Enigma

by Leslie Drennan

  We pulled into the driveway, and Avan got out of his car to walk me to the door. He was hesitant about coming into the house, but I told him Lena was still gone since her flight was delayed and that I really wanted him to meet the chef, Lorenzo. After a small amount of begging on my part, he agreed to come in for just a moment. Walking into the kitchen, Lorenzo looked up and smiled bigger than I think I had ever seen, embracing Avan in a hug.

  “You two know each other?” I asked, looking confused.

  “Yes, we’re old friends,” Lorenzo replied.

  “This guy makes a mean chicken cacciatore!” Avan said, smiling.

  “Okay, well that’s good to know,” I said, still trying to catch up.

  “You never told me your chef’s last name! If I had known you were in such good hands, I wouldn’t worry so much all the time,” Avan said, looking at me with relief in his eyes.

  After the short but friendly reunion and a couple of cups of hot tea, Avan was on his way out and all I could think was that Lorenzo had known exactly who I was talking about every time I told him about Avan.

  Nothing made sense with this situation. I needed to find some answers quickly before my world made no sense at all. Avan said he would help me, but I was confused as to how we would go about finding everything out. All I knew was that I needed some answers now.

  Everything was intertwining, and it was hard to tell where it all left me. How did I fit in to this twisted equation? I needed somebody to tell me. However, everyone I talked to was making it quite clear that they had some kind of a gag order and were not at liberty to tell me anything. I was now bound and determined to get the answers I needed, even if I had to go to all ends of the earth to get them!

  I took the pieces of paper from my pocket and laid them on my bed as I analyzed them, wondering how each one pertained to the next. Just by reading them, I could obviously conclude that someone thought I was in danger, knowing that I was being watched by someone else who knew what I was. If I could find out what someone might think I was, I could probably narrow it down as to who was watching me. Thinking about it from this angle, I figured I should start from square one—my birth.

  CHAPTER 8

  Lena had gotten home sometime during the night, but never came to my room and announced her presence, which gave me the notion that Ian had more than likely called her in a fury, making her aware of his conversation with Avan yesterday. Not that I was worried about Lena’s opinion of the new company I was keeping, but it also added another element of difficulty to the situation, seeing as how she was a bit hostile when it came to Avan and his friends from Spirits anyway. Honestly, I had better things to worry about than stupid high school crap that all centered around stroking people’s egos, which required my attention. Lena, Ian, and their wounded egos were going to have to wait in line.

  I decided while getting ready for school that as soon as the bell rang ending the school day, I was going to take a road trip. Bridgepoint, the town we moved to Oceanview from, was two hours north. If I left right after school, I could make it there and back before it got too late. Avan worked after school, so I would just tell him I had something to do today that would prevent me from hanging around Spirits this afternoon.

  Surely I could find information that would help me start filling in the blanks about what the notes meant. While I was there, I also planned on doing a little of my own investigation work on Sharon Mumford. I knew if she really had lived there, someone would have to remember her or there would be some kind of record of her being there.

  When I was walking down stairs, I noticed something odd. There were no smells coming from the kitchen that there normally were at this time of morning when Lorenzo was usually making breakfast. I walked into the kitchen, finding no sign of Lorenzo at all. I moved from the kitchen to the dining room finding nothing even hinting to his presence this morning at all. In the three years I had lived here, I had never known Lorenzo to be sick, so to think he had requested a day off seemed unrealistic. I had no idea what to think, but I had a feeling deep inside that there was more to it than a long-overdue day off. I would definitely be asking Avan what he thought about it when he got here to pick me up.

  I looked around again and noticed that there still was no sign of Lena either. She never left for school before I did, but the house was completely silent. It was possible that she could have gone in a bit early to try to talk her way out of all the makeup work she was destined to have. I still could not figure out how she would get away with missing that much school along with her normal absences and not get in truancy trouble, but I guess it all went back to how money talks. Just as I made it to the living room, I heard Avan honk from the driveway.

  Walking out the door, I set the alarm and locked the door behind me. I looked up to see Avan walking around the car, opening the door for me, as he did every time we were together. I could already tell he was going to have me very spoiled. Making my way to the open door, he took my bag and put it onto the polished, tan, leather interior of the back seat as usual. I slid into the passenger seat, buckling my seat belt as he closed the door and walked around sliding into the driver’s seat.

  “You know we will have more time to check out Bridgepoint if we leave now right?”

  “How did you—”

  “It doesn’t matter how I knew. The important thing is that you need to know there is no way I would let you go by yourself,” he said, giving me a kiss on my forehead.

  I still wondered how he always knew exactly what I was thinking, but I was getting to where I kind of liked it. It made it much easier to communicate when I wanted to tell him something during class, for sure. It reminded me of how my mom could always tell what my dad was thinking. Every time they would have a conversation, it was like they only had half of it with words, since my mom always seemed to answer him before he ever had to speak.

  “Won’t people start asking questions if we miss school together?”

