“How do I know you won’t do it again? How do I know you won’t leave again one day if it all gets too hard?”
“I’ve changed. I’ve grown up. I’m not that same man anymore. I have a wife, and you obviously know about your sister…”
“I’ve met Samantha and April.”
“We could be a family,” Dad said hopefully.
My heart tugged and I wanted to believe him. A part of me already did. I wasn’t so hard that I didn’t give second chances when they were due. Perhaps Marshall Gabrielle didn’t deserve one but maybe my dad did. I was only sixteen years old, I had a whole life ahead of me. Carrying a grudge was hard work, forgiveness was lighter and far less strenuous.
“We can go for ice cream as a start,” I said, putting up a hand to stop him when it seemed like he was about to go in for a hug. “But I already have a family. Uncle Marvin is part of my life and he has to be included in everything. He’s part of the deal or there is no deal.”
Dad stuck out his hand in lieu of the hug, I shook it. “We have a deal.”
“You also need to meet Frankie. If I get my way, he’s going to be around for a long time too.”
“Can I give him a hard time?”
“Only when he deserves it.” I smiled and it felt good as my dad smiled back at me. We had the same one, just slightly crooked but not in a way that other people would notice.
We returned to the others, exhausted. It wasn’t so much the physical fight that had taken its toll on me but the emotional showdown with my father that had had the biggest impact.
I still couldn’t believe my father was back.
We piled into the back of a police vehicle and were taken to the Lakeside Police Station. All I wanted to do was climb into bed and sleep for a thousand years but apparently that had to wait until we’d given a full statement.
Each of us were given a blank piece of paper and pen, told to write out everything we knew. Typing would have been a million times quicker but the police budget didn’t extend that far.
I checked.
And was shot down quickly.
My hand was aching and sore by the time I squiggled the last few words on the yellow legal pad. The poor person who had to decipher the last few parts was really going to struggle with my slipping penmanship. They would reconsider the budget position afterwards.
A commotion caught my attention as I twirled my pen through my fingers and waited for the others to finish. The door to the otherwise quiet room burst open, startling me for a few panic-filled seconds.
Samantha and April ran into the room. My father was across the floor in no time, sweeping them up in his arms and hugging them tight to his chest. It was beautiful watching their reunion, I couldn’t stop the lump forming in my throat and the new round of tears stinging my eyes.
If I needed any more confirmation that my father was sticking around for good this time, it was right in front of my eyes. He wouldn’t voluntarily leave his wife and kid. Samantha and April were his entire life, they filled his soul with love and life. There was no conceivable way he would lose them like he had lost me.
Maybe there was something poetic in the way he had left me, after all. He had loved my mother so much he couldn’t bear to be reminded of her. I was the ultimate memory keeper, the kid born from their affections. There was romance in that concept, just the realistic implications of it were ugly.
At least I knew my parents loved each other once.
I was sure my father once wrapped my mother and me in the same bear hug he now held Samantha and April in now. If I filled my head with thoughts like that, I could only smile.
Maybe, in time, the image I had burning in my mind of his back as he left would slowly dissolve.
He would turn around and I would only see him entering.
My father broke his hug with Samantha and April, freeing up one arm to beckon me over. I actually looked behind me to make sure he was speaking with me.
There was nobody behind me.
Slowly, I pushed my seat back and stood. Everything swayed around me for a moment as all the blood rushed to my head. More than anything I needed to sleep, but it would have to be on pause for a few minutes more.
A hug was awaiting me.
Shyness suddenly overwhelmed me when I reached the trio. They were a family and it still felt odd that they wanted me to be a part of it. Frankie gave me a thumbs up when I looked for some reassurance over my shoulder.
Uncle Marvin rolled his eyes.
Dad didn’t give me any more time to hesitate. His arm wrapped around my back and pulled me into the group. We hugged, all four of us together.
It felt warm.
It felt safe.
It felt like something was starting.
Something good.
It was the police officer that eventually broke us up, collecting our statements like it was homework and telling us we were free to leave. I assured my father I would be fine to go home with Uncle Marvin and I would catch up with him sometime soon.
He assured me he wouldn’t leave again.
Ninety-nine percent of me believed him.
The remaining one percent would stay with me forever, a scar carved into my being that would never fully fade.
“Let’s go home, girl,” Uncle Marvin said. Even he looked tired, all the wrinkles on his face just that much deeper. He had been reunited with his brother tonight but they hadn’t said much. His scars were going to take time to heal too.
Maybe they were deeper than mine.
The bond of brotherhood was a sin to sever and my father had done just that. An impassioned speech and an apology wouldn’t be sufficient for Uncle Marvin.
I would have to tell my father to invite his brother for dinner, that was the way to his forgiveness. A few lamb shanks cooked just the right way and Uncle Marvin would forgive anything.
Frankie rode with us, sitting in the back seat while I rode shotgun. “Thank you for believing in me,” I said to my uncle. It was easier talking in the car, we didn’t have to look at each other while the road demanded his attention.
He sighed and shifted in his seat, adjusting the seatbelt. “I always believe in you, Em. I might not say it, but I always know it. I’m glad you got to see your idiot dad tonight.”
“I am too.”
“You’ll always have a home with me, though. Don’t be thinking you have to leave me just because he’s back. Okay?”
