Read Online 02 Seekers by Lynnie Purcell - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Lynnie Purcell
Ads: Link
privately. I’m going to follow in a moment, to keep an eye on things, but I think you should have this day with your mom. I’ll be close if anything happens.
Okay.
I released his hand reluctantly and followed Alex and Ellen down the hall, after a sad goodbye hug from Beatrice and Han. My feet dragged a bit as I savored the sights around me. The overly large fireplace, the exposed ceiling, the stone floors and lush carpets – they had become as much a home as my house. And now I was saying goodbye. The first of several, I was sure.
The drive home was silent. Alex wasn’t speaking to me, and Ellen was contemplating if she had made the right decision. I could understand Ellen’s thoughts of fear and confliction, but was having trouble understanding Alex’s huffy silence. I tried to listen in to her thoughts, but she wasn’t that easy.
When we got home, Alex didn’t waste any time getting to her Jeep, slamming her door, and
barreling off down the street with only the briefest of goodbyes to Ellen and an angry glare at me. Ellen and I watched her leave from our front yard.
“What was that about?” I asked, confused and a little hurt she would leave so abruptly.
Ellen sighed. “Sweetie…you’ve just decided to run off on an adventure, a scary adventure, but an adventure none-the-less. She’s hurt you’re doing it without her, especially since she is so invested in your life now.”
“Oh…” I found Ellen’s eyes. “She’ll forgive me, right?”
Ellen’s eyes went to harass the ground. “I’m sure she will…eventually.” She sighed and shook her head. Then, not wanting to spend the day in sadness, she grabbed hold of my arm and pulled me close. “What outrageous story should I tell the neighbors to explain your disappearance?”
“Alien abduction,” I said.
“Nah, they’d believe that too easily…”
“I got a contract to Sumo wrestle in Japan,” I offered.
“How about you joined the circus?” she asked.
“Hm…I don’t think that would work. Everyone knows I have a fear of clowns.”
She laughed, and led me to the porch swing, offering more suggestions. We sat, talking over the stories we would feed the neighbors, the stories growing more ridiculous with the passing
moments. Rocking companionably, it wasn’t long before our conversation shifted to other
stories, stories from her childhood and the swing we were rocking on, and I knew I was facing another goodbye – a sendoff from her past and the house I had grown to love. It was almost as difficult as the knowledge that, after tomorrow, there was a possibility I would never see Ellen again. There was a possibility I wouldn’t come home alive.
When I woke up the next morning it was early. A slow dawn crept over the dewed grass of my back lawn. The window I had left open brought me scents of summer and the steady growth of the old forest. My head pounded, and my neck throbbed, from my injury, but I knew they
weren’t the reason for the bad feeling in my gut. I rolled over, feeling a presence next to me on the bed, and saw Daniel. He had a computer on his lap, which he was staring at intensely. When he felt my movement, he looked over and smiled. The smile wavered a bit when he saw my
expression. He shut the computer and put his hand on the side of my face in compassionate
understanding. “No one would think any less of you if you stayed.”
“I would. Did you stay all night?” I asked.
“Well…just the morning hours. I had to wait for Ellen to go to bed. She had to call Sam to come over, because she was, um...crying.”
“Oh.” I sat up and avoided looking at the duffle bag she had helped me pack, which was by the chimney in the center of my room. “What time are we leaving?”
“As soon as Jackson gets back with a proper vehicle.”
“What’s with the computer?” I asked.
“It’s a tracking program I designed. It pulls the police database of a city in with state and federal databases and creates a map
Okay.
I released his hand reluctantly and followed Alex and Ellen down the hall, after a sad goodbye hug from Beatrice and Han. My feet dragged a bit as I savored the sights around me. The overly large fireplace, the exposed ceiling, the stone floors and lush carpets – they had become as much a home as my house. And now I was saying goodbye. The first of several, I was sure.
The drive home was silent. Alex wasn’t speaking to me, and Ellen was contemplating if she had made the right decision. I could understand Ellen’s thoughts of fear and confliction, but was having trouble understanding Alex’s huffy silence. I tried to listen in to her thoughts, but she wasn’t that easy.
When we got home, Alex didn’t waste any time getting to her Jeep, slamming her door, and
barreling off down the street with only the briefest of goodbyes to Ellen and an angry glare at me. Ellen and I watched her leave from our front yard.
“What was that about?” I asked, confused and a little hurt she would leave so abruptly.
Ellen sighed. “Sweetie…you’ve just decided to run off on an adventure, a scary adventure, but an adventure none-the-less. She’s hurt you’re doing it without her, especially since she is so invested in your life now.”
“Oh…” I found Ellen’s eyes. “She’ll forgive me, right?”
Ellen’s eyes went to harass the ground. “I’m sure she will…eventually.” She sighed and shook her head. Then, not wanting to spend the day in sadness, she grabbed hold of my arm and pulled me close. “What outrageous story should I tell the neighbors to explain your disappearance?”
“Alien abduction,” I said.
“Nah, they’d believe that too easily…”
“I got a contract to Sumo wrestle in Japan,” I offered.
“How about you joined the circus?” she asked.
“Hm…I don’t think that would work. Everyone knows I have a fear of clowns.”
She laughed, and led me to the porch swing, offering more suggestions. We sat, talking over the stories we would feed the neighbors, the stories growing more ridiculous with the passing
moments. Rocking companionably, it wasn’t long before our conversation shifted to other
stories, stories from her childhood and the swing we were rocking on, and I knew I was facing another goodbye – a sendoff from her past and the house I had grown to love. It was almost as difficult as the knowledge that, after tomorrow, there was a possibility I would never see Ellen again. There was a possibility I wouldn’t come home alive.
When I woke up the next morning it was early. A slow dawn crept over the dewed grass of my back lawn. The window I had left open brought me scents of summer and the steady growth of the old forest. My head pounded, and my neck throbbed, from my injury, but I knew they
weren’t the reason for the bad feeling in my gut. I rolled over, feeling a presence next to me on the bed, and saw Daniel. He had a computer on his lap, which he was staring at intensely. When he felt my movement, he looked over and smiled. The smile wavered a bit when he saw my
expression. He shut the computer and put his hand on the side of my face in compassionate
understanding. “No one would think any less of you if you stayed.”
“I would. Did you stay all night?” I asked.
“Well…just the morning hours. I had to wait for Ellen to go to bed. She had to call Sam to come over, because she was, um...crying.”
“Oh.” I sat up and avoided looking at the duffle bag she had helped me pack, which was by the chimney in the center of my room. “What time are we leaving?”
“As soon as Jackson gets back with a proper vehicle.”
“What’s with the computer?” I asked.
“It’s a tracking program I designed. It pulls the police database of a city in with state and federal databases and creates a map
Similar Books
