The Runaway

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The sun's golden rays streamed into the forest dancing on the forest floor as the trees began to gently sway in the wind. And there I was, a little girl, in the middle of it all. But I wasn't alone, there was someone out there hidden deep within the forest.

"Daddy?"

Monarch butterflies clung to the trees, covering the brown bark with their glistening orange wings, and then I saw it again. The shadow disrupting the butterflies as he walked sending a flurry of monarchs flittering away.

A hand comes out of nowhere and begins shaking me, snapping me out of my dream.

"Scarlet it's time to wake up."

"No...five minutes."

"Sweetheart you need to take your medications you're sick remember?"

The first thing I see when I open my eyes are monarch butterflies making me jump but to my relief it's only wallpaper, Mrs. Tess shoots me a look of concern but says nothing and I get out of bed to follow her downstairs. The sunlight streamed in through the windows making the carpet warm under my feet, I get a flashback of the sunlight into the forest but quickly shake it off. That memory has haunted me for years but more so since I ran away, it doesn't feel right and neither do the Monarchs in Marie's old room. I wonder if there is a connection?

The first thing I see downstairs are the dozens of grocery bags resting on the couch and Jane taking what looks to be a map off the kitchen wall.

"What are you doing?"

"I've finally found what I've been looking for."

"Oh. Well, good for you."

He stops to sit at the table and his wife joins us ready to start asking me questions but I take the pill and beat them to it.

"Jane are you okay? You were pretty off last night."

"Well it's been a long week."

"So odd in fact that I went to listen in."

I set my glass of water on the table, completely serious.

"I understand what it is like to lose the people you hold close , I've lost them all it used to be bullies in high school but in the weeks before I ran? Death happened, the one friend I had left randomly gets murdered. The only person I have left is my father and I am not your daughter."

Jane doesn't say a word, he just watches me observing me to the point where I feel as though I'm being dissected. But I don't back down, I look back at him directly into those blue eyes and only Mrs. Tess breaks the silence.

"Is that why you ran away? Because of your friend?"

She says calmly breaking the two of us out of our silent battle.

"It's complicated."

"That's what you said before."

I can hear the curiosity in her voice and Jane chimes in.

"I'm sorry about your friend, did they at least catch the killer?"

I looked down at the table avoiding his gaze. The truth is, I'm ashamed of what happened I cannot help but feel as though her death was my fault. My friend, Julia, was the only other person to whom I told my confusing memory. She wanted to look into it saying that I must have gone through trauma and shortly after she claimed to find something I found a knife lodged into her chest. What if telling these two means losing them as well? And what is going on with my father? What is he not telling me? That memory seemed to bother him, he would get upset and make it clear that it was a forbidden topic.

Maybe cutting it short will leave convince these two to lay off.

"No, they ruled it as a suicide."

"How do you know she was murdered?"

"I really I don't see the point in telling you."

Please stop asking questions.

"But we are the police, we can help you."

"Jane I live in Arizona you'd have to go out of state."

"Then I will."

"Wait what? Are you serious?"

He was, I could see it in his eyes it was like he was actually concerned about me. All my life no one has ever listened to me but then again what if this is his way of keeping me close? What if he doesn't let me leave?

"My goal is to help you Scarlet-"

"I don't want to talk about this, I'm fine really. Let's just focus on finding my dad."

"..."

His wife chimes in.

"You must really appreciate him to risk your life like this, how did you get to California all by yourself? Tell us about your father so we can help."

"Oh um okay, I ran away to the church in my town you see they are taking a mission trip to San Francisco so I really just had to sign up and we left. Once there I began to research Bret Stiles , I knew he was important because when I got on my dad's computer I found a locked email from this Stiles character and when I asked my father about it he got really upset. Dad takes a lot of 'business trips' but I'm not allowed to know about anything in that area of discussion. He's made it very clear that whatever he does on his trips are a forbidden topic and must never be known. Anyways Bret Stiles turned out to be the head of Visualize which was in Los Angelos I went there which took a few days and found a picture of my father with Bret Stiles. I figured if I just had those files of the members then maybe I could find my dad."

"And did you?"

"No, it was a bust."

"Tell me about your father."

"Well, his name is Will Jones he has blue eyes and light brown sort of graying hair he's also really really tall and he drives a black truck."

"What can you tell us about your father's business trips?"

"Just that he is very secretive, don't make my father angry he can be very vengeful so I just don't ask anymore questions."

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