Fated Mate

The plane ride to New York was short and quiet. They rented a car at the airport and drove to a place she never thought she’d go back to, home.

“This place is huge, Lee, who owns it?” Maria was in the back seat; her head was sticking out the car window and into the freezing air.

She had inherited it when her family died-well that was the story until a few hours ago. This was the first time since that fateful day back home and she had to admit, Maria had a point. It looked bigger than she remembered; no longer a house but a mansion. Hopefully, it was still the same on the inside.

“This was my home thirteen years ago.” Lee turned the ignition off, ignoring the pity eyes staring at her. “Let’s go in.”

She got out of the car and walked to the door. Her hands trembled as she tried to put the key in. Ann took the key out of her hands and opened the door. It swung open, hitting the wall behind it before it came to a stop.

Lee expected the horrific images to rush into her mind; instead, all her childhood memories’ filled her. The laughter, the love and the happiness that they shared in this house wrapped around her. She walked into the open living room, the couches were placed facing the fire place, just as they were years ago, but they were brown leather and not velvet covered.

The memories of her and Jayson fighting over one of his toys while Alice slept on one of the couches and her mother and father sat on the other, engrossed in each other completely, ignoring the noisy children at their feet. Everything seemed to look the same except there wasn’t any trace of human habitation.

She walked into the small kitchen and stood next to the round table with six chairs around it. The only thing missing was a high chair. She saw her mother cooking and at the same time trying to talk Alice from throwing her food and scolding Jayson for encouraging his baby sister while she walked around the kitchen modeling her mother’s high heeled shoes and cocktail dress.

Lee laughed to herself. She was such a little diva, the complete opposite of who she was now.

She went up the spiral stairs and into each room, taking a few moments in each of them embracing the warm memories they contained.

“Which room are we taking?” Maria had finished exploring the house and was ready to settle down. She looked exhausted, they all were.

“The one at the end of the corridor, it’s the biggest, and mine.” She chuckled as she remembered the big fuss she had put up to have Jayson evicted from it, and when that didn’t work, she nagged him day and night until he finally caved.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

She stood in Alice’s room. She could hear her squeaky laughs bounce off the walls. Alice wasn’t a crying baby, unless it was at night and in the dark. When she woke up from her nap, she would sit quietly in her crib waiting for one of them to come get her. As soon as she saw them she would jump on her feet and let out a shrill of laughter. Lee could see her crawling on the floor chasing after a bug so that she could put it in her mouth.

“Lee, this place looks clean; someone’s been taking care of it.” Ann came up from behind her.

“A cleaning company comes once every week.” Lee turned to face her. “They must have been here yesterday.”

“Lee, are you okay?” She rubbed Lee’s arm with her hand. She really didn’t need Ann feeling sorry for her.

“I’m dealing.” She smiled before she went for the stairs. “I’ll go make us some breakfast.”

Ann raked her hand through her hair. “I’m so exhausted, and I need a hot shower and a comfy bed.”

“I need my life to go back to its normal, uneventful, one-track lane,” Lee mumbled to herself as she descended the stairs.

****

They’d spent two days at the house already. Lee told her sisters all the childhood memories that she had in this house. They were afraid that remembering would hurt her; instead it made her feel stronger. She was surrounded by her family in this house, remembering them was the only way she could honor them.

She thought of her father, the pain he must be in after she walked out on him, after she accused him of not loving her. She didn’t stop to think about his pain or the guilt he must be carrying after watching his family get killed so brutally and not being able to do anything about it.

“Lee, what are you thinking about?” Maria put a cup of hot chocolate in her hands and then joined Ann on the floor close to the fireplace.

“I was really selfish. I didn’t stop to think what my father must have been going through. I was too busy screaming about me and my pain.” She looked into her cup, ashamed of herself.

“It was a normal reaction. Anyone of us would have done the same considering the circumstances.”

“Maria is right, as much as he says it was dangerous for you to be around him, he should have told you he was alive, sent letters, called once in a while or found a good home for you.”

“If he found me a home, I wouldn’t have met you guys.” Lee looked up and smiled at them. Out of the horror story her life had been, meeting her sisters was the one good thing that came out of it.

“Lee, I hope you don’t mind my asking, but what happened at the apartment. It’s just that Maria and I didn’t understand a word of your ranting.”

“Yeah, what your dad said didn’t match your reaction. It’s like you knew more than what he was saying.”

Lee was wondering what had taken them so long to ask. “What exactly did he say?”

“Just that bad people killed your family and that he was badly hurt when you were taken away,” Maria offered, moving closer to the couch Lee was on.

She took a deep breath before she started. She knew they wouldn’t believe half of what she’d tell them because most of it sounded impossible, but they wanted to know.

She told them what she’d seen-the wolves, her family getting killed, Ash and the guys, the psycho ex-girlfriend, the blood, the fight, everything. She told them exactly what she saw and heard. She tried to explain to them how she saw what she did which was hopeless, it sounded like she was describing a sci-fi movie. They were mute; they looked at her with clueless expressions. She knew they’d think it was ridiculous, or that she had finally totally lost her mind.

“You got all that by looking into your dad’s eyes?” Lee knew Ann meant to ask a question but it sounded more like an accusation. She nodded. “So you read his thoughts or memories, is that what you’re saying?”