Angel Face

How Is That Okay?

XIX

The next day was same as the previous one, with no sign of Duncan. It was like he was going out of his way to avoid me. There were still post-its here and there, but no sign of him or his presence. It was imperative for him to come to the kitchen but still there were no tale tell signs of him being there. He had told me that if I ever wanted to find him, he would be either in his bedroom, office or basement but so far I didn't try any of those places. Call me a coward but so far I wasn't able to bring myself to confront him.

Today was Saturday, the day of Claire's bachelorette. Today was both mine and Duncan's off day and I was sure he wouldn't be able to hide for long. But yet again he proved me wrong. His cars were still in the garage which meant he was still home, unless he went for a walk. Which was most likely not the case, seeing that it was noon.

An hour ago I gathered every single speck of courage in me and went around the entire house to look for him. Knocked on his bedroom and office door but got no reply. Hell, I didn't even hear a creak of floorboard or the squeak of leather shoes against the floor. Finally, I came to the only plausible conclusion that he was in the basement, the one place where I wasn't allowed.

At the end I found myself in the company of books in the library. I was looking for a new book to read when I decided to check out the small balcony in the library. Removing my slippers to remove any chances of me slipping off the ladder, I climbed up to the balcony. I glanced down the rails, to see a few meter drop as I held onto my injured arm which ached due to me putting strain on it. I glanced at the the gold framed section of the books on the wall, which I presume was done to mark the safety limit to reach out for a book.

Going around the couch I took a closer look at the books. Unlike the other books in the library, these books were given special covers which had the title engraved on their spines, in gold. I ran my finger over the spines as I read each of the names, and to my awe there were books whose names I had never heard in my life while there were some books which were in completely different languages. I came to a stop when something caught my eyes on the lower shelves. I bent down to look at the black sheep or should I say royal blue sheep of books. While all the other books had a cover of different shades of brown or tan, this one had that of royal blue, and that too without a title. I pulled it out to see silver embellishing on it, with the word 'Album' engraved at the top.

I traced the beautiful detailing on it, as my fingers made their way to it's edge. If this album is in this house it has to be Duncan's which meant it would have his family photographs. He always shied away whenever his family came up in conversation, not to mention I still remember the little slip up Claire did regarding his family being 'messed-up'. This was my chance to take a little peek into his family. My thumb rubbed against the blue leather as I got ready to open it. I slowly lifted the cover but my phone started to ring interrupting the task at hand. Letting out a sigh I placed the album on the floor as I fished out my phone from my jeans pocket. Helena's name flashed on the screen.

"Hey Helena." I smiled as I accepted the call.

"Hi Angie. How have you been?" Helena's voice greeted back, but I heard a hint of concern in her voice. "Richard told me, your parents' house got trashed. Are you okay?"

I nodded to self, understanding her concern for me, as I stood up after putting the album back in its place. "Yeah, I'm okay, Helena. I'm just glad that no one was home when it happened. But I think the fact that I've a target on my back, is turning out to be a hard pill to swallow for me."