“Who knows,” I shrug, “I guess it’s just some family resemblance that I’m picking up on…” I stop short, almost seeing an entirely different picture as I look at the girl’s eyes; bright green eyes that look almost identical to Tristan’s. I focus in on the structure of her face and it comes to me. “Whoa, that’s some crazy shit there.” Staring harder at the picture, another one comes up in my mind; one of Tristan and his mom from when he was pretty small that has occupied a place on their living room wall from the first day I ever came in their house.
“What is?” Piper sits up, at complete attention, staring down at the picture.
“Doesn’t your aunt look familiar at all…think of the biggest smartass you know.”
Once Piper dips her head back, scrunching her face up in confusion, I have to laugh.
“You?” She draws her word out sarcastically, and I chuckle. Oh well, I guess Tristan is the biggest smartass I know.
“No, no, no. Well yeah, but other than me.” I tap my finger to the picture. “Look at those eyes. Maybe I am just making things up in my head or something, but I swear she looks just like Tristan.”
Finally, recognition sparks across Piper’s face. Her eyes go wide and her mouth drops open. “Oh my gosh, it does. She looks just like him.”
“Yeah they even have a picture right in their living room and I swear that is an identical liking of him.”
“That’s kind of neat…”
Lifting my butt off the floor, I scramble to pull my phone out of my back pocket, scraping my knuckles against the rough denim with a slice and a sting. I grip my phone hard, urgency coursing through me as if I’ve stumbled upon something undiscovered. I have no clue if my hunch is correct; I could have this all wrong, but what if I don’t. Moving my phone with the edge butted up against my palm and my fingertips securely holding onto the back of it, I hit the menu button and unlock it quickly before clicking on my photos icon. The very first picture to come up, which is the very last picture I was looking at, is a snapshot of the photo I have laying by my bed; of Piper I glance over at her quickly, barely catching her look away. Great.
Swiping my thumb over and over across the screen, I go through what few pictures I have stored on my phone, looking for one in specific. My eyes quickly scan over pictures of the lake, pictures of sites around the property that need to be fixed up, a few screenshots of receipts for purchases for the company, but very few personal shots. I’ve just never been a big picture taker. I guess if I hadn’t lived most of my life right on a dock, I’d probably be soaked up in the technology era just like everybody else. However, seeing how water and phones don’t mix too well, I tend to leave mine in the glove compartment of the work truck.
Finally, my eyes land right on what I was looking for: a picture of Jake and Judd wrestling in the living room of their house. Jake had a death grip on his brother, with his bicep bulging around his neck and looking like he was cutting off his air supply. It was a day last summer, when we were all fooling around and having plenty of laughs. Judd started off confident, claiming that Jake could not take him in a fight; Jake proved him wrong. I was busting at the seams, and made sure to get photographic proof of little bro kicking my buddies ass. It was epic.
Right now as I look at the photo, my focus is completely pulled to the picture on the wall right behind them. There perfectly framed, just like it came with the house, is the one single image that drifted into my thoughts as soon as I saw the family portrait in Piper’s album. Taking my index finger and thumb, I place it on my screen and pull them apart to expand the picture in the background. As soon as it’s blown up, my eyes widen. Wow!
“Here…” I speak quietly, almost talking to myself as I slide the phone closer to Piper so she can take a look. “This is the picture I was talking about. That’s almost creepy how similar she and Tristan look.”
“Tristan? The little girl is almost the spitting image of the woman in that picture. I mean, that could nearly pass for what she’d look like as an adult, don’t you think?”
My level of curiosity swiftly changes to astonishment as I look closer at the two faces and come to the same conclusion that Piper did. “Damn you’re right.” I quickly click on the main button of my phone to get out of my photos, then move my thumb up to click on the camera. “What did your dad say her name was, when you’d talk about her?”
“I don’t even remember. It’s been years since we even talked about her and even then I think he called her by a nickname… Ohhhhh, what did he call her?” She whispers more to herself. Looking down, Piper continues to rack her brain as I snap a quick shot of the family portrait. “Hmmm… I keep wanting to say it starts with an ‘A’, but I’m just not sure.”
Moving my fingers across my phone to pull up my messages, I add three contacts to the image I’m sending, the whole while wondering if this is a huge mistake. It’s probably a simple case of ‘everyone having a twin’ out there in this great big world, but I just can’t help the gut feeling I have. My luck Tristan will probably come back pissed off as hell, then Judd very well might get ticked off at me for ruffling his feathers.
“Do you think that’s a good idea? Really, what are the chances.”
“So your dad said she died years ago?” I question her comment from earlier. There’s a big difference between dead and ran away.
Piper snaps her head over, frowning. “I can text him and ask him what her name was and what happened…If you really think there’s a possibility that this could be…”
I speed type as she talks, sliding my fingertips from one letter to the next, eager to get a reply back.
Me: Hey guys, stumbled upon this picture in one of Piper’s albums and I thought there was just a crazy resemblance between the little girl in this picture and your mom…Not even sure why I’m sending it, just thought you guys might want to see.
