Julia has lived on Nova Island for six years. After the trauma she experienced there, she decided to go home. It's been ten years since her last visit to the small seaside town. She didn't expect to see her arch-enemy sitting in her parents' living...
Antwon looks at his mother and says. "We're not going to be the family that you want, Mom. Julia's part of our family, and if you're not going to be nice to her. Liam and I will stay with Cole until you reach out to our sister." He walks out of the living room with Liam trailing behind him.
Mrs. Harris looks at me. "After everything I've done for you, you turn on me. You little shit." She raises her voice. "GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE." She clutches her head like she's in pain.
Walking over to her, I kneel in front of her and ask, "Are you okay?"
She shakes her head. "No, I have a headache. Help me to my room, please."
What's going on with her?
"Mrs. Harris, have you had any other symptoms?"
She looks at me. "My eyes have been blurry for a couple of weeks now."
"Why haven't you said anything to anyone?" I help her to the bedroom.
She looks at me. "I haven't told my family, but I saw my doctor about the symptoms."
"What did he say?"
She closes her eyes. "It doesn't matter what The Doctor said."
Opening the door to her bedroom, I say. "Of course, it matters. You have three kids who love you but are mad at you now. In time, things will cool down, and they will forgive you. It's part of unconditional love from your children. They'll come running if they know something is wrong."
She says nothing to me as I put her on the bed. She climbs under the blankets. "Can you close the blinds and door, please?"
"Sure," I say. I walk to the large sliding door that leads to a balcony and close the blinds, then the three window blinds in the room.
As I walk out the door, I hear her snoring lightly. I close the door behind me and walk to Antwon's room.
He was packing a suitcase when I entered the room. "Thanks for letting us stay with you."
Leaning against the door frame, I say. "I think you should stay here with your Mom. She's hiding something from you all."
Antwon shrugs. "If she wants to hide something, that's up to her. I'm not going to play into her games anymore. Besides, she held on too long to Liam and I. It's time that we start doing what we want. I'm thinking about going on a holiday."
"Don't book anything right now. Wait until you find out what's wrong with your Mom."
"Why are you pushing her onto us?"
Crossing my arm over my chest and looking away from him, I say. "There are moments in children's lives that their parents should be there for. For example, when their child wants to propose to the girl he loves Or at the wedding of the son and Grandchildren. My parents were robbed of all that because a stupid drunk boat driver crashed into their dingy in the middle of the day at high speed."
He stops packing and sits on the bed. "It sucks that you're parents died that way, but our mother is a different story. She's being mean and for no reason. I'll listen if there's an explanation for that, but if not, we're still staying at yours. When Mom is ready to talk, I'll be there."
Liam walks into the room after that. "I'm ready." He places the suitcase on the ground. "I'll have to meet you at yours, Cole. Dad wants me to drop Julia's car at the hotel, and Veronica wants to stay with her."
"Okay," I pick up the bag. Invite the girls over for dinner. We can watch a movie, order pizza, and drink before sleeping."
A smile spreads across Liam's face. "That sounds like fun. I'll let Veronica know. I'm sure she'll be in for it, but Julia will be a different story. Knowing Veronica, she can make Julia change her mind about anything."
If I get Antwon and Liam drunk enough, maybe I can get them to reveal some secrets that they've kept from Julia. Then perhaps the Harris Family can be whole again. They're all over the place, hiding things and keeping secrets. The one person who's going to be hurt by everything when it comes out is Julia. I hope she's strong enough to handle it.
I walk away from Antwon's room and lean against the door of Julia's room.
When she stayed at the house, it looked like Julia touched nothing.
Maybe it's because she felt like a stranger in her own home.
Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I called my therapist. The phone rang, and she answered after six rings.
Tori: Hey, Cole. It's been a while since you last had a session with me. Is everything okay? Please tell me you didn't relapse.
Me: Nah, it's nothing like that. I have a question for you, and I hope you can help me.
Tori: Sure, what's going on?
Me: I have a friend who went through a traumatising event. She wakes up in the middle of the night, coughing and gasping for breath. Then she doesn't go back to sleep. She takes off to the beach.
Tori: It sounds like she has PTSD. I won't be able to diagnose her until she contacts me fully. When you see her next time, it won't hurt to talk to her about your experience and let her know there's help out there for her.
Me: Thanks for your help, Tori.
Tori: You're welcome. Remember, my doors are always open for you, Cole.
Me: Bye.
I hang up and open the front door as Mr. Harris pulls into the driveway.
He climbs out of the car and races over to me. "Where's my wife?"
"She's in bed."
"Thanks," he pats my shoulder before racing into the house.
Antwon and Liam walk out the front door after quickly greeting their father. They throw their stuff into my trunk.
Liam takes the black BMW to the hotel where Julia is staying.
Climbing into the car, I start it and pull it out of the driveway. When I get onto the road, I see Mr. Harris with his arms around his wife.
Antwon looks at his parents before saying. "Let's get out of here before they expect us to follow them to wherever they're going."
"You really don't care about what's happening with your Mom?"
He shakes his head. "She's not my problem anymore. I told you she's kept us under her thumb since Uncle Kevin did what he did to our family."
They haven't told me what Kevin did to the family, but it's terrible that they don't want Julia to know.
I concentrate on the road as I drive to my place. It doesn't take long before I pull into the driveway. "You can have the rooms downstairs. The one upstairs is getting renovated."
He steps out of the car and grabs his bags. "Why didn't you tell us earlier about it?"
Looking at him, I say. "I had no reason to tell you my plans for the house, and I'm not going to tell you now."
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