Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Adeline
I awake early before they even get up, tangled among their arms and legs and feeling claustrophobic. Wriggling out to a sitting position, I get up and walk across the bed toward the kitchen.
We are leaving today, and I want to see my family before they leave for the day.
Seeing Eli’s car keys on the bench, I grab them before walking to the front door and opening it.
The sun is only just rising, and being out here for a day, I can appreciate how secluded this place is.
No sounds of traffic, no noises, just silence and empty paddocks surrounding the property and trees.
It makes me wonder if the silence will become too much when we get to Soya; they live even further out than this place is.
Walking over to Eli’s silver BMW, I hit the button unlocking the doors before opening the driver’s door and leaning over to the footwell of the passenger seat where Cyrus placed my bag. Just as I am reaching for it, I hear movement behind me, the crunch of rocks on the gravel driveway.
“Where are you going, Addie?”
Eli’s angry voice startles me, and I grab my bag before sitting and turning. He lets out a breath of relief when he realizes that I am not trying to escape but just getting my bag.
“Nowhere, but I can’t wear your shirt home now, can I?” I tell him, hopping out of the car and shutting the door.
I lock it before tossing his keys back and completely ignore him as I walk back into the house.
Walking inside, Cyrus walks out of the bedroom, pulling a shirt over his head. Eli walks in behind me, shutting the door a little too loudly, making Cyrus raise an eyebrow at him. I walk into the bathroom, closing the door in Eli’s face as he stalks after me. Eli bangs on the door.
“You know, Addie, you’re making things worse for yourself,” he says through the door, but I ignore him, instead rummaging through my bag and pulling out my jeans and shirt.
I get dressed quickly, just as the door suddenly unlocks, and Eli walks in.
The frustration on his face pisses me off.
What the fuck has he got to be mad about?
He isn’t throwing his life away to be with me.
I am doing that. He has no right to be angry, especially when I did nothing wrong but get my clothes from the car.
“Why are you pissed off?” I ask him, shoving past him and walking back into the living room.
“Your attitude.”
“I don’t have an attitude,” I tell him before grabbing my shoes and slipping them on.
Eli folds his arms across his chest, making him look more brooding than he already is. I roll my eyes, and he growls.
“Woah, kids settle down,” Cyrus says as Eli and I continue to glare at each other.
“She started it.”
“No, you did by assuming I was trying to run. Just get fucking dressed, so we can leave,” I tell him, and he steps forward, a growl tearing from his chest at my use of language.
“You keep going, I won’t let you say goodbye, Addie. So, knock it off.”
“Yeah? I won’t fucking go. Now, hurry up. Maya leaves for school in an hour,” I tell him.
He goes to say something when Cyrus grips his arm, making him look at him. He sighs before walking off.
Cyrus walks over, looking down at me. He raises an eyebrow at me, and I look away, annoyed, sitting back on the lounge and folding my arms.
“Why do you always need to push each other’s buttons?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Did I say something you didn’t like?” I ask him, and his eyes flicker red.
“You really do have an attitude, don’t you? Deal with it, Adeline. I won’t put up with tantrums. You’re an adult, act like one,” he says before walking off toward the bedroom.
They return a few minutes later, fully dressed, and neither of them says anything to me.
Eli carries a suitcase before he walks over to a painting on the hallway wall, pulling it off and revealing a safe hidden behind it.
I grab the keys from Cyrus’s hand and continue out the door while they’re doing god knows what.
Unlocking the car, I hop in the back, put my seatbelt on, and place my bag between my feet.
Cyrus and Eli put some things in the boot before getting in, and I hand Eli his keys.
The drive there is silent except for the radio playing softly.
Pulling into the driveway, my mother’s car is still there, next to my sister’s.
Relief hits me that I can see them before leaving.
Hopping out of the car, I walk to the front door only to realize I had given my sister my car keys.
I go to knock when Eli suddenly unlocks the door, making me look at him.
He holds up a key, and I huff, annoyed that he has a key to my house.
Stepping inside, I can hear everyone getting ready for the day. Taylor has to leave soon to get Maya to school. She only works 9 to 5, so Maya will no longer have to go to before-school care; she will just have to remember to use her lunch break to grab Maya from school like I used to do.
My mother looks up when I walk in. She has a smile on her face, and I suddenly remembered the argument we had the other day. Looking at her, I can tell it has been long forgotten to her; she is just happy to see me. Eli goes to the kitchen to make coffee.
“What’s wrong?” my mother asks, looking at me.
Taylor also stops making Maya’s cereal to look over at me. It is so strange seeing her parenting her own child, yet by the look on Maya’s face, she loves having her mom to wake up to.
“I’m leaving today, moving to Soya. I just wanted to say goodbye,” I tell them.
“Already?” my mother asks, and I nod.
Her eyes turn glassy as she walks over to me and hugs me. She is dressed in her scrubs, and I know she will have to leave for work soon, but I need to say goodbye properly, even if only briefly.
