🏁 Tetrology Of The Sea - Book 1: From The Sea 🪼🔨💻 💞 🔮

Twenty-Seven

Some days went by and Travis didn't hear anything from Aylin and he continued with his own life as he got his students ready for the competition that was coming up in a couple of weeks. He also needed to get up with his dancing partner so that he could practice his own dance routine.

*****************

"Mr. Bagery?" Adam said, walking up to his teacher.
Travis looked at him and smiled. "What is it?"
"Elana and I have noticed that you don't seem your usual self. Is there something wrong?"
"No... well, yes, but it's nothing that has to do with you. You and Elana are doing a lot better and I know that you'll get at least 8's for scores at the competition."
Adam smiled. "Thanks, Mr. Bagery; but seriously, if there's something on your mind you can tell us."
"Thank you for your concern."
Adam nodded and went back to dancing with Elana. Travis sighed when the door opened and he saw Josh walk in.
"Hey, what are you doing here?"
"Have you see Aylin anywhere?"
"Not since Shana left town... why?"
"Ruth said that she saw them leave the house when Shana left town and then he never came back home."
"That's weird because he came to my house that same day and then left. I thought he would have gone back home."
"Ruth is worried about him."
"I'll keep an eye out for him for sure... Hey, Josh, can I ask you something kind of personal?"
"Um, now?" he said, looking around.
"Why not?"
"I guess... What do you need to know?"
"Why don't you just marry my mom? You guys are totally in love and have been playing catch-the-feelings ever since I was little. Why don't you just ask her?"
Josh smiled and leaned on the wall.
"I've wanted to many a time but I can't do that. You see, your mother was in love –engaged actually- to my best friend a long time ago. An accident took him and she made it clear that she didn't want to remarry or love another. He told me before he died that if something happened to him, he would entrust her to me but asking for her hand in marriage seems like a betrayal. I really just can't."
"But that guy is dead, right? What's the problem?"
Josh laughed humorlessly. "She's still in love with him. I mean, she named you after him after all."
Travis' eyes went downcast and he leaned on the wall next to Joshua.
"Sorry... I just thought that maybe... you know..."
"Don't beat yourself up over it. I always knew that it would never be; but finding you was the best thing that ever happened to her. Remember that, Travis."
"Yeah... do you think I made a mistake?"
"Doing what?"
"Making Shana leave to live her own life? Keeping her out of mine?"
"Well, I don't really understand your original reasoning for keeping her out of your life, but at the time it must have been a good decision. You've raised Esper to be a smart and wonderful girl, thoughtful and kind, and you have a great career. It must have been the right one at the time. Shana needed to have a life of her own. She'd been ruled by her brother and Craig for a long time... So, this was a good thing."
Travis nodded. "Okay... Thanks, that helps me a lot."
"No problem."
Josh left the studio and Travis walked back to his students, wondering where Aylin may have gotten off to.

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"Samantha said that I was a doo-doo head and so I threw mud at her face." Esper finished as Travis glared at her angrily with his arms crossed.
"Mmm hmm... What have I told you about retaliating?"
"That I shouldn't."
"Exactly. Now you have a parent alert on your record."
Esper sniffled and looked up shyly at her father, hating to see the anger in his eyes.
"I'm really sorry, Daddy. I won't do it again."
"I know you won't. No TV for you for a week."
Her bottom lip popped out in a pout but she nodded and dragged herself to her room, pulling her backpack sadly behind her.
Ruth looked at Travis as he watched his daughter go.
"You're such a dork." She said to him with a smirk.
He turned to her. "What do you mean?"
"I could see how hard it was for you to punish her. She's got you wrapped around her little finger, child."
Travis made a face at her. "Yeah, well, she's still punished."
"I give it two days." Ruth said with a dismissive wave.
"Hey!"
Ruth rubbed his head and then pulled him down and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Ah, my boy is so grown up. I remember you running around naked with a towel like you were Superman..."
"Ma..." Travis said, blushing.
Ruth just smiled and headed toward the door. "I'll see you later, sweetheart. Oh and if I don't hear from Aylin tonight I'm putting out a police report..."
"I'll look out for him."
Ruth nodded and left.
Travis sighed and began to pick up around the house. Now that his mother had brought it back up, he had to wonder where Aylin was. He hoped he was alright and that nothing really bad happened to him.

