BrennonAge 16 - 5 years ago
“Ouch,” I flinched, as I pushed on my bruised cheekbone.
It was so embarrassing, even with Mom’s makeup, my black eye and fucked up face were still obvious.
I’d been stuck at school finishing a project for computer club.
We were rebuilding and custom mod-ing a bunch of PCs.
Meanwhile, Este had been out doing the shopping.
Lately, Mom had been so much worse, so we tried not to both be gone at the same time.
But I’d fucked up and stayed too late. Even though I rushed home as soon as I realized, it was too late.
Mom had made it to her bedroom floor before vomiting and passing out. Her whole pill bottle lay empty amidst her sheets. Thank God for the undigested tablets amongst her bile. That was probably the only reason she still had a pulse.
Of course, Este and I knew the rules. No hospitals.
No bad press. Blue had a private doctor he used, the guy’s number pinned to the fridge.
Once he arrived and got mom stable–unconscious, but stable–I’d had the unfortunate job of calling my father.
I wasn’t about to let Este do it, though she offered.
No one else deserved to be on the receiving end of that call.
He was furious. Not because of Mom. Only because he had to leave the tour to fly home.
When he walked–or should I say, staggered–through the door he stank of the whiskey and colas he’d downed during the flight.
But there was also a cruel smile on his twisted face.
One that only got bigger after he threw his first punch.
Nothing cheered Blue up quite like going a round with his favourite human punching bag.
He stayed at the house just long enough to talk to the doctor, make a few phone calls, and then promptly fucked off again.
He either forgot or chose to ignore the fact that he was supposed to drive me up here.
I had my learner’s permit but still couldn’t drive on highways without a fully licensed driver.
If it hadn’t been for Este, I wouldn’t have even been able to get to Agonde today.
We left mom in the doc’s care and set out at the crack of dawn this morning.
The closer we got, the more my knees shook.
Excitement at the prospect of seeing Xav and Cole.
Cole and I had messaged a few times since all of the schools in Barrett Hills, both private and public, used the same email system, but neither of us ever heard from Xav.
Not surprising, since he lived on the west coast and went to this super stuck up, crazy private school in the mountains.
There was also worry, too. Would Birdie be here?
Her name was still in the news all the time.
Not because of the trial, at least not anymore.
Now, it was because she had disappeared.
The papers and nightly news used words like ‘stolen’ and ‘kidnapped’.
At the bottom of the tv screen, there was a hotline number that flashed, asking for anyone with information about the whereabouts of Antoinette and Francis Barrett to call.
I hadn’t called. Though, I did try to find her.
Part of the reason I’d even joined the computer club in the first place was so that I could use the time to search for her online.
She had no social media and no phone number that I could find.
I even got one of the other club members to teach me to code so that I could get into the back end of her old school’s system to try and find her.
In the age of the internet, nobody disappeared completely. Except, apparently, Antoinette Barrett.
Even if I had found her, I wouldn’t have called, because I had seen Birdie’s face that day in the courtroom.
She didn’t want to go with her father. And even if she lied about Nick, deep down, I knew she was a good person.
I knew bad, and Toni wasn’t it, but with every day that passed, not knowing got a bit harder to stomach.
Cole and Xav were waiting for me on the office steps when we pulled up.
I waved goodbye to Este, she needed to get back to Mom.
The guys approached and Xav gave me a brief hug, while Cole did this weird one-armed thing.
Neither smiled. I looked at the office and back to them. Xav just shook his head.
Cole grunted, “She’s not here. And good fucking riddance, anyway.”
“Cole!” I shouted, “What the hell, man. You don’t mean that.”
His eyes darkened. I was still taller than him, but only by a couple of inches now, and his shoulders had broadened again, even since I last saw him in person at the trial.
“Oh, I absolutely fucking do, Grace. I hope I never see that bitch again. Now come on.”
He spun, directing us to follow him towards the Centre Circle. Before we could follow, Xav grabbed my arm, his hand warming my cooler skin, “He’s just angry.”
“I can see that. And you?”
He didn’t answer right away.
“I’ve been looking for her,” I confessed, filling the silence between us, “But she’s a ghost. Where could she have gone?
” I locked on to Xavi’s hazel eyes, about to launch into a full rundown of all the tracking I’d done, until he shut me out.
His long lashes, fluttering over closed eyes.
He dropped my arm. His warm touch gone in an instant.
“Don’t, Bren,” he breathed, “Just…don’t, okay? ”
“Okay,” I choked. Xav seemed relieved, giving me the smallest smile, before traipsing after Cole.
I hoisted my bag over my shoulder, grabbed my guitar, and followed them.
I missed Birdie. But I had to let her go, or I risked losing the only two people I had left.
Technically, we lost her–or she lost us–from the moment she lied to us about Nick.
So, I guess, the Birdie I knew was already long gone.