Chapter 39: The call (Wattpad)
Part I:
He drove away like the hounds of hell
itself were after us. His tensed muscles only relaxed when we were completely
away from the goddamned place – the landscapes outside were now different from
earlier even in the dark night. I looked at the clock on the dashboard. 6:30pm.
I heard him stop the engine right in
the middle of the road. And before I could even react, he turned to me and
reached out his hand I violently shook it off with my shoulder, no looking at
him.
“Don’t touch me.”
“I need to uncuff you – ”
“Why don’t you just start acting like
a real kidnapper this time?”
“I – I won’t do that. You don’t have
to be – ”
“Just shut the fuck up and do what
you’re supposed to do.”
He sighed and I sensed that he wanted
to say more but nonetheless, he started the engine again and started driving. I
twisted my wrists, trying to stretch them through the cuffs. Even Dash seemed
to notice that something’s wrong.
I shook my head. I didn’t even know
who I really am these past 17 years. Seventeen years. All these things I’ve
been doing had been false, fake, a façade. A lie. My eyebrows pinched together
and tears gathered in my eyes. Sky looked at me, his eyes tortured.
“Ryne, I – ”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
His voice choked as he answered back,
“I was afraid that you’d hate me and – ”
“And you kept that from me?”
He spun the car and positioned it
haphazardly, parking it in a hurry and he didn’t make the trouble of turning
off the engine this time.
“What did you expect me to do? If you
were in my position – ”
“I would fucking tell the truth the
second I’ve handcuffed you – ”
“You weren’t supposed to know!”
“But not doing it later? After all these days that you – ”
“It wasn’t easy!”
“I never said anything about it being
easy! If only you told me, it would save us a lot of lies and misery and – ”
“I
fell in love with you before I could do anything, okay?”
He pounded the steering wheel in
frustration, his tendons exposing. “And by then I just knew this would happen; you hating me – ”
“What do you want me to feel?” I raged at him, finally facing
him and looking at his torn and tortured features. “Do you want me to be happy because this happened?”
He tore his hair out, breathing in and
said right back, “I want you to understand!”
“I understand completely – ”
“No, you don’t! You have no idea what
I’ve been going through! After Sam was killed – ”
“That’s what you always say! Sam! Even when you’re sleeping, you just
have to – ”
“I’m trying to explain to you! Why
don’t – ”
“And then you tell me that you love me? You see her, not me – ”
“You’re
the only one I see!”
“No! You – you don’t – ” I paused,
catching my breath. “I don’t know what to do, okay? I don’t even know what to feel. So please, just – ” I sighed, my
voice shaking. “Just leave me along right now.”
He breathed in and looked away. He
didn’t say yes, he didn’t nod, but he stayed silent, granting my wish in an
instant. Then he relaxed his head, “Let’s just find a place to stay for the
night.” And he slowly started driving again, seeming not in a hurry. I stared
blankly on the outside view.
I want out.
Wednesday, 7am
I had no idea when I started falling
asleep inside the car. But now I started blinking my eyes open and breathed in.
The air felt different. And for some reason I found myself lying on a bed. With
different clothes on. I sighed a little, not bothering anymore and slowly
getting used to it. Aside from that, I now had bandages on my body and some
Band-Aids on me, as well. I found and put on my glasses automatically and
scanned the area. There was no sofa.
He was there. In a sitting position
with his back on the wall. He also had bandages on him and a Band-Aid on the
cut below his lower lip. And he was deeply in sleep. I looked at him and bit my
lip.
What
am I supposed to do?
Now that the events of last night had
come and gone, I gave the gist of it to register in my brain in a more
welcoming manner.
So my mother is Danae.
Not Leia.
I’m quite surprised, but I actually
wondered what she looked like. And I had the feeling that somehow, it was from
her where I got my chocolate brown eyes. I just…know.
And my father id Ryan. Ryan Cavanagh.
Our names are so much alike. I remember on my childhood days, when my
classmates teased me because of my almost-male name. But the fact that it’s a
combination of Danae and Ryan gave me a different feeling.
I just haven’t figured out what
feeling that is yet.
My heart throbbed as I remembered the
parents I’ve grown up with. They’re the ones who really formed me and nothing, nothing, can ever take that back. But
when my mind wandered back to the names from yesterday who seemed to be in my
generation – Alexa, Colleen, Mark and Trisha – I felt slightly apprehensive.
What do they look like? Do they act like me? My lips were pursed as I thought
of Mark. I’ve always wanted a big brother. And Trisha.
She died.
It would’ve been wonderful to have a
little sibling – I’ve never experienced having one in my life.
I was stirred from my daydreaming when
out of the corner of my eye, Sky started waking up. He rubbed his sleep-filled
eyes and stretched himself awake, eyes landing one me instantly. He didn’t say
anything, he just stood up. Then he said without coming near me, “I didn’t
think you’d like it if I slept…yeah.” He bit his lip and continued speaking,
“There’s already everything if you need it. If you don’t want to ask me, just
look for it.”
