“Of course, you can. I wonder what else I can do to make you feel safer?”
I suspect he enjoys playing the knight in shining armor, the protector of the weak and helpless, the maiden in distress. What he doesn’t know, though, is that inside me, Amadeus is getting worked up. Someone on the outside is intruding on his turf, and that’s not okay in his books. I can only grin. A little competition is always good. Anyhow, it serves him right. Where was he when Elise freaked out and cried for help?
“This is already a huge help.”
“Sure. How would it be if I checked on you in the mornings or the evenings? It’s only minutes with either truck or horse, so it’s no big deal.” He grins. “It’s not that I have many other things on my agenda and I often hunt in your area.”
“That sounds good. We don’t want to become a burden though.”
“You are not. It gives me a sense of purpose, which is a nice feeling.”
“If you don’t mind. But promise me you’ll tell us when we get tiresome.”
“I promise. I’ll follow you home with my truck and check if the coast is clear.”
How can we not trust him? Do we even have a choice?
Chapter Twenty-One
Lilly: 30 November 2015, Evening, Wright’s Homestead
I broke the law! Nausea spreads through me like a cancerous growth infiltrating every cell until there is only a gelatin mess left where I once was. I told! I allowed the sense of a hand on my shoulder break the holiest and most non-negotiable law we live by. Never ever tell. Never tell anybody what happened and let nobody know about us, or something terrible will happen. Once people know, they can manipulate the Tribe, call out the kids, and hurt us in so many ways.
Why can’t I stop the crying and shouting in my head? My brain needs a break. I can’t stop shivering and frightening images fill my head. I know they are not mine, but I can’t look away, can’t make them stop. One kid must be close. The edges of my vision are turning dark as if a creature of the night is descending on me.
“Sky, please, tell the kids we need to start telling what we know to someone we trust or else we end up in a hospital again or worse. We need to find more decent people like Miss Marple or Scott. Elise said Scott is a man we can trust.”
You’d think that’s an easy request given our well-structured system. Far from it. It goes back to the energy theory. The kids’ energy is going through the roof and Sky might not even hear my plea. Common sense has to wait until the children are calmer. I’m surprised that I’m still around, although driving the van is a struggle at the moment. What will await us at the house?
Scott follows us in his pickup truck. I can’t tell how often we’ve glanced at him through the rear-view mirror. It’s an awkward feeling that he knows we exist. He has taken my revelation with grace. I’m impressed but cautious. This is all very new. We are not good at this trusting business. Trust is good but keeping both eyes open is better.
That’s what I do when we arrive at the homestead. Relieved that there are no signs of the black hatchback, I park the van and wait for Scottie to pull up next to us. I like that he doesn’t look at us as if we are monkeys in a zoo you study from a safe distance. He seems to have taken my explanation well.
“I’ll take Prince and check for unwelcome visitors. Wait for me before you go inside.” He leaves his truck and, with Prince dancing at his side, scouts out our house and the clearing. I can already tell by Prince’s playful snapping at Scottie’s hand that no unwelcome visitor is lurking about. Everything looks normal. Have we overreacted and made a mountain out of a molehill? What will he think of us, now I’ve told him we are certified bonkers?
Amadeus whispers, his voice laced with frustration, “I could have done that. We don’t need him.” I understand why he’s irritated and wished there was another option. But I agree with Sky. We need all the help we can get even if we are lousy at knowing how to go about it.
Before I find any words of comfort for him, Sky says, “I know you could have checked for intruders. In case there are people who want to harm us, we need outside help. You know how easily the children are triggered. If their fear goes off the scale, they’ll be in the body and then we are as helpless as a babe.”
She’s right. Before, we lived contained and self-sufficient within ourselves like a caged animal allowing only minimal interaction with our keeper. As a free person, that’s harder to achieve. As a hunted person, that’s an impossible task. We need people or we won’t make it. We must understand that no man is an island.
“The coast is clear.”
Scottie’s voice startles me. Engrossed in the conversation in my head, I didn’t hear him coming. I open the door and he steps inside, checks the upper floor first, and then the ground floor.
“It’s all safe.” He closes the laundry door and grins, “I like what you’ve done to the place.”
“Hilarious. You’ve discovered your funny bone?”
“You said the same about my place.”
“That’s true. I had a good excuse though.”
Before I can explain the internal fight I had about revealing our secret to him, I’m sliding to the side. Someone else has
