Secrets (Portentous Destiny Series Book 2)

by S. E. Rose

  “This doesn’t end here,” he says and brings my lips to his. It’s a sweet kiss, slow and gentle. When he pulls back, he gazes into my eyes and runs a thumb across my quivering lip. “I’m going to find you again, my angel. Social media,” he whispers with a smirk and uses his thumb to wipe another stray tear that manages to escape my eye. We are interrupted by a flight attendant asking us to return our chairs to their upright position. Lance holds my hand as we land. In the commotion of getting off the plane, I don’t have time to give Lance a proper goodbye. I practically have to pull Zoe off of Cody to get her to her plane. Betty and Beatrice give hugs and kisses to everyone and we say a few other quick goodbyes. I give Lance one final glance as I turn to head toward my next gate. He mouths “hasta luego” (see you later). I smile and nod.

  Chapter 5

  Lily’s Playlist: “Rise Up” by Andra Day

  As soon as Zoe says goodbye to me in the international departure lounge, I feel the tears well up in my eyes. For the first time in my life, I am truly alone. I should be strong and feeling great that I am now an independent woman. At least that’s what I tell myself, but deep down I know I’m wishing Lance was still here with me. I busy myself with travel stuff, trying to take my thoughts in another direction. Eventually, I hear my flight being called and I welcome the distraction as I make my way to the gate.

  The flight from Quito to Bogota is short and I get in around 9:00 p.m. I booked a hotel near the airport, so I could get the first flight out to Ibague the next morning. I check in and immediately get on their Wi-Fi. I have a text from Nick, my mom, my grandmother (really, my grandmother??), and Zoe. She had a layover and is bored, apparently, because she sends me random shots of cute guys. OK, more like random shots of nice male asses as they walk past her.

  I FaceTime with Nick and text my mom and grandmother back. I text my friends and then FaceTime Zoe. She doesn’t pick up. I look at my clock and realize she’s already boarded her next flight. Bummer! I Snapchat a few shots so Maya and Eva can see my hotel. I then randomly search for Lance on Facebook and Cody too, just for good measure, but I don’t find them. I should have just asked for his damn number. I’m officially an idiot. I set my alarm and fall asleep.

  My flight to Ibague the next morning goes smoothly and I’m picked up by a local driver that was recommended to me by a friend of a friend. His name is Alfonso and he seems like a nice older gentleman. We chitchat in Spanish as he makes his way across Ibague toward Las Naranjas. Las Naranjas is where Nick and I lived until we were adopted. There’s a small orphanage here and I’ve managed to set up a few weeks of volunteering at the orphanage and then a week in Bogota and a week in Cartagena where Nick is supposed to meet up with me. Then I’m stopping to visit my grandmother for two weeks in Florida on my way home.

  I’m deep in thought as Alfonso turns onto a long narrow winding pathway. We pass several small houses that are really more like glorified huts as we are now far out in the countryside. One of them has a small enclosure with chickens and two mules and the other one has several goats and a cow. They are surrounded by a plethora of fruit trees. About five minutes down the road, we turn off onto a smaller pathway that really doesn’t even seem suitable for driving. Alfonso slows the car way down and after about five more minutes we reach a giant clearing. The road curves and I see a drive to a giant house on the left. The road continues past the house. I glance curiously down it as it goes back through a thick forest of palm trees and fruit trees, but I don’t see any more buildings.

  Alfonso pulls into the drive and parks the car. He ushers me to the door of a wall surrounding the front of the house, carrying my suitcase and backpack. He knocks on the door and a middle-aged woman with thick, graying, black hair opens a window in the door. Alfonso speaks rapidly to her in Spanish and I try to follow along, but I’m tired and I give up after a few words. The lady opens the door after a brief conversation. She motions for us to enter. We step inside a courtyard surrounding the house. It’s beautiful. There’s a mango tree in one corner, a lemon tree in another corner. A small swing set sits against the far wall and next to it a little house made of plastic. There are a few benches with seats against the other wall and a small concrete pad with a basketball hoop.

