The Hidden Truth

Chapter Twelve: Bridge Over Troubled Waters

I’m sitting at the kitchen table drinking a glass of water when the doorbell rings. I hurry to answer it hoping that Alexander had finally changed his mind. As soon as I lay eyes on Andrea, aggravation quickly invades my bones and I say, “Back so soon, I thought you said you wouldn’t be back until next weekend?” My words laced with the obvious disappointment I felt deep inside my core.

“Yea, that’s what I thought too. I guess the place had been torn down several months ago and no one bothered to tell me about it. I swear I work with a bunch of monkeys. Anyway, how’s Alex doing?” she replies in the same tone. 

I shrug while moving aside to let her in. Since Alexander took off last Saturday, I haven't heard anything from him. Although, as angry as he was towards me when he left, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if he never returns.  My intentions were crystal clear but it looks like it might be my only option since Andrea’s last trip got cut short. 

“Oh dear, what happened?” she asks concerned as we make our way through the living room towards the kitchen.

“He took off.”

“And you didn't go after him?”

“No.” I reply sitting back in the chair where I left my glass of water and taking another sip.

“Why not? You're supposed to be the one in charge not the other way around. Didn’t your parents teach you anything?”

“Andrea, it's not like that.  He was mad about what he found out and stormed off. Besides, I'm not his parent!” I spat vehemently before leaning back in my chair, folding my arms across my chest and continuing,  “He’ll be back.”

It's not like he and I haven’t had this kind of battle in the past. We have. Many times in fact. He would run away for a few days then come back to work it out. Never once has he been gone for this long.

“What did you say to him?”

“I didn’t tell him anything if that’s what you’re insinuating.” I reply throwing more emphasis on the word tell.

“What did he find out, then?”

“I can't tell you that.”

It hurt me to say that to her but I couldn't exactly fill her in on what Alexander knew nor how the whole situation came about in the first place. All I can do is take the blame for my stupidity and hope that she leaves it at that. Besides, it’s only a matter of time before he will return for his things and I knew that without a doubt. 

“That’s BS and you know it!”  

There are some secrets I keep that even Kenneth, my closest friend doesn't know and I usually tell him everything. Andrea will just have to accept that or leave, the choice is hers. It doesn't really matter one way or another to me right now. Without a birth certificate or any paper trail to follow, I knew Kai would be nearly impossible to find. So, I devised a back up plan hoping that maybe with Andrea’s expertise I wouldn't have to use it. 

My only concern right now is bringing Kai home alive and obviously there’s only one way we can find her. I just hope that Alexander comes to his senses soon and realizes that he is the key to saving her. If not, I may never see her again. 

Andrea lets out an aggravated sigh and comes at me again with even more anger in her voice, “Michael, I swear we’ve been over this once before! You can’t keep information locked up inside your head regardless of how insignificant you may think it is! I need to know everything otherwise you’re just wasting my time.”

“Obviously you can't find her anyways so why does it matter?”

“So you’re just going to give up?” Disbelief spread across her face. 

“No!” I say finally raising my voice and leaning closer to the table before continuing in a softer tone, “I am not going to just stand by and allow her to die due to a few minor details missing from your files!”

“In other words you just wasted my time for nothing!” she yells at me.

“No I didn’t. I was hoping that you would’ve interrogated the right people a tad bit better so that I wouldn't have to resort to plan B! Obviously, the skills you pride yourself on are sorely lacking.” 

“How dare you mock me just because I can’t find one useless child.”

I flash my eyes at her sinisterly as I attempt to get her to retract her statement, “What did you just say?”

“You heard me!”

Rising from my chair, I escort her none too friendly towards the front door, all the while uttering a few tasteless choice words at her blatant disregard for my family. It's one thing to ridicule me for what I’ve done but I will not tolerate someone criticizing an innocent child that has done nothing wrong. Especially when that child is my little sister. 

I return to the kitchen table to come up with another plan just in case Alexander doesn't come back. I need to find my sister before it's too late. Without Andrea in the picture it’s going to make this process a whole lot harder to manage but I have no other alternative. She was rude and inconsiderate about the whole mess to begin with. I only put up with it long enough for her to finish her job. 

As the hours slip by, the only thing I can manage to think of is to confront Carol myself. As much as I despise the woman I know without a doubt that she couldn’t lie to me like she did to Andrea. So, I call the airport and schedule a flight from here to Kauai for Friday night at eight with a returning flight the next evening. Next I ring Larry, informing him that I’ll be leaving Friday and for him to tell the guys that I have to postpone our game until Sunday night. I ask him if he would be kind enough to drop me off at the airport and pick me up when I return. Of course that prompted him to demand I tell him why, which I had no problem disclosing. Despite the fact that I left out a few details, he seemed satisfied with what I did say so I left it at that. The only thing left to do now is wait.

Ever since I saved my sister from her untimely demise I had a fear of driving at night. It all stemmed from the vision I had that day. Although it felt like a dream, the mental image of the whole thing left an imprint on my soul so deep that the thought of driving after dark strikes a paralyzing fear in me.