Chapter 31 – Before Thanksgiving (Ansel Conrad POV) Pt. 4
Children lie to their parents.
There are endless reasons why.
It can be any one of a multitude of lies.
The thing with the lies told is that many have ripples that aren't seen until it's much too late. But there is also the burden that the liar has to hold. Each lie told needs one more to cover it up until sometimes the weight of the wrong and lie aren't the only two things that are being held.
Without the facts and as Brennan's father, knows how loyal he can be to someone he loves. I thought for a while that it was his family that he held to the highest standard of importance. His siblings.
Now? I know differently.
However I knew that once my anger and the dust settles, I'll have to face the fact that Brennan went against Devin. He didn't just continue to carryon, but he for lack of a better term, 'snitch' on his girlfriend.
With the images of those lives we lost and the missing, I still know the depths of Brennan's feelings for Devin. In just seven months he was planning on proposing. Together we had been looking for the perfect ring for her.
Brennan knew and even convinced me that Devin was the one for him.
In truth though, as I sat in the car, tuning out my sister, I had to admit a chunk of my anger was directed at myself. I'm not some horny teenager, yet I couldn't see past this façade that Devin had up, or Taylor.
Kalenah and I always encouraged our children to keep in touch with our kind, know our connections. We brought various children in our home when families we found and helped wanted to relocate to Oregon. Not once had we been betrayed by someone we've welcomed in our home. Not in fifteen years.
Now, here was Devin.
"Ansel Conrad!" Angela shouts and it's impossible to ignore her. "What the hell is going on? You send me a message saying 'hacker – stop – found possible reason for failed relocations' and you have been ignoring me for the last five damn minutes!"
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As my sister shouts, I can in my head imagine her flushed cheeks, and the fire in her eyes. The gray in her iris bleeding into the blues. "Babe what's with the yelling?" I hear Angie's partner ask.
"Tell Courtney 'hello' for me," I start with, "Tell Courtney 'hello' Ansel!? That is what you go with?" she demands.
"Look... sis, I'm a few miles from the house but I need to you come over as soon as possible. Hell, I'll come pick you up because I cannot go home right now," I say rubbing my face roughly.
"Hey – hey what's wrong?"
"Is there a threat?"
Angela spits question after question at me, the panic in her voice growing. We had protocols in place for situations in which there was any danger to the family.
