Chapter Thirty-Eight
Amelie
Graduation day is finally here and I’m eager to get it over with.
All this fuss over a piece of paper – one that I’m never going to need.
Crazy, if you ask me. The only upside is the fact that my entire family is here to celebrate with me, even though dinner last night would have been enough for me.
Elsie tries to add another bobby pin to hold my hair back, and I swipe her away.
“Stop fussing, it will be fine,” I snap.
I shouldn’t be so irritated at her but the guys have been acting weird this morning.
They have been MIA every time I try to call them and I get a feeling they are keeping something from me.
I know I’m probably being irrational and it’s just one of Kalen’s outlandish surprises, like Momo and the fair, but I can’t help but worry.
At every turn there has just been something the last couple of months.
“It will not be fine when your cap falls off as you walk across the stage, now hold still.”
She forces my head to the side so she can shove the pin in, and it feels like she’s pushing it into my skull. What a weird way to go, death by bobby pin.
“There, done. Now you can rush off to find the guys. I know you’ve been itching to find them all bloody morning.”
“Thank you, I just want to make sure Kalen has clothes on under his gown. Everyone doesn’t need to see that.”
Elsie laughs as the door to her room opens.
“Um, boss? Kalen was running around the grounds in a gown when it blew up, your grandmother caught a glance of his white ass. It was funny but—”
“I’m coming now.”
“Let’s go, I have to see this,” Adrianne crows with a damn smirk. She lives for him messing up.
“I don’t think so, missy! You get your ass in this chair, today has to be perfect, and I will not have you looking like that.”
They start to argue about how Adrianne looks, but of course, Elsie wins. Adrianne reluctantly sits down and tells me to film the good parts. I shake my head at her and leave the room.
I head straight down to the back lawns of the school grounds where the stage has been set up. Whoever thought that an outside event was a good idea needs to re-evaluate. There are too many things that could go wrong.
I hear him before I see him, his laughter ringing through the air. I search for any sign of the twins or Sawyer but nothing. Baxter sometimes likes to pop up out of nowhere but he’s currently ignoring my texts. Now that I’ve found Kalen I know he isn’t behind their mysterious vanishing act.
Kalen jumps to the ground as I round the stage. He lands weird and does a half roll as Cap lands beside him. I see him from an angle no one should ever have to see their boyfriend.
“Kalen Knox, what in the fuck are you doing?!” I say, my hands falling to my hips. He turns his head to face me, and he smiles.
“Making sure I test how fit Cap is! Did you know, for a big dude he can run?”
Cap pulls Kalen up by the arm and he dusts himself down. “Why are you naked under there?”
“It's a funny story actually, I was so damn itchy, I needed to air out the goods.”
A laugh gets caught in my throat; bloody Adrianne, I swear if she did this I’m going to strangle her.
“And I think I have a rash.”
He lifts his damn gown and flashes me, and my eyes go wide. He does have a rash. “I think I have crabs,” he whimpers, giving himself a scratch.
“Syphilis gives you a rash, not crabs,” Cap announces, shaking his head.
“How would you know, big guy, are you talking from experience?”
“I actually listened in health class, you idiot.”
“Go and get some damn cream from the school nurse and warn her before you flash your goods. Not everyone wants to see that…oh, and lay off the sugar.”
“You want to see it,” he crows with a mischievous grin just before he lifts his gown and takes off running.
“I’m sorry,” I apologise to Cap.
“I don’t get paid enough to deal with him,” he grumbles as he walks away.
I turn and see that people have started arriving and have witnessed Kalen in all his Kalen-ness.
Monty and Laura sit on the left-hand side of the stage in the front row, where Monty can access the stage.
My dad, Chelsea, Aadi, Smalls, Bex, Camilla, Debbie and Maggie are all seated on the right.
Smart move whoever did that. Laura isn’t very liked, but it makes sense she would be forced to be here.
I head over to my family. Debbie and Chelsea are seated next to each other.
Chelsea pulled me aside last night and we had a talk about Debbie.
She wanted to see how I was feeling about it all.
I was more concerned about how she was handling it all.
All she said is my father’s past isn’t something she can change and that without Debbie there would be no me, so for that reason alone she will forever be grateful to Debbie because I am her daughter thanks to her.
There were tears, mostly from Chelsea, but I may have shed one or two myself at being called Chelsea’s daughter.
They are both laughing as I approach. “Amelie, I was just telling Debbie how funny it is that you and her both have this weird Aussie, British twang.”
“He said she had an accent. Australian. A bit like yours, actually.”
The memory hits me hard and I don’t know why I didn’t think about it earlier. The women that sound like me! It narrows it down to Debbie, Laura and possibly Camilla depending on if he was referring to the Aussiness or the British.
“Honey, are you okay?” Chelsea asks.
“Um, yeah…Debbie and Camilla, could I talk to you both for a minute, please?”
They both look at me and nod. Camilla is slightly more hesitant than Debbie but we all move closer to the stage before I talk.
“I need you to both go to the back of the school building, first door on the left. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” I just need one more person for this conversation.
I casually walk over to where Laura is now seated alone; Monty must be off making sure everything is ready to go. She barely looks up at me, her eyes glued to her phone.
“Can I talk to you for a moment?” I ask, trying to hold back the natural tone of resentment that finds its way out when I have to talk to her.
“Talk?” she snaps. “Why bother when your perfect little family is over there?”
“Seriously, Laura? I’m about to graduate and I want to clear the air. Can we go and talk somewhere more private? All I want is five minutes of your time.”
