Cast The Die

Chapter Thirty-Seven

An hour later, I was home. We pull onto my street and I see my Mum's car straight away, it seems surreal being here, like I've been gone a lot longer than ten days.

I turn to look at Cole. "You can come in, if you want" I said, cringing. I sounded pathetic, as if I was inviting him in after our first date. To my surprise, he takes off his seatbelt and climbs out the car.

My quivering hand opens the door and I step inside, immediately I see my Mum sitting on the sofa. She's wearing sweats, I've never seen her wearing sweats in my life, she looks frail and unhealthy. Her hair is unwashed, and her eyes are red and swollen, like she's been crying for a week straight. She doesn't notice me standing in the doorway.

"Mum?" her eyes meet mine; she looks like she's seen a ghost.

"Macey?" she cries out, running towards me. I throw my arms around her and bury my face in her neck. "Oh my god, Macey! You're alive!" she sobs. We both cry; holding each other tightly with no intent of letting go.

"I'm here, Mum! I'm home" I cried. She pulls away and puts her hands on my cheeks, her eyes scanning my face, checking that it's really me. I smile as she caresses my tear stained face. She opens her mouth to say something but then glances over my shoulder towards the door. I turned around to see Cole, standing in the doorway. "Mum, this is Cole" I said, unsure of who to introduce him as, my kidnapper or my saviour? My mum's mouth tilts into a smile, also unsure of who Cole is.

"I should go" Cole said. Please don't go. I don't want him to go.

"You don't have to go" I said. I took a step towards him, but he put his hand up, telling me to stop. I tried to speak but I didn't know what to say, so I just watched him leave.

I sat on the sofa with my Mum for the next hour or so, explaining everything that happened from leaving the house on that Friday night, to Cole bringing me home today. She didn't say a word, she just cried as she listened to the traumatic events that have been my life for the past ten days. I told her everything I knew about Dad, hoping and praying that she would tell me it wasn't true, but she didn't say anything.

"Mum, I need to know everything. And I mean, everything" I said.

She began by telling me about my Dad, starting with when they met and how she found out he was involved with drugs. Things about my Grandad, about my Dad's childhood and his upbringing; he was basically brought up to be a drug dealer. Despite knowing all of this, she still moved to Ireland with him, she still married him and fell pregnant with his child. He promised everything was over when I was born, so they moved to the south of England, away from the trouble, or so they thought. What Mum hadn't realised was that Dad never stopped. He lied to her for years, the working late, the weekends away for "work purposes" and the strange phone calls, they were all lies. He was a lawyer, that much was true, but he was also still a drug dealer. She found out a few years ago but again he promised to stop; he said he had a plan – the set up. He started working alongside the police to try and catch Gregory and the others, but it backfired. My Dad knew that Gregory would come after him, he just didn't know when. A month before my kidnapping, Dad received an anonymous tip off, someone telling him to protect his family, that we weren't safe. My parents came up with what they thought was a perfect lie, they were separating. My Mum and I would move out of town so that no one knew where we were and my Dad would stay so when they came looking, they would only find him. But they were too late.

"Where's Dad now?" I asked, terrified of the answer.

"They came here" Mum said. "We thought they were bringing you back. Your Dad had given them the money they asked for, so we thought we were getting you back" she sobbed. "But they came in, threatened to kill me, they wouldn't tell us where you were, just that you were no longer a problem. My heart shattered into a million pieces, I thought you were dead. I couldn't...I couldn't bear the thought of losing you..." she cried. "Your Dad went with them. Told them he'd go with them if they left me alone. I begged him not to. I said I'd rather die than lose you both! But he left" my heart broke for her. She's been alone this whole time.

"When did this happen?" I asked.

"Three, maybe four days ago" she said. I wrapped my arms around my Mum, and she cried on my shoulder.

"We'll get through this, Mum. Together." I felt helpless.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you" she said.

"Me too" I sighed.