Conspicuous Secrets

Chapter Fifty-Six

It's Christmas Eve. Also, our second full day living in the beach house.

We had arrived two nights prior and everything has been okay ever since. It was quiet half of the time, and neither of us did much, but there wasn't a whole lot that we could do about that. Our first morning in the house, Gavin had found a guitar tucked in the back of the closet inside of the room he had chosen to sleep in and had since started teaching himself how to play. Because of that, many hours of the day was filled with a soft melody from the instrument, but I didn't really mind. It was better than silence.

The majority of my time was spent reading. I had found a bunch of books and magazines lined up on a small shelf in the living room and decided that it was a good way to get time to pass by quickly. It was also a plus that I always found myself escaping into someone else's life. At this point in mine, it seemed like a good option. When I wasn't reading, I was watching a random show on the TV or watching Gavin strum the guitar. Both of which also helped me keep my thoughts off of my own life situation.

We hadn't heard from anybody in the outside world since I arrived here—not even a short phone call from Daniel. No one had brought us more of our stuff like we had been promised, and it was weird being restricted by ourselves on the same property for a long period of time. I felt like we were completely closed off from the world and had to keep reminding myself that it wasn't a punishment and that we were just here to save our lives.

"You're getting better," I told my brother, watching him pluck a few guitar strings.

He just smiled before plucking a few more strings in the same pattern, slowly adding more notes to the end overtime. "Eh, not really," he replied. "It'd be useful if someone could teach me how to properly play."

"Look up some tutorials online," I suggested. "I'm sure you'll find something that will help."

Nodding, he stood up and gently placed the instrument on the couch where he had just been sitting. "Where's the laptop?"

"On my bed," I told him, looking back down to the book in my hand. Gavin disappeared down the hall and I became immersed in an old romance story that I hadn't heard of.

I hadn't even gotten to read to the bottom of the page when my cell phone began ringing. Quickly dropping the book and picking my phone off of the coffee table, I read the caller ID. It was Daniel. "Hello?"

"Hey," he greeted me. "How are you adjusting to your new place?"

"It's not too bad," I told him half-heartedly. It was the truth at least. I knew we had been in worse situations.

"Good." I was about to ask him when he was getting the rest of our stuff delivered, when he said, "Listen, I have an update on your dad."

I sat up straighter and tightened my grip on the phone. "What is it?"

"He was spotted leaving town, and it seemed like he was traveling for at least a couple of days," he informed me.

"Did you follow him?"

"No. Our witness had trouble following him and ended up losing sight of his vehicle."

"Well, do you have a direction where he was heading?" I questioned next.

"It's possible that he was leaving the state, but there's no telling whether he's heading in your direction on not," Daniel replied. "We're currently looking through street cameras trying to find out. We have a vehicle description and a license plate number so we should be able to find him soon."

Sighing, I rubbed my hands nervously over my face. "Are we going to have to pack up and leave again?"

"No," he said almost immediately. "Not yet, at least. There's no proof that he has found your location. It's basically impossible anyway. We've kept your case on a down low. Hardly anyone knows about you guys and no one outside of the people helping you even know about the part-time station that we set up. As of right now, you are okay." I nodded and kept my head supported with my hand on my chin. "Besides, with everything going on today, and Christmas being tomorrow, it'd be a shame to have to drop everything and come move you to a new location possibly further across the country," he spoke, his voice straining. "I've got to go. I'll keep you updated." With that, the line went dead and I didn't have a choice, but to close the line on my end, too.

My brother walked back in the room, looking down at the opened laptop in his hands and scrolling down through something. "Who was that?" he asked me, sitting down at the end of the couch, beside the wooden instrument.

"Daniel," I told him. "They spotted Charles leaving town, seemingly packed for a few days and possibly leaving the state."

His eyebrows scrunched and his big hazel eyes looked up at me in worry. "He hasn't found us already, has he?"

I shook my head. "Daniel insists that it's impossible. He thinks we are safe, at least for right now."

Gavin nodded and looked back down at the laptop screen, starting to type something. I found my heart sinking deep into my chest. "...Today is Kason's mother's funeral," I informed my brother quietly. Looking back up at me, a frown took hold of his lips. "I really wish that I could be there for him."

Sighing softly, Gavin placed a comforting hand on my knee. "I'm sure that he wishes that, too," he spoke in return, just as softly. "But he also knows that you can't for your own safety. He understands," he assured me. I nodded, knowing he was right.

This whole isolation thing seemed to be getting harder and harder.

***

This is a really short chapter. I'm sorry. But next chapter will be worth the wait, I promise:)

Where is Charles heading? Did he find them again? How will they handle Christmas? Will anything go down?

VOTE if you enjoyed this chapter. 

Thanks for reading!

Next chapter will be up on Sunday.

~Emily