The Charade
We all sat at the kitchen table and ate dinner together.
All four of us.
You could say it was quite awkward. Even a little depressing. Depressing because now we all know that we aren't legally a family. I have absolutely no relation to this family. They are just another group of human beings that I've spent my last eighteen years with.
No one spoke. It reminded me of dinner the other night at the Mediterranean restaurant; quiet and tense.
Johnny sat across from me, Madeline next to him. Harry next to me.
I could feel Johnny's eyes on me every once in a while and I didn't like it.
I came to the conclusion that Johnny did take the papers off the printer that day. So technically- he knew about me knowing way before the certificates were mysteriously taken from underneath my pillow.
"Who took the papers out of my room?" I had to ask even though I was supposed to drop the whole situation.
"Skylar. . ." My mom began but got interrupted by a knock on the front door.
We never get visitors here. Our house is in the middle of no where. No one ever comes to visit. It could be because we always have the curtains closed in every window and we are never outside.
Johnny stood up, confusion all over his face. Same with my mom.
He slowly walked over to the door, where the mysterious knock was.
Harry, Madeline and I stopped eating, dropped our forks and let our eyes follow Johnny open the door.
Madeline jumped up from the table so fast it was unbelievable. "Don't open it Johnny!"
But she was too late.
Then, I saw the reason why she jumped. Red and blue lights flickered through the kitchen window.
The police are here.
Johnny stood face to face with the officer. His hand fell off the door handle and it hung.
Harry and I continued to stare, appalled at the scene.
"Hello, I'm Officer Goodwin." He nodded his head in Johnny's direction. "Are you Johnny and Madeline Styles?"
The look on Madeline's face was horrifying. I've never seen her so scared.
This was the moment they were trying to avoid their whole entire lives.
I looked at Harry, he shrugged his shoulders.
Johnny stumbled upon his words. "Uh. . .um. . .yeah I'm Johnny." He was so frightened. "And. . .that's Madeline. . . " he pointed at Madeline, who was biting her lip.
Officer Goodwin took out a newspaper article and held the picture to Johnny, comparing the picture to him. "The FBI has been looking for you two for years. They've checked everywhere. They would've assumed you guys were dead if they didn't come to Alaska. Glad they remembered Alaska is a state too." He chuckled at his own joke.
Madeline and Johnny still in disbelief.
Officer Goodwin waved his hand for more officers to come take a look. Three more walked into our house.
Harry and I immediately stood up from the table and held our hands in the air.
"Put your hands down kids, you aren't in trouble." Said an officer with a scruffy beard.
Harry lowered his arms and then lowered mine.
"Skylar, it's going to be okay. Stop worrying!" A nervous laugh escaped from Harry's mouth. He grabbed my hands tightly and didn't let go.
I whipped my head around to find Officer Goodwin putting handcuffs around Johnny and Madeline's wrists.
Is this even real life?
"Kids, come with me please." The officer with the scruffy beard said.
Harry and I followed close behind him. As I followed, I looked back and saw officers looking through our house, searching for clues.
The officer led us to a cop car and made us get in.
"Where are we going sir?" Harry anxiously asked. "Those are my parents. . . You're not going to let me say goodbye to them?!" Harry grabbed the officer's jacket and held him close.
"Harry, son, relax," he tried calming him down. "I'm going to explain to you what's happening right now."
I held onto Harry's hand tightly, hoping it'd calm him down.
The officer readjusted his coat and looked at us, with a serious look, "Harry, we are sending you to a foster home. Skylar, we are sending you back to your biological parents."
THE END