  “Por favor,” she says as she guides us into the house. The house itself is a Spanish-style home with a green tile roof and cream stucco walls. There is a giant wooden front door with a small window in it that has black metal bars through it.

  She opens it and ushers us inside. Alfonso sets my bags down for me and gives me his business card.

  “Call if you need anything,” he says in Spanish and proceeds to leave.

  The woman excuses herself and returns after a moment with a second woman. I see they are about the same age, but this other woman is clearly the boss.

  I hedge my bets and greet her. “Directora Martinez?” I ask.

  “Hello, you must be Lily. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she says in perfect English.

  “Yes, I’m so happy to finally be here,” I say.

  “You must have had a long trip. Please, let Yenny show you to your room,” she continues. I mentally note that the Y here is pronounced like a J. “Afterwards we can have lunch on the patio,” she says warmly with a smile.

  “Excellent, thank you,” I reply and pick up my bags to follow Yenny. She leads me up a giant, curved staircase that ascends from the grand two-story foyer. There’s a short hall to the left and then a longer one to the right. It appears that the longer hallway ends at another staircase. I follow her down the long hallway as I peek in several rooms on my way. There looks to be four large bedrooms some with bunk beds and others with smaller beds. Each one looks to sleep at least eight children. There are shelves with little cubby holes in them in each room and each cubby is marked with a child’s name.

  Finally, at the end of the hall, we come to another door. Yenny opens the door and we enter a very small, closet-sized room with a single bed, nightstand, and desk. There’s a small closet and a small window.

  I follow Yenny inside and place my bags on the bed.

  “Gracias,” I say to Yenny and she nods and leaves down the stairs by my door.

  I take a bit of time to put my belongings away. There’s a lockbox in my closet and I use it to store my passport and a few other documents. After I have my items put away and my bags stored under my bed, I decide to explore.

  I walk down the stairs Yenny used and find myself in a small hallway with the kitchen on one side and a door on my other side. The hallway seems to empty out into a living room. I can see another hallway on the other side of the house. The door on my left side is cracked open and I see the directora inside as I pass. Yenny is busy in the kitchen, helping another woman. She sees me and smiles and introduces the other woman as our cook, Yessica. I greet her and Yenny shows me out the door near the kitchen onto a small patio area with a few tables and chairs. Seeing no service bars on my cell phone, I turn and ask her about Wi-Fi. She points to a small electronic box that’s plugged in by the far side of the kitchen. She takes a scrap of paper from a side table near it and writes down the password. I thank her and log in to my accounts as I wait for the directora. I text my family and friends to let them know I arrived and then take a moment to look around. The wall around the back courtyard is higher than in the front, making it more secluded. It doesn’t appear the children come in here often. Just as I’m about to go back in to ask Yenny about the kids, Directora Martinez walks out and takes a seat next to me.

  “I trust you found your accommodations acceptable,” she says as Yenny hands her a glass of juice.

  “Yes, yes. Of course,” I respond. “I hear the children, but where are they?” I ask, looking around as though they might appear out of thin air.

  Directora Martinez laughs at this question. “They are in school of course. And the little ones are in the front room for story time. I’ll show you around after we eat.”

  As though prompted by her statement,
Yenny and Yessica walk out holding plates, utensils, and bowls of various food. There’s a meat dish, potato dish, and a fruit salad for dessert. Yenny brings me a glass of juice, while Directora Martinez starts to debrief me on the happenings of the orphanage. Apparently, there is a strict schedule that is kept daily. Myself, Yenny, and another staffer named Patricia live at the house full time. Yessica, the gardener and handyman, Juan Carlos, and Directora Martinez all come in daily. And Juan Carlos’ brother, Kevin, is at the guard house most nights. They only take older kids ages three and up that cannot be put into foster care in Ibague. There are currently thirty children at the facility, but they are expecting two sisters ages five and eight to arrive the day after tomorrow.