“I won’t. Thank you.” I knew what his offer cost him because Uncle Marvin was not one for talking about his feelings. This was about the most touchy-feely conversation we’d ever had.
And I think I preferred it that way.
“I know Recycle Club is a sham,” Uncle Marvin suddenly blurted out. He risked a quick glance my way, seeing the shocked expression on my face. “You go to the mall every Wednesday, I’ve seen you there. You don’t have to lie about it anymore.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I wasn’t sure whether I should have been relieved or horrified. It wasn’t like I enjoyed people knowing I was a liar. Especially my family.
My uncle shrugged one heavy shoulder. “Thought you had your reasons. You have your secrets, I have mine.”
I remembered all the times I had seen Uncle Marvin acting a little odd recently. He did have secrets, ones I wasn’t sure I wanted to know about. If he could give me Recycle Club, I could give him his secret meetings.
Our awkward conversation came to a stop when we pulled up at our house. Uncle Marvin was quick to get inside, shooting me a final pointed look before leaving.
He still didn’t like Frankie.
Now I had two fatherly figures to hassle me about my boyfriend.
Great.
Actually, it kind of was.
Frankie and I climbed out of the car and into the still night air. The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon, we’d been up all night long. The grass was dewy at our feet, just wet enough to permeate the air with a crisp sweet scent.
“I
’m sorry he wouldn’t drop you at home,” I apologized.
“It’s no problem. I don’t mind the walk,” Frankie replied. Even with his fatigue he could still flash me that brilliant smile of his. He was worth every piece of gold in the entire world.
“Maybe things can start to resemble normal around here.”
“Where would the fun be in that?” He gave me a warm hug and it was more wonderful than seeing the sun rise at the end of the street. Things seemed so much shinier in Lakeside that morning.
It was a new dawn.
A new day.
A new era.
Frankie loosened his grip on me as I stood back so I could see his beautiful blue eyes. I was lost in them momentarily as I fought the urge to drown in them.
And then a noise caught my attention.
“Hey, someone’s moving in down the road,” I said, pointing to a removals truck as it pulled up. It was followed by a small car. A family piled out–a man, woman, and teenage girl.
“Looks like a nice family,” Frankie replied, always the optimist. “The girl looks to be about our age. I wonder if she’s going to be attending our school?”
“I don’t know.” Until I knew more about her, I also didn’t know if I wanted her to attend the same school. New people made me wary, even if they did look like a nice family, as Frankie said.
“So maybe a trip to the mall on Saturday?” Frankie suggested.
“I don’t think so. Maybe we should do something different. How about going to the movies? Or we could go swimming if the weather’s nice,” I said.
Two things I wouldn’t have done before.
You couldn’t find lost things at the movies or in the water.
“Sounds good,” Frankie said, giving me a gentle kiss on the lips. “I’ll talk to you later after we get some sleep. Sweet dreams, Em.”
“Sweet dreams, Frankie.”
I watched the boy I love as he walked with a slight limp down the sun-streaked street. My heart beat excessively just because of him. He was gorgeous and wonderful, even seeing just the back of him as he left.
Seeing him go didn’t fill me with panic.
I knew Frankie would come back.
Knew it like I knew my own name.
There were some people in your life you knew wouldn’t hurt you and others you always suspected would. Frankie was in the former category while everyone else was in the latter. Slowly, over time, maybe they would shift into the first category.
I hoped so.
I staggered back inside and pulled myself up to my bedroom. Taking one last look at my shelves containing all the lost things, I knew I didn’t need the shelves in the attic anymore.
The urge I always held to seek out and find those items that had been lost didn’t beat within me anymore. It had been silenced, quelled, and stilled. I felt at peace for the first time since I could remember.
Maybe I didn’t have the compulsion anymore for one simple reason.
I wasn’t lost anymore.
I had been found.
* * *
Little did Em or Frankie realize at the time but what they had witnessed outside the house with the removals truck was also a new beginning. Very soon, days in fact, they would meet The Keeper of Secret Things.
Her story was completely unlike Ems.
She had a family, a nice one just as Frankie had correctly guessed. They had a happy home, warmth lived in every room, and love flowed freely.
But the Keeper of Secret Things had secrets herself.
Secrets that had the potential to turn the city of Lakeside completely on its head.
Continue the story
The Keeper of Secret Things
the biggest secret she keeps is her own.
Out now
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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Jamie Campbell grew up in the New South Wales town of Port Macquarie as the youngest of six children. She now resides on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.
Writing since she could hold a pencil, Jamie’s passion for storytelling and wild imagination were often a cause for concern with her school teachers. Now that imagination is used for good instead of mischief.
Visit www.jamiecampbell.com.au now for exclusive website only content and free downloads.
Jamie loves hearing from her readers, send her an email at [email protected]
Also by the Author:
A Hairy Tail
Another Hairy Tail
All The Pretty Ghosts
Ashes to Ashes
A World Without Angels
Fairy Tales Retold
Fashion Fraud
Gifted
Dark Eyes: Cursed
Perfectly Timed
Songbird
Tainted Magic
Ten Thousand Wishes
The Project Integrate Series
The Starkissed series
Trouble
Two Beating Hearts
Copyright © 2017 Jamie Campbell
Smashwords Edition
Jamie Campbell asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the author.
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