The Search For Truth

Bradley & Me

I tried to sleep after I finished my dinner-if you could call it that- but I kept tossing and turning, trying to come to terms with the events of today. 

Eventually, I heard birds singing, and soft light filtered in through the windows. I heard footsteps crunching down below and I fell silent.

"What happened to the rope?" 

It was Bradley. "Lake are you up there?"

Yeah, I was up there and I wasn't ready to come down yet, but maybe he would join me... I said nothing, but let the hatch swing open and the rope ladder drop. I watched him climb up quickly like he was an acrobat. "We always leave the ladder down. Why did you pull it up?" He asked as he reached the top, breathing heavily. 

I told him what happened the night before. My fake mom and the arrest, how I wasn't ready to have a new family. He held me close and I melted into him as I breathed in the spicy aroma of his deodorant. I ran my fingers along his sun-darkened skin and took in how his toned arms held me close. I let out a sigh.

"I knew she wasn't your mom." Bradley muttered.

"What! You knew, and you didn't tell me!" I pushed him away, feeling betrayed. What kind of boyfriend knows that their girlfriend's mom isn't really their mom and doesn't tell her?

"She threatened to kill me, and almost did once. Remember about a  year and a half ago when I fell into the ocean?" I nodded, that had been terrifying. "Well, that's because your mom pushed me over the edge of the cliff. She knew the waves were super strong right there and she was trying to drown me. I swear I wouldn't lie to you, but she said she would hurt you next if I didn't shut my mouth. Please believe me Lake." 

I searched the depths of his bright blue eyes that looked purple sometimes for a lie in what he had said. He wasn't lying to me, he never had before and he certainly wasn't lying about this. I frowned. I officially hated this woman. I can't believe I had called her "Mom" only the day before. 

"I believe you," I whispered, almost in tears at the thought of all my mom had done and I had been oblivious to. All these lies were wearing me down and all I wanted was to wake up and be told it was all a dream. Or a prank. I just wished this wasn't my reality.

I stared at Bradley. He was the one thing in my life that was always good. We had known each other for almost all of our lives and as soon as we had met we had been inseparable. As a kid, he was super shy around everyone else, but he was different around me, and he never failed to make me smile. As we got older, I realized that I was in love with him. Pretty soon after the cliff incident, he had disappeared for a week. His parents said he got really sick, but when he came back, he looked better than ever. He had even gained some muscle and his eyes seemed much brighter. He seemed more confident. He had gotten even more buff as the year had progressed and I had always loved him but I hadn't realized how hot he was. Soon after he came back he had asked me out.

I looked at him now. His lips were full and soft and his shaggy hair was a mess on top of his head. I was so happy he was mine.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"You," I said simply, smiling at him. He chuckled and looked away blushing a little. I leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. He turned towards me and kissed me back. I was so lucky to have someone like him in my life. 

"Do you want to stay here, or come back to my house?" Bradley asked. He looked over my stache of food. "We might have some pancakes or eggs instead of this crap," he said poking one of my protein bars.

"Hey! The chocolate ones aren't that bad actually and any food is better than starving!" I stuck out my tongue at him. "Plus I didn't know how long I was going to be out here. I was going to wait here until I thought it was safe to come to find you."

He looked at me, "You really don't want to know anything at all about your real family?" I shook my head.

"I am not sure, but I know that I wasn't ready to meet them yesterday, and I didn't get any sleep last night trying to understand everything that happened. So I'm not ready to meet them today either,"

He nodded, "Are you at least ready for real breakfast?" He looked down at his phone "My mom says we have bacon?"

"Say no more," I said, packing up my bags and rolling up my sleeping bag. 

We climbed down the ladder and headed towards Bradley's house.