Cryptic (A Calum Hood Fanfiction)

Chapter #34

April’s POV:

“America?” Cal… Casper inquires.

“We have an apartment for the two of you in a quiet town in Wake Forest, North Carolina, where the sun always shines,” Mr. Dannings shares.

“I’ve always wanted to travel to the United States someday, but I never dreamt that I’d have the chance to live there,” I gush.

“Here’s a few photos of your apartment,” Mr. Dannings passes a few to Casper and I. “But, I’m sure you’ll love it; Jean picked it out and she has a keen eye for house-hunting.” Casper and I eye the photos, passing them back and forth between each other.

“I do love it,” I admit.

“Home is where the heart is, so if you love it, I love it,” Casper replies.

“It’s settled then,” Mr. Dannings nods. “Now, April, you and I have some things to discuss and Casper, you have a meeting regarding some paperwork for your departure,” he adds, allowing Casper to let himself out. “You had some concerns regarding our dealing with your family?” Mr. Dannings checks.

“Yes,” I confirm. “Casper told me you’ll be staging my death?”

Mr. Dannings replies, “That is correct; a boating accident is what we’re going with so that we won’t have to worry about ‘your body’.”

I take a deep breath, “Isn’t there another way? My parents are going to be devastated; they’ve already lost one child, I don’t know how they’ll go on if they find out that they’ve lost me, too. And what about my friends? They’ll be devastated, too.” Mr. Dannings takes a deep breath as well and crosses his legs.

“April, what do you think we would’ve done if you hadn’t survived your surgery? What would we have eventually had to do if the chip couldn’t be removed and you had to stay here the rest of your life under protection?” He questions, but I don’t answer. “Stage your death,” he answers for me. “It was inevitable,” he shrugs. “There’s no other way and I apologize for that, but you’re one of the lucky and fortunate ones and you should be grateful for that; freedom is a privilege, not a right. Remember that, April,” he advises.

“I will,” I murmur.

“What else did you want to discuss with me?” Mr. Dannings asks.

“Casper and I are leaving in two weeks,” I remind him.

“I know,” he says.

“And we probably won’t be seeing you again once we leave,” I point out.

“Probably not,” he agrees.

“And I think you need to tell Casper the truth,” I blurt.

“Excuse me?” Mr. Dannings uncrosses his legs and sits up in his seat.

“He deserves to know the truth, it’s not fair to keep such a secret from him; he’s a man now and should be able to have the choice of whether or not he wants a relationship with his father, now that he won’t be able to have a proper one with his mother,” I explain.

“I don’t believe this is any of your business, April, is it?” Mr. Dannings retorts.

“Maybe not,” I start, shrugging. “But, you’re only saying that because you know I’m right and you know this is the right thing to do.”

Mr. Dannings counters, “Few times have you been right, April, and this is no exception; you weren’t right when you failed your history finals in sophomore year of high school, you weren’t right when you blogged your prediction of who was to win the 2009 super-bowl and you aren’t right now.”