Not Our Daughter

Six

Lisa Shipley heard a sudden scream come from upstairs. Jade. It jolted her. There was real terror in her daughter’s voice. She dropped the wooden spatula she was using to stir up chocolate icing for the birthday cake she’d just made, then hustled around the corner to the stairwell. Their house was a small two-story in a nice neighborhood. It sat on a street of similar homes in a valley squeezed right in between the towns of Fraser and Winter Park. There were only two bedrooms upstairs. One was set up with gym mats covering the floor and a mirrored wall where Jade practiced her cheer jumps. For years Lisa and Cole had listened to constant thuds coming from upstairs because their daughter would be up late practicing. The other was Jade’s bedroom. Could someone be up there with her daughter? Had Lisa been so busy in the kitchen she didn’t hear an intruder enter the house? She’d regularly had that very nightmare for the past thirteen years. Someone sneaking in and taking Jade in the middle of the night. She would often wake up drenched in sweat and gasping for breath. She doubted the bad dreams would ever go away.

Another shriek, followed by, “Mom!”

Lisa rushed up the hardwood steps, nearly slipping as she reached the top because she was wearing only socks. The screaming was coming from Jade’s bedroom. When Lisa got there, she found her daughter standing on her bed with a look of horror on her face. Lisa scanned the room but didn’t see anyone else.

“Jade!” Lisa said. “What’s wrong?”

Jade had one hand covering her mouth. With the other, she pointed to the floor near the entry to her bathroom. Lisa turned, squinted, searching, and then spotted a two-inch scorpion scuttling its way across the floor. She let out a deep exhale and felt relief pour through her. It was just a stupid bug—or technically an arachnid. Not an intruder. Good grief. The screaming was about a scorpion. Not someone trying to abduct her daughter.

“Seriously, Jade?” Lisa said, rolling her eyes. “You dang near gave me a heart attack!”

“Just get rid of it, Mom! Please!”

Lisa picked up a tennis shoe from the floor near Jade’s desk, walked over to the scorpion, and gave it a good whack. It took a second smack of the shoe to get the job done. Then she grabbed tissue from the bathroom, picked up the smushed scorpion, and flushed it down the toilet. When she exited the bathroom, Jade was still up on the bed.

“You can come down now, dear,” Lisa said, laughing. “The beast is dead.”

“Check the floor again,” Jade insisted. “There could be more. I heard they travel in pairs.”

“Where did you hear that nonsense?”

“YouTube.”

“YouTube? Really? Get your silly butt down from there.”

Jade timidly got off the bed, still looking all around. She was wearing the pink and white pajamas they’d given her earlier for her birthday. She had a white exfoliating mask smeared on her face, though she barely needed it. Her skin was nearly flawless. Lisa had battled acne issues when she was Jade’s age. But then they weren’t from the same genetic pool. That had become more difficult to dance around as Jade got older. Her daughter had often mentioned how she didn’t think she looked like either of her parents. Living a lie with your own child felt like betrayal. Lisa hated it. She didn’t want to do it anymore. But Cole continued to remind her that it was the only way for them to truly protect her. The more Jade knew, the more dangerous it became for her—and all of them. Maybe one day, when she was an adult. Maybe never. They just didn’t know yet. One day at a time had been their mantra with Jade from the beginning.

“I don’t know how you do that, Mom,” Jade exclaimed.

“Do what?”

“Calmly walk over there and smash that thing, like it’s no big deal. How do you not freak out? Those things are hideous and dangerous. And they gross me out.”

“Well, honey, you’re going to have to overcome a lot of fear to make it in this world.”

Her daughter had no idea just how much fear her mother had had to overcome just to be standing in the same room with her right now. Lisa had faced hell itself and lived to see the other side. Compared to that, scorpions were easy.

“You always tell me that,” Jade said. “But I’m only fourteen. I’m not ready to take on scorpions yet. Maybe when I’m fifteen.”

They both laughed at this comment.

“Those pajamas look great on you,” Lisa mentioned.

“I love them. They are so soft and comfortable.”

“Good.” Lisa smiled. “So have you had a good birthday?”

Jade’s perfect smile stretched ear to ear. “The best birthday ever. Especially because you let me go hang out with Tyler this afternoon.”

Tyler was a fifteen-year-old boy from school. They’d been texting nonstop for weeks.

“You really like him, don’t you?”

She nodded. “But don’t tell Dad. He gets so crazy when I mention boys.”

“I know. It kills him. But cut your dad some slack. You’re his baby.”

“He’s not living in reality, Mom. I’m growing up. Where did he go, anyway? I heard his truck drive off a few minutes ago.”

“Grocery store to pick up vanilla ice cream. He knows you love it with your cake.”

“I do! Chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream are my favorite.”

“Well, get your face washed up. Your dad will be back soon.”

Lisa stepped toward the bedroom door but then stopped and turned around. Jade was already in her bathroom, splashing water from the sink on her face and cleaning off the skin mask. Lisa stood there and watched her for a moment. It was hard to believe her daughter was fourteen today. Each birthday had felt like such a miracle. They’d been through so much to get to a place where they could watch Jade grow up like a normal child. For years, Lisa had lived in fear that they wouldn’t see her next birthday. Or the next. That they’d finally be discovered and Jade would be ripped from their family. But things had really stabilized for them in Colorado. Life was basically normal here.

Well, as normal as it could get when they were still on the FBI’s most wanted list.