His Secret [Completed]

Chapter Twenty-Eight

"I had a great time," Mason said as he tossed his car keys between his hands, finding any reason not to leave. He and Kelly had been standing in the same spot halfway to the door and halfway to the living room for twenty minutes and there was no sign of him making leave any time soon.

Jackson and Sophia sat kneeling on the couch with their arms resting on the back as they watched the interaction between the two. They giggled like school girls each time Mason said 'I had a great time', to which Kelly would reply with 'me too', but neither would move. After what felt like an eternity, Mason finally hugged Kelly tightly and she walked him to the door. "I had a great time, a really great time," Kelly whispered and then the corridor went silent. A couple of seconds later, the door closed and Kelly's footsteps grew closer to the living room.

Jackson and Sophia turned in their seats quickly and focused their attention on the television, pretending they hadn't been eavesdropping. The grin that spread from ear to ear when Kelly walked in was a giveaway and she sat on the opposite couch, eyeing them curiously. With his eyes still glued to the television, Jackson,mocking his sister, said: "I had a great time, a really great time."

A pillow flew across the room and hit him square in the face, but that still didn't wipe the smirk from his lips. He repeated the phrase again, putting strain on the word "really" and that alone was enough to flip Kelly's switch. She lunged at her brother with another pillow in hand and smacked him with it so hard that her phone came flying out of her hand and landed on the opposite end of the couch. His head whipped to the right, as did hers. A devilish smile crept onto his face as he pounced on the phone and leapt over the back of the couch, holding the device up in the air. "I had a good time," he read the text aloud. "Really?" Jackson couldn't stop his laughter. "I think you've said that more this morning than ever in your life."

"Jack, give me my phone!" There was a hesitation in her voice as he scrolled through the text chat. "Give it back!" She was now shouting. Kelly ran to the left around the couch and Jackson ran in the opposite direction. As Sophia watched the encounter, she didn't imagine ever being dragged into it but when the phone came flying through the air towards her, she threw her hands out in front and caught it.

Jackson screamed for Sophia to run while Kelly was pleading with her to give it back. Watching the twins and being involved in their banter gave her more fun than she'd had in a long time and she realised she didn't want it to end just yet. She looked between them. Jackson was blocking the exit out into the garden and Kelly was standing near the television. She had one way to go and that was through the long hallway and out of the front door. As she ran through the corridor and pulled open the door, she brushed past Sherry and Alan, said a quick 'hello' and 'did you have a good trip', but didn't wait for a reply as she ran down the driveway. Jackson soon joined her and she tossed him the phone.

Sophia glanced back as they ran and noticed Kelly was hot on their trail. "Whoa! Watch out!" she screamed and stopped running. Before Sophia had a chance to stop, it was too late and she came crashing into a firm chest, the arms of the individual wrapped around Sophia steadying her. She took a step back, muttering her apologies and looked up at the man she'd run into.

"Good to see ya, buddy." he gripped Jackson's hand and pulled him in for a hug and a slap on the back. "It's been what? Eight years?" Kelly was now standing a couple of steps from them and she plucked the phone from Jackson's hands and slipped it into her back pocket.

"James!" She threw her arms around his upper body. "I've missed you."

"The last time I saw you two, you were about this high and fourteen!" He gestured with his hands.

"Well you haven't changed a bit, the only difference being that scraggly hair," Kelly joked. "Can I cut it?" James' hair was almost shoulder length.

"I'd literally rather anyone else cut my hair than you. The last time I was here you almost cut your finger off while making that art project. How did that go by the way? Get a good grade?"

Kelly shrugged. "I can't remember, it was eight years ago."

"Yeah," he sucked in a breath. "Anyway..." he looked in Sophia's direction and gave her a smile.

"Oh I forgot, Sophia this is our cousin James. He's lived in London for the past eight years."

"It's nice to meet you." She shook his hand, even though that felt a little too formal due to the fact that her body had already been pressed against his. "And I'm sorry again."

"No problem, you gave me a chance to act like a hero," James said and threw her a wink. They made their way inside to find Alan relaxing in the living room and Sherry looking around as if trying to find a fault within her home from the party.

"Mom, did you know James was coming?" Kelly asked as her mother continued to look around the house.

"We practically had to beg him to come and stay."

"I didn't want to be a burden."

Sherry walked over to her nephew and embraced him in a hug. "You could never be a burden. You are part of this family whether you like it or not."

*

The next day, Kelly was sitting in her bedroom at her desk typing an essay on her computer when Sophia knocked and walked in. She threw herself onto the bed and began flicking through one of the comic books on Kelly's bedside. "Make yourself comfy," Kelly said as she rolled her eyes with a smile and turned to her friend.

Sophia pushed herself up and sat against the headboard. "I've got a question." She told her to go ahead. "Why have I never heard anything about James until today?" The name James had never even been whispered, let alone spoken in the McKenzie house. It was as if they had erased him from their lives completely. Over the two months, Sophia had been living with the McKenzie's she'd heard the names of their grandparents, their aunts, uncles and even some distant relatives, but the name James had never been mentioned.

Kelly shrugged in answer. "I guess he's been away for so long I didn't really remember what he was like or who he was. It sounds a little harsh, but it's the truth."

"Everyone just seems to adore him. I actually heard your Dad laugh for the first-ever time last night." She smiled at the memory.

"We grew up with James. He lived with my Dad's best friend, we always called him Uncle Ben because they were so close but we're not actually related. Ben adopted James when he was a new-born, apparently, James was left on his doorstep with a note saying 'take care of our boy'. Whoever left James on Ben's doorstep are monsters."

"Where's Ben now?"

"He died around 8 years ago, James was 20. I think it was Ben's death that caused him to move to London but I'm not really sure. I was young then and I don't remember much. But that's where he's been ever since. We didn't really keep in touch, he was always too busy and I could never seem to reach him. I think he probably left for a fresh start, but I don't know why he's back now. I guess I'll have to ask him."