  There are only about ten kids under the age of five that require daycare and Patricia handles this role. My job will be to assist the other twenty soon-to-be twenty-two kids with their homework time, play time, and making sure they get to bed and meals on time. There are currently twelve boys that share two bedrooms, separated by age, and eighteen girls who share three bedrooms. I only saw four bedrooms upstairs. She smiles at me and explains there is one bedroom on the far side for children and a small room like mine where Patricia sleeps. Yenny stays in one of two small rooms on the far side of the kitchen.

  I nod and eat as I am given a sort of overview of the orphanage and how it is run. It’s private and is funded through a partial grant system and the rest of it through donations, basically, it’s a quasi-type of non-profit.

  After lunch, I’m shown to a big room that is just to the left of the foyer. The kids are in here and they are clustered around a few tables playing various games. One group of kids sits in a circle on a rug and plays something akin to duck, duck, goose.

  I smile at them as I am introduced. Patricia comes over from her seat at one of the tables and greets me warmly. I like her immediately. She explains what the kids are doing and says we’ll have to catch up later after bedtime. I nod and am shown around a second room with desks that kids use as a study hall. The one computer they have is in this room. Then upstairs the rooms are explained to me. The directora finishes our tour in her office.

  “Please call me Maria Paola,” she says. She has me sign some forms and then sets me to work walking up to the street to wait for the children to arrive home from the morning school (the few teenagers go to school in the morning and the rest of the kids just had left for the afternoon school which is for the elementary and some of the middle schoolers).

  The next few days fly by quickly. I meet all the kids and am the new shiny toy that they all want to play with constantly. The three teenagers who are all thirteen and fourteen are very helpful, except with their incessant peppering of me with questions about the U.S. The things they think are real are laughable. No, I don’t know the President. No, I don’t own three cars. No, I don’t live in a mansion. No, I’m not independently wealthy. No, Hollywood is not near D.C. I have to stop myself from laughing when they ask if schools really have lockers and bleachers.

  By the end of the week, I realize I haven’t even had time to call my mom. I FaceTime her at breakfast the next morning. It’s Saturday and the kids get to sleep in an extra thirty minutes, but I’m up and ready to go.

  “Hey, Mom,” I say as she answers.

  “Hey, sweetie! How’s Las Naranjas? How’s the orphanage? Have you done any searching on your file yet?”

  “Geez, don’t beat around the bush or anything,” I tease her. “Good, good, and nope. It’s been a busy week, but I’ll have time Tuesday to go and do some record searches in Ibague.”

  “Great. Oh, I wanted to let you know I converted your phone account into an international plan. I hate that you only have Wi-Fi access and I want to know you are safe.”

  “Uh, that’s great, Mom, but I don’t think I’ll even get cell reception out here. We are way out in the middle of nowhere,” I try to explain.

  “Oh, OK. Well, you can at least use it if you go to town or something,” she says. Through the broken video reception, I see Jack’s head pop up behind Mom.

  “Hey, Lily! How’s your holiday?” he asks.

  “Good, thanks, Jack. You taking care of Mom?” I smirk.

  “Of course, I am,” he says and puts in arm around my mom. She leans back against him. She looks so happy, so content. I envy her.

  “Good. Well, I’ll let you kids go. I’m heading to town soon to pick up a few things,” I say and wave goodbye to them.

  I text Nick and my friends and then go to find Yenny. She’s cleaning up the playroom.

  “Buenos dias,” I say as I walk in and start helping her. She greets me and I explain my plan for today. She waves me off and says to have fun.

  We get one day off per week. I should make the most of it. I look at my phone, but it has no bars. I use the house phone and call Alfonso who says he can be there in an hour.

  I wait patiently while helping a few of the kids with various activities. Eventually, I go up and change into a sundress and some strappy sandals. I do my hair and makeup. Makeup for me is only lip gloss, mascara, and a touch of eyeliner, but it makes me feel half human again.

  It feels great to finally get into the city. I map out my day and promise to meet Alfonso at the newest mall at 3:00 p.m. I hit some little stores first and buy a few provisions I need and then I head into the mall. It’s now lunchtime and I’m famished. I see Subway and immediately make a beeline for it. I’m now feeling a little homesick. It’s been almost a week since I hung out with an American and I haven’t eaten any American food in days.

