LIBERTY

Chapter XXIII

Libby slipped into her bedroom and slammed the door shut. Her hand automatically drifted to the lock when she remembered her brother still had a hold on her key. Aaron and Axel were arguing downstairs, Libby figured they'd be too preoccupied to notice her absence anyway.

She impatiently dumped the content of the box onto her bed. A golden necklace caught her attention first. She gingerly fingered the cold chain, it was too big to fit around her wrist and too small to clasp it around her neck. In the center hung a golden coin with a date engraved in the middle – June 12th, 2004. Who did this necklace belong to?

There was a blurry picture of a baby's side profile, ripped in half. Libby had a hard time making out the baby's features. An arm that belonged to a man was holding it against its chest. In the corner of the picture she could spot a dainty hand with a silver ring hanging off the man's shoulder.

She found another picture of an ultra sound. The date stated that it was taken March the fifth, 2004. The medical details on the bottom were scratched out.

Her eyes caught a folded note. Libby opened it curiously, her frown deepened as she stared at the phone number.

Why was Leon giving her this stuff?

Her heart jumped in her throat when she could hear a loud crash coming from outside. Libby pushed the stuff aside and moved to her window. Aaron was holding Axel back from leaving the house.

"What the hell's happening?" Libby muttered under her breath.

Axel's cut on his lip was still bleeding as he yelled at his twin brother. Libby wanted to push open the French doors to her balcony but didn't want to draw any attention to herself. The car ride from school back to their house had been spent in a tense silence. No one talked, Libby didn't ask.

She assumed that Axel had fought Leon because that's the kind of thing her brother would do. Most of the times he didn't even need a reason, if he was in the mood and you were there at the wrong place, at the wrong time – you bet your ass you stepped in the line of fire.

In Leon's case, Libby could think of a million reasons why Axel had felt the need to pummel his face in. It was a matter of time, everybody knew. But then again, what had triggered it?

Libby hid behind her curtains, peering through a small gap. Aaron had taken a hold of his twin's face, he kept their heads close, his lips moved rapidly as he said something Libby couldn't decipher. The crease between her eyebrows deepened when Axel suddenly swiped the back of his hand over his eyes.

Was he – was he crying?

Libby could feel something pull at her heartstrings. What was going on? She couldn't remember ever seeing Axel with tears in his eyes. She had witnessed him express a range of emotions, mostly rage and smugness, but none of them even remotely came close to shedding tears.

Aaron pulled their brother into a hug. His head briefly turned upwards and Libby instantly jumped away from the window. She prayed to any god up there that he hadn't seen her.

Libby walked back to her bed, her hands buried in her hair. She paced her room, thinking of her next move. The blurred picture of the baby kept calling out to her. After throwing her phone away during the road trip, she still hadn't gotten the chance to get a new one. Libby had no choice but to use the landline phone.

She double checked to make sure the twins were still outside before she tiptoed to Adam's study. To her surprise, the door wasn't locked. Libby hesitated, this oddly felt like a trap. But Adam wasn't here now so ...

A cold chill ran up and down her spine as her feet touched the smooth floorboard. Why did it always feel like she was committing a crime whenever she entered this room? Libby had planned to simply take the wireless phone and get the hell out of dodge but then she was drawn to one of the drawers of Adam's desk. It was sticking out as if he hadn't properly closed it.