of an irresistible sleep.
But just as the feeling threatened to overpower him, he forced his
eyes open one last time. He looked across the coffee table at Dr.
Silva, her empty cup in hand, and suddenly felt rude for doing all
of the talking and none of the listening.
"What about you, Dr. Silva? Tell me about
yourself."
Dr. Silva sat up straighter, her eyebrows
arched in surprise. She shifted in her chair, looking
uncomfortable.
"Well there's not much to tell really," she
began. Her eyes flicked from her cup to Jacob. "My father kicked me
out of his house a long, long time ago, and I have been trying to
get back home ever since."
She may have continued but Jacob didn't
hear. He was fast asleep.
Chapter Twelve
A Girl Worth Fighting
For
When Jacob woke up, Dr. Silva was in the
same chair. He had no idea how long he'd been asleep but the
weather had changed and rain pelted the window in angry bursts.
Self-conscious, he ran the back of his hand across his mouth to
check for drool. Had she been watching him sleep?
Dr. Silva explained that he was done for the
day, but Jacob would be expected to work every Saturday morning.
She would be waiting for him in the back of the house a week from
today. He agreed, straightened his shirt, and followed her to the
door.
Spending a morning with Dr. Silva made Jacob
feel like he'd survived skydiving or bungee jumping. What was it
she'd said about herself? Something about her father kicking her
out of the house when she was young? He couldn't remember.
Why had he told her all of those things
about himself? After all, people had been hounding him to talk
since he'd arrived here: Principal Bailey, Uncle John, and even
Malini would have loved some info. Why did he pick the one person
he feared the most and trusted the least to share his most private
thoughts? There was no explanation. Jacob broke out in gooseflesh
just thinking about it.
The Laudners front door was unlocked and he
let himself in. He didn't mind the rain so much, but he was anxious
to put another door between Dr. Silva and himself. Plus, it was
cold, Paris cold. In his haste, he almost whacked John who was
standing just inside the door, scowling at a list in his hand.
"Jacob! You're back. Are you done for the
day?" John's eyes were annoyingly hopeful.
"Yeah, she said we would start next
Saturday, so..."
"Probably can't do much today with the rain
and all, huh. So, do you have a few minutes to help me with
something?"
"Uh, sure. What is it?"
"Good! I need you to come into town with me.
Aunt Carolyn needs some groceries but I have some things to do at
the shop. I was hoping you could pick 'em up while I'm
working."
"Sure." Jacob needed to get his mind off of
what had happened with Dr. Silva and he wasn't excited about
hanging out in the house alone with Katrina.
"Let's take Big Blue."
Big Blue was a monster of a Chevy with
rusted out wheel wells and robins egg blue paint that barely
adhered to the metal. The engine was loud and the seats were torn
but John often said, "still runs great!" Aunt Carolyn refused to
ride in it. Jacob guessed that was an added incentive for John to
keep it around.
They headed into town on Rural Route One,
the uncomfortable silence not overcome by the hum of the
engine.
"Have you heard anything about my mom?" he
asked.
"Yes and no," John sighed. "I was trying to
find the right time to tell you this. The police have stopped the
active investigation. The case is still open but nobody is going
out on it anymore."
"Do you mean they've stopped looking for
her?" His voice was louder than he'd intended and it filled the
small cab.
"I don't want to upset you, Jacob. The case
is still open; they just don't have any leads. There were no
fingerprints and the only blood they found was hers. They are not
actively looking because there's no place left to look…unless more
evidence pops up somewhere."
Silence filled the space between them again.
Jacob had suspected as much. It had been months.
But just as the feeling threatened to overpower him, he forced his
eyes open one last time. He looked across the coffee table at Dr.
Silva, her empty cup in hand, and suddenly felt rude for doing all
of the talking and none of the listening.
"What about you, Dr. Silva? Tell me about
yourself."
Dr. Silva sat up straighter, her eyebrows
arched in surprise. She shifted in her chair, looking
uncomfortable.
"Well there's not much to tell really," she
began. Her eyes flicked from her cup to Jacob. "My father kicked me
out of his house a long, long time ago, and I have been trying to
get back home ever since."
She may have continued but Jacob didn't
hear. He was fast asleep.
Chapter Twelve
A Girl Worth Fighting
For
When Jacob woke up, Dr. Silva was in the
same chair. He had no idea how long he'd been asleep but the
weather had changed and rain pelted the window in angry bursts.
Self-conscious, he ran the back of his hand across his mouth to
check for drool. Had she been watching him sleep?
Dr. Silva explained that he was done for the
day, but Jacob would be expected to work every Saturday morning.
She would be waiting for him in the back of the house a week from
today. He agreed, straightened his shirt, and followed her to the
door.
Spending a morning with Dr. Silva made Jacob
feel like he'd survived skydiving or bungee jumping. What was it
she'd said about herself? Something about her father kicking her
out of the house when she was young? He couldn't remember.
Why had he told her all of those things
about himself? After all, people had been hounding him to talk
since he'd arrived here: Principal Bailey, Uncle John, and even
Malini would have loved some info. Why did he pick the one person
he feared the most and trusted the least to share his most private
thoughts? There was no explanation. Jacob broke out in gooseflesh
just thinking about it.
The Laudners front door was unlocked and he
let himself in. He didn't mind the rain so much, but he was anxious
to put another door between Dr. Silva and himself. Plus, it was
cold, Paris cold. In his haste, he almost whacked John who was
standing just inside the door, scowling at a list in his hand.
"Jacob! You're back. Are you done for the
day?" John's eyes were annoyingly hopeful.
"Yeah, she said we would start next
Saturday, so..."
"Probably can't do much today with the rain
and all, huh. So, do you have a few minutes to help me with
something?"
"Uh, sure. What is it?"
"Good! I need you to come into town with me.
Aunt Carolyn needs some groceries but I have some things to do at
the shop. I was hoping you could pick 'em up while I'm
working."
"Sure." Jacob needed to get his mind off of
what had happened with Dr. Silva and he wasn't excited about
hanging out in the house alone with Katrina.
"Let's take Big Blue."
Big Blue was a monster of a Chevy with
rusted out wheel wells and robins egg blue paint that barely
adhered to the metal. The engine was loud and the seats were torn
but John often said, "still runs great!" Aunt Carolyn refused to
ride in it. Jacob guessed that was an added incentive for John to
keep it around.
They headed into town on Rural Route One,
the uncomfortable silence not overcome by the hum of the
engine.
"Have you heard anything about my mom?" he
asked.
"Yes and no," John sighed. "I was trying to
find the right time to tell you this. The police have stopped the
active investigation. The case is still open but nobody is going
out on it anymore."
"Do you mean they've stopped looking for
her?" His voice was louder than he'd intended and it filled the
small cab.
"I don't want to upset you, Jacob. The case
is still open; they just don't have any leads. There were no
fingerprints and the only blood they found was hers. They are not
actively looking because there's no place left to look…unless more
evidence pops up somewhere."
Silence filled the space between them again.
Jacob had suspected as much. It had been months.
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