Mended

Chapter 5

Chloé

It’s still the same here. The house hasn’t changed except some things have been updated. I won’t stay long. I just need to get everything situated and get what I need and I’ll leave. But first things first, my address will be updated, and I’ll need to change it.

Once I do that, I’ll need a new passport and a new identity. It’ll cost money. At least I took enough from dad’s safe, close to one million. Don’t know why my dad keeps so much in our house. I don’t think it’s safe.

“Have you finished unpacking?” Uncle Mack asked when he walked into the kitchen.

I sat on the kitchen island eating a sandwich Aunt Sheila made before she left for work. “Almost,” I replied with a mouthful of turkey. After all this time Aunt Sheila still remembers my favorite sandwich. “You know you didn’t have to take the day off to help me.”

“I wanted to Chloé. I haven’t seen you in a couple of years, besides the boss won’t miss me today.”

“That’s because you’re the boss,” I said. He gave a chuckle and sat in front of me.

“True. So, how are you doing with the transition?”

“Good,” I blurted. I really don’t want to talk about this. I looked down at my plate, continuing to eat my meal. I looked back up and met his eyes. He stared intently at me and I stared right back without blinking.

“Chloé.”

“Uncle.”

“Are you sure you’re fine? You know you can tell me anything, right? I’ll always be here for you.”

“I know Uncle Mack and I’m fine really. Don’t worry so much about me.”

Although he will be furious when I leave without a word, it’s better this way. With me gone, my family won’t have to worry about me anymore and the only person I’ll worry about is me. I need to find somewhere to hide. Once I get a new identity, I’m gone. I need to research where I want to go.

“Okay, if you’re fine, then I won’t push further.”

I nodded at him and kind of wished that he had pushed me. My parents certainly didn’t. Then again, they were always busy with their job. Hotshot lawyers always winning and never taking a day off. They always missed my games and even when I took my driving test, but not Mack. He always came, and I appreciated him, but he wasn’t my dad.

Maybe that’s why I’m more troubled than I should be. I’m not doing it for attention, I hate attention. I get into fights and get arrested because I want the memory to go away. I try to fight, but it keeps coming back, especially at night.

I wake up with tears soaring down my face and my body covered in sweat. My hair matted to my face with my body trembling. My memory haunts me every night and every night I would sneak out to do something to keep the memory away. It’s how I cope and it’s the only way. I just wish that my parents would hound me about my behavior. That tells me that they care, and maybe I would be able to tell them what happened to me.

“I’m going to go and finish unpacking,” I said, wanting to escape his gaze. He wants me to talk, and I want to, but I don’t know how. Maybe if he pressured me I could talk, but he’s not.

“Oh, alright. Maggie and Ben will be here in a couple of hours with their friends.”

“Do their friends always come around?” I asked.

“Mostly.”

“Oh, okay. See you later.”

Great more people I don’t want to meet. I’ll just stay in my room and watch ESPN. I don’t need friends, especially those who are friends with Maggie. I wonder how she managed to get a boyfriend. The guy is probably like her. I wonder what he looks like. Uncle Mack said they'd be home in a couple of hours. It’s time to take a trip to their rooms.

I went upstairs to the second floor where the three of us were staying. I took a left to Maggie’s room. Her room laid on the right with a bathroom across. I went into her room and whoa…it’s so pink. There’s a white vanity in one corner beside her bed and a full-length mirror mantled on her wall. Her bed laid in the middle with white comforters and hanging from the ceiling over the bed was a sheer curtain. It’s like a princess bed.

Her room is also covered with flowers. There were real flowers, fake-looking flowers, flowers made out of tissue paper, and she even had flower-scented candles. This room is too girlie for me. On her dresser was nothing, but pictures of her. She’s a little too full of herself. There’s not a picture of her parents or her boyfriend. What’s his name? Trevor? Time to leave this pathetic room and on to the boyfriend’s.

Maggie’s room is the only one on this side. I passed the staircase and stood in front of his door. His room is right across from mine. I entered his room and immediately smelled his musk. It smelled of sweet spice and it smelled good. It’s so masculine that I didn’t want it to evaporate. His room is simple like mine, and it’s arranged like mine. The bed was in the middle against the wall, with a private bathroom in the left corner and the closet on the right.

A dresser against the right wall and a couch on the opposite side and a flat screen t.v. On the corner of his dresser was a baseball trophy. It was bronze, and the figure held a bat. There was an inscription that said Player of the Year, Ben Summers. So, that’s his name.

He’s a baseball player? I didn’t know that. Uncle Mack didn’t say anything. I wonder why. I put down the trophy and saw a photo that was taped to the mirror on the dresser. It was of Maggie who had her arm around a guy’s waist. I looked at the guy and stopped breathing. He was handsome.

Clean cut blonde hair and an amazing smile. He wore a long sleeved light blue shirt with khaki pants, and it did wonders for his body. I could see the muscles bulging on his arms and his shirt hugged his lean form. His pants tugged on his legs and I could easily see his muscles there. He looked tall, about 6’1 and his eyes…wow.

Dark brown. I feel like I’m melting. This guy is gorgeous. Just looking at his picture stirs things inside of me that I have never felt before. I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing. How did Maggie get a good-looking catch?

A car pulling up disturbed my thoughts. I quickly left his room, shut the door, and went into my identical-looking room. I looked outside my window and saw him and Maggie, along with others, getting out of their cars. I can’t get a good look from here, but I don’t want to go downstairs and meet people.

I’ll have my chance to meet him. He lives right across from me. I’m actually getting excited, but I can’t forget about my plans. I can’t let anything distract me…not even Ben.