Clicking send with only half of what I wanted to say typed, dread, anxiety and excitement all rush through my veins as I wait to hear back from just one of them. I glance over at Piper, busy typing something on her own phone.
“Okay done,” she says, lying her phone beside her on the wood floor with a quiet tap. “I should hear back from him pretty fast.”
My jaw tenses as the dread portion of my feelings overwhelms me. We could very well be opening a whole can of worms for nothing. What are the odds?
“So do you think that’s really her…their mom?” Her voice is flooded in disbelief and it only spikes my nervousness over Tristan’s possible reply.
Dipping my brows, I point back at the facts. “Well there is no denying the obvious. I wasn’t so sure when I was focused on Tristan, but when you pointed out their mom, I don’t know…that’s just too crazy of a likeness, in my opinion at least.”
“Oh, I agree too.”
My eyes wander the image for a minute, before trailing their way back up to Piper’s face. Once again she nibbles on her lower lip with a small smile and a gleam in her eyes.
I chuckle, “What?” I breathe out. “You look awfully excited.”
Her teeth fully come down on her lip, biting softly as a big smile emerges across her face. “I am.” The enthusiasm is evident in her voice. “Well, I guess it’s two things that kind of has me…I don’t know…” She trailed off. Hoisting my brows, I lean my head forward in a silent nudge for her to go on. What on earth has her so giddy? “Think about it. If there is even a chance that this could be their mom, then that’s kind of cool for Dad and me. I mean wouldn’t it be?” Her eyes light up and her voice kicks up to a squealing, happy tone that makes everything inside of me smile.
Slowly nodding in complete agreement, my curiosity peaks. “And what’s the second thing?”
Piper drops her head back, with the huge grin and a girly giggle as if she’s gabbing with her BFF. “Nothing.” She darts her eyes to me for just a second, looks away then back at me again with a loud sigh. “Oh, all right…” She relents, but I swear this whole time my facial expression never changed.
I laughed to myself at how little of a fight she put up. This could be good. “I guess I was just a little excited that you had a picture of me on your phone.”
Now I feel like her giddiness is contagious. A warmth settles in my chest, causing my heart rate to excel and a shockwave of delight to tickle across my skin. She needs to be kissed. I move in, pulling my hand up and placing it beneath her chin. The moment my skin touches hers, the warmth in my chest consumes me, spreading like lava over my entire body. I move in closer, eager to taste her lips; wanting to be just like we were last night, against each other, closer. Her breath catches and as soon as her hand moves across my forearm in an unspoken gesture to keep going…I do. As she slides her other hand across the back of my neck, I move forward in hungry anticipation, wanting to devour her. I’m not sure what’s come over me. The guessing game we have of ‘What’s her name?’ and ‘Is this the same girl?’ should not be affecting me like this, however, with Piper here, there is always the possibility for the impatient python to peak his head out.
No sooner than my lips touch hers, with a warm vibration of an over-anxious need mixed with the softness of her lips, I feel a different vibration and jolt; an unwelcome one at this point. Piper flinches at the chime of my phone, breaking our connection and shooting down all my hopeful horniness like a kamikaze pilot out of the sky. Dammit; I had to be waiting for a text or call right now!
Pulling my phone between us, I look down and quickly see Judd was the first to respond.
Judd: Wow! Where did you find this picture???
My phone chimes again…
Jake: Who is that? And yeah, where did you get it?
I can’t even type fast enough…
Me: I found it in a family photo album at Piper’s cabin. It’s a picture of her dad and their parents and his little sister. I just thought it was crazy insane how similar she looks to you guys…Tristan mainly.
I don’t even know what all to say. In a way, I almost feel like I’m intruding, but I’ve always felt a special bond with Jake and Judd; they are my family and if there is even the slightest possibility that this could give them back a little bit of what they’ve lost, I’m willing to risk the intrusion.
My phone keeps chiming over and over, but no word from Tristan.
Fifteen minutes later, I’m fully invested in figuring out who this is and surprisingly not turned on for the first time in my life while being this close to her, even with her thigh continuously grazing over mine as she leans towards me to be a part of our text conversation.
The three-way texting gets confusing, as Jake and Judd go back and forth, disputing that there’s no way it could possibly be their mother. For a minute, I am half-ass ready to end the text chat and start a dang party line.
Judd: Yeah I agree, it looks just like her, but what are the odds?
Me: That’s what I said, but crazier things have happened…
“My dad’s family actually lives right around here; fifteen minutes from the lake actually,” Piper adds, but it doesn’t stop my thoughts from climbing and stretching to the probability that my girl and my best friend could potentially be family. “Was their mom from Rosemore?”
Pondering that for a moment, I think back to when I had just started school at Rosemore. Of course, every other kid had been going to school there for years and knew all their classmates; I didn’t know a soul after hopping around from military base to military base for half of my existence. However, for some reason I don’t ever remember seeing Judd’s face.
“I don’t think so. Hell, you would know better than me. You went to school at Rosemore your whole life up until your…” I halt on my ramblings, realizing I’m treading on dangerous grounds by venturing onto the topic of her moving after my mouth made a disaster of her life. “Do you remember seeing him way back? Because they could’ve always moved at some point.”
