The Secrets She Kept

Chapter 1

It had been years since I had been back to the coast. Once I left I never saw myself coming back. But now, stepping out of an Uber with my four year old daughter, the familiar salty scent invading my nose, I knew, this would always be home. I'd always find my way back to it. "Milana!" My brother Robbie shouted while rushing off his porch and to my side. He wrapped his arms around me tightly. I hadn't seen my brother in five years, he looked different. "Hey old man!" I scratched his new beard teasing him. "Woah, is this her?" Robbie looked down at Leah. She smiled shyly at Robbie. All I could see was her father. She was a spitting image of him. "Leah, this is your uncle Rob." I patted her back, in a way that told her it's okay. "Hi." She mumbled. It wouldn't last long. Leah was very outspoken and had no filter at times. She is a very confident four year old and I loved that about her. "Come on, come inside, make yourselves at home." Robbie held his hand out to Leah who hesitated a moment before taking it. Entering his home I was actually surprised to see how clean and neat it was.

"Nice place Robbie, when did you get it?" I asked while walking around looking at everything.

"A year ago, when the store started making money."

"You still have that old shack?" Before I left Robbie invested in a small shack right on the docks. The docks are where most tourists go to rent boats.

"I'll take you by later to see it, I renovated it and fixed it up. It actually gets a lot of business even during the off-season."

"That's rare."

"You're telling me." Robbie chuckled softly.

"Well, you always were the lucky one." Robbie and I were orphans. Robbie was determined to make one of our foster homes a forever home, while I intended to wait for our parents to clean up. Eventually, Robbie was adopted...without me. I couldn't stay out of trouble and I didn't want a family. I was sent to a girl's home, while Robbie finally got his forever home. "No, I just knew what I wanted." Robbie responded without looking at me.

"Wow, look momma!" Leah ran to the living room pressing her face to the glass sliding doors. You could see the bay, and a boat parked by Robbie's dock. Closer to the house a pool sat with plastic floats, floating in the water. "You guys want to go for a ride?" Robbie looked down at Leah who gasped excitedly and looked at me with puppy eyes. I giggled at how cute she was. "Okay, fine." I smiled brightly at her. We followed Robbie down to the dock and onto his boat. Leah giggles happily as Robbie puts a life vest on her. As we drifted out of the bay, Leah's eyes lit up at the sight of other beach houses and resorts along the shores. We traveled down the shoreline, and through a few inlets before parking the boat at the docks. The old beat-up shack I remember was no longer there. Instead, there was a small building with a sign that read Robbie's in red with a goofy looking font. "Wow, Rob, this looks great!" I looked over to Robbie who smiled with pride. "Come on, let me show you around." He headed off the boat. He helped us off the boat and led us inside. "Hey, Delilah! This is my sister Milana, and my niece Leah." Robbie introduced us to a blonde girl who sat behind the counter. The girl's blue eyes studied us for a moment, before giving us a small smile. "I'm Delilah." She spoke. I looked around the store at all the pictures hanging on the wall. One caught my eye. It was a picture of Robbie and me playing on the beach when we were kids. "You remember that day? Our fosters took us out for a day on the beach." Robbie admired the picture. I thought back to that day, and the tantrum I had thrown when they told us it was time to leave. I loved the ocean. I saw souvenirs everywhere, beach toys, swimwear, and even groceries. "I sell supplies to the locals too." Robbie gestured to the groceries. "It's like a small market." I giggled. "Sort of." Robbie shrugged. "Hey! Don't touch that!" Delilah yelled at Leah, who jumped, dropping a small glass turtle. "Sorry." Leah whimpered. She looked up at me worried, as Delilah groaned. "It was just an accident." I defended Leah.

"She should know better than to touch breakables in a store." Delilah snapped.

"You should know better than to yell at children. She only dropped it because you scared her."

"She shouldn't have been touching it." Delilah's voice grew louder.

"Hey calm down, no worries it's alright. Look, here Leah, this one is better to play with." Robbie handed Leah a small plastic turtle that swims in water. She smiled at Robbie and stared at the toy in awe as she watched it move around in her hand. Delilah rolled her eyes as she cleaned Leah's mess. Noise from outside grabbed my attention. I looked out to see a boat docking and girls and men jumping out laughing. I was just about to focus my attention back on my daughter when I saw him. Climbing out of the boat was a ghost from my past. Luca Denzel. Suddenly through the window, our eyes met, and in his eyes, I saw my daughter. Slowly, I pushed Leah behind me and towards Robbie. I turned to face Robbie, using my body to hide Leah. "Lana?" Robbie's face filled with confusion. "We need to go. Hide her." I whispered as if Luca could hear me. Without questioning me, Robbie quickly scooped up Leah and carried her out the back. As soon as they were out of the room, the door swung open and the sound of a small bell caused me to snap my attention towards it. Our eyes met and we were both speechless. He watched me in a way I couldn't read. His sparkling blue eyes looked me up and down. Not much had changed though, his shaggy blonde hair had gotten longer, and his body was muscular and well built. Although he always had a pretty toned body, to begin with. "Lana." Luca said in almost a whisper. "Well hi to you too Luca." Delilah rolled her eyes walking in between us and back behind the register. "Sorry, hi Delilah, picking up my mom's usual." As he turned to face Delilah, I quickly slipped out the back. My heart pounded against my chest beating me from the inside. I just got home and now I'd have to leave again. I didn't think he'd still be here. He can't find out about Leah