  I stand in line and order my sandwich and then make my way to an empty table. I feel my phone buzz and I look down at it. I just got a text.

  Unknown: You’re looking particularly beautiful today.

  What the…? I look around quickly and then stare back at my phone. It’s probably a wrong number. I delete it and browse through my other text and messages. And then another text pops up.

  Unknown: I don’t think I’ve seen you in such a pretty dress before.

  OK, now I’m creeped out, seriously. After everything that happened in Scotland last summer, I feel my panic start to rise. I look around more slowly. I spot a security guard. OK, that’s good. I spot the exit. I respond to the text.

  Lily: Whoever this is, it’s not funny. Stop texting this number.

  Unknown: Lily, you sure you want me to stop texting you? It took a lot of effort to find your number.

  My skin suddenly is covered in goose bumps and a shiver runs down my spine. My mouth is dry and I’m about to run toward the exit. I stand quickly and turn around and run smack into someone.

  Damn it! Why is this always happening to…my mind goes blank as my eyes travel up the body that I just ran into and meet the aquamarine eyes that I recently came to know so well.

  “Lance?!” I half-exclaim and half-question. He looks at me for a second with concern and brings a hand up to my cheek.

  “Hey, are you alright?” he asks as his eyes scan down my body checking me for, I don’t know what. “Did I scare you? I’m sorry, I thought you’d figure out it was me.”

  I take a deep breath and let the adrenaline start to slow down. My hands tremble as my fight-or-flight chemicals cease to course through my body.

  “Here, sit down,” he says softly and helps me back into my chair.

  I sit and look at him. “I don’t understand,” I bring myself to say. I’m so confused that I really don’t know what to say.

  “Sorry. I got your number through Cody, who got it from Zoe. I had been wanting to talk to you, but every time I tried it went to voicemail. I said something to Cody and Cody mentioned it to Zoe. Zoe told him you were here and I about fell out of my chair,” he says.

  “But…” I trail off even more confused. “Why are you here?”

  “Oh, right. I guess that would be confusing,” he laughs and then smiles. “One of Cody’s projects is the airport here in Ibague. We came here about three days ago. He had wanted to spend a
week or two here since he hasn’t been on-site with it yet. Unfortunately, the way things are, it looks like he’ll be here all summer. Anyhow, I was here grabbing a bite to eat and I saw you and couldn’t believe my luck.”

  “So, you decided to freak me out with texts instead of just walking over here?” I ask, finally feeling my nerves calm down.

  “Yeah, I uh, guess I didn’t really think that through, huh?” he says with a sheepish grin.

  “You know you’re really hard to stay mad at when you’re grinning at me,” I comment as I finally take a moment to soak him in. He looks relaxed and handsome in jeans, a tight-fitting gray t-shirt, and some brown leather flip-flops.

  “What are you doing here today?” he asks as he gives my hand a squeeze.

  “Oh, well, I was running some errands and half-contemplating seeing a movie before I head back to the orphanage this afternoon,” I say and then clench my jaw as I realize this statement will lead to a bigger discussion.

  He gives me a quizzical look. “Orphanage?”

  “Yeah, I’m volunteering at one not too far from here for a few weeks.”

  “That’s nice,” he says. “What movie were you going to see?” I internally sigh because I’m from telling my life story.

  “Actually, I have no idea,” I answer. “I was going to check out what was playing.”

  “Mind if I tag along, Cody doesn’t finish till later,” he asks with puppy dog eyes.

  “How can I say no to that face?” I giggle.

  He takes my hand and helps me up and we head to the theater. They have a romantic comedy, an action movie, a superhero movie, a sequel to a cartoon, and…wait for it…yes…a horror movie.

  Lance doesn’t even falter as he walks up to the counter and buys us two tickets to the next showing of the horror movie. He then gets us some snacks and sodas and we enter the theater. He, of course, picks seats smack dab in the middle of the theater.