Lost Nor Found

Chapter 13

While her mom's recovery in the hospital only took a few days, it was agonizingly slow in Laelynn's perspective. But, when her mom was allowed to come home, everything that happened whizzed by. Soon her mom was up on her feet and walking again, though she still had to take some painkillers from time to time. She had even started taking her medication on a more regular basis, which was a huge relief. Maria kept checking in, and Kayden's mom, Emily - a pretty woman with curly blond hair and the same beautiful eyes as her son - made sure to stop by too. Laelynn was grateful for all their help, and couldn't have thanked them enough.

"Laelynn," Maria turned to her, a few days after her mom started walking. She had come to check in like she did every few days. "You need a break from home. So, Elena and Kayden told me to tell you to meet them by the willow tree - and I'm assuming you know what they're talking about," Maria said, smiling when Laelynn's eyes light up.

"Oh, okay. Thank you for letting me know!" She said, already on her way downstairs. Slipping on her jacket and boots, she walked outside. She took a deep breath of the cool winter air. The sun was out, too, its shining beams reflecting off the white snow, blinding.

But Laelynn couldn't stop smiling as she ran down the path, returning to the beautiful weeping willow, its drooping branches coated in a soft layer of snow, hiding whatever was behind it. She pushed through the curtain of long, intricate, branches, smiling at the two people before her.

"Hey, you came!" Elena exclaimed, throwing her arms around Laelynn in a quick hug. Kayden flashed her a grin, enveloping her in a hug when Elena pulled away.

"So, what's up?" she asked them, trying to hide her flushing cheeks. "Oh, before you answer that, thank you so much for dropping off the homework. But don't worry, this week I'll be coming to school. May as well be there for the last week before the break." She told them, and Kayden's grin widened. Elena pulled them both to the ground with a thud, so they sat in a small circle, facing each other cross-legged.

"Don't worry about it. And I'm glad you're coming back to school. We both are," Kayden admitted as he glanced at Elena, who nodded in agreement.

"But also... we owe you an explanation, Laelynn." Elena said, and Laelynn sighed.

"I guess you do."

"Where do we start..." Kayden thought, blowing a small sigh through his lips, his breath forming little clouds in the gelid winter air.

"How about with what happened in the cafeteria," Laelynn suggested. Guilt overtook both their expressions as they glanced at each other.

"It's okay, guys. I already forgave you. You don't have to feel bad about it. I just want to know what happened," Laelynn reassured.

"Well, Carson told Stephanie and the rest of their idiots about where you lived," Elena explained. "He was coming up with a bunch of plans, and then Kayden jumped in, telling them to leave you alone. And I jumped in with a few comments of my own," she said with a smirk. Kayden rolled his eyes. "But they said they'd only stop and not go through with any of those plans if we, well... you know. Did what we did. Luckily, though, they kept their promise and didn't do anything. Well... most of them kept their promise." Elena muttered the last part under her breath, but Laelynn heard.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, here's where the complicated part comes in," Kayden jumped in. He blew out a long breath, before facing Laelynn.

"I know Carson kept dropping hints about a 'gang' and about knowing me and my step-brother. So... here's the story:

"Many years back, my parents were having a lot of fights. I was only... maybe six or seven when they got divorced. I moved in with my dad, as you know. He got married, and his new wife had a son about six years older than me. He was already involved with a bunch of weird things - things I didn't want to be a part of. One of those weird things was exactly what Carson warned - it was a gang." He took a long breath. "Well... somehow my dad got involved and learned - through one of those gangs - more about his family history. It turns out our great-grandparents had been a part of a crazy, wicked, completely inhumane gang, and we were tied by a blood truce - vowed loyalty for the rest of our bloodline, for and under the protection of the gang. Which didn't end well when my father left to Europe. I was forced to move too. In Europe, my step-brother and dad got involved in a lot of other weird things, too – one of them doing illegal things for the gang. Making sure they didn't get too mad at them both for moving to Europe. The gang found an opportunity and forced them to stay longer, asking both my dad and Ryan to run a bunch of... errands.