn't stand it anymore. We were still driving and the urge to talk was killing me. God, I couldn't keep quiet on most days and especially not when driving. Mom used to say she didn't need a radio when I was in the car.

Tapping my foot I finally gave up, "Where do you live?"

James looked in the rear-view window before answering.

"In Detroit."

I made a face; that left almost three more hours in the car. I moved a little, trying to ease the bloodstream to my legs.

"In the city?" I asked, and Danielle laughed heartily.

"God, no. We live north of the city by Anchorville between New Baltimore and Fair Haven. We can see the water from the house." That didn't tell me anything.

"But Detroit really isn't that far... how come you never visited?" Danielle and James exchanged glances.

"We never really had the time and neither did Uriel and Marilyn. Uriel and I sort of grew apart, though we were close as children." I nodded, looking out the window once more; I didn't recognize of the scenery any more. I had never been more than a couple of hours away from home. Mom and dad never wanted to travel, though of course I had tried to persuade them to go to New York or somewhere else. Never worked, though.

"What do you do for a living?" Danielle turned in her seat to look at me.

"I'm an interior decorator. I have an office at home, but most meetings I have down town. So, I'll be home a lot if you need me." She said with a smile which warmed her blue eyes. Her hair was golden, much like Jane's was, I noticed.

"James works in the security business; you can never get much info out of him and he is seldom home." I frowned.

"Security? Like in a mall?" I asked and James laughed.

"No, more like government security which means I travel a lot. You and Danielle will be alone a lot." Danielle smiled fondly at him.

"That's okay. I'm sure Gabrielle and I will do just fine without you. We enrolled you in the local high school where you'll start Monday if you're up for it." She said, looking at me now, "We've talked to the school psychiatrist about... what you've been through, and she has made a weekly appointment for you. Just the first couple of weeks to see how you are doing and if needed you can continue seeing her."

I bit my lip and looked out the window; I didn't want to see a psychiatrist, but I appreciated the gesture. They really wanted to help and I liked that, though I didn't think I needed this kind of help.

"They didn't have any open spots at school, but I talked to the principal and he made an exception for you. I believe the donation we gave helped too." James said, sounding smug. And apparently money wasn't an issue either.

Finally, after hours, which I'd slept through most of, we made it to their house. In the middle of the night we parked by their house, which was turned toward the bay, giving every room a view of the water. The moon shone brightly on the starry night as we dragged my bags up the stairs to the door. James locked us in and then tapped in a code on a panel by the door.