When we came back I told my friends it had been a great long weekend, just what we needed. I don’t know why I lied to them. I thought they believed me. But ever since, they had been sticking to me, not even letting me go to dinner with Trent without coming along. Sometimes they showed up where we were. Trent hated them; they kept him from having full control over me. He threatened me many times that he was going to leave if I didn’t tell them to back off. He told me he just wanted to spend time alone with me, without them always being there. I talked to my friends about it, but they didn’t care. They continued showing up or calling me or texting me constantly if I was with him.
The ski trip was an ultimatum. Either I went with him, or we were done. The truth was, I didn’t want to go with him, but I never would have admitted that to anyone. When I told my friends about the invitation to go skiing, they concocted this scheme of getting me to Florida. I agreed pretty easily, saying I didn’t like skiing. Now Trent and I were on opposite sides of the country, with no way to span the distance between Vegas and North Carolina.
No tears came.
I had been walking in silence for longer than I realized, not seeing what was in front of me. At some point the road had turned. The sun was now blocked by trees. I looked around. Sara walked silently beside me. I could only imagine the variety of thoughts running through her mind. She tried to avoid silence, saying she didn’t like what it did to her. I wondered how she was handling this. Her expression was blank, as I’m sure mine had been moments before when I was lost in my own mind. East and Jonah led the way, and spoke now and then. When they did, it seemed to be about their family.
Behind me I heard Josh whispering to Blaise.
“It’s just weird. There are no houses, no other cars besides their brother’s, no stores, no nothing. I mean, we don’t even know these people. We don’t know that they didn’t somehow create that light and disable our car and electronics and now they are leading us into the woods to do who knows what.”
“You seriously think they would disable our car and electronics just to walk us through the woods for fourteen hours?” Blaise said. “There are easier ways to kidnap people, and ways that don’t involve somehow keeping all other cars off the interstate and making yourself carry all of your belongings for hours on end. I don’t think we are that enticing of a target.”
I could tell Blaise was trying not to sound too irritated.
Josh lowered his voice even more. “The point is, we don’t know them. They could be serial killers. I mean, she does have purple hair and tattoos. You never know about those people.”
“Honey, you are really tired. You have a tattoo, and for Halloween I dyed my hair pink and it ended up looking purple,” Blaise answered.
“Yeah, but my tattoo is small. Hers is like her whole forearm, and it’s okay to dye hair on Halloween.”
“Her tattoo is a cross,” Blaise answered.
“No, it’s a crucifix. It creeps me out. It’s weird to see Jesus nailed to a cross on her arm.”
“Josh, let it go. They are nice. I like her purple hair and her ‘creepy’ cross tattoo,” Blaise spat back.
“Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you when we end up being dinner.”
“Oh, honestly!”
She sped up and started walking with Sara and me.
“The conversation in the back was wearing me out. What are you two talking about?” she said.
I looked at her. “I think we have each been lost in thought,” I said.
Sara wiped her eyes quickly. I pretended not to notice.
“Well then, what have you been thinking about?” Blaise said, looking at me.
“Trent, I guess.”
“Yeah? What about him?” Josh said as he sped up to walk with us.
Blaise shot a hard look at him. “Are you going to be reasonable? Because this conversation is for reasonable people only.”
“Like you said, I’m tired. I get a little crazy when I’m tired.”
“Yes, you do. You are forgiven,” Blaise said, her face softening.
Josh gave her an “I’m sorry” look. “Now, what about Trent?” he said.
All eyes turned to me. It even seemed that Jonah and East stopped chatting to listen—though they didn’t turn their heads or slow their pace.
“I’m pretty sure that me coming on this trip meant that we are through,” I answered.
“Why do you say that?” Sara asked.
“He told me so,” I said with a shrug.
Blaise looked at me. “He’s threatened to break up with you a million times before. The key is not what he wants, it’s what you want.”
“That’s just it,” I answered. “I think the farther away from him I walk, the better I feel.”
“Yes!” Josh tried to jump, but weighed down by luggage, the result was a small hop. “I mean, that seems like a reasonable thought. Continue, please,” he said after Blaise shot him a “Calm down and let her talk” look.
“It’s almost like I can breathe better out here,” I said.
“You probably can,” Blaise responded. “The pollution is not near as bad as in New York.”
“Yeah, but it’s more than that. It’s like things are clearer. Like some sort of fog is leaving my mind,” I said.
“I know what you mean,” Sara said. “Things are becoming clearer to me too.”
Four
A dog barked in the distance. It was the first connection to other humans in the hours since we saw Eli’s car.
East grabbed Jonah’s arm in panic. “The electric fence won’t be working,” she said, her voice shaking.
At that moment a large black dog appeared out of nowhere. He charged, growling and snarling. Jonah lunged forward, getting in front of East. He clenched the duffel bag in front of him. It would be his weapon. The muscles in his arms and back were noticeable against the long-sleeved T-shirt he wore.
The dog stopped, his nose a foot from Jonah’s hands. He stood, pawing the ground, muscles pulsing, hair raised, open mouth exposing fangs dripping with saliva. His head bigger than a human’s, his shoulders broader than his head. He was terrifying and he stood ready to attack, but didn’t.
