Mystery Child

Chapter Four

“Thanks again for checking out the truck for me.” The statement came out of my mouth for probably the fourth time this past hour. 

    “It’s no problem.” Billy Black smiled at me from his wheelchair as his son Jacob worked silently under the hood. “It’s what Charlie would want.” He finished and his face dropped slightly at the mention of his dead best friend. 

    “I know I just… thank you.” I looked down at the ground rubbing my arms. Billy Black was someone I had known my whole life but had always seemed wary of me. He is one of the few people who knew of my true parentage. He never said anything about it though. I think he didn’t want to upset grandpa Charlie. I was surprised when he and his son had agreed to come to look at the truck. I only called because I was broke and since it was their truck originally I hoped they would do it for cheap. 

    “What was it that you said was wrong with it?” Jacob had always been warier of me than his father and I could tell that he did not come here willingly. 

    “Nothing. I just wanted to make sure it was okay to drive long distances.” I told him once again. 

    “Where are you going?” Billy questioned almost worriedly. 

    “I’m not sure yet,” I told him. Crossing my arms over my chest. “Probably to Florida with my Grandma Renee. Maybe I’ll just drive until I run out of gas. I haven’t decided yet. I just can’t stay here.” A grunt in almost agreement escaped jacobs lips as he was buried under the hood of the truck. Billy immediately sent a dirty look his way, but Jacob didn’t even acknowledge his father. He just kept working. 

    Clearing my throat I looked away from the father and son interaction and stared towards the forest across the street. I couldn’t help but feel like I was being watched. 

    “Do either of you want something to drink,” I questioned wanting an excuse to escape from the tension for just a moment. 

    “I’ll take a water,” Billy turned his attention back to me for a moment, and then it was back on Jacob. “Jake do you want anything?” At the question, Jacob looked away from the truck for the first time since he had gotten there and stared at me. His eyes squinted and he analyzed me for a few long seconds before he turned back to the truck. 

    “Water.” He grumbled.

    “Alright then.” With that, I turned and jogged up the steps and through the front door. I walk swiftly through the house trying not to dwell on how empty it feels. Almost all of the furniture was either sold or donated. Everything that could be put into boxes has been packed up and is waiting in the living room to be loaded into the truck to leave in the morning. 

    Walking into the kitchen I sighed as I rubbed my fingers across the now empty yellow cabinets of my childhood. Walking over to the nearly empty fridge I grabbed two bottles of water. My stomach couldn’t handle anything right now. Not even water. 

    I walk out of the front door at the same time that Jacob is closing the hood. 

    “So what’s the verdict?” I handed them both their waters.

    “It should be fine for a bit. Just don’t push it to hard. It’s probably not going to last long anyway.” Billy told me before taking a drink from his water. Taking a deep breath I nodded. That was better than I expected to hear. 

“Alright. Well thank you guys so much for this. How much do I owe you?” 

“Oh it’s nothing. No work was actually done. Keep your money.” Billy said before I could even pull out my wallet. 

“Are you sure? I could at least give you guys some money for the gas you used to get here.” 

“We don’t want your money.” Jacob snaps shocking me. My wallet slips out of my hands and I grab it quickly before it hits the ground. I flinch at the carelessness of my actions. I stare at the ground refusing to make eye contact with them. 

“Well alright them. Thank you for your help. Have a nice day.” With that I turned and started walking towards the front door. 

“Kira.” Billy started and them stopped himself. “Just be safe.” Without turning to look I him I nodded and walked through the front door. Leaning against the door I didn’t move until I heard the sound of their car leave a few minuets later. Walking into the living room I stood among the boxes that contained my whole life. I had packed most of it up myself declining the offers of others for help. I couldn’t stand the idea of anyone else touching the last memories I had of my mother. They were mine to keep and mine alone. 

Not wanting to have yet another emotional moment I walked up the stairs to finish packing the few clothes I had left. Laying out and outfit for tomorrow I threw everything else into a backpack for quick access. Grabbing the wad of money I had hidden in a sock I counted it once again. Three hundred dollars. Three hundred dollards was what I had to restart my life. Shoving it back into the sock I originally had it in I shoved it to the bottom of my bag. 

Suddenly I heard a russell downstairs. The slightest indication that there was someone else in the house with me. If I was normal I wouldn’t of heard it. Thankfully I was far from normal. Securing the backpack on I grabbed an old baseball bad from the corner of the room and crept downstair. 

Their wasn’t one person downstairs. Their was three. My bad would be useless. Not because I was outnumbered, but because they wern’t human. They all notice me instantly, and two of them stare at me in astonishment. One of them does not. The small spiky haired girl smiles at me. Obviously she was over the harshness of our last conversation. The first of the two to compose themselves was a stunningly beautiful blonde man. His smile was friendly and inviting. To be honest I almost gravitated towards him. That is if he wasn’t standing next to the last person I ever wanted to see. 

The third man still had not composed himself by the time my eyes made their way to him. He looked young. Probably about seventeen. He had ruffled bronze hair the exact same as mine. He was someone I knew well even though I had never even seen a picture of him before.

This was the man who broke my mom.

 This was my father. 

This was Edward.