She shakes her head, pausing on that thought. “I don’t think so. First time I remember having a class with Judd, was in the sixth grade. I don’t even remember seeing him at assemblies, hearing his name or anything, so I bet they did move.” Shrugging she looks over at me with her eyebrows arched. “Maybe you’re right. Could be her.”
I get busy, my fingers swiping from one letter to the next as I type out another question, diving into where their mom is from, but sooner than I can hit send, my phone chimes again.
Tristan: Holy Shit…that’s Mom!!!
My mouth goes dry and so does all the sounds from my phone. There’s no speculation from him; just a bold statement that confirms what I thought.
I look at Piper, her eyes just as wide as mine. “Oh. My. Gosh!”
“Holy shit!” I think for a minute to question his proclamation, but as the oldest he would probably know. “Wow…” Rotating my face in the direction of Piper, we stare at each other, her with a sneaky grin on her face and me with an equal level of excitement as if I just found out something about my own life. “Looks like you may be having a family reunion soon.”
Her eyes light up with the happiness I seriously haven’t seen in years and right then my phone starts going off like fire alarms in a house swallowed up in smoke.
“I better take this,” I point down to my phone as it lights up with Tristan’s name. “This could be good. I mean how neat could this be? Like a fresh start for you and for them.” Smiling, I feel it deep in my bones, a penetrating happiness over them both finding something that they haven’t had in a long time; a family.
“It is, maybe a fresh start for all of us…” She stares at me, a longing in her dark eyes as she relays far more than her words say.
A BIT OF EXCITEMENT COURSED through me as soon as I saw Evan’s phone light up with Tristan’s message.
With more than a bounce in his step, Evan waves goodbye, grasping my hand and giving me a sweet, lingering kiss on the lips before he leaves. His phone continues to go off with texts and not even two steps out the door, he has it pressed to his ear in a deep conversation.
“Tristan, hey man.…” His eyes relay all the excitement that I’m feeling. “Yeah, no, no, no… Yeah, we were just flipping through an old album of Piper’s and all of a sudden, boom.” His voice fades as he closes the bedroom door behind him.
Now, I’m eager to hear back from Dad. I called him twice while Evan was busy texting; I skipped the voice mail, but did shoot him a brief text. Maybe they have it wrong, but nonetheless, the proof is right here and it’s all pretty exciting. My emotions twist and tangle at all that has gone on, imagining that Dad may be interested in finding out what happened to his little sister; if he doesn’t already know.
Peeling back the thin sheet of clear plastic on the old album, I take a glance at the handwriting on the back before sliding it carefully in place. I assume the handwriting is my grandmothers, but there it is in black and white…
Me, Jim, Pete and Hailey 1984
After carefully pressing the protective overlay back against the photos, I slap the album shut, stack all three on top of one another with a thud and walk them to the closet to put away. My heart beats rapidly, in a way that it hasn’t in so long, and although I’d like to think most of it has been ignited from sitting so close to Evan all night or even from the possibility of unraveling the mystery that Evan and I have been going over all night, that isn’t it. All the memories crash into me as I step onto my tiptoes to slide the albums back on the top shelf of the closet between a dusty box labeled life jackets and another containing an old air mattress.
My clothes from last night lay draped over my suitcase at my feet, calling to me as if they have a voice of their own. Earlier, on the way over from Evan’s, I couldn’t help the sudden tick of curiosity that started eating at me and driving me to get the letter and keep it close.
Looking down, the corner edge of folder paper peaks out of the top of my sweater pocket like an invisible crooked finger motioning for me to come closer, to lean in and take ahold of it, to simply unfold the letter and swallow every word from start to
finish. A sharp shrill sound reaches my ears, startling me out of my thoughts. Shaking my head, I take my eyes off of the letter and focus on what’s going on. The vibrating-rattling sound persists driving my attention to the floor, where Evan and I were sitting. My phone lights up and I waste no time thinking about the past or all the fears that were bubbling up inside of me just now; I race over and grab my phone, clicking accept once I see Dad’s name.
“Dad,” I say in a hurried, anxious voice, excited and partly still caught up in the memories that were overcoming me just a second ago.
“Hey sweetie. I got your message…I don’t understand. Why are you needing to know about that picture?” His voice is laced in uncertainty as if just bringing up his sister has opened up a long-ago sealed up vault.
I wince at the thought of even going any further; I completely understand not tampering with a locked up and boarded up room, but bearing in mind that there could be a positive outcome, I forge forward.
“Listen, I know this is a subject you don’t like talking about, and I wouldn’t bring it up unless it was important, but I was hoping to ask you a couple of questions.”
“Okay…” He draws out hesitantly. “Go on… I’m listening.” He keeps a defensive tone; one I’ve only heard when either Mom’s name is brought up or his past.
Lifting my chin, I clear my throat, prepared to dive into a touchy subject with absolutely no idea of what the outcome could be. I don’t do touchy subjects very well.
Breathe With Me (The Breathe Series Book 3) Page 23