  “People have started talking and asking questions anyway. We are the top conversation in every clique currently. I’m not worried. Let them wonder. I will be right next to you no matter what,” he said, sounding like a prince ready to rescue me from a dragon guarded castle.

  “I’m not worried. I just don’t want to complicate your life with the weirdness of mine.”

  “You are my life. You aren’t a complication, obligation, or annoyance, so stop thinking like that. I will do whatever it takes from now until forever to stand beside you and protect you. It’s my job.” He was so sincere it almost made me want to tear up. Though I’d never actually had a boyfriend until now I couldn’t imagine that this was typical boyfriend behavior. I had never been loved or considered by anyone the way I was by Avan.

  “What about work?” I hated that he would lose money to escort me.

  “There are plenty of people there. I’m sure they’ll manage.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “They’ve got more brains than they appear to have,” he added with a laugh.

  I knew he had read my mind again, exposing my thought of how most people with big muscles have tiny brains and that he just happened to be an exception to the rule. On the other hand, it was good to know that he had faith in them. We would be gone for less than one day. What could possibly go wrong in that amount of time in a coffee shop, right?

  Avan pulled out of Oceanview and sped up on the entrance ramp of the highway, turning on the heater as my teeth began to chatter. I had never asked him if he had been to Bridgepoint before, but he seemed to know right where he was going, so I saw no need to be a backseat driver. I almost forgot to ask him if he knew anything about Lorenzo until we passed a billboard with an advertisement for an Italian restaurant.

  “Have you heard from Lorenzo?” I asked, prepared for him to tell me he had no clue how to get in touch with him since they just reacquainted.

  “Yes,” he responded, taking me by surprise.

  “Where is he? Is he okay?”

  �
��Yeah, he had to go take care of some business for a while.” The way he responded told me there was more to the story than he was going to tell me.

  “When will he be back?”

  “To the Montgomery house? Probably never. To Oceanview? I’m not sure.”

  It was beyond my understanding. Lorenzo had seemed so happy working for Damien and Lena. I was really going to miss him. I wanted to cry. Lorenzo was my only stability in the Montgomery house. What was so important that he had to leave? Didn’t he know I needed him? Maybe he just didn’t care.

  “It isn’t like that Mattie.” Avan answered the questions running through my mind.

  “Then what’s it like?”

  “You’ll understand in time,” he said as if it were just that simple.

  “You know what? I’m getting sick of everyone giving me that answer every time I have a question that needs an answer! Put yourself in my shoes, Avan! I can’t even function correctly or have a real conversation with anybody because I can’t even get a straight answer! All anyone wants to tell me is how in time I’ll figure it out! I’m tired of the stupid puzzles! I need some answers!” I never meant to scream, but that is how it came out of my mouth.

  “I know. I’m sorry I can’t give you the answers you need. I promise I’m doing everything in my power to make sure this process doesn’t take longer than it has to. I’ll be here to support you through it, whether it means you need someone to yell at, cry on, or celebrate with along the way,” he said in a calm voice as he took my hand.

  I had not even noticed until now that the same songs that I had on my favorite playlist form my MP3 player of eighties songs were coming through the speakers. I never told Avan I liked eighties music. It seemed he knew everything about me, down to the very specifics. There was nothing I could do to surprise him, that was for sure. On the other hand, if he could read my mind that well, I would always get what I wanted for my birthday and Christmas.

  “I took the liberty of making mental notes of the songs you like and compiled a playlist for you. I hope you don’t mind.” Avan smiled, looking accomplished.

  “You know, people aren’t going to want to be around me if you continue to spoil me.”

  “Trust me, you have plenty of friends.”

  “Good to know. Just be sure you don’t make me mad, or they might take my side and come beat you up!”

  “They can try! I hope they are up for the challenge. I might mention, though, all your new buddies at Spirits are sore losers. They’ll cry when I win!” he shot back, sounding cocky.

  I knew good and well that even counting my new friends at Spirits, Avan was right. There was no one who could win a fight against him. He could probably take on any person on the football team with his eyes closed. Not because he was a huge and inhumanly gross, muscular bodybuilder contestant whose neck measurement was larger than my thigh, but because he was hot muscular, like a GQ model and had brains and training behind his strategy.

  “GQ model material, huh? I always pictured myself more of the Calvin Klein or Abercrombie type!” he said, smiling. I blushed that he caught that thought.

  “Okay, however you do that…you can stop now! You have no need to know every thought that comes into my mind. Some of them are personal.”

  “It isn’t a choice, I assure you, but you are correct about a few things. You don’t ever have to worry about getting a sucky present. I can take on the entire football team blind folded as well as any other sports team member from our athletically challenged high school. Every person employed at Spirits knows better than to cross me for any reason. And I do have brains as well as brawn. But you forgot to mention the most important thing of all about me!” he ended with a mock frown.

  “What’s that superstar?”

  “I have a girlfriend who is a hotter angel than any of Charlie’s angels!” He laughed, showing his dimple and raising his eyebrow at me for approval.

