Secrets

Chapter Twenty Nine

Jason

As I approach the small restaurant I see her. Squinting through my sunglasses and feeling the Italian sun burning into my skin I make my way over to her. She's reading a book, waiting patiently for me to arrive.

I stand in front of her table, casting a shadow over her book and she looks up and me, smiling guiltily when she meets my eye. I want to be angry at her but I don't have the heart to do it.

If I thought of myself as the fatherly type I would think of her as a daughter, but it's more like a favourite niece, and I can't stay mad at her. 

"Have you been here the whole time?" I ask, sitting down and looking at the surroundings. We're in the walls of Lucca, the capital city of the Province of Lucca in central Italy. We've done some work here in the past and Blake always said it was one of her favourite places in the world. 

"Not the whole time, no. But the past two weeks I've been staying in a B&B around the corner." She's emotionless, almost empty.

I decided on the way over here not to mention Devan. I don't know if she's made that connection and, unless she brings it up I'm going to stay out of it. But I need her to come back and I'll do whatever I can to get her to agree.

"You look good." I lie as a waitress comes and takes my order for a latte. Blake's got a great tan, but she looks like she's lost quite a lot of weight.

"No I don't." She states simply. At least she acknowledges it. She's got dark circles under her eyes and looks exhausted. There's a puffiness to her eyes which insinuates she's been crying for a long time, but I don't mention it.

"What happened, Blake?" 

She sighs in frustration. Surely she knew I would ask? We've been looking for her for nearly nine weeks. It's almost May now and she's missed so much work it's unbelievable. Everyone is desperate to have her back, but I won't push her. I haven't told anyone that I found her, so they don't know I'm here with her.

"I couldn't do it." She looks away from me, out into the square where children are playing loudly, chasing pigeons. 

"Do what?"

"Be who everybody wants me to be."

"And what is that?"

"Strong. Confident. Secure."

"You are those things, Blake. You just lost track of it." She looks back at me with a forlorn look on her face.

"Have you spoken to him?"

"Who?" I don't want to risk putting my foot in anything.

"Simon." Her dad. I shake my head. I don't even want to look at the man.

"You know you don't have to go back there, right? Ian said you can stay with him."

"I don't need charity, Jason."

"Don't you? Surely the little money you had has nearly gone. We know Simon spent it all." She doesn't seem suprised that we figured it out.

"Not all of it. I've been stashing money away for years." 

"How?"

"Cash. Twenty here, a hundred there. It all adds up. It's nowhere near what I should have but it's enough to get me by for a little while."

"Come back with me, Blake." Her expression changes to terrified before she recovers. "He won't get to you, I promise."

"I'm not afraid of him, Jase." She runs her finger along the rim of her cup.