He didn’t wait for my reply but
started walking towards the door and shutting the door behind him, leaving me
alone with my thoughts. I sighed and dropped back to the bed. This feeling of
entrapment is killing me.
I got out of the bed and stepped
lightly on my feet, glancing around to find the bags. It was a slight shock
when I saw the old, tattered ones at the floor at the foot of the bed. I walked
briskly towards it and zipped it open, expecting the old set of things I always
bring with me when we transfer hotels.
The first items that greeted me as my backpack
was opened, was the snow globe. Surprisingly, the beautiful castle was still
intact in the middle of the globe and the snow was still flowing up and down.
And then there was the four-lettered name in sky blue writing.
I’m such a whiny drama queen.
I squat on the floor, almost laughing
to myself. Laughing at your worst problems is easier than mourning about them.
I shook the globe and watched as the snow fluffed around the castle. In some
ways, it’s better being inside that miniature kingdom.
The bedroom door suddenly opened and
there was Sky, standing a few steps away from me, fully-clothed,
Where was he going?
He walked towards me and held out a
folder. “I have a copy of everything from the briefcase.” I took it from him as
he continued speaking. “You can take a look at it – you might want to before I
take you to them.”
Wait. “You’re taking me to them? Like,
today?” He shook his head in response. “No. But within these three days, I
will.” I stood up and asked him hesitantly, “Where are you going?” his voice
was steady as he answered, “He might want to replace me for someone else.”
Replace?
“What do you mean ‘replace’?” I asked
in an almost demanding voice. He shrugged lifelessly. “Replace – substitute.” What? “Why?”
Then his green eyes were fixed on me
instantly. “You know why. I told you in the first place.” I blinked, puzzled. He did? My eyebrows drew in confusion,
so he elaborated. “That day after what happened in the car.” My eyes widened in
realization, then I had a flashback –
We were sitting on the sofa during the
blackout.
“You
don’t understand.” He said, shaking his head slightly. “And by the way,” he
looked up into my eyes. “Mr. Mafia told me not to fall in love you.” He smiled
gently. “But to hell with it.”
I came back to the present as he asked
me, “You remember, don’t you?”
I nodded soundlessly. “And that one
day, too. When you said you’d prefer your head being attached to your neck?”
“That was a figure of speech, but yes.
He did mean that.” No. He can’t mean that. “So you’re going now?” he raised an
eyebrow at the question, “Do you want me to?”
“No – no, I just – ” I responded
hastily but I was stopped by the look on his eyes. It was a look of total
surrender. I was just about to ask him what it is when he spoke up. “After you
read the file, you can call him if you want. Your grandfather.”
“I can call him?” I asked in a disbelieving voice, my mouth almost gaping
open. Sky smiled slightly in endearment. “Yes, you can.” he answered, still
smiling. “Just tell me, I’ll be outside if you want to stay here – ”
“Stay here? I – ”
“Yes?”
I stared at those emeralds, which were
both hoping and dreading for an answer and I almost stepped forward, but I held
my ground. I answered, “Yes, I’ll just stay.”
He nodded once and walked out of the
door for the second time.
Part II:
Do you know that awkward moment when
you feel like someone has been viewing your life since you were fucking born?
When they know every single thing
about you that you even forgot yourself.
I feel like it when I read the file,
now after taking a quick bath and with Dash dozing outside, leaving me alone
with my thoughts. They know every detail of my life! They even know how many
moles I have on my head and, oh right. My head is completely covered by my
hair, so I have no idea how many there are.
It says here five. Like, how the fuck
did they know that?
And the other pages contain my
childhood years – actually, it’s one page per year and there were pictures. That’s the worst part. And
they even know what my favourite things are.
And that’s just intrusive.
This is ridiculous. They have got to
be kidding me.
There are even names of my friends –
and the fake ones, too – and I was surprised to find out that Carsh had one
page, complete with a picture of him and the details, as well. The Terminator
had a page dedicated to her, too. Now the Terminator, I know almost everything
there is to know about her. My eyes were drawn to the image of Carsh. As I read
his page, my fingers skimmed downwards and then I read the last information.
With Mia Lorette.
I scowled as I read it twice. I can’t
believe he just found another one like I was nothing. If he really loved me, he
wouldn’t do that, right? If I really meant something to him, he wouldn’t just
run off to find another one, wouldn’t he? His angelic face was staring back at
me in the photo, his clear blue eyes smiling. I remembered once when I first
saw him eye to eye, I fell or that azure colour. But when he talked to me, we
just clicked.
Where’s the fucking click now?
I threw away the paper in frustration.
If I held it for one more second, I might actually crumple it. And right then,
I remembered that Sky gave a picture of Carsh three days ago. I sighed,
annoyed.
I’ll get rid of it later.
After I finished reading every single
thing about me to date, I flipped the page and when I did, I was surprised to
find out a woman’s face on the next page. She has elegant features like
royalty. And her eyes. She has chocolate brown eyes.