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Late into the night, Travis awoke from falling asleep on the couch after hearing something outside and the fish were mumbling amongst themselves.
What is that?
It smells horrible.
Why is it wet?
Is that someone we should tell him about?
He looks familiar...
Is he a threat?
"Hey, calm down guys... What are you trying to tell me?"
There is a man out here. He looks hurt.
Travis got up and grabbed the kitchen knife when he heard Esper open her door.
"Daddy, the fishies are yelling in my head..." she said, rubbing her face.
"Go back in your room, sweetie. Daddy's going to see what's going on..."
Esper nodded and Travis went to the front door, his hands shaking as he grabbed the knob. He turned it and opened the door, finding someone standing there.
"What do you want?" he asked gruffly, trying to sound threatening.
The man looked up and Travis' eyes widened.
"Aylin..."
"Can I come in? I don't feel well..."
"You look like shit."
Aylin laughed nervously as he doubled over and vomited in the grass next to the pond. Travis put the knife down and helped Aylin inside, sitting him on the couch.
"Where have you been? Everyone's been worried about you."
Aylin didn't answer as he sat with his hand over his eye and staring at nothing. He looked like he had gotten beaten up and roughed up pretty badly. Travis got a wet cloth and came back, grabbing Aylin's hand.
"Let me see it..."
"No... Just..." he grabbed the rag and put it on his eye himself.
"Aylin..."
He looked at Travis, who was looking worried, and sighed. He removed the rag and Travis saw where blood was trailing down his eye as well as the damaged eyeball that was there from before. He made a face as stealthily as he could and then licked his lips.
"Can you move it?"
"I can't see anything out of it and no, it doesn't move. It just glares like some ghost eye or something. It's pathetic and ridiculous. I should have never gone back inside that house."
"What house?"
Aylin looked away and Travis waited for him to tell him.
"How I got this way... It was Craig's fault for doing it. He was being such a douche that day and I don't know why I was even there. He decided it would be fun to see something get set on fire so he stuck a rag doused in alcohol into a bottle and set it on fire. He threw it on the house and it immediately started to flame. What we didn't know was that it wasn't abandoned. There was an old lady inside and when her dog began to bark, she woke up and started to scream. I tried to get to her but the fire was so hot... I could hear her screams throughout the house but I just couldn't get to her. I finally got in the house but the flames were so high and then out of nowhere... She just came running down the stairs, her whole body in flames and she was screaming so loud! She couldn't get the flames off of her and I tried but that's when the roof collapsed and a piece of the chandelier cut me in the eye. I couldn't save her..."
Travis swallowed hard at the story, seeing that Aylin was not really with him at the moment. He got up and got another rag to take care of Aylin's bleeding and sat in front of him to clean him up.
"Whatever was done is done and you can't change the past." Travis said slowly, wiping Aylin's face. "Is this where you've been? With Craig?"
"He beat me up and kept me locked up for a bit." Aylin said without looking. "It was cold and wet..."
"Did you escape?"
"No... he let me go. He was mad that Shana was gone. He said that it was my fault I had held him back from his dreams... All I did was tell him that he should take responsibility and own up to it or I would tell. It was his fault he didn't want his reputation ruined..."
Travis nodded and finally pushed Aylin over softly onto the couch.
"You can sleep here for the night. You can bathe tomorrow and we'll figure it out in the morning, okay?"
Aylin nodded and Travis put the blanket he'd been using over him and sighed. He had no idea what he was going to do now.