let them,
wouldn’t tell them anything that had happened. I just wanted to
get as far away as possible. And they respected my decision once I
lied and told them I was eighteen.
“Do you need to
talk to someone? Other than me?”
“No,” I
whispered. And it was the truth. Though some of the images still
haunted my thoughts, it had been a year and a half already. I felt
letting a shrink get into my head at this point would be
counterproductive, only dredging up what I had successfully put to
rest.
“Tell you what,”
Nick said, his lips hovering near my cheek. “Let me take a
quick shower, then you can shower while I go get us something to
eat.”
I nodded and murmured
in agreement, even though I had no desire to eat anything. He kissed
me tenderly once more, then disappeared behind the bathroom door. The
sound of water helped to snap me out of my Nick-induced haze and I
made my way to the sofa. I didn’t want to think, because I knew
the darkness all too well, my mind always trying to pull me under. I
needed to drown myself out, needed to focus on something else,
anything else, and I began to search the area around me for the TV
remote. Nick was the one who actually watched it these days, and I
had no idea what he did with it in between uses. Checking the floor,
I noticed the corner of a book sticking out beneath the sofa and
pulled it out.
It was a brown leather
album, one of those with sticky film, with enough room to hold either
one picture vertically or two horizontally. I opened it up, expecting
to see pictures of Nick’s family, but what I saw was a baby
dressed in pink. There was no writing, only pictures, and my first
thought was Nick had a daughter? I knew we’d just began
dating, but still, how could he not mention that yet? And now I
really began to wonder why he never wanted to discuss his family, or
what the real reason was for him fleeing to this small town in
Oregon.
I kept flipping pages,
and what I saw disturbed me. The girl kept getting older and older.
And familiar. Way too familiar. As were the people in the photographs with her as she
grew up.
No…
I didn’t believe
it. Nick couldn’t do this, wouldn’t deceive me so
badly. Not the guy I was completely falling for, who I just shared my
deepest, darkest secrets with.
No…
The bathroom door
opened and heavy steps made their way towards me. I never even heard
the shower go off. I stood before him, waving the album in the air.
“Nick? What is this?” When he saw what was clenched
within my grasp, all expression fell from his face. “This is
that girl that thought I was her sister. And that couple you insisted you take care of the other night? They’re her parents,
right?” I hesitated, but still received nothing on his part.
“Is that why you’re here? Why you work at my diner and
asked to room with me?” My voice kept rising and rising because
he wasn’t even offering a head shake to deny he’d been
invading my personal space for his own agenda. And that just really
pissed me off! “Fucking answer me already!” I yelled,
chucking the photo album at him.
He caught it
awkwardly, and the jerky movement brought him to life. “Yes,”
he stuttered. After releasing a deep sigh, he gave me a more profound yes . My eyes narrowed as my head began to swing with slow,
determined shakes. His hand patted the air before him in attempt to
calm me down. “Please, let me explain. I’m just here to
watch over you.”
Watch over me? He was ready to bed me!
“Why?” I
asked bitterly, gritting my teeth and fisting my hands. I already
told that girl I wasn’t her sister. Why the hell were they
secretly hounding me?
“Fuckin’
shit,” he muttered, dropping the album on the coffee table.
Resigned, he said heavily, “You were so close to figuring this
out on your own. The album… I was going to give it to you once
you began fitting the missing pieces together. God, Claire, you’re
so close.”
“I am not Claire ,” I declared
wouldn’t tell them anything that had happened. I just wanted to
get as far away as possible. And they respected my decision once I
lied and told them I was eighteen.
“Do you need to
talk to someone? Other than me?”
“No,” I
whispered. And it was the truth. Though some of the images still
haunted my thoughts, it had been a year and a half already. I felt
letting a shrink get into my head at this point would be
counterproductive, only dredging up what I had successfully put to
rest.
“Tell you what,”
Nick said, his lips hovering near my cheek. “Let me take a
quick shower, then you can shower while I go get us something to
eat.”
I nodded and murmured
in agreement, even though I had no desire to eat anything. He kissed
me tenderly once more, then disappeared behind the bathroom door. The
sound of water helped to snap me out of my Nick-induced haze and I
made my way to the sofa. I didn’t want to think, because I knew
the darkness all too well, my mind always trying to pull me under. I
needed to drown myself out, needed to focus on something else,
anything else, and I began to search the area around me for the TV
remote. Nick was the one who actually watched it these days, and I
had no idea what he did with it in between uses. Checking the floor,
I noticed the corner of a book sticking out beneath the sofa and
pulled it out.
It was a brown leather
album, one of those with sticky film, with enough room to hold either
one picture vertically or two horizontally. I opened it up, expecting
to see pictures of Nick’s family, but what I saw was a baby
dressed in pink. There was no writing, only pictures, and my first
thought was Nick had a daughter? I knew we’d just began
dating, but still, how could he not mention that yet? And now I
really began to wonder why he never wanted to discuss his family, or
what the real reason was for him fleeing to this small town in
Oregon.
I kept flipping pages,
and what I saw disturbed me. The girl kept getting older and older.
And familiar. Way too familiar. As were the people in the photographs with her as she
grew up.
No…
I didn’t believe
it. Nick couldn’t do this, wouldn’t deceive me so
badly. Not the guy I was completely falling for, who I just shared my
deepest, darkest secrets with.
No…
The bathroom door
opened and heavy steps made their way towards me. I never even heard
the shower go off. I stood before him, waving the album in the air.
“Nick? What is this?” When he saw what was clenched
within my grasp, all expression fell from his face. “This is
that girl that thought I was her sister. And that couple you insisted you take care of the other night? They’re her parents,
right?” I hesitated, but still received nothing on his part.
“Is that why you’re here? Why you work at my diner and
asked to room with me?” My voice kept rising and rising because
he wasn’t even offering a head shake to deny he’d been
invading my personal space for his own agenda. And that just really
pissed me off! “Fucking answer me already!” I yelled,
chucking the photo album at him.
He caught it
awkwardly, and the jerky movement brought him to life. “Yes,”
he stuttered. After releasing a deep sigh, he gave me a more profound yes . My eyes narrowed as my head began to swing with slow,
determined shakes. His hand patted the air before him in attempt to
calm me down. “Please, let me explain. I’m just here to
watch over you.”
Watch over me? He was ready to bed me!
“Why?” I
asked bitterly, gritting my teeth and fisting my hands. I already
told that girl I wasn’t her sister. Why the hell were they
secretly hounding me?
“Fuckin’
shit,” he muttered, dropping the album on the coffee table.
Resigned, he said heavily, “You were so close to figuring this
out on your own. The album… I was going to give it to you once
you began fitting the missing pieces together. God, Claire, you’re
so close.”
“I am not Claire ,” I declared
Similar Books