My mother.
I sat up straighter. Name – Danae. And
her nickname is Dani. I smiled a little bit and proceeded reading. She loved
books, too. And on the picture, she has black hair. So that means I must’ve got
my hair colour from my father. She engages in sports, too. That’s the only
thing we haven’t got in common, I think. Everything else I’ve inherited from
her. Except the looks, of course – she’s much too beautiful. Even better than
Xavia. And I didn’t get my temper from her either.
She has a horrible temper. From what I gathered from reading about her, her
husband Ryan seemed to take the blunt of her fury on a bad day. But
surprisingly, he handled it well. I bet he was the only one who can calm him
down. Why else would they marry?
Feeling energized, I turned to the
next. Oh, God. It’s like I’m looking at the male version of me. He’s a lot
older than 17, but all the same. Wow.
Ryan Cavanagh.
So this is my dad. I was practically cloned from him. But the similarities
stopped right there. In personality, he is nothing
like me. He is outgoing, always jolly, active in sports and stranger-friendly.
A complete smile is now on my face as I turned another page. Mark Cavanagh. He
is attractive in a strange way. There’s something about his face that just
draws people. Then I scanned the information and found the perfect word.
Charisma.
My older brother is a charismatic guy
who draws women effortlessly. That’s just what I summed up from the article.
Then a sudden chord struck me. Struck me hard. I remembered Xavia and her
reaction on that day in the car when she and Imah went away.
So this is the guy Xavia had a thing
with. God help them.
And then there was Trisha. In the
image, she’s just about 5 years old. I skipped the other brief details about
her and read the one I’m looking for.
Death – 2nd of March (classified year)
Then I read the cause. They’ve been
ambushed in their vacation house. Mark being the eldest one had to take care of
the family business and was not included in the murder.
And then there’s me.
In a weird way, I feel like I fit in.
I heard a knock on the door and Sky poked
his head in, he’s on the phone and he seemed distracted. I instinctively got
off the bed and shot him a quizzical look as he walked towards me, speaking to
the person on the other line.
“Yes, sir. Here she is.”
Sky handed me his cellular phone – a
different one – and as I held out my hand to put it in my ear, he mouthed, your grandfather.
My eyes widened almost instantly and
my heart rate increased considerably. I put the phone on my ear, hearing the
sounds from the other location. I held my breath, keeping my head together. I
said hesitantly, “Hello?”
“Ryne?”
The second I heard his voice,
something clicked. I responded, still unsure. “Yes, it’s me. Uhm, Grandpa?”
I heard his hearty chuckle and even
Sky smiled. “Yes, you can call me that. So how are you, my dear?” as he talked
to me, Sky put his hands on my shoulders and steered me towards the bed, both
of us sitting down.
“I’m fine.”
“How’s La Brea treating you?” I looked
at the person in question. “We get along well, actually.”
“Too well, I fear.” I barely took to
notice that his accent is a strange mix of American and Russian as we talked
about Sky. Speaking of, Sky arched an eyebrow as the both of us continued
speaking. “Uhm, it’s really very complicated to talk about that right now. We –
”
“I told him not to tell you. I’m sorry
for that, my child. You must understand that I had to do everything in my power
to keep you safe.”
“I understand.”
“So you know everything?” For some
reason, his voice didn’t sound annoyed or irritated. He even sounded welcoming,
open-minded. “Yes. Sky let me read the file.” I could tell that he knew I would
find out.
“I knew this would happen at one
point. Nothing but the truth comes out, eh?” I laughed lightly. “Yes. I
suppose.”
“I take it that you’ve read about your
parent and siblings already?”
“And myself, yes.” He laughed at my
response. “You’ve got my son’s sense of humour. Well, that’s a relief.” he
paused talking and I heard muffled voices at the other end of the line, then he
spoke to me again. “Ryne, my dear, I’m a little tied up here. I’ll call you
later again and we’ll do a hell of a catching up, okay?” I hesitated before
answering back – there is something I really want to ask from him. More like a
favour. “Uhm, Grandpa? If it’s not much to ask, can I have a favour?”
“Anything at all! Go ahead, darling.
You can abuse me around for all the 17 years of my absence.” I laughed
nervously. You’re the granddaughter of a
Mafia king, Ryne. You can do this, you’re awesome.
“Can – can Sky stay?”
Sky looked like he’d been electrocuted
and the person on the other line paused in surprise. “I’m sorry?”
“Can he stay?”
There was another pause, shorter this
time.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea – ”
“Please?” I begged shamelessly, looking into
Sky’s eyes as he held my hand and he kissed it, his gaze never leaving mine and
the shell-shocked look still on his face.
“Ryne, my dear, I’m going to ask you a
question and I want to answer honestly.” I bit my lip. “I think I know what it
is, but it’s better if you say it word by word.” I added hastily, “I think.”
“Do you love him?”
I gave a strangled laugh as I looked
at his face.
“I do.”