“He must not know the fence is disabled,” East whispered to Jonah. She grabbed onto his shirt and slowly pulled him back. She cautiously moved to retrieve her discarded luggage, never turning her back on the dog.
Jonah stepped backward, not turning his body, keeping his eyes on the dog at all times.
“Walk behind me. Don’t turn your back to him,” Jonah said, trying to calm his voice. But the tension was noticeable.
Sara, Josh, Blaise, East, and I walked backward to the opposite side of the road, angling east the entire time. Once we were across the road Jonah walked backward at a faster pace. The dog ran along the edge of where the electric fence had been, staying as close to us as he could. He barked and growled.
“Their property line ends soon,” East whispered, her voice still shaky. “He’ll think he has to stop.”
We walked on and the dog followed as long as he could. At the corner his stance changed. He stopped, lifted his head as if listening to something, turned, and ran back in the direction he had come.
We all exhaled in unison.
“I hadn’t realized I was holding my breath,” I whispered to Sara.
“Me either,” she said.
East was shaking as she walked quickly forward, the rest of us almost jogging to keep up with her.
“Do you know the people who live there?” Blaise asked.
East did not turn or slow her pace. Jonah answered, “Yes.”
“Are they nice?” Sara asked.
“No,” he said, the hatred evident in his voice.
East said nothing.
* * *
A dirt road divided the long, weathered, gray fence in half. A large iron gate stood connecting the two halves, making them one.
“We’ll have to climb the fence. We won’t be able to open the gate, wit
hout the key to unlock the electronic arms,” Jonah said.
He angled off the road into the dry ditch that separated the fence from the road. His legs disappeared up to his thighs. He walked to the other side and threw his duffel bag over the fence. How effortless he made it all look. East walked down the ditch, dragging her suitcase behind her. She climbed over the fence. Jonah handed her the suitcase. Josh helped Blaise down and she slipped once. Jonah offered her his hand as she climbed out of the ditch and over the fence. Josh followed. Sara and I went next. Each of us dragged our luggage, stepping slowly down the ditch so we wouldn’t slip on the dry, crunchy earth. Sara took Jonah’s outstretched hand, climbing out of the ditch and over the fence. Jonah handed her luggage to Josh, who set it down on the other side. I got out of the ditch, but my luggage caught on a rock. Jonah picked it up and in one fluid motion, handed it to Josh. Josh struggled to get it to the ground as effortlessly as Jonah had gotten it off the ground. I couldn’t help but be amazed at his strength. He offered me his hand, but I didn’t need it. I climbed the fence and he followed.
We walked away from the fence, deeper into the property, toward the dirt road. The road rose gradually as we walked. Each of us dragged our suitcase, except Jonah, who had flung his duffel bag over his shoulder.
“How far to the house?” Sara asked.
“Less than a mile,” East answered, her voice now calm.
East nudged her brother and pointed up the road. Two horses were running toward us. The horses were beautiful, white with brown markings. Like something out of an old movie. I had never been around horses, but watching them run took my breath away. The beauty was overwhelming. I watched in awe as they ran up to Jonah and East. Jonah placed his head against the head of the stallion. I could see the love between them. He then moved to the mare and placed his arms around her neck, giving her a hug of sorts. East petted them and clearly cared for them, and they for her, but it was Jonah who loved them.
“My brother is a horse whisperer,” East said as the horses walked on either side of Jonah.
He placed his duffel bag on the stallion and kept it steady with his hand.
“We can see that,” Sara said. “What are their names?”
“His name is Fulton. Her name is Talin,” Jonah said.
“Those are interesting names,” Blaise said.
Jonah petted Fulton. “I named him after Fulton Sheen. He was a bishop,” Jonah said.
“And I named Talin. I thought it was a cool name. Not everyone puts as much thought into things as my brother does,” East said, only half teasing.
“Maybe they should,” Jonah said with an edge to his voice.
We reached the top of the small hill, and the house came into view. A two-story white farmhouse. Simple but nice. There was a large barn behind the house. It looked as though it had been white at one time, but now it matched the weathered gray look of the fence. The property was open in parts and heavily wooded in other parts. It was deeper than it was wide. It seemed to go forever.
“This is a lot of land,” Josh said, looking from side to side.
He’d told me he grew up on a farm. I wondered if they had this much land.
“Our family has owned it for several generations. Most of the families around here are the same. There’s another house at the far end of the property, that our grandparents live in. It’s newer than ours, but smaller and not near the barn,” East said.
“That’s nice your grandparents live near you. I never knew any of mine,” I said, unsure as to why I had shared that information.
Jonah turned to look at me. “I’m sorry,” he said.
His sincerity made me uncomfortable. I wasn’t used to that from strangers, or some of the people I knew best, for that matter.
As we approached, the door of the house opened and then closed. A few moments later, four people were running in our direction. Jonah and East dropped their bags and sprinted toward their family.
Jonah’s bag fell from Fulton, who ran after Jonah. Josh picked it up and walked onward. He shifted it every now and then to relieve the strain. I dragged my suitcase with one hand and East’s bag with the other. Sara took my purse.
