Two (Countdown Book 5)

Chapter 13

I raised my fist above the door. It was shaking. I was shaking. All over. I couldn't do this.

I glanced back down the driveway, but Mackenzie had already driven away. I really didn't blame her. 

I turned back to the door, my heart thumping so loudly, I thought it was going to just burst out of my chest. My brain felt like a fizzling mess of melted goo in my head. Oh, God. I couldn't do this. I couldn't face them. Not after all this time. 

I could've called. I could've sneaked in a visit. But in truth, I didn't want to see them. I didn't want to combine my two worlds, my real life and my Elemental life, for fear that the latter would effect the first. But I had thought that I could do this now. 

You can do this, a voice in my head said. It sounded tiny and insignificant. 

What was I going to say?

Oh, hey mum, dad, it's been four and a half years, and you probably don't recognise me, but I'm your son. Remember me? Eli? I was taken away by a couple of older kids on my birthday? Yeah, it's me. Oh, why didn't I call? Well...

I stepped closer to the door, hearing sound inside. Running feet. Tiny running feet. And then a loud crash and crying. A child's crying. 

Then, before I could lose my nerve, I knocked on the door three times. 

Immediately, I turned to walk away. I couldn't do this... I just couldn't. Then, the door opened. 

I turned, and there was my mum, looking exactly as I remembered her. Her blue eyes shone with that mischevious look that made you think she knew something that you didn't. Her black hair was plaited behind her back. She was wearing jeans and a plain t-shirt, just like me. She hadn't aged a day in four years. 

"Can I help you?" she asked. 

My heart hammered; my mouth went dry. My hands shook uncontrollably, so I had to put them behind my back as I lowered my gaze. "No, no... I-I'm sorry, I think I've got the wrong house." I turned and started to walk away. 

"E-Eli?" my mum stuttered, the word caught in her throat like it couldn't quite form. I turned, tears streaking down my face. 

"I-I'm so sorry, mum." I said. She stepped forward like she was in a daze. A few more steps and she reached me. She reached up, and I realised that I was now taller than her. My mum had never been a tall woman, but she was always taller than me. This felt wrong. 

She took the sunglasses off my face, her hands shaking, her face pale. She ran one hand down the side of my face. 

"It really is you." she sobbed. Then, she wrapped her arms around me tightly and pulled me into a crushing hug. I put my arms around her, and cried into her shoulder as she cried into mine. 

"Oh, God, mum I'm so sorry." I gasped, my whole body shaking with sobs. She didn't reply, just carried on crying into my t-shirt. 

"Isabelle?" a voice called from inside. I recognised the voice immediately: my dad. 

My dad's slightly pudgy face appeared around the front door. His jet black hair was a ruggid mess, and behind his plain glasses, his eyes looked tired. Unlike my mum, his face had aged, and his hair was flecked with grey. I was about the same height and build as him, except he was more pudgy. 

"Rob," my mum said quickly, pulling away from me. "It's Eli." 

Without another word, my dad strode out to where we were in the driveway and hugged me tightly. He was crying, too, making us the Trio of Crying Moores. For a long time, none of us said anything. I'd always been more of a mummy's-boy than a daddy's-boy, but that didn't mean that I hadn't missed my dad.