Apple Core

Seventeen: The Actual Truth

"Come on, Derek, drive." I said.

We were in Derek's car, and he was driving towards my house. I had to tell my mother. I had to make that old woman confess. I was Ralph's brother, I had been all my life. And she lied to me. She made me hate my real mother. She was going to pay for it.

After minutes of me constantly urging Derek to drive faster, we reached our destination. I opened the car door before he even parked the car, and ran into the front yard, but there was something wrong.

The front door was flung wide open.

"No," I whispered. The downstairs lights were all on when I entered. A vase in the hallway had been knocked off of a small table, and smashed into smithereens. She couldn't have left. She couldn't have.

I wanted to call out "mother", but my vocal chords denied that she was my mother. "ANN!" I yelled instead, "THIS IS THE BOY YOU KIDNAPPED!! WHEN I FIND YOU.."

I marched into her dim room, lit only by sunlight. The closet there was open, the bed unmade; half of her clothes were gone, the other half scattered on the floor. Only one or two empty hangers hung in her closet. Her suitcase, the one she had when we moved, was gone.

Derek entered behind me. "She's gone, dude," he said, "let's get out. There's nobody here."

I did nothing to acknowledge that I heard.

"Clyde-"

"Derek, let's go to Ralph's house, right now." I said, not removing my eyes from the empty closet.

"But Ralph doesn't start spring break till next week."

"His parents will be there," I said. "My.. my parents." I added.

I saw Derek nod from the corner of my eye. This was my last hope; that the Redd's wouldn't think I'm crazy.

I got into the car. The sun shone through the windows, and the grass gave out a vibrant green color. I just wanted them to believe me. I just wanted to have a normal life.

On the locked door of the bright white house, there was a note.

To whom it may concern,

My wife and I have left for two weeks. We're on vacation in Italy. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. You can still call us if it's an emergency!

There was no number along with the note. Of course. Who would stick their phone number on their front door?

"Do you have Ralph's number?" I asked without hesitation.

"He's not going to pick up," said Derek, "he has to study for his end of term exams, you know. But we can still try." He got out his mobile phone and dialed Ralph's number.

"Whoa," he said a second later, "he shut it off completely."

"What?!" I said, "But what if there's an emergency?!"

"Maybe he has another number, Clyde, I don't know!" he said, "Let's just get back to Grandpa's. You can tell them after we get back from France."

"But don't you understand?!" I said, furious that he just wasn't getting it, "I HAVE A BROTHER!! RALPH IS MY BROTHER, DEREK, AND YOU WANT ME TO WAIT?!"

"What are we supposed to do then?" he asked, "Go to Italy, knocking random doors, trying to find your real parents? Or go to the city, and go looking for the college Ralph goes to? Do you even know the name of that college?! Me neither!"

He was right, I realized. There was no other way. I sighed and got into the car. I wanted them to know. I wanted them to believe me, and hug me, and welcome me to the family. But Derek was right. I could only wait.