Chapter 20
I walked backto the house alone, relishing the peace. But it wasn’t the peace of being alone. It was the peace of the whole day. Could that be classified as the best day I’d had since I got here?
After I’d made the mistake with the sea lion, Jasmine hadn’t got hung up on it. Audrey would have. She would have made small jibes for the rest of the afternoon. She’d always been jealous of my success.
The jibes were often about my failures. And one of those failures was not climbing out from my father’s influence. She liked to point out whenever I acted like him. I’d learnt at a young age to shut down my feelings and my reactions. I’d mastered that in adulthood. The only time I felt free was with the sea lions, whether it be interacting with them or studying them.
Today I felt free for a different reason—peace and contentment. And it came from the three people I least expected. I didn’t know whether to grab onto it and relish it or run the other way. I couldn’t run far. Not when I lived with them. Maybe I could just enjoy what we had. If I did, I needed to be conscious of my behaviour at all times. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt.
Timmy met me as I made my way to my room to grab my laptop. He stretched each of his legs as he walked. I chuckled. He had grown in the two months I’d been here, but lost none of his character. He followed me all the way to my room and back to the kitchen table. I pulled out a chair for him and he sat beside me as I worked, getting lost in the figures and data.
I heard Bailey and Rose before I saw them. Rose was chatting away. Timmy heard them as well and ran to the door to meet them. When they entered, he weaved between their legs.
“Mum had to help a new camper,” Bailey said. “She sent us home to help you with dinner.”
I closed my laptop. “Go, wash your hands and we’ll get started on the Mission Burritos.” I got the ingredients out. “Let’s start with the marinade,” I said as they joined me at the counter.
I read out the ingredients to them and they added them to the bowl.
There was a knock at the front door. My hands were covered in marinade.
“Bailey, can you get that, please?”
I washed my hands as he answered the door.
“Hi, Bailey,” a man’s voice said.
Bailey slammed the door, turned around and froze. All the blood had drained from his face. I rushed to him and bent to look at him.
“Bailey, what’s wrong?”
“It’s my dad.”
The knock sounded again. Bailey nearly jumped out of his skin. He stared at me the same way Steve did when our father was on a rampage. I steeled myself.
“One minute,” I called out.
I turned to Rose. She was staring at us.
“I’m going outside to speak to him.”
Bailey’s eyes widened and he sucked in a shaky breath. I placed my hands on his shoulders.
“I want you to call your mum. Tell her to come in the back way.” I stood up.
“Don’t go out there,” Bailey said, his voice trembling.
“I’ll be OK.”
“He’ll trick you. You’ll let him in.”
I crouched down to his level. “I won’t let him trick me. I know what bad men are like.”
My dad was one.
“Call your mum. Lock the doors. Close the windows. No matter what happens, don’t come out.”
He nodded. I stood up and opened the door, stepped through and closed it behind me.