Chapter 1 #2
I stand there for a moment watching the quiet affection between them and feel a little wisp of…
something. I’m not sure I can put a name to it.
Part of me wishes I could have that, the deep love they share, the inside jokes, the humour and connection.
But somehow I don’t think it’s in the cards for me.
Heading in the direction of the downstairs bathroom, I stop briefly to pet Circe, who’s still sprawled out in her bed.
She opens one sleepy eye and gives a little noise of contentment before going back to sleep.
There was a time when she’d have been up and winding around Pop’s legs begging for breakfast alongside Demeter, but now her fur is liberally shot with grey and her joints are painful.
Being much older than Demeter, she’s a lot slower these days and sleeps a great deal too.
It brings a pang to my heart to know there are fewer days ahead of her than behind.
Leaving her to sleep, I duck into the bathroom quickly and relieve my bladder, letting out a sigh of relief, then wash my hands.
My stomach growls—not that I’m particularly hungry at this time of the morning usually, although I’ve always been an early riser.
Clearly, I just share Demeter’s love of bacon.
Wandering back into the huge kitchen, I take my usual place at the heavy oak table, which is scratched and dented with age. Before I can utter a word, Pop slides a loaded plate in front of me and sets a mug of tea beside it.
“Thank you.” I manage a small smile and pick up my knife and fork.
“Uh-oh, I know that look.” His gaze flicks to Dad, who’s heading towards the table with his own plate. “Someone’s panicking.”
“I’m not panicking.” I scowl as Dad drops lightly into the seat opposite me.
“Oh, good,” he says conversationally as he plucks a triangle of toast from the toast rack in the middle of the table and begins to butter it, “because I am.”
I roll my eyes. “There really is no need, Dad.”
“Of course there is. Our baby is leaving home and moving hundreds of miles away.” He loads a spoonful of beans onto the corner of his toast and takes a bite.
“It’s barely two hundred miles and it’s London, not purgatory.”
“That’s a matter of opinion,” Pop murmurs.
“You seem to forget I’m thirty now,” I continue. “No thirty-year-old man should still be living at home with his parents.”
“He does have a point.” Pop joins us at the table with Demeter dancing around his legs, no doubt hoping for more bacon.
“Thank you.” I take a bite of sausage and hum in appreciation.
Dad opens his mouth again, but Pop reaches across and lands a hand over Dad’s. “Babe. He’ll be fine.”
Dad slumps in his seat. “Do you know how many people live in the city? 8.5 million. 8.5 million people broadcasting every random thought and feeling.” He turns to look at me in worry.
“I know you’ve managed to get some of your abilities under control the last several years, but that’s been while you were living here on the farm, mostly isolated so you wouldn’t be overwhelmed.
I don’t see why you can’t just stay local.
I get wanting to move out, I don’t have a problem with that. But why does it have to be London?”
I place my fork down. “You know why,” I say softly.
“Babe, we’ve talked about this,” Pop says to Dad, his tone firm but gentle. “He has a right to know his mother.”
Dad frowns. “I’m not disputing that, but you weren’t there that night.
You didn’t see that scared kid. This wasn’t some teenage runaway who got herself in trouble.
She was terrified and not for herself. For her child.
” He looks across to me. “She could tell immediately what I was, that’s why she asked me to take you and keep you safe.
That girl wanted you as far away from her family as possible and not because she was ashamed of you.
I could see her love for you the moment I placed you in her arms. This squalling pink ball of wriggling limbs and a shock of red hair. ”
“Charming.” My lips quirk.
“Harrison, that family has dark secrets. I don’t know what they are, but I do know that whatever they’re hiding, it’s dangerous.”
“That’s why I have to go.”
Dad swallows hard. “I’m really worried for you. I just want you to be safe and happy.”
The chair legs scrape loudly as I stand. Abandoning my breakfast, I move to the seat next to Dad and put my arms around him, laying my head on his shoulder like I did as a child.
“I am happy,” I murmur as I feel him lift his hand and stroke my hair. “I can’t ever repay what you both have done for me.”
“Harrison, there’s nothing to repay,” Pop insists, and I lift my head to look at him.
He’s still the same man I’ve always looked up to.
Tall with broad shoulders and thick arms, the scruff at his jaw and his blonde hair blended with grey.
He’s wearing one of his signature Hawaiian shirts over an old band T-shirt, his faded Levi’s, and heavy boots.
Even into his late fifties, he’s still a good-looking man, as is Dad.
My gaze migrates to him and his ruthlessly pressed indigo jeans and light grey sweater, the white collar of his polo shirt folded neatly over the neckline.
His dark hair is now shot with white streaks, and his dimples have deepened into creases whenever he smiles.
As I watch them both, I’m filled with love for these two men.
“Your Pop is right. There are no checks and balances here, nothing owed.” He reaches up and cups my jaw. “You have been the absolute light of our lives, and we wouldn’t change a single thing.”
“Not even to have had a normal kid?” I ask before I can censor the words coming from my mouth.
“What?” Dad whispers.
“I just mean, I’ve never been easy,” I confess. “I know that. You had to move and always accommodate my… issues. All those times we couldn’t go out or socialise because being around people was too much for me. I took up all your time and was such a burden that you couldn’t have more children.”
“Harrison, how long have you felt this way?” Pop asks, his expression serious.
I shrug.
“We never wanted or needed more children,” Pop says firmly, and reaches for my hand.
“You were ours from the moment we first laid eyes on you, and every moment with you has been a joy, not a burden. Harry”—he squeezes my hand—“you’re perfectly imperfect, just like the rest of us.
And we wouldn’t have you any other way.”
“But I’m not like everyone else, am I?” I murmur.
“That’s why I have to go. That’s why I have to find my mother and talk to her.
I need to know why I’m different and if there’s anyone else out there like me.
But please, please understand that it’s not a reflection on either of you.
I love you so much. You’re my parents, my family.
It’s just that there’s a part of me that’s…
” The word missing doesn’t feel accurate, so I instead settle on, “Unexplainable.” I shrug and continue.
“I’m trying to figure out who I am and, more importantly, why I’m the way I am.
And to do that, I need to find the biological side of my family.
I need to know if I inherited this…” I shake my head.
“I need to know if there’s a reason or if I’m just a weird anomaly. ”
“I know.” Dad sighs. “But just promise you’ll call and that you’ll tell us if there’s a problem.”
“I promise,” I say softly.
“Okay.” He gives a slow exhale. “You’d better eat what’s left of your breakfast.”
“What?” I turn to look and find Demeter sitting on my chair and happily chewing a slice of bacon. The sausages are history too. The eggs and beans are the only things left, the contents of my plate which she clearly doesn’t like.
“That’s your fault.” Dad casts a reproving look at Pop.
I sigh heavily. “I’ll just have toast.”