Invisible

Chapter 29 Hard To Say Goodbye

The ring was in the top tier of the cake. I am relieved to say the least. Al told me to mail it back to him but I feel like I at least need to do one thing right by him.

As I walk up the steps to the giant house I feel a flashback starting and I fight it back. It now makes sense why Jacob and his mom could keep on living here, his father was taking care of them all along, probably still does.

I knock on the front door and in my mind I see a small, thin girl in cuttoffs and a faded, green tank. Her long hair held back for the most part with a ponytail. And her knees covered in dirt. "Excuse me Mrs. Davis, I was hoping Jacob could come on a bike ride."

The words echo in my head as the door opens and a women with her brown and grey, upswept hair takes me in, eyes growing wide. She wipes her hands on an apron and then I see tears in her deep blue eyes. "Hello Mrs.-"

She grabs me fiercely and hugs me tight. I fight for a breath and put my hands carefully on her back. "Leah, I'm sorry. I just- I wasn't expecting- come in!"

"I- um... Was actually hoping to talk to Jacob."

"Well I'm sorry but he's out, job hunting you know. Please, stay for a bit. I just pulled a pan of lemon bars out of the oven and I need someone who appreciates the finer things." She winks at me and I wince.

"He... Told you... Didn't he?" I step in carefully, ready to leave if she asks.

"Yes, but I have faith in you two." She smiles to herself.

'Not this time.' My brain tells me.

She sets me up at the breakfast nook where Jacob and I used to play, tossing blankets over the table provides a nice little set up for a cave, or a pretend house, or a pirate ship.

I peek under the table and look at the base, right at the top I see the black marks from a permanent marker of long ago. JD+LF- we wrote our initials there the last time we played cave. Jacob dared me to do it, he said it was a promise, that we would stick together no matter what. Now I swallow hard, this house is too full of memories.

"Here we are!" She sets a plate in front of me, then a mug of mint tea with milk and honey follows. I stare up at her, my mind trying to catch up to the present.

"Thank you."

She smiles softly and takes the seat across from me, watching as I take a bite of the flaky crust and tart smoothness of the filling. I moan in appreciation.

"I've missed these!" I take another bite and she smiles widely, I see a trace of the women I once knew shine through, the one untouched by lying and sickness.

"I never did get these as good as yours." I flake off a few crumbs onto the plate with my fork, avoiding her gaze.

"Do you still bake?"

I choke on a bite as the memory of the 3 and a half cakes in my freezer and the whole reason I came today resurfaces. I take a swig of tea quickly and burn my throat but clear my breathing. "Didn't..." I cough and take in another breath. "He brought one home a few days ago."

"So that's where that came from! Leah I'm impressed!"

"He didn't tell you?"

"No, sometimes I swear that boy is just like his father, same sullen temper and all." She mumbles the last part almost to herself.

My heart stops when I hear the front door open. Jacob walks in, calling out to his mom and tossing his lap top bag down carefully by the winding stairs. Then he turns and sees me.

"Hi Jacob." I say, barely above a whisper.

"I'll just leave you two..." His mother passes him on the way out and she kisses him on the cheek. He embraces her but keeps staring at me. I stand and put my hands in my pockets.