“Fine,” she huffs. “If it means that we can hurry this day along, then let’s go.”
She stands from her seat and we walk the same way that Debbie and Camilla just went. She still taps away on her phone the entire time and I’m thankful because she doesn’t realise she is locked in a room with my real mother, my grandmother and myself a few minutes later.
“Well, isn’t this a pleasant surprise?” Debbie drawls with the exact same tone of resentment that I usually have.
“What is the meaning of this?” Laura asks, a wobble of fear in her voice. “I’m leaving.”
“No, you’re not. In fact, no one is,” I reply, causing all three women to look at me.
Laura goes to step towards me and I pull out the small gun that Frost helped strap to my leg.
I demanded that I not be crowded by security today.
There are a bazillion of them around, so I know that if I scream, a dozen of them would be on me in half a second. Which is why we came to a compromise.
Camilla looks impressed. “I have a few questions I need to ask you all. You see, I had a meeting with some men about a particular issue I am having, and one of them made a comment. At the time I didn’t think anything of it, but something Chelsea just said made me think...”
“And what is that, Nipotina?” Camilla asks.
“That someone is working with Harold.”
“Isn’t that what everyone was expecting?” Debbie adds.
“Yes, but I was told that he was working with a woman – surprising, I know, given his stance on the gender as a whole. It also doesn’t really narrow it down. Except, why would Harold work with a woman, when he clearly despises them?”
“He had no choice or he needed something from them,” Camilla supplies.
“Exactly. And when I was told that this mystery woman that he needs for whatever reason, kind of had an accent like me…well, that somewhat narrows it down, don't you think?”
“It does. I think you have narrowed it down well. I would have done the same.” Camilla agrees, completely unfazed about a gun being pointed in their direction.
“What about that woman your father is with or your brand new sister?”
“Good question, Laura. But I can rule out Chelsea since she would never do anything with ill intentions, and Bex is far too new to this world. But you three on the other hand, you could all have motive.”
“It’s probably that grandmother of yours, she’s wanted in for years, it wouldn’t surprise me if she cut a deal.”
“That thought crossed my mind as well, but then I thought, even if she was working with him, she now knows my status. So he would have shown up dead by now, considering the involvement he had in her brother's death. Camilla wouldn’t need a deal with Harold when her own granddaughter is in charge. Who better to give her what she wants? An in, and Harold’s head on a platter.
And then I thought, what about Debbie? If she’s resurfaced after all these years and is working with Harold it would ensure her safety…
but the one problem with that is she had to give up her children. ”
“So? I had to give up mine!” Laura snaps.
“No, you chose to walk away, and it got me thinking, I see the way Monty looks at Maggie even now, after they’re divorced.
He has never looked at you that way. I don’t think he ever will.
His sons will never respect you, and them falling for me?
That really must have hurt to see the child you hated coming into your life again and not bowing to your every whim like I used to when I was younger, weaker. ”
“You ungrateful bitch! I was the one who raised you when she didn’t want you,” she spits pointing at Debbie. “I’m the one who came here to…”
“To what? Target Monty? Because Dad told you about his friend, right? Stories about his time here, and you’re shrewd, you knew he was involved in something and decided to come and see for yourself. Was it Monty you came for or Harold?”
“You’re wrong! This is all your fault, you ruined my life!
I was happy with your father and brother, but when your father made us take you in, I could see he didn’t love me anymore.
I spent years trying, but I failed to win him back, so I came here looking for her.
” She points again at Debbie. “So she would take you back, or maybe a family member of hers would take you in. I just needed you gone so that I could return my family to normal. Harold found me first and threatened me. I had no choice.”
“Everyone has a choice, Laura,” Debbie seethes, pulling her own gun, which in turn makes Camilla pull hers.
How in the fuck did they get past security with those?
Bloody Baxter. I know he doesn’t really trust Camilla, but he also doesn’t trust The Order to keep me safe either.
“I gave up my children to keep them safe from Harold.”
“And what a lot of good that did? Harold knew about her for so long, but she was useless until she was almost eighteen. You should thank me; he wanted to kill Marco, but I wouldn’t allow it.
So he came up with a plan to get her here.
It’s a shame about that teacher, but there had to be a sacrifice. ”
“You mean I didn’t kill him?” I ask. I know I didn’t, but Smalls feels responsible.
“Of course not, who dies from an overdose of weed cookies? For a supposedly smart girl, you really are stupid.”
“Where is Harold?” I demand. She just laughs.
“If you think he told me his location, you’re an idiot. I just had to feed him information.”
“In exchange for what?”
“Does it matter? I’m as good as dead.” She sighs as if we’re boring her.
“It matters.”
“For a cut in the trafficking! Monty has been on calls for weeks now about it, but Harold will always be one step ahead. You even fucked that up! All you had to do was come here, fall for Kalen and have him knock you up, and I was going to get what I was owed. For someone your age, you were actually worth a lot. Apparently trauma victims fetch a pretty price. As would that pretty fake boyfriend of yours you brought home.”
“You were going to sell me? And Baxter? What the fuck is wrong with you?!” I scream. “I was just an innocent kid, I never did anything to you.”
“You were born. You were dumped on me. You stole the love and attention of my husband and even my own son. I should have killed you when I had the chance...”
I zone out as all the vile things she said and did keep flashing in my mind: all the abuse, all the times I blamed myself for not being enough.
Like watching from above in a cold detachment, I feel myself raise the gun.
I hear muffled yells, a bang, feel muted hands against my skin. Then everything goes dark.