  “I don’t know about all that.”

  “Which part? Being hotter than Charlie’s angels or being my girlfriend?”

  “The first part. I like the second part a lot!”

  “I was hoping you’d say that!” He smiled from ear to ear.

  “Well, now that I’m officially your girlfriend, I just have to warn you. You might be able to take on anybody else you come across, but if you make me mad, have no doubt that I will kick your butt!” I added as I took his hair down and messed it up with my hand.

  I was so used to seeing Avan with his hair back I could not believe he could ever look hotter than he already did, but with his hair down, he was a million times more appealing than he had ever been. His hair fell right to his jaw line, dark brown with natural caramel highlights, and full of body as it parted in the middle and fell perfectly when he ran his hand through it to push it out of his face. Avan was not always sporting the clean-shaven look like Bradley and a few other guys at Spirits; he always had the rugged look as if he only shaved about every other day or so. It didn’t matter if he heard my thoughts or not at this moment in time. He was drop dead sexy!

  About twenty minutes later, we exited the highway, passing a sign that let us know we were now in Bridgepoint city limits. I wanted this place to feel more familiar, but it was far from that. It felt like we had just landed in a foreign country and obviously did not belong. When I lived here, I had been the girl who tried to disappear into the crowd. My dad being a popular criminal defense attorney never exactly gave me brownie points with the parents of any of the other kids my age.

  I was treated differently from everyone, including some of my teachers. The fact that my last name was Holland certainly was not in my favor in Bridgepoint. The small community was very conservative, so they not only disliked my dad’s profession, but they despised the attention it drew to their safe little community, afraid that the big bad criminals would move in and take over to be closer to their favorite attorney.

  The first place we went was my old address. Pulling up in front of the street number, I jumped out of the car and ran up the sidewalk, unable to believe my eyes. The two-story house we had lived in since I was born was nothing but a concrete slab surrounded with piles of bricks that looked as if they had been used for charcoal. The mailbox was still standing by the sidewalk, but the house was completely gone, with the exception of burned bricks and a few pieces of charred wood. The yard had grown midway up our calves and had been overtaken with dandelions. The chain-link fence was still standing, and I could still make out the birdbath standing next to the tree in the backyard.

  The tears that started slowly leaking from my eyes were rolling down my cheeks as I stared at the remains of my childhood home. In my mind, I had hopes of being able to pull up to the house and remember the times I played in the backyard with my dad on Saturdays and ran through the sprinkler in the front yard. I wanted to be able to look at my second-floor bedroom window and remember how it felt to know mom was fixing breakfast as dad was kissing her on the cheek, rushing out the door while I got ready for school. Now all of that was gone!

  Not only were my parents gone, but for some unfair reason, it was evident that a fire of some type had stolen the house that kept their memories alive too. I wiped the tears from my eyes as Avan put his arms around me and held me tight as I cried. He ran his fingers through my hair and massaged my back as he let me get out all my angry tears, never rushing me or telling me to let it go. He just supported me and let me do what I needed to.

  After I stopped crying, I dried my eyes and we decided to head to the next location. As we pulled in to Bridgepoint Memorial Hospital, I hoped that my Rudolph look had faded enough that people would not assume Avan was to blame when we went in. I pulled the visor down checking my reflection as Avan told me I looked just the way I always did, like an angel. To my surprise, my skin looked just as amazing as it always had since the morning after I put the gift from my mother in my bedroom. My eyes were still an exotic, electric blue piercing through my black hair and olive skin that had no sign
s of splotches or redness on my nose at all. Avan and I came up with a cover story that we would use in the hospital to get copies of any medical records they had on file for me and my parents. We went over the details a few more times to make sure we could prevent screwing up and exposing the fact that it was the farthest thing from the truth. After a few deep breaths and a supportive squeeze of my hand from Avan, he came around to open my door and we headed for the entrance.

  Bridgepoint Memorial Hospital was the biggest building in town and supplied nearly half of the population’s employment. The hospital had no specialists to treat serious illnesses, but they could diagnose and refer elsewhere. For patients that required more than a week stay in the hospital, they were generally transferred to a bigger hospital in a neighboring town with doctors who specialized in different areas of medicine that fit the patient’s diagnosis for them to receive proper care. The hospital at Bridgepoint could deal with small to moderate emergencies, women’s health, short hospital stays, common injuries, lab work, pediatrics, and general health care.

  Inside the main doors to the hospital, there was a list of offices and corresponding suite numbers along with the main areas of the hospital listed such as radiology, nursery, women’s center, pediatrics, emergency room, lab, doctor’s suites, and many more. Located near the bottom listed to be in suite 102 was Medical Records. Deciding this was the direction we needed to head, we turned to make our way down the hall when a lady in a pink jacket stopped us and asked us to come sign in and obtain a visitor badge before we actually went into the hospital.

  She went through an explanation about patient safety and privacy, but most of it just sounded like blah, blah, blah in my ears, as all I could think about was the quest for answers I was on.