In front of us was a clamor of greetings, hugging, and, no doubt, tears, though we were too far to see that or hear what was being said. We could hear the excitement.
As we neared I wondered who all the people were. There was a middle-aged woman with blonde hair and fair skin, no doubt their mom, by the way she hung on to both of them. A man in his late twenties or early thirties. He was shorter than Jonah and slightly thicker. He, too, was very good-looking. A young boy and an even younger girl. The woman eventually let go of Jonah and East. East scooped up the little girl, and the boy ran ahead of them as they walked back toward us.
The boy reached us first. “Hi, I’m JP. Who are all of you?” he said, looking at each of us.
We took turns telling him our names.
The rest of his family joined us as Blaise introduced herself.
“How do you spell your name?” JP asked.
Blaise told him.
“Are you named after Saint Blaise?” JP asked, alternating between standing on his tiptoes and flat feet. It seemed all he could do to keep from bouncing up and down.
“Hmm, you know, I don’t know. My parents said they thought the name was cool. They never said if there was someone specific I was named for,” Blaise answered, amused by his energy.
“Are you Catholic?” JP asked.
“John Paul, manners,” the woman said, smiling at the boy.
Blaise looked at her. “It’s okay,” she said. She turned back to JP, who continued to bounce with his feet on the ground. “No, I’m not, but my mom was raised Catholic,” she answered, looking down at the boy with kindness.
“Then I bet you’re named for Saint Blaise. Don’t you think she is, Mom?” JP asked the woman.
“Perhaps,” his mom said as she ran her fingers through his sandy-blonde hair.
“Do you think we should introduce ourselves to our guests?” she asked the boy. She gazed at him with such love it made my heart hurt.
“I already did,” he said, looking up at her.
“What about the rest of us?” she asked.
“Oh, yeah. You should introduce yourselves. I’m going to the barn to see if I can see Dad yet,” he said, and in an instant he was running in the direction of the house and barn.
I was exhausted just watching him.
“Forgive my son. He has a lot of energy. His older brothers were the same way at this age, so there is hope, I suppose,” she said, her gaze following her running son. “My name is Charlotte Page. This is our home and these are my kids. You know Jonah and East and, of course, John Paul is unforgettable. This is Eli,” she said, gesturing to the man. “And this is my youngest, Quinn. Named after her father, who John Paul just ran to look for,” Charlotte said, looking at the little girl clinging tightly to East.
Quinn could not be older than four, which meant Charlotte’s kids spanned two-and-a-half decades. Most families I knew or saw had one or two kids and at most those two kids were four or five years apart, but more often they were two or three years apart. I had always looked at those families and thought they felt rushed. As if they had to have exactly the right number of kids in exactly the right number of years. But his woman had five kids, twenty-five years apart. There was no rush.
I focused on Quinn. She was almost an exact copy of East, except where East had light hair and eyes, Quinn had dark. Almost as dark as Blaise’s.
“How old is she?” I asked.
“She’s three, almost—” Charlotte’s mouth fell open as she looked at me.
She stumbled backward, and Jonah caught her and steadied her.
“My God, Esther, it can’t be you?” She stared at me in disbelief, leaning on Jonah as if she couldn’t stand.
My knees buckled. Sara caught my arm and stared at me. She knew that name. Blaise and Josh looked from Charlotte to m
e; they also knew the name.
“Esther is my mom’s name, but she died a long time ago,” I said, wondering how this woman knew the name most sacred to me.
“Gabriella?” Charlotte blinked. Walking to me, she held my face in her hands.
Sara released my arm.
Charlotte moved her hands from my face and threw her arms around me. With her children, her cheeks had become damp with tears. With me, the tears fell so heavily they ran down her face, soaking my jacket.
I had no idea what was happening. This woman knew me … she knew my mom. How was this possible?
East walked to the other side of her mom, putting her arm around her, offering her both physical and emotional support. I stood motionless, trying to comprehend what was happening. Blaise and Josh joined Sara at my side.
“It’s Bria’s mom that you named me after, isn’t it?” East asked her mom gently. “Your best friend who died before I was born.”
Charlotte nodded and the tears continued to fall.
She knew my mom? Really knew my mom. Best friends. Named her daughter after her.
“Bria, honey, I’m your godmother,” she said as she released me from her embrace. Her hands slid down my arms and landed on my hands, which she held tightly. East kept her hand on her mom’s shoulder.
“I-I don’t know … what to say,” I answered, barely able to get the words out.
I knew nothing about my mom or my life with her. This woman knew her and had once been a part of our lives, an important part, from the sound of it. And I knew nothing of her existence. I had no idea I had a godmother. I felt so many emotions, but one distinct one was anger. Why had my father never told me about Charlotte? Why had I been made to feel as though he and I were completely alone in the world, when clearly this woman loved my mom and, based on her refusal to let go of my hands, loved me. Why did he do this to me? And if he had done this, what else had he done?
Five
The Light: Who do you become when the world falls away? (New Dawn Book 1) Page 3
