The Lost Girl (Complete)

Chapter Twenty Five - The Unexpected Man

If anyone had asked her what else may happen to shake her world, Celestia wouldn't have been able to give an answer because she truly thought there was nothing else. But she was wrong.

Her first day at the college had been an experience as she struggled to cope with the new environment and people, and her first day at work had shifted something in her soul – it was true that Gabriel had taken her on a thorough tour of the gallery, and that he had taken time to begin training her but actually being able to touch the artworks and let loose her passion for following the lines and strokes.

It had been exhausting as well as exhilarating and she was bone weary by the time she pulled into her street to notice an unfamiliar car sitting in her driveway.

She knew that all of her cousins were busy for the night and wouldn't be staying over so it almost made it hesitant to switch the car off of after all the changes that she'd already faced in the weeks prior.

As the streetlights began to flicker on, she noticed movement on the front porch. A man stepped down so that she could see him standing clearly standing at the end of the path, his gaze fixed firmly on her through the windscreen.

Taking in a deep breath, she grabbed her bag and stepped out to lock the car and turned toward the stranger who clearly had business with her.

"Hi, sorry to stop by like this," the man's voice was deep and clear, no traces of an accent noticeable. He ran a hand over his military style haircut, eyes almost bashful as he glanced down at her, "I was actually looking for a girl who used to live here."

"Here?" Celestia asked in surprise, her mind immediately conjuring up the picture of her aunt Sang. Could this be an old friend? "What was her name? I've been here for eighteen years."

"Oh, well, her name is Marie Sorenson. I thought that she might have still been here."

Surprise had her jolting slightly as Celestia straightened further and took a better look at the man before her. He appeared to be the wholesome type, handsome in his own way with a weirdly familiar look to him.

She definitely didn't think that he could be one of guys that her mother had started bringing around all of the time.

Uncomfortable now with the hopeful look in his clear brown eyes, Celestia tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, "I'm really sorry to have to tell you but she died a few months ago. Did you know her well?"

Looking up at him still, it shocked her when his complexion paled to a sickly white and any shred of hope he held drained his eyes as tears slowly began to dot across his lower lashes.

"No way," he breathed, staggering back a step as a hand clapped over his face. "I missed her by a few months. She's really dead?"

Reaching out instinctively, Celestia ignored the sound of her bag hitting the pavement as she leant a hesitant hand on his arm, "I'm so sorry. I didn't know that she had any friends that I needed to contact."

A sound someway between a sob and a chuckle escaped him, "I doubt that she would ever call me a friend." Sniffling, he wiped at his face, "I'm sorry for being so rude and abrupt. My name is Derrick. I used to live in the area and I knew Marie when I was in school."

Seeming to really look at her for the first time, Derrick felt doubly embarrassed as he noticed the wary look on her young face. Here he was, showing up out of the blue and ambushing her at night without giving any sort of explanation – he'd just been so nervous about coming back to Charleston after nearly nineteen years travelling around with the military. He'd been dreaming of seeing Marie again, the girl who he'd let get away.

But now, she was completely beyond his reach and he was making a fool out of himself.

"It's fine," she answered softly, her demeanour reminding him sharply of Marie's little sister. "It's just weird to meet anyone who knew my mother before..."

"Mother?"

She flushed, dreading any questions that he might ask. Although she wasn't always the best judge of character, there didn't seem to be any warning signs coming from the man and if he had left before Celestia had been born, there was a good chance that he knew nothing about what Marie had been like in the years before her death.

There was no way that she wanted to have to explain any of her mother's misdeeds to him, to anyone really.

"Marie had a daughter?" If anything, the look in his eyes grew even more shocked as he suddenly began to see the small signs of resemblance. Stupid, there was no other explanation for the girl being there but still, the soft curve of her cheek and wild dancing of her hair in the wind caused a sharp twinge in his chest. "Wow," he whispered. "Well, of course she moved on. I didn't mean to make trouble."

At the end of his endurance for the night, Derrick said a taut goodbye and skirted around the girl as he tried to not to let his emotions overwhelm him. The girl's father was probably going to get home soon and he didn't think he had the heart to face anything else.

"Wait," she cried softly, her flat shoes making almost no sound as she ran after him. "Please, wait. I know that you probably aren't up to talking anymore tonight and there are things about my mother that I'd really not discuss but if you were a school friend, I'd be willing to meet you again if you'd like? And even if there are things that I can't tell you, maybe I can get my aunt to talk to you as well. She'd probably know more about what happened back then."

"Sang? She's still in Charleston?" Knowing that it would be pathetic to let her see the tears making tracks down his face, Derrick kept his back to the girl. "Did she end up marrying one of those Academy boys after all?"

A pause, "Well, I don't know what you mean by 'Academy boys' but she is married and she is still in the area. Would you like me to organise for you to meet her?" It was an offer made with extreme wariness – something bold and unexpected from the shy girl. But, here was another possible unknown connection to her mother before she became the broken and battered woman who had given up on life.

"Yeah," he pulled a card out and sat it on the roof of her car, "that's got my mobile number on it. I'd appreciate being able to talk to her even if she can't talk about Marie. I always did like Sang." He sighed, "Thank you. And sorry, what's your name?"

"Ah, Celestia. It's Celestia Blackbourne now but up until a while ago, I didn't have a last name."

"Blackbourne," he chuckled, his shoulders moving jerkily. "Didn't expect him to be the one but that's good. Maybe Marie didn't hate me completely after all either."

Celestia tilted her head, "Why do you say that?"

"Celestia was my grandmother's name and she always did think it was beautiful," he raised a hand. "Thank you for talking to me. Tell Sang that I'd appreciate being able to see her. Goodnight."

"Ah, bye," she replied softly, picking up her bag and watching silently as he pulled out of the driveway and disappeared from sight. The card she carefully retrieved felt fragile in her hand as she gently ran a finger over the lettering. "So, she thought my name was beautiful."