The Broken Ones

Chapter Twelve

"Dad, I'm home!" Alesia called as she walked through the front door. "We have mail," she announced as she automatically lifted up the dozens of letters she held in her hands. There was no reply.

Alesia walked to the kitchen and placed the letters down on the bench. She shifted through them quickly reading the words scrawled across the front. They were all addressed to her father expect one. A thick letter at the very end of the pile. Alesia picked up the letter and looked at her name. Who would be writing to her? She turned the letter over to find the return to sender address. Then she saw it.

Leah Anderson.

Alesia gripped loosened on the envelope. It slipped through her fingers and slowly descended to the ground.

How? Why? Alesia asked herself

The jingle of keys pulled her from her panicked mind. "Alesia, are you home?" her dad called out.

"In here," Alesia replied weakly as she picked the letter up from the floor. She walked towards her father. "How does Leah know our address?"

"Alesia, what are you talking about?" Nelson asked her. Alesia held up the letter for him to see. Nelson took the letter from his daughter's hands and read both the front and back of it. "Emily must have told her."

"And how does Emily know where we live?" Alesia persisted as she snatched the letter back.

"I don't know Alesia," Nelson told her.

"I thought the whole point of moving was to get away from Leah and her family!" Alesia protested.

"Alesia, it going to be alright," he told her as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "There is something else that you should know. Your grandmother wants to see you."

"That's fine, when are we going visit her?" Alesia murmured.

"Not my mother Alesia, Leah's Mum." Nelson pointed out.

"No!" Alesia examined. "I'm not seeing her."

Nelson nodded. "It's your choice." He reminded her.

"I'm going to my room," Alesia told him quietly as she turned to leave.

"Alesia, are you going to read the letter?"

Alesia looked down at the letter still in her hand. "No," she said firmly as she grabbed a hold of it with her other hand and proceed to rid the letter to shreds.

She picked up the pieces for when they fall on the ground and walk to the bin to depose of them probably.

She marched out of the kitchen and up to her room. As she entered her bedroom, she closed the door behind her and leant back against it, taking deep breaths to calm herself down.

"It's okay Alesia," she mumbled to herself. "She can't hurt you anymore."

She moved away from the door and walked towards her desk. She searched through the bottom drawer until she found the framed picture she had hidden there. Alesia carried the framed photo to her bed. She sat down on her doona covers and inspected the picture.

It was a picture of Leah, Mackenzie, and Alesia at Frankston beach. The only photo Alesia owned of her mother. When Nelson decided to move house, he had given away all of Leah's belongings and all the photos of her to Emily. At least that was the plan, as Alesia had stolen a picture from the pile.

Even after all these years Alesia still remembers that day at the beach. It was the happiest time of her childhood. Alesia can remember the feel of the sand under her feet and waves over her toes. She remembered how it felt to have the wind flow through her hair and the sound of Mackenzie's laughter. Not only does she remember her mother's voice from that day but also all the words she had said. Alesia often wished she could return to that beach and be with her mother and sister again.

The reason that memory was so important to Alesia was that it was the one time in her life where she felt like her mother actually loved her.

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I'm sorry it has taken me so long to update this story. I had already written this chapter but I was caught up in work and I didn't get around to updating it.