Page 30 of Malicious Pacts

After spending the day at the park with Rick, I felt a lot better. Arriving back at the house felt different. It felt homier. It wasn’t quite so big and cold after making a friend inside. While Rick wanted to eventually be seen as my father, or at the very least, afather figureto me, it was still way too soon for that. I was grateful he was satisfied to build a friendship with me.

That being said, spending the day with him really helped go a long way to bridging that gap.

Over the course of the next week, we stayed up late a few times binging superhero movies, he showed me around the property, and he taught me how to cook his mother’s famous authentic Italian lasagna for dinner. I had no idea I was Italian, but that explained the olive complexion.

That night, I’d had my first real dinner with the family. It felt awkward since I hadn’t spent much time with anyone else. Actually, I hadn’t spentanytime with anyone else. Angela avoided me like the plague, or at least itseemedthat way. Though, she was always very polite when we ran into one another. Part of me wondered if it was just my paranoia and trust issues making me see things that weren’t really there.

Harper, however, was a totally different story. I couldn’t even count how many times I’d seen her roll her eyes in my direction. At our first real family dinner, Rick was once again talking to me about cars. He’d asked what other cars I’d done work on or would like to work on. He said he could probably find an old beater for me to fix up if I wanted, which really made me feel good. He was taking interest in my interests, and I appreciated it.

When I’d talked about the old Caprice we’d worked on, Harper groaned. She’d said, “I don’t know why you’re asking her about her felon parents.” She’d looked at me then.“Those hillbilly losers were probably the ones who killed your mom and cut you out of her. You should be glad they’re dead.”

Even her mother seemed shocked at her outburst. Angela had looked at me, her lips parting briefly like she would say something, but then her lips flattened into a thin line as she looked down at her food and picked at it.

Rick, however, had no issues saying something. “Harper, I understand this is a big adjustment for you. It is for all of us. I can promise that each and every one of us are going through something here. All events in life have consequences. Even if the event is a good one, such as this, it requires adjustment. But that is no excuse for rudeness and callousness. Imagine losing your mother and me, everything you’ve ever known, having to change schools and move across the country, all while finding out your entire life is a lie. Have some sympathy.”

After his rant, which, I thought was both well-spoken and rather calm, he took a deep breath, straightened his shoulders, and exhaled. “Besides… as I told you before she arrived, we don’t believe her parents had anything to do with her kidnapping.”

I’d kept my eyes down and tried to avoid eye contact with anyone while pushing some baby spinach leaves around on my plate. Why I’d had the idea to add to the awkwardness, I had no idea, but I did.

“If you know who didn’t have anything to do with it, does that mean you have some idea of whodid?” I’d asked.

There was a brief pause as his eyes met mine, his jaw pausing mid-chew. There was a flash of something there, but he quickly recovered. His expression turned regretful. He swallowed and took a drink before shaking his head.

“We had some ideas years ago, but the trail went cold. We have nothing new, but we’re still looking.”

I couldn’t explain it, but a weird feeling settled in my gut. It was the first time I’d gotten the inkling he was lying to me. He had no reason to, and I had no idea why he would. The truth was, I was still getting to know him. What happened to my birth mother, Anna, was brutal. I couldn’t imagine that was something someone justgot over, even after moving on and starting a new family.

Part of me wondered if I should talk to a therapist, and for the several days after that dinner, I put a lot of thought into it. Before the attack, I was confident, had no real issues with anxiety, and honestly didn’t have a lot of trust issues that weren’t related to my mom. I didn’t trust her as far as I could throw her, but that didn’t transfer to others.

Now…

I didn’t trust anyone.

On top of that, I was anxious all the time, I’d noticed I was withdrawing, and I just didn’t feel like myself. Granted, everything in the world had changed for me, so I tried to give myself some wiggle room, but I wanted to make sure those issues didn’t stick around.

A knock at my door pulled me from my thoughts. “You ready to go?” Rick asked with a smile.

I nodded. “Yep. Be right there.”

“You’re going to do great. I’m having Javier go with you. You seem comfortable with him. I’d take you myself, and I want you to know that I would. It’simportantto me that you know I would, but…”

I held up a hand. “No, no. This was a decision we made together. You don’t want anyone to see me with you because people will ask questions, media will get involved and possibly uncover the story of the long-lost daughter returned, the story would get even bigger, and then people we don’t want to know where I am will definitely know where I am.

“I don’t want to be seen with you for the same reasons but also because I’m about to start at a new school, and I want to remain as anonymous as possible. IknowHarper doesn’t want any association with me, so this will be cake for her, and I don’t want to make her life or mine harder by people finding out. This whole situation is new and stressful as is. I don’t know you well, but I feel like I’ve gotten to know you well enough by now to know you’d be there for me if you could.Wemade that decision. It’s what’s best and safest.”

A large smile split his face. “You really are an incredible young woman, you know that? I wish I could take some of the credit, but your parents did a beautiful job with you. Smartandbeautiful, though”—He stood a little taller and made a playful conceited expression while putting his nose in the air—“that last part, I take full credit for.”

I laughed and threw a throw pillow at him. “Dear lord. Go away. I’ll be out in a minute.”

He laughed, too and closed the door. “You’re gonna do great!” he shouted from the other side as he walked away.

Rick really seemed to be a great dad to Harper, and it was obvious he was trying to be the same for me. I was confident it would just take some time, though. I liked him more and more every day—despite my weird trust issues.

The nightmares were still in full force, and I knew that kept me on edge a lot. Every time I fell asleep, I saw my parents’ faces staring up at me with cold, dead eyes. I could smell the fire and even feel the pain in my side as if it were brand new. I did my best to hide it during the day, and meditating in the morning helped some, but it was hard.

The anxiety still snuck through sometimes.

But as always, I relied on my sense of humor to carry me through when I felt uncomfortable.

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