Dawn

Elijah was home most of the time the following week, making it more enjoyable. He left once to go to the grocery store, after having me help come up with a list of items we needed. It truly didn’t matter to me what he bought, as I would eat or try to cook just about anything. I normally cooked easy things that had the directions on the packages, since I had to teach myself how to cook. I had refused Joslyn’s help, not wanting to take up more of her time than she was already giving up to stay with me. She’d brought a couple of cookbooks that were fairly easy for me to follow.

On the day he went out, Joslyn came over, along with Emily and Zack. I could tell something was up, as Emily was nervous and fidgety. Zack acted like there wasn’t anything to worry about, sitting in the living room and playing on his phone.

Joslyn had brought a big dark green scrapbook full of pictures and was telling Emily and I some of the stories that went along with them. One set of pictures was of Elijah holding a newborn baby who was sleeping and wrapped in pink. She had a small bow on her head. Zack sat beside Elijah, pouting and looking off to a different direction. They both had the same color of dark hair.

“Elijah was thrilled to finally hold you, Dawn. You were a week old, and he promised to protect you from the world that day,” Joslyn had said, as she pointed to the picture. “Zack wanted nothing to do with you, and refused to let me take one good picture.”

Emily gave out a laugh. “Just like now, you know if he’s not happy if there’s something wrong.”

Another picture showed Elijah pushing me on a tire swing. The ground was covered in white flowers. My eyes were bright with happiness. Elijah, at the age of twelve, was happily pushing me, as I sat on the black tire swing tied with a heavy rope to the tree branch high above.

“You were about three here, and loved that tire swing. You would only let Elijah push you when we were all up at the cabin. Elijah said the swing was only for his girl,” Joslyn said with a smile.

Another picture was of Elijah and Zack, with me sitting on a chair between them. Both boys had on matching Batman shirts, their hands in the pockets of their jeans. They didn’t look too thrilled about the picture. I was a tired looking ten-year-old—a thing that became normal for me.

“You were upset because your father had died the night before, and your entire world was shifted. You wanted nothing to do with your mother, even though she was just out busy getting things in order for the funeral a few days later. Elijah stuck to your side, and helped you along so you weren’t so sad,” Joslyn said. “That was a tough time for all of us.”

“Do you have any pictures of my parents?” I asked.

Zack looked up at me, shocked I’d asked. I guess I hadn’t really talked much that day, and some days were quieter ones. And Elijah wasn’t there. He smiled happily at me before turning back to his phone.

“Yes, of course,” Joslyn answered as she began to shuffle some pages. “Ah, here is one of the last ones I was able to get.”

My parents stood side by side, but not touching. My dad wore a long flannel shirt and a pair of stained pants. He had his fishing hat on, covering his black hair. His brown eyes were filled with laughter, but I could see a sadness behind it. His hair was cut short. My mother looked tired, but full of life. Her green eyes hid secrets, but determination. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a messy side bun. I looked nothing like her. I was pleased with that, but not entirely sure why.

“What was my dad like?” I asked, tracing his picture.

“He was full of life. He loved fishing and camping. He worked hard, but always made time for you,” Joslyn answered, remembering better days. “I’ll have to get some of the things he left you out of storage. He wanted to make sure you got some things your mother would have sold, since they do hold some value.”

“She was a great mother to you,” Elijah said as he entered the room and sat on the coffee table. “She made sure you came first. But when money got tighter, she got into some things that caused her priorities to change. She got into the wrong group of people; she had to pay off debts, and got in too deep. Quentin knew, and wasn’t too pleased. Not only did she lose her priorities, but she also lost track of who she was. Drugs can cause all sorts of issues, no matter the person.”

“Oh,” I said, at a loss for words. I knew my dad was dead, but I couldn’t quite get my mind to wrap around the idea that she could ever do anything like that. “Is that why she was with Morgan?”

