Sleight of Hand [Show 'em Who's Boss #1]

14: Chronophobia

Jakob's house isn't that far from where I live so I decided to walk. It felt strange to walk to his house, especially on my own because I rarely do it. Usually I'd call Jakob and ask him if he'd come pick me up. As I walked I decided that it was about time that I stopped depending on Jakob by learning to drive. Although I wanted him on my side it's probably best if I try to become a little more independent. It's not healthy to rely on someone as much as I did.

At that moment I had no idea what could have happened over the next few weeks once my father's secret was out. One of many scenarios I considered was to run away like James Morrisby. Perhaps I could even find him because I still feel bad that there wasn't more that I could do to help him out. At the time I just planned to live with Jakob for the unforeseeable future. I still hadn't completely ruled out the possibility of forgiving my father for what he had done though that would take time or maybe it wouldn't ever happen at all.

I had almost reached Jakob's house when a strange black car pulled up beside me and slowed down to my walking speed. The tinted window on the driver's side rolled down to reveal a young man driving the car. He was probably in his early twenties I guess but I didn't spend very long studying what he looked like because I was little concerned about him following me. What worried me the most is that he seemed a little familiar.

"Need a lift anywhere, darling?" the man asked.

I clutched my father's folder closer to my chest and shook my head, trying to quicken my pace.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, my boyfriend's house is just around the corner," I replied. It was odd that for once in my life I felt really vulnerable. I'm tough enough to look after myself but there's never been a situation like this where I've had to.

"Okay then darling." He began to roll the window up a little but then he stopped for a moment to ask me one last question. "Are you Edward Williams' daughter?"

How does he know who I am? I'm certain that I've never seen this man before. It's probably best if I don't tell him the truth.

"That depends. Who's asking?" I replied.

"I'm Jamie, a friend of Edward's."

He was probably lying. Looking back now I know he was lying. My father only has one friend and that's Uncle Steve. Yet despite my natural instinct not to trust him I gave him the right response.

"Yeah, my father is Edward Williams. I'm Ebony."

"Wonderful," said Jamie with an odd looking smile on his face. "I'm sure I'll see you around Ebony." Then he rolled up his window and sped off down the road. I memorised his number plate for future reference. If I saw that car again I was going to run as fast as I could because I didn't know what to make of Jamie. Did he really know my father? With my father's line of work he was bound to have enemies, right? Perhaps Jamie was one of them? However, my father's folder contained some notes on his rivals and Jamie wasn't one of them, at least not that I could remember on the spot. He also wasn't in the list of employees either. Who on earth could was he?

Jakob's house is the polar opposite of mine but that's because my family is rich and Jakob's is poor. Many of the roof tiles are falling off. The garden is a mess of overgrown weeds and bushes. The garden path is covered in cracks which I tried to avoid as I walked along it. One of the downstairs windows is broken and Jakob had it sealed up with several pieces of wood. I've offered him money many of times to do up the house but he won't take a penny from me. When I walked up the garden path to Jakob's house he saw me from his bedroom window and rushed downstairs to open the door before I even rang the bell.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. It was obvious that he was confused. I never turn up on his doorstep unannounced.

"There wasn't time to call you, otherwise I would have," I explained. "I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you when you tried to stop me from saving James and I'm sorry about all the times we've argued recently. Will you forgive me please because I have nowhere else to go?"

That was when I finally broke down into tears. Not every hero can be strong and emotionless, no matter how hard they try. It was about time I had a breakdown. Jakob took the folder and my small rucksack from me and then took hold of my hand. He led me into the hallway.

I noticed Mary, Jakob's little sister, standing in the doorway of the living room looking up at me. She's seven years old but rather short for her age. Her hair is the same dark shade as Jakob's but that's the only feature they share. Jakob is all dark and mysterious whilst Mary seems as delicate as a fairy. She's like a miniature Snow White.

"Why are you crying, Ebony?" she asked, her voice gentle and full of concern.

"Don't worry about Ebony, Mary," Jakob replied for me. "She's just having a bad day, that's all. You can help me cheer her up later but I need to talk to her first. We won't be long."

"Okay," Mary responded before rushing back into the living room. Two seconds later I could hear her playing Mario Kart on the Wii I had bought her. We continued upstairs to Jakob's bedroom.

Jakob's room was an absolute mess with clothes and empty plates covering the floor completely but he found a way through the mess and made me sit down on the edge of the bed. I just sat there crying for a while which was totally humiliating. Jakob fussed around for a moment, placing my father's folder on his desk and then hooking my rucksack on the end of his bed. Then he just sat there watching me as I tried to stifle my tears. He didn't comfort me at all but he did look concerned. Perhaps he just wasn't sure what to do. I don't think I've ever cried quite like that in front of him.

"What happened?" he asked once I'd finished crying. I took hold of both his hands and then told him everything. I told him about going through the folder and discovering the whole truth about my father's business. Then I explained what happened earlier in my father's office. I had expected him to constantly cut in just to tell me how stupid all of my decisions had been so far, just as he had when I wanted to save James Morrisby. For once, Jakob didn't interrupt me at all.

"Try not to worry about it," Jakob finally said once I'd finished telling him everything. That was easier said than done. I couldn't stop thinking about my father murdering countless people and I definitely couldn't forget about almost killing him myself. At the time I wasn't thinking straight but now my mind had cleared a little. I wasn't as angry as I had been earlier that day. Now it was clearer to see that killing him would have been a big mistake.

"But what am I going to do?" I asked.

"You can stay here for as long as you like. In fact, don't ever go home if you don't want to. Give yourself time to think about what you want to do next though. You might find that over time you'll change your mind about things. You might even learn to forgive your father."

That was by far some of the best advice that Jakob had ever given me but he was wrong about forgiving my father. I didn't think I'd ever be able to forgive him now that I know the truth.

Although he hadn't said anything about it, it seemed as though Jakob might've forgiven me about ignoring him to save James Morrisby. He can't have been that mad at me if he was willing to let me stay there for as long as I needed to.

Though I probably should have, I didn't tell Jakob about that guy Jamie who I had met on the journey to his house. Jakob might've been able to tell me who Jamie is, but I just didn't tell him. I felt like I'd already burdened him with enough of my crap and I didn't want to add another mystery to the heap.

We spent the rest of the evening playing Mario Kart on the Wii with Mary. Although I'm very competitive I could never bring myself to really play properly against Mary. I always let her win. Jakob on the other hand beat her in every race.

★★★

Chronophobia - fear of time and time moving forward