Conspicuous Secrets

Chapter Thirty-Seven

I knocked on the wooden door, shivering from the cold. I had been so nervous about coming over here, I had forgotten to grab a coat on my way out of the door. Fortunately, judging by the fact that Kason's charger wasn't in his driveway, I knew he had already left to visit his mother with Lucy. After just a short moment of standing in the cold, the front door opened and Daniel appeared in the doorway. "Lydia," he greeted. "I'm afraid Kason and Lucy are already gone."

I took a deep breath, feeling my heart pound deeply in my chest. "I know...I actually came to talk to you."

He must've been very observant just like his son because he immediately scanned my expression and furrowed his brown eyebrows. "Something is wrong?" he guessed.

I nodded. "Yes." I could barely breathe. I couldn't believe I was about to tell him. "I'm in trouble and I need your help."

It might have been his cop instincts or just a feeling of suspicion, but he looked around behind me before nodding, stepping back and opening the door wider. "Come on in."

I nodded in return and followed him inside of his house, closing the front door behind me. Following him into the kitchen, he told me to take a seat at the kitchen table and I listened. He copied my actions. "How long until you have to be at work?" I asked him, wondering how much time I had to explain.

"An hour," he answered. "But I can be late." I felt bad about being the reason he might be late to work, but I nodded nonetheless. There was a serious look in Daniel's eyes and it reminded me of his reserved son. They looked a lot alike. "What's wrong?" he asked.

I fumbled with my hands in front of me. "My brother and I haven't been completely honest this last month." Sitting across from me, he stared, waiting for me to continue. "Did Kason tell you why we moved here?"

"He said that your parents died in a house fire back in California. You wanted to move somewhere and get a fresh start."

I nodded, expecting exactly that. "That was a lie I told him," I informed the man, taking a deep breath. It felt so hard to breathe. "Six months ago, my father, Charles Rose, murdered my mother in the living room of our home back in Florida," I managed to get out. "Then, he shot me before making a run for it. Fortunately, my brother got home just after Charles left and was able to get me help. But it was too late for my mom."

Daniel seemed to be trying hard to process the words I threw at him. "Why would he want to kill your mother?" he asked after a couple minutes.

"My mom had wanted to divorce him for over a year, but he refused to sign the papers. I guess he was just sick of dealing with her not loving him anymore."

"I'm surprised he didn't take you with him if he ran for it after he killed your mother. Why would he try to kill you, too?"

I sighed. "He never liked me. Unlike my mom and brother, I never listened to him," I explained. Daniel nodded, lost in thought as if he was trying to piece together random parts of a puzzle. "Do you believe me?" I asked, my voice sounding just above a whisper. This was a big step for me. I was the one who was strict about not telling anyone the truth when we moved here.

Daniel nodded and rubbed the back of his neck. "I've been a cop for nearly two decades. I can tell if people are lying or not," he assured me.

I took a deep breath in relief. We were going to get help.

"So, what's a problem now?" he asked. "Did they catch your dad back in Florida?"

I shook my head. "We moved because we were running from him. We needed to go somewhere he wouldn't find us...but he somehow followed us here."