“I’m not sure, but it’s a good possibility,” Elijah answered, laying his hand over the one on my lap. “And for that reason, I haven’t allowed your mother to know where you are. She knows you were found, but not by whom, and it must stay that way. You aren’t a slave to be bought and sold to whoever has the most money. Joan has changed from when I knew her years ago, so I personally don’t trust her, but if you want to call her, or even text her, I will be happy to get you a phone so you can. She’s still with Morgan,” he finished. His eyes were filled with worry and love as he looked at me.

“I don’t know if I want to talk to her,” I said, with tears in my voice. I blamed her a great deal for my kidnapping, as she was spending so much time with the one that took me, and was still with him.

“That’s perfectly fine,” Emily said, pulling me into a hug. “You have all the time you need.”

“Well, until the trial comes up. You will have to talk and let the judge hear your side of things, and then, depending on how things go, you may want to go back to her,” Zack stated sadly.

“No!” I said, eyes wide with panic. “I . . . I can’t go back to her.”

“Why not?” Elijah asked calmly as he moved to sit beside me.

“I . . . I think she had something to do with the planning for Morgan to take me. The week before my birthday, I overheard them talking about prices and methods of repayments. Could they have been talking about me?” I said in a near whisper.

“It’s very likely. It’s something we’re looking into,” Zack replied with a grimace.

“You are of age, so the state can’t force you to go if you don’t want to. You’re welcome to stay here with me for as long as you’d like,” Elijah said with determination.

“You could just get married,” Zack laughed.

“No way,” Elijah seethed. “I won’t force you, Dawn, into anything like that.”

“I know Elijah,” I replied with a small smile. Although, I would, if it saved me from having to go with her. It was a gut feeling: I couldn’t go with my mom, no matter what happened.

“Did you get your shopping done?” Joslyn asked as she closed the scrapbook and set it on the side table.

“For the most part,” Elijah answered.

“Maybe Dawn will have to go with you when it’s safe,” Emily hinted.

“Hopefully that will be soon, so I can take her out and show her around,” Elijah smiled. “We really aren’t sure when that will be, since once the case is closed, it will go to trial, and then the news media will be all over her, wanting more details.”

“We’ll have that covered so no one bothers you at all,” Zack grinned. “Emily will have to testify at the trial. So will you, Dawn, so you’ll be safest with us wherever we go.”

“Okay,” I said, taking everything in. I was comfortable here. I didn’t want to see those men, but knew I’d have to face them sometime—either here or somewhere else.

When I was first taken from Joan, I wanted her, begged to see her and go back to her. Now, after all this time, I wasn’t sure I wanted anything to do with her. From what Elijah had said, she wasn’t the same, and since I’d changed just by being here, things were different. I had a choice.

“Could my dad’s murder be connected to Morgan, or even my . . . mom?” I asked, hating the idea as I said it. I didn’t think I could face my mother if she did have something to do with it, but it would explain why things happened the way they did.

“That’s a good question—I hadn’t thought of that,” Elijah said, running a hand through his hair. “I’ll give the idea to Kaleb when I talk to him next, and see what he can find. The killer was found not far that night from where it happened, but it’s possible it’s all connected. Your dad’s body wasn’t found, but presumed dead, with the amount of blood at the crime scene.”

“Morgan may be able to tell you something if you ask,” Zack said.

“Yeah, but I don’t want to ask too many things. He may not be too bright, but since I’ve asked him a few things about Dawn already, I’m not sure how much will push him into suspecting something’s up.”

“Kaleb may come up with something better,” Zack said as he helped Emily from the chair they were sitting on. “Come on, it’s time to go.”

I looked over at Emily and her nervousness was showing again—more so now. I reached over and squeezed her hand.

“I have a therapy session,” Emily whispered.

“It was all her idea,” Zack stated proudly with a smile. “She needs someone who can understand better than me, and to help her get over a few issues I have no idea how to handle.”

“Yeah, but now I’m not so sure I can do this,” she said, looking anywhere but at the people who were in the room.

“Of course you can,” Joslyn said, just as proud. “You’ve been through so much, and you can do this.”