Create A Divine Move

Chapter 25- "Our next move"

I'm screwed.

I hear my mother begin to climb the stairs, each creek one step closer to me getting caught and theres nothing that I can do about it. My eyes get wider with each step. I should probably hide but I'm frozen in fear.

She gets to the top of the stairs and looks at the fallen ladders in question. When she looks up at me she slightly jumps back in shock. "What are you doing up there?" She says suprised.

"Me? Well....I'm getting the Christmas decorations of course."

"It's November." She replies.

"It's never too early for Christmas." I say with a big smile, hopefully convincing her.

I hear the front door open and shut again before someone's footsteps can be heard runing up the stairs. He stands there, slightly out of breath while looking at me.

"Jackson." I say in fake suprise. "Thanks for getting here so quickly when I told you the ladders fell." I say, widening my eyes so he follows my lie.

"Oh. No problem." He says flicking his hand.

We must've convinced my mother because she leaves, going into her bedroom.

I wait a few minutes, both of us just in silence before asking "Are you going to pass the ladders or...."

"Oh. Yes." He says picking up the ladders and placing them at the entryway for the attic. He holds them to make sure they are secure while I make my way down.

"Did you find anything?" He whispers.

In response I hold my pointer finger against my lips in a hush motion and then point to my ear and my mom's shut door.

I take his hand and lead him down the stairs and outside to his car. He unlocks it and we both get in.

"That was close." I say as he starts up the car.

"Too close."

We arrive at our secluded, secret spot and sit on the familiar stone walls.

"So...what's going on?"

"Your grandmother mentioned a name at work, Ira. I knew that I'd heard that name before I just could think of how or put a face to the name. I asked her what Ira's last name was and she said she wasn't sure but was going to her grave to put some flowers later in the day. I volunteered to go instead and when I got there my mother was stood at her grave. My mom told me that she was going to work that day, so she lied or gave me the half truth."

"What did you do when you saw her?"

"I panicked and hid, now I think that was probably the best option. She didn't see me but I knew something was up. My mom has never once spoke of Ira that I remember so why was she secretly going to her grave?" I say. "When I saw that Ira's initials were IW something clicked in my mind about a charm for my bracelet I found, it was once hers. I remembered that she was friends with my moms sister, aunt Penny. Fast forward to today, I wanted to search the house to see if I could find a photo or anything. I did. One under my moms bed with my mom and aunt Penny and an identical one in the loft in a photo book. The only difference between the two was that the one in the loft had Ira next to my aunt. In the photo under my moms bed she had been cut out."

"What? Why would your mom cut her out of the photo but still visit her grave?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out. I know this doesn't sound good, I really hate to say it and I hope it's not true but what if she's visiting her out of guilt?"

"Your mom spotted me when I followed her to the cemetery but I played it off. I took a photo of her before she saw me and when she did I acted suprised to see her there and said that I was visiting uncle Henry."