Growing Pains (Book II)

Chapter Eight

-- Aubree in MM.

Cont...

Aubree

"Are you lying?"

"Why else would they put us in a cell together? We're the bosses of the bosses." He informed me. "And I don't ask for much but I did ask for you to be put in here with me."

I was now sitting on Anthony's bunk with him.

"I've been in here for twenty five years. When I first saw you, There was something about you that I couldn't shake. You remind me of me when I was your age. I wanted to hug you, embrace you... But I knew you wouldn't return it." He sighed.

"So, you're my mom's dad... or--"

"Your moms." He told me.

"What?" I asked in disbelief.

"When I left, you were only four so I'm sure you have no memory of this but... The way you could play a harmonica so smooth--"

"Can, I can still play it." I told him.

"You can?" He asked.

I shrugged. "It has been about 6 or 7 years but I'm sure I still got it."

"I taught you." He said as he began shuffling through something under his mattress.

I knew he didn't have a weapon but if he didn't I'm sure he wasn't using it now so I just waited and when I looked back, he was passing me something so I took it and looked at it.

It was a old picture of a child, you could tell it had been kept for years. The child was laughing with an older guy and holding a harmonica together.

"Now you know, I'm not lying." He said.

I shrugged, still unsure.

"I've never seen younger pictures of myself." I told him, not sure why.

"That's because Gina didn't have any to show you." He spoke.

I finally looked up from the picture and into his eyes.

Questioning if this was my real family.

"I'm in here because of you." I couldn't hide the expression that came across my face.

"How?" I asked.

"For some reason, everyone wanted you. Some men tried to take you from us when you were younger; I went for revenge, killed their families and... got locked up... would've been serving my time peacefully had you not been kidnapped less than 6 months later." He told me.

This was a lot to process and obviously he knew who I was.

"I--"

"I know it's a lot." He chuckled. "But can I hug you?" He asked.

I was hesitant, what if this was all a ploy to get to me.

What if he is one of the families that tried to take me.

"I can show you more pictures if you're having trouble believing me." He told me.

"Yeah, more pictures." I said.

He dug under his mattress and pulled out a whole book.

"Flip through, you're in there right on up until you moved to North Carolina." He informed me.

I flipped through the 100s of pictures and watched myself grow up.

"All these pictures look as if they were taken from a distance, why?" I asked.