"Oh, Jess," He said. "my boy--it's been a decade since I left."
"A decade and three and a quarter years," I corrected him.
"It felt shorter to me, and I never thought I'd see you again."
"So you think there are no odds of seeing your real son--? Wow...you blow my mind."
"I already told you--I came here to look for someone, and it's not Hunter."
"Who is it then? Tell me," I urged.
"I'll spill if you take off these handcuffs."
"No."
"C'mon, Jess, no matter what happens to the universe, I'm still your father."
I sighed stressfully, close to a soft groan. "Where are the keys?" I ask.
"Under my right boot," Benjamin answered.
I dug under the ginormous foot that needed serious foot-cleaning. It smelled like rotting corpse. He's in serious need of a eucalyptus foot bath, I can tell you that.
"Your foot smells worse than this island," I blurted out. But I pulled the key out right before I could pass out.
"Have respect for your old man."
"Well you're old, man, and that's all I wanna say." I said sarcastically.
"Just un-cuff me, will ya? Then I can tell you everything."
When I finished, he grabs my wrists and pulls me down. I drop to my knees and sat with him.
"Look, I know you're mad but I can assure you--I've been planning on visiting you."
"Why?"
"I was planning on giving you something very important."
"What is it? Like a present or something?"
"This isn't really the right time to talk about it, though. Well anyway, I know who you've been running from."
"You know everything, do ya?" I chuckled.
"I'm serious," He said in a low voice.
By the tone of his voice, I could tell he's pretty sincere. "André and I were very close when we were very young back at Capricorn."
"Wait," I interrupted. "you know who Mr. André is? André, tall guy with weird posture--?" Benjamin nodded. "André, hands behind his back while walking?" He nods again. "André--"
"Yes, I know who he is. Now will you stop interrupting?"
"Okay, I'm sorry."
"As I was saying, we were close back then, until I found out he's been dating a Zip." Eiffel flashed into my mind somehow.
"Then what happened?" I glanced at her.
"He realized that I knew, so we made a pact that if we break a promise, our friendship would be over. Similar to a normal friendship at first, but things got out of hand; I knew that keeping a Zip inside our safe haven would cause eviction, so I told the headmaster. But instead of André and his girlfriend getting banished from the academy, I was kicked out."
"Wait, why?"
"Because it turns out that he wasn't really a true friend. He's a fake. And I did what I had to do so neither of us wouldn't have to be banished; I killed her. André tried resurrecting her through advance science, and only wound up cloning her. He was thirsty for power, that's the André I knew. As it turns out that he made something else that was a failure. He did all he can to get even with me; he fed lies to the whole school that I was the one who set the two up. I wasn't kicked out, though. It was my choice to leave for good."
He finally finished, and most of the puzzle pieces were picked up.
"So what are you planning to do now?"
"After I left the academy, I found Leah. We got married, adopted Henry first, then we had you. Everything seemed all right, but--" I keep on noticing that he's turning his head in different directions, not at me. He hasn't seen me in a very long time, he can't be that guilty though. There's something up. I gotta find more clues, more breadcrumbs. I'm not even close to having the dough yet.
"this seems really hard what I'm about to tell you right now, Jess."
"Yeah? What is it?" I hold on to his one huge hand.
As I got closer and closer to knowing who he truly is (innocent), I felt sympathy for him. I can't imagine a decade without seeing your own son.
"You were never just one biological child."
"Huh?"
"When, um...when Henry was at camp, your mom and I kept this a secret from him as long as we can remember. We never even showed him the ultrasound results."
"Okay, I see where you're going with this but, things are pretty shaky right now. Be more subtle."
"You weren't just the only real child. Your brother's waiting for you."
My past is dark, very gloomy, but is it worth it to look through right this moment?
YOU ARE READING
Fracted (Book #2)
Science FictionYOU THINK YOU ESCAPED, BUT YOU DIDN'T! After a devastating experience in Capricorn Academy, Jess tries to heal his wounds. Both physical and emotional. No matter where he goes, his nightmares still follow him. In the midst of growing up, he wonders...
