Eye of the Storm -SAFE HOUSE BOOK 2-

42

The mall wasn't too crowded when the Carters stopped by on Friday night, looking for a few new clothes for the upcoming family party to celebrate Austin and Briana's adoptions. "Briana, you go with Courtney and Mom," Jamie instructed, "I'll take the boys to get new dress shirts and we'll meet up again for dinner at seven." Everyone agreed to the plan and set off for the store of their choosing.

Briana spun around, in awe of all the beautiful clothes. She had rarely been given new clothes in her old life, many things being Cassidy's hand-me-downs or plain clothes she refused to touch. Here and now, Briana wanted to enjoy every moment before time passed her by. She might not get a chance to do this again for quite some time. She was never going to be able to relive this day, so she wanted to make the most of it while she could.

Coffees in hand, Courtney and Briana pointed out things that they liked before grabbing items in their size and heading to adjacent dressing rooms. Stepping out in a pale blue dress with a white sash, Briana spun around in circles. "I like this dress a lot," she exclaimed, looking to Courtney and Laura for approval, jumping up and down with excitement when they nodded. Changing back into her original clothes, she carried the dress in her two delicate hands all the way up to the register, where Laura took her card out to pay.

Courtney found her outfit just a bit later, chugging the rest of her coffee and tossing out the cup before heading to the register with Laura's credit card. Everyone met back at the car not much later, bags in hand. Laura and Jamie talked about their pasts and remembered Courtney and Caleb's adoption while the kids all caught up. As they drove towards the restaurant for dinner, the kids couldn't stop chattering about their shopping trips. "I saw so many cute clothes, I just wanted to get them all," Courtney exclaimed, starry-eyed as she clutched her bag.

Briana agreed, both girls chattering about the new upcoming clothing line from one of their favorite singers. "I think I'll get the jacket off of the website as soon as it launches, but I'm not quite sure yet. I'll have to see if she changes the design," Briana said, her hair falling down her back as she took out the clip that was holding it in place.

With a nod, Courtney beamed and put an arm around Caleb, who beamed with joy, his snow-white teeth seeming to glisten in the sun. Together, Briana and Courtney talked about boys and cute clothes, while Laura turned up a song that was playing on the radio. Briana noticed Caleb nodding along to the beat and gave his hand a quick squeeze. Everyone rolled down their windows and sang along.

It wasn't long before everyone was heading back to the car with their purchases, and Austin leaned over and whispered to Jamie. Their father thought for a moment, then looked to Laura and nodded. Briana turned her own gaze to her brother, who just shrugged before turning to stare out the window. She wasn't sure exactly what he'd asked until they got towards where Briana and Austin used to live, passing Northrop High School a few minutes before Jamie parked at a cemetery. Austin held his hand, clearly nervous as they walked towards his birth mother's headstone. "I-I wanted you to meet my birth mother and I thought it might as well be now," Austin muttered, trying to keep tears from brimming in his eyes. The rest of the family wrapped their arms around him, their grief evident as bodies remained rock-still.

"How did she die," Laura asked, voice quiet as they stood before the headstone. Austin's body tensed as he and Briana looked up at her, tears coming to their eyes. His foster mom bit her lip. "I'm sorry... Austin, I didn't mean to upset you. Just tell me whenever you're ready. It doesn't have to be today; you don't ever have to tell me if you don't want to. Just do what makes you comfortable." She reached out and took his hand, giving it a small squeeze.

Austin shook his head. "You don't need to apologize, Mama. It's okay, I was going to have to tell you and Dad eventually." He tapped his thumb incessantly on his leg, swallowing hard. "Um... I was four. We were in a boating accident. It was just the two of us, and there was a storm." He stopped, feeling his voice becoming shaky.

Briana put an arm around his waist, moving slow. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Austin continued. "She kept telling me to get out of the water. She tried to follow me, but... the waves were too rough. They capsized our boat and she hit her head. She drowned before the paramedics could get there and I couldn't save her. I kept trying to grab her hand, but she kept slipping because her skin was wet and cold." He paused again, choking back a sob in a desperate attempt to keep himself from breaking down completely. He hadn't talked about this in years; doing so now just made everything come flashing back.

Kneeling by the headstone now, he ran his fingers over the decaying petals. "I get her flowers twice a year, once on her birthday and once on the anniversary of her death. As far as I know, Mitchell never got her anything. I don't even think he's ever come to visit her grave. When he came to the hospital to get me, he came into my room and said that it was all my fault. I'll spend the rest of my life trying to convince myself that it wasn't," he concluded, surprised he hadn't broken down crying. Looking up at Laura now, he caught her wiping tears from her own eyes.

His sister held him close to her, fingertips grazing his back. "You were four. You couldn't have known what to do," Briana reminded him yet again. He didn't like it when she said that, but he understood why she did. Muscles tightening, he nodded against her. Jamie looked like he wanted to agree with her but decided against it.

*****

Briana flipped through the mail on her way back into the house, hair blowing around in the calm spring wind. She was only looking for one thing, and she set the envelope from Far Side College on top of everything else as her fingers brushed over it. Closing the front door behind her, she smiled at Laura. "I got my letter from Far Side," she revealed.

"Well, let's open it together," Laura decided, taking the rest of the mail from her daughter before setting it down on the counter. Getting a glass of water she sipped slowly as Briana tore the envelope opened, reading the page with a smile. "Good news?" She wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulders as they read the sheet together.

"The best," Briana responded, setting the sheet down with the rest of the mail. She wasn't sure where she was going next year, but this helped narrow down her options. Briana wasn't a bad student, and Laura had told her she could fit in anywhere. Now it was just a matter of being close to Austin. She wasn't sure she would be able to go to a school that was too far away from him. Didn't he promise her he wasn't going to leave her again? Didn't he promise her he was always going to be there for her, through thick and thin?

Maybe going away to college was going to be harder than she thought. They had applied to schools with this in mind, and each one was close to the other's choices, with the exception of a few. What if Austin decided to go to Masterfeld instead of Tudor? Briana was confident that she was going to Far Side, since they had programs with a structure like what she got at Pearson, and she didn't want too much change. Masterfeld was a six-hour drive away from Far Side. How would they get through college apart? She knew this was coming, but it had crept up on her. She still had the summer, but she knew that would fly by, just like it always did. Hadn't her days at the safe house all seemed like a few short minutes before she and Austin were found by the police? How would they handle being apart next year? She had barely lasted those few days without him before.

Austin came up beside her, ready to put her in a better mood. "You're going to be fine. I'm going to be fine, okay? You don't need to worry about next year. I'm going to Tudor if I get in. That's only an hour away from Far Side. I can come to see you every weekend if you want," Austin reminded her, one arm going around her shoulders as she took a few deep breaths. With a nod, Briana seemed a bit reassured to know his choices revolved around staying close by.

With this information in mind, she let Austin hold her. They weren't going to be separated ever again. Next year would be a challenge, but she would get through it. If she survived living with Sicily, she realized, she could survive anything. College was nothing compared to the pain that had been forced upon her by her birth mother's hand. She was going to be just fine next year.