The Only Good Thing Left in Me [Kellic]

Chapter Twenty Two

I tried for months to get a hold of the number again. Dialed it constantly the first night, excessively the next few days, and periodically months after. Nothing. I even sent my name and my address. Risky? Yes. But I was desperate. I know it was Kailey on the other side of the phone. What I don't know is the important stuff: where she is and if she's safe. Some days I feel like I'll never know.

Counseling has become hard on my mom and I. It's well over Kailey's 18th birthday, and yet we still have heard nothing. We bring it up a lot with our therapist, but we ultimately came to the conclusion that simple speculation won't earn us answers.

The only hope we have is our old home address in Montana. Usually if the house is vacant, the mail you send to the address is returned to sender. So far, we've gotten nothing back, denoting that it is a possibility that my "father" and maybe even Kailey still live in that house. It's quite a stretch, as someone else could've easily moved in and just trashes our letters as they arrive. There's only one way to find out, which is why my mom and I are boarding this flight to Montana right now.

I have to admit, life has been a damn nightmare. Vic stopped sending money three months ago and I haven't heard a word from him. Although he's definitely not the main thing on my mind right now, somehow his absence is still impacting me. My mom catches me looking distant sometimes and simply toys with my hair and nods. She knows it still hurts even though I try to hide it.

Because of all of the issues in my life that are affecting my mental health, my mom and I decided it was best if I simply attend a local community college for 2 years and then transfer somewhere. I actually got accepted into my top schools, but I just couldn't stomach the idea of leaving my mom behind. Plus the money would be an issue.

In short, It's Febuary, I'm now 18 and a half, going to community college, and just scraped up enough money for these plane tickets. My mom and I also went half in putting together money for a third if we do find my  sister. Now, we hunt for the truth.

I close my eyes and attempt to sleep during the one and half hour flight. I merely fall into a slight state of blankness, but not complete sleep. It doesn't last long as the only things I can think of are Vic and Kailey and my "father " who I shudder at recalling his face.

What happens if they do still live there? Will my "father" still be an abusive drunk? Will Kailey be home? What if he tries to trap us there and won't let us come home?

Although it scares the life out of me, I force myself to stay focused. If shit hits the fan, I have to protect my mom and Kailey. I won't let him hurt anyone else but me, and even then, I'll put him to the test.

I grip my seat as I watch the plane approach the runway and eventually touch down. I steal a glance at my mom and she glances back with a weak smile: exhausted. But hopeful.

Next thing we know we are stepping into an airport we haven't been in, in nearly seven years. Somehow, we pick up the familar flow of the airport without much problem and find ourselves waiting for a Lyft outside arrivals in only 20 minutes.

When the driver icon pops up, I can't believe it.

"Mom!" I yelp.

"What Kellin! Scared the crap out of me." She rubs her face.

"Sorry. Look who's picking us up!!" She glances at my phone and immediately understands my excitement.

"Justin?! Oh my gosh, do you even talk to him anymore?"

"Kinda sorta. Hopefully he doesn't hate me for ditching him and the guys."

I have to admit, I pretty much lost touch with everyone from Montana after a year of being in California. But that didn't mean I was no longer friends with my guys, just not close friends. Friends at a distance.

As we wait, I notice my mom rubbing her face a few more times a minute. She does this when she's nervous about something.
"Nervous?" I ask, not really needing an answer. She nods.

"I just don't know what we've gotten ourselves into Kel. I mean, we're 800+ miles from home with hardly any game plan. All we know is we're leaving on Sunday, and we could be leaving empty handed."

I grimaced at the truth: we really didn't have a plan. We had 2 days to figure out if Kailey and my "father" even lived  in our old house, and what the new status quo of their lives are. For all we know, my "father" could be married with a new family and sober. That's just how disconnected we were from our past.

What we did know for sure was that we we're sick of radio silence. With Kailey being a lawful adult now, there'd be no risk in pursuing her. That didn't make the uncertainty any easier to swallow, but it was a catalyst for where we are now.

My phone pings, alerting me that our Lyft driver is approaching. My mom and I jump to our feet, watching with a close eye for the red Audi that Justin's driving. For some reason, my heart beat speeds up. It's just hitting me: how much I've left behind and almost forgotten.

Justin parks a few feet in front of us and hops out of his car to put passenger luggage in the trunk, which is standard Lyft procedure. Then he notices who he's picking up.

"KELLIN?" He screams

"You're looking at the one and only!" I say cheerfully.

"Dude what!? I saw that I was picking up a Kellin, but I didn't think it was you because that's not your last name!"

Oh, right. I forgot when my mom and I moved to California she changed my last name. It was after I enrolled in school though, so at school my legal last name was still Bostwick, but to everyone else it was now Quinn.

"Name change! Yeah dude!" I said as my mom and I walked to his car, placed our luggage in the trunk, and got in the front and back seat.

Justin was in a state of quiet focus for a few moments as he pulled out of the airport arrivals and connected onto the highway. Then, he was all ears.

"So man what are you doing back here in Montana? I thought California was your permanent state of residence now?"

I looked in the backseat to see my mom dosing off. I guess I was still a kid at heart, expecting my mom to chime in on my behalf.

"Uh, it is. But you know my sister man...she's 18 now. I think she called me a few months ago, but I never got an answer back. My mom and I just decided to come check it out for ourselves now that she's legal."

Justin sucked his teeth, which made me nervous.

"What? Know something I don't?" I asked tentatively.

"All I know is that no one lives in your house anymore man. Or at least I don't think anyone does. I see the mail piled up on the porch and no one's bother to check. I think it's vacant."

I sighed in disappointment. That was our only lead, and now it may very well be that our whole trip is futile.

"Well damn, that was our only hope. Can you take us by there before you drop us off at a motel? I just want to see it I guess."

"Yeah, no problem man. Kick back and relax, you've been through a lot."

I let my seat back just a bit and watched the road through sleepy eyes, and eventually drifted off myself.

A lot is a damn understatement.