Found (New Earth Saga)

Ch. 41

***RIVER POV***

There. I said it. I saw her. I saw Kerry Reddington. I'd said it out loud to Jacob. This was the first step right? I needed to get this off my chest, but I wasn't ready to tell someone like Carol or Blue and Thomas for they'd surely get her in trouble, just like they'd get Issac in trouble if they knew about my lie about how I got those bruises. This was a mess. I'm not good at lying. I shouldn't even have so much to lie about. I just need everything to stop spiraling out of control. I had just had some type of panic attack in front of my entire class. How embarrassing. Mr. L would totally tell Trent about this. Then Trent would tell Blue and Thomas. Then they'd all ask me why I was freaking out like an idiot, and I'd have to lie again. I don't want to lie.

"Where? When?" Jacob asked, clearly surprised by my admission.

"Don't be mad at me,"

"What? I'm not, but River this is serious, when did you see her? Where did you see her?"

"I saw her here. When I was coming to school this morning," I began explaining the entire interaction to Jacob.

Blue dropped me off at the human parking lot. She's not actually able to walk up to the drop off loop with all the human cars so she always drops me at the edge of the parking lot. Everyday she waits all the way at the edge and watches me walk into the human entrance. Today when I stepped inside, ready to climb onto my e-scooter, I saw her. My.. Kerry. She didn't look like how I remembered. Her cheeks were sunken in, and her hair that once flowed past her shoulders was cut in a messy short style, but it was her. I froze the moment I saw her. I didn't know whether to run from her, or run to her. Why was that my reaction?! Part of me wanted to turn as fast as I could until I caught up to Blue. Blue would keep me safe. None of the Reeds would let anything bad happen to me. I was a Reed now, I think? I almost feel like I'm their family now. I mean, I'm still on the outside, as it's clear Blue, Thomas, and Trent have a close unit I'm not quite a part of, but I think they want me to be part of it. I think I want to be part of it. And yet, seeing Kerry, no matter how different she looked, I couldn't help but feel the desire to go to her. Somewhere inside this entire life in Wendleton still felt like a strange vacation. This life wasn't actually mine. My life was in Purl Town with Kerry. My simple, boring, perhaps undesirable life. But it was mine. It was the life I know best. Seeing Kerry was seeing home. My life.

"Hello River," She said as a smile broke out across her face. Kerry was dressed strangely. At a glance I would have thought she was a student. She wore a blue t-shirt, ripped jeans, and even had a Wendleton High School varsity jacket on. Where'd she get that Wendleton jacket from? Only sports people like Parisa or Issac get those. "Sweetheart, it's okay. It's me," Kerry said, taking a step closer to me. I backed away, unsure of how to proceed. "River. Come now. We have to get out of here,"

I'd twisted my head seeing another couple of human students passing us through the human entrance. They must have seen us. I should have said something to them, and yet I didn't. At least not for the longest of all moments. I'd been absolutely paralyzed staring back at Kerry. Finally Kerry stepped forward in quick paces until she was in arms reach.

"We have to get out of here," Kerry said, her voice hushed.

"... I... You shouldn't be here," I replied.

"No River, you shouldn't be here. I can't believe they sent you to live with these creatures,"

"They sent me back to my real family," I said, somehow finding my strength.

"Those monsters are no more your parents than I am. They aren't even the same species as you,"

I said nothing. I just stared at Kerry. She was technically right... Blue and Thomas weren't my biological parents, and neither was Kerry. I didn't have any family that was actually related to me, but did that even really matter? Wasn't family more about the relationships and connections than genes? I mean I just found out that Parisa was actually biologically related to her mom, while Jacob of course isn't. Having seen the Mangellos's all together, you'd never guess that Jacob wasn't related related to his parents outside of obviously being a giant compared to his mom, and I guess he doesn't really look like his dad. Jacob doesn't look anything like Parisa, but they are family all the same. They have a bond I wish I had with Trent, but I don't. I don't get to feel close because of Kerry.