Long Way Home [C.H]

Living In A Movie Scene

He stood with his back pressed firmly against the back of her bedroom door. His big brown eyes scanned over the large room before landing upon the small, nineteen year old girl. Asleep, she looked so much younger than her age. Calum found himself lost in adoration at the sight of her. She was curled up in a ball on the bench of the bay window that he had a perfect view of from right outside of the property's gates. Thick, short, brown curls stuck to her face. She looked nothing like he had imagined. But beautiful nonetheless. His heart was beating at a rapid pace. He had to get out: and fast. The only problem was he wasn't sure how he'd achieve such a goal. He couldn't just leave her here.

He remained in the same spot, not daring to move, not wanting to risk the chance of waking her, then having to explain his dilemma. That was if he was lucky and she didn't wake screaming. Unaware of the fact that he was running out of time, he found himself thinking up various ideas and solutions about how to get himself out of this mess. He was too late. Always too late. It was game over.

"You're not one of them," he whispered quietly, unaware that she had heard, and it wasn't until he witnessed movement from her that he realised she was waking in response to him.

Harper stirred, rolling over on her side, so that she was facing the door. She had the feeling rush over her that she was being watched. Her eyes shot open and she stared right in the direction of a man she didn't recognise.

"I know who you really are, and I can tell you what happened," he started gently, pausing to take a deep breath. He was scared for his life; unaware of what might happen next. "Just give me ten minutes to explain, and then you can make your decision," he offered.

Harper sat upright and pulled the covers further up her body, relying on the warmth that they radiated. She didn't speak a word. Instead, she sat in silence, patiently waiting for Calum to open his mouth to speak, eager to learn what he had to say. It wasn't until he knew he had her full attention that he began telling the story that he had been told many times before. He knew this story off by heart, and given he was assigned this special mission, he had no reason not to do anything in his power, to explain the truth to her.

--

Long ago, back in 1999, Liz Hemmings went into hospital on November 7th after her water had broken. She ended up giving birth to a tiny girl. She had the name Leilani Rhea Hemmings decided on for her. Andrew, Liz's husband and father of Leilani, was at home caring for their three sons; Jack, Ben and Luke. Liz hadn't received any visitors at this point given visiting hours were over. The three boys hadn't met their sister yet as their parents' plan was that they would wait until morning, considering she arrived so late at night. Andrew was there throughout the delivery and had left to head home to inform their sons of the arrival of Leilani. At 1am, Liz woke to the soft sounding cry that Leilani provided, she changed her nappy then fed her before she set her carefully back into the crib that was provided by the hospital. Liz woke once every hour to Leilani's cry. Her cry at 4am being her last. Liz woke at 5am, checked on Leilani and realised that she wasn't in her crib. She alerted the nurses at the front counter right away, of course, they claimed they hadn't witnessed anyone walk out with a newborn.

Eventually, with the security footage that had been provided, it was confirmed that Leilani had in fact been kidnapped from the hospital. Andrew and Liz plastered posters around town, several times every year, never once receiving a word from anyone. To them, it felt as though she was gone without a trace. Until now, that is.

Luckily enough, the Hemmings' were granted access to the footage of the kidnapping whenever they desired it. They'd had Calum view the security footage when they hired him, and so many times after that, that Calum was no longer sure how many times he'd seen it. He'd learned that the man who left the hospital with Leilani as a newborn baby was not someone he, or any of the Hemmings recognised.

--

"I can show you the footage if you come with me," Calum promised. "But if you want to see it, we have to go. Now." Sensing the young woman's apprehension, Calum slipped his hand into the pocket of his jacket, handing her a small slip of plastic. "This is the only thing the Hemmings have had that belonged to you for nineteen years," he explained. "Turn it over," he told her.

Harper wasn't sure why, but she felt compelled to listen to the stranger. So she did. Her jaw dropped.

"Your identification bracelet from the hospital," Calum sighed. "It's all the Irwins left when they took you."

"I'll go." Harper spoke up after a sitting in silence for a while, she then added, "but we have to wait until morning. I need to talk to the Irwins. See what they say. I won't just abandon the only family I have ever known. That's the only right thing to do."

Calum agreed. She had a point and he wasn't going to deny that. He too had a deal of his own to make.

"What if they deny everything?" He asked. He needed to put the thought out there.

"If they deny that I'm adopted then I'll run away with you." She confirmed.
"I'll see you tonight then." He replied. Then he was gone, disappearing out the door that led out to her balcony, leaving without giving Harper the chance to respond.