Page 18 of Law Of Love

However, his presence altered my brain chemistry, and I didn’t know why. My stomach twisted, and my heart faltered. I needed to remind myself that he was a cocky jerk who I would probably never see again after I moved out, though. Our worlds were light years apart, and mixing would cause another big bang to occur—the kind that destroyed things instead of creating them.

Peeling myself out of the sheets I’d been rotting in all day, I made my way downstairs, spotting Jackie laying the table. My mother followed closely behind her, holding what appeared to be some steaming pasta dish.

“Oh, Freya,” Jackie exclaimed. “You're awake.”

“I was napping,” I answered sheepishly. I’d spent most of last night sketching, the perfectionist in me forcing my hands to crumple up each piece and toss it aside before beginning a new one that I was determined to get right.

Jackie and my mother took their seats at the dinner table, yet again leaving the only empty chair right next to Kaleb. I shuffled it sideways slightly, which gained his attention, and he rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“I’m guessing you haven’t heard anything from dad?” I asked my mother once I noticed Jackie and Kaleb were engaged in conversation.

“Nothing yet, I'm afraid, honey, but I’m going to try to get a contact number for his work to find out where he is,” she responded.

I felt my stomach lurch. Each passing day he was gone solidified my theory that he was planning on not coming back. The rejection was a stab to the heart, and even though my father and I had never been that close, I hadn’t expected him to pack up and leave when things got tough.

I hadn't even realised I’d been aimlessly swirling my food around on my plate until Jackie cleared her throat to get my attention. Kaleb stood beside me with his hand out, arching his brow.

I gazed at him, confused. “What?”

“I said, are you finished playing with your food like a child so I can take the plates out?”

I blinked, passing him my plate and thanking him quietly. My mom and Kaleb made their way into the kitchen to wash up, and just as I was about to follow, Jackie called me over, seating herself on the couch.

“Freya, I just wanted to check in with you to make sure you're doing alright?” She kept her voice hushed. “You’ve been napping a lot during the day, and I know for some people that’s common, but sometimes that sort of thing is brought on by stress.”

A small smile graced my lips. “Thank you, Jackie. I think the whole situation with my dad is freaking me out a little.” My throat tightened. “It's just hard not knowing where he is and if he's even coming back. A part of me wonders if he's gone for good.”

She clicked her tongue. “Well, if that's the case, then he's a piece of crap. You'll have to excuse my language. Kaleb and Brie's father did that just after Brie was born. He found another woman and left and hasn't called since.”

I pulled my eyebrows together. “I didn't know that.”

Brie was Kaleb’s sister—I’d put that much together.

“I don't believe your father would do something like that, though. Like your mom said, he's most likely living it up somewhere on vacation. Maybe he met a lady out there, you know? He'll get back to the both of you soon, and this situation will be dealt with.”

I forced a smile. My father had never been much of a ladies' man. He never appeared interested in other women—even when my mother and he finally ended their relationship for good. Although, admittedly, I hadn't seen him much recently. Perhaps he had met someone out of state.

Jackie gazed off into the distance, her eyes settling on a photo hung on the wall in the room's corner, a high leafy plant half-covering it. It was of Kaleb and Jackie, with a young brown-haired girl at their feet, clinging onto Kaleb's legs as she beamed. She appeared to be around eleven or twelve, and a younger-looking Kaleb was actually showing an emotion other than irritation—joy. He was smiling, and it was a real smile.

“Brie’s your daughter?”

Jackie nodded, releasing a sigh. “That's my Brie.”

“Where is she now?”

She gazed at me, gulping. “She was thirteen when she was killed.”

I froze, my blood turning to ice, thick inside my veins.

“We’d been out at a Christmas market, and on the walk home, we found ourselves in the middle of a fight between members of a gang. We couldn't move out of the way quickly enough, and Brie was caught in the crossfire. She died in the hospital a couple of hours later from gunshot wounds to the chest and head.”

My face paled. I’d had no idea that Jackie's youngest child had been murdered. “I'm so sorry, Jackie. I didn’t know.”

“It's coming up to the five-year anniversary, and it's always hard.” She took a big breath. “We kept her room just how she had left it that night, and we hadn't touched it since, but when Kaleb was away at base again, I decided we all needed closure. I knew we couldn't leave her room like that forever, and I cleared it out and put all of her stuff in the attic.” Guilt swarmed her tired eyes, and she moved over to the photo. “I should have told Kaleb about it, but I didn't want him to come home and take time off work. He would’ve wanted to keep it the way it was, but it was stopping both of us from moving on.”

It made sense why Kaleb had been so upset about me moving into Brie's room. I felt awful. “No one should have to go through losing a child.” I stood up to inspect the photo, cocking my head as I studied it.

Brie looked so much like Kaleb. Piercing grey eyes. Dark hair. Tanned skin. Gorgeous.

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