Cyrus walks upstairs, and I notice Eli watching me. I look away, pissed off that he is making me do this.
“Well, this is shocking but exciting,” my mother says as she cups my face. “We will be fine without you. Besides, you can visit.”
I nod, looking at Eli, who then suddenly turns away, making me suspicious. He grabs his coffee before walking up the stairs, probably looking for Cyrus.
Taylor comes over to hug me. She still feels like skin and bone, and I feel like I am hugging a skeleton, but she seems different and almost happy.
“We will miss you,” she says, and I hug her back.
Growing up, we were inseparable until she became lost to us. I got her back only to have to say goodbye again. It doesn’t seem fair.
“I need to get to work. Are you alright to pack?” my mother asks, making me look over at her as she grabs her keys and handbag.
I let Taylor go, following my mother out. She places her bag on the passenger seat of her car before standing up and quickly giving me another hug.
“Ring me when you get there, so I know you are okay, and ring me every day. Oh, and I forgot Sam said to give you this,” she says, bending down and retrieving something from the glovebox—a phone.
“When did you see him?” I ask.
“He came to the practice yesterday,” she replies, and I quickly regain my composure and nod.
She pats my shoulder, and I quickly pocket the small phone before Cyrus and Eli see it, knowing this is Sam’s way of staying in contact with me.
“I love you, but your sister is doing great. She will be fine. It’s like she never had an addiction, weird, huh? I think calling the police really did a number on her,” my mother says.
“Yeah, maybe,” I tell my mother, giving her one last hug and kiss before watching her drive away.
Walking back inside, I find Cyrus talking to Taylor. Maya finishes her cereal, and I walk over to place her bowl in the sink. Maya holds her arms up, and I pick her up, hugging her.
“You’re really going, Aunty?”
I nod, pressing my face into her curls, tears running down my cheeks. I will miss her the most. She has been mine for so long, and now I am trusting her to her mother. The thought scares me but also makes me happy for Maya.
“Don’t cry. Mommy will look after me,” she says, and I nod, unable to form words.
Eli walks down with a suitcase, and I realize he and Cyrus must have been packing my stuff.
He walks outside with my suitcase. I place Maya on the ground, grab the brush, and start doing her hair for school.
I put it in pigtails. Taylor quickly makes her lunch, and I walk into the kitchen to help her. She is looking around frantically.
“Sandwich bags are in the bottom drawer,” I tell her, and she nods.
“Right, I knew that,” she says, her eyebrows furrowing.
How could she? She hasn’t been here that long.
Taylor continues making her lunch, and I watch.
“Remember to use your lunch break to get Maya. She will sit and draw until you get off. Also, Thursdays are sports days, so she wears her yellow shirt to school. Fridays are library days, and books need to be returned on Monday,” I tell her, and she nods, but I can tell all the information is a little much.
I grab a pen, writing it down along with some of the things she needs to remember, like Maya’s immunization being due in two weeks, her teacher’s name, and the school’s phone number, before handing it to her.
Taylor takes it, looking at it, before placing it in her handbag.
Opening my wallet because I know she hasn’t got any money till her first pay, I hand her all the cash in my wallet, which is around $500 from my last week’s pay. She looks at it, confused.
“Take it. You will need it till you get paid, for fuel and for Maya,” I tell her.
When she doesn’t take it, I grab her wallet out of her bag and place the money in it before putting it back. Looking in her bag, Taylor sees the bottle of pills, grabs them, and pops one in her mouth.
“What are those?” Maya asks, shaking the bottle.
Taylor takes it from her, placing it back in her bag.
“Birth control,” she tells her.
I look at Cyrus, who has a silly grin on his face, saying, “I told you so.” His compulsion truly is working, but it raises another question: Has he ever used it on me?
“Grab your bag, Maya,” I tell her when I notice the time. I walk Maya to the car, buckling her in. My sister stops to give me a hug when Cyrus walks over to her and hands her a phone. She looks at it before looking at him.
“So you can ring your sister and in case the school rings.”
“I will ring the school today and tell them your number,” I tell her.
“Eli already took care of that,” Cyrus says.
I shake my head, pressing my lips in a line.
“Look after Maya, Taylor,” I tell her, looking at Maya in the back of my old car. I swallow the lump that formed in my throat.
“Of course, I will. I am her mother.”
“Yes, you are, so don’t forget it this time,” I tell her, and she seems confused.
She shakes her head before kissing my cheek.
“I will see you later?” she says, and I grab the door.
“I am leaving, remember? But yes, I will see you soon, hopefully. I love you.”
“I love you too, sista,” she says, and I choke up at her words.
I haven’t heard her say that in ages; she almost seems like her old self.
“Have fun,” she says, closing the door.
I watch as she leaves, taking Maya with her. Their lives carry on without me while mine is falling apart.