My Bondi Romance

The Letters

I woke up to someone shaking my arm softly and calling my name; I tried swatting them away but then I felt something lick my hand.

"Bastien. Bastien, will you leave me alone? Bastien, get off. Sebastien, get off me!" I fumed. Mike chuckled as Bastien whined at me. I opened my eyes and noticed Mike and Bastien sat on my bed; Mike had my letter in one hand and another letter in his other hand. My letter was still sealed, but his was open. I looked at him expectantly, as I waited for him to speak.

"They thanked me and Ange, you know, for taking care of you and getting you off the streets. They apologised for all they did but that they just wanted you to be the best that you could possibly be, so you didn't have to scrounge around for money and so you had the opportunity to go to uni and follow your dreams." He had tears in his eyes as he spoke but I didn't know whether or not to believe him. He waved my letter at me, "Maybe you should read yours soon. You know, before we leave England. I'll leave you to it. Breakfast will be ready at around 10 and I'll see you then." Then, he left. Confused, I sat upright and looked at the clock, 08:11; what the hell? I am never up before 08:30, particularly on a weekend and particularly by Mike because he sleeps more than I do. As I stood up, my letter floated to the floor. Right then, lets just read it, I decided. Tugging it open, I read the cursive script of my mother:

Dear daughter (Raina),

Hi sweetheart. If you're reading this then myself and your father failed. We failed to raise you properly and we failed to protect you from the gang. Yes, me and your father are on the run from  The Ivory Cross Brotherhood in Australia, where you were born. As I write this letter, you and your father are arguing over what we're having for tea. You are headstrong and stubborn even now at the age of 6. I fear that in the future me and your father will fail at the whole parenting thing as we struggle to protect you from the lives we have lead. I think that you will follow in his footsteps and work with animals in the future, and you will probably move away from England. I hope that we weren't bad parents but if we were, please don't judge us on what we did. We were young parents and so afraid of raising you wrong or pampering you too much; we are perfectionists and we are trying desperately to protect you. 

There are only a few people you can trust. You can trust Thomas - the man who gave you this - and your Uncle Michael - he is your dad's brother and he offered to protect us at home but your dad was too proud to accept his brother's help and decide that the best course of action would be to leave our home and lives behind. I beg you to not make the same mistakes we did with you and if you do happen to go to Australia, go to Bondi and find your Uncle Micheal. He will be able to explain a bit better about who and what we are as well as help to keep you safe. The house we owned in Australia will have been transferred into your name and I hope that you like it.

If all you take from the letter is who to trust then fine, but remember we love you, no matter how bad we treated you, we always have and always will love you.

Your loving mother,

Eliya Jenkins

Well, I thought, not quite what I was expecting. My family were part of a gang and had tried to hide me from that side of their past. No wonder they didn't mention my Uncle before, it must have angered my dad to think about him and how he and mum and caused this to happen.

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn't realise the time and once I turned over, I saw it was about 9:30 am. I'd been sat there a long time, just reading and thinking. What should I do? Should I seek out my family or would he act like my dad?

Deciding to just do what I could for now, I went downstairs and found Mike and Angelina curled up together on the sofa. Angelina saw me first; she leapt up and ensnared me in a hug that almost crushed me.
"Are you ok? We didn't want to come upstairs in case you didn't want to talk about things and then we didn't want to seem like we were bugging you but we're really worried, and I hope you don't feel pressured to read it or not but if you have read it, could we read it and Thomas stopped by earlier to drop off a file for you to look at, something about two properties that are now your, both of which are in Australia...." She rambled and I just hugged her tightly, stopping her in her tracks. Gingerly, I gave her the letter to read as I sank into one of our leather recliners. Angelina and Mike perched on the leather sofa and I glanced at the file on the coffee table at the side of me; the purple binder sat innocently on it. Gathering all my courage, I reached for it and pulled it into my lap. As I did so, a small piece of paper fluttered out; I picked up and saw a vaguely familiar scrawl.

Raina,

Please be careful. Trust only certain people. Your parents were good people, just bad parents. You know where I am if you need me. I will protect you from anything. These are your properties here in Bondi and I have kept them clean and tidy for you. Don't hesitate to call me if you need me.

Love,

Uncle Michael xx

A number had been roughly scrawled along the bottom of the page. Noting what it said, I decided that I wouldn't show Mike and Angela the note, just in case, so I slipped it into the pocket of my white denim shorts, deciding to call him later. I then opened the binder and saw a gorgeous house.

Flipping over the page, I saw a brief description of the property in a cursive handwriting.

'Classy little beach house not far from beach. 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Was your Dad's family house and me and Michael have been furnishing it for you. Thomas'

Smiling, I looked at the next picture, where I saw house that took my breath away.

I turned the page over again and saw the same handwriting.

'This was the place where your parents entertained guests as it is a little more elaborate. It doesn't take a lot of caring for and is currently being rented out as a holiday home as it is really close to Bronte Beach and has amazing views. Thomas.'

Damn, I thought, my parents were practically millionaires. I wonder what else they owned or how much their net worth must have been. Looking through the rest of the file, I saw it contain the family finances for the past few years. 

"Are you ok? Do you need a moment?" Mike asked.

"I'm fine just a bit overwhelmed that's all. I'm gonna take this upstairs and then I'll get breakfast and get ready to go see the twins." I replied as I headed upstairs. 

Remembering the note, I locked both away in my safe, just to be careful, and ran downstairs for another day of manic mayhem with the twins.