by Amy Cross
At that moment, the front door opens.
"She's here," Evan says. "Will you all wait here while I -"
Suddenly a young girl appears in the doorway, and for a moment I think I'm looking at Sophie's ghost. She has the same eyes, the same expression, the same general look about her. But as I stare, I realize there are a few differences: the girl wears her hair over her face a little more, and she seems slightly taller than I remember Sophie being at her age. But for the most part, it's like looking back in time. I turn to Todd and I can see instantly that he's just as shocked as I am. Sixteen years after Sophie died at Patrick's hands, it as if she's suddenly walked back into our lives.
"Hello, Abigail," Benjamin says. "You won't remember me, but we've met before."
"Your Mom and I need to talk to you," Evan says, taking Abigail by the arm. "Just the three of us, alone. Can we go through to your room for a moment?"
Abigail lets him lead her out of the room, although I can see that she's curious about the situation. Ruth, sniffing back tears, walks slowly after them.
"This isn't going to go well," I say, feeling as if something terrible's going to happen.
"Give the parents a chance to explain," Benjamin says. "They've had time to prepare for this day and they've known for a long time that Abigail isn't normal. I told them that eventually we'd have to come and take her with us. I'm sure Abigail will understand once they've explained it to her rationally."
I turn to him. "Have you got kids?"
"No," he says. "Do you have children?"
"No," I reply, "but I was a teenage girl once, and I can promise you that they don't take orders very easily. There's no way she's just gonna come along with us happily."
"She's not a teenage girl," Todd says suddenly. "She looks like one, but she's not."
"Then what is she?" I ask.
"It's complicated," he continues. "But don't let her appearance deceive you. Remember, she's Patrick's daughter. She's different. Don't forget that."
"She's Sophie's daughter too," I remind him. "She's got Sophie's DNA in her as well. Don't forget that."
"She's more Patrick than Sophie," Todd says. "I could see it in her eyes. She looks like Sophie, but in her soul, she's Patrick."
"We'll see," I reply. Todd's making this seem far too black and white. When he looked at Abby's eyes, he saw Patrick, but I saw Sophie. I guess time will tell.
Hearing movement nearby, I turn and see that Evan and Ruth have brought Abby back out. Eying us with caution, Abby looks kinda nervous and worried, but to her credit she hasn't run screaming out the door just yet. I don't know how much Benjamin has told Evan and Ruth, and how much they've told Abby, but so far it seems like things aren't going too badly. Damn it, right now I really need a cigarette.
"Sit down, Abigail," Benjamin says. To my surprise, Abby does as he asks, and he sits next to her. It's weird seeing how obediently she seems to be doing what she's told. "First things first," Benjamin says, smiling, "can you open your mouth for me, please?" He pulls a small metal device from his pocket. It looks like some kind of medical screwdriver. "I'm going to remove these braces for you," he says. "They're doing you no good at all. In fact, they're probably going to cause you some pain if they're left on for too long."
"We thought they'd help her," Ruth mutters.
"I'm sure you had the best of intentions," Benjamin replies. "Abigail, there's no reason to be scared. We're here to help you. These braces are entirely unnecessary. There's nothing wrong with you."
To my surprise, Abigail opens her mouth and lets Benjamin reach inside with the device.
"Maybe you should get a proper dentist to do that," I point out.
"I know what I'm doing," Benjamin says. He fiddles for a moment, and finally he removes the braces and puts them on the table. A shiver runs down my spine as I look at the mass of metal wires and screws that were in her mouth. "How does that feel, Abigail?" Benjamin asks.
She closes her mouth and stares at him.
"Tell me," he continues, "have you ever spoken?"
She shakes her head.
"Remind you of anyone?" I whisper to Todd.
"Would it surprise you to know," Benjamin continues, "that your father, also, doesn't speak?" He pauses for a moment. "However, while he has a very good reason for his silence, you do not. There's nothing stopping you from using your voice. You're among friends now, Abigail. I think it would be a very good idea if you start talking. You must have a lot of questions."
"Go ahead, honey," Evan says.
Abby looks over at Todd, and then at me, and then back at Benjamin. We all wait for her to say something, but she seems to be hesitating, as if she's scared.
Abigail
Callerton, New Mexico.
"Where -" I start to say. It feels so strange to finally speak, after all these years. I take a deep breath and decide to try again. "Where are they?" I ask. My voice is totally different to how I expected: it's a little lighter and more high-pitched. Frankly, I sound kind of girly. I swallow, wondering if that might make a difference. Okay, time to try again. "Where are they?" I ask a second time, but still my voice is very feminine. Weird. Really weird. I run my tongue over my teeth.
"Who do you mean?" Benjamin replies. He has a silky smooth voice; he sounds comforting and sympathetic, and I instinctively feel I can trust him. On the other hand, I've learned over the years that people you think you can trust are often the ones who'll hurt you the most.
"My parents," I say. I look over at Evan and Ruth. "I mean, my real parents. No -" I pause for a moment. Damn, life was so much simpler when I didn't talk and all my thoughts stayed inside. It's so easy to say the wrong thing. "I mean my blood parents," I continue. "My birth parents. You know who I mean. Where are they?"
"It's complicated," Benjamin says. "Your father is in a very difficult place, but we can take you to him. In fact, that's one of the reasons we're here. It's very important that you spend time with him, Abigail. He has a great deal to teach you, and time is running out. You need to see him."
I stare at him for a moment. This is all too much to take in. "Abby," I say eventually.
"Excuse me?" he replies.
"I prefer to be called Abby," I tell him. "Not Abigail. Thanks."
"Of course," he says. "Abby."
I take a deep breath. "Why didn't my real father come with you today?" I ask. Something about this whole set-up seems wrong. "Is he, like, in a wheelchair or confined to bed or something? Is he in prison? In hospital? What's going on?"
"It's really very complicated," Benjamin continues. "He -"
"Does he know you've come to get me?" I ask. "Is it, like, his birthday soon and you're gonna surprise him with me?"
Benjamin pauses for a moment. "None of those things."
"What's his name?"
"Patrick," he replies. "Your father's name is Patrick."
"Patrick," I say. A shiver runs down my spine. I've wondered for so long what my parents were like, and now I'm getting answers. I always imagined my real Mom and Dad as this young couple who couldn't handle a baby, but who ended up staying together and being happy. I kinda assumed they probably had other kids later on. Call me crazy, but for some stupid reason in my head I decided that my parents' names were Thomas and Sarah. Patrick sounds... a little weird. "He sounds old," I say. "Is he old?"
Benjamin smiles. "I'm afraid it will take quite some time to answer most of your questions."
"Do I look like him?" I ask. "Wait, what about my Mom?"
"Her name was Sophie," he says. "Sophie Hart."
"So I'm Abby Hart?" I reply. "That's my real name?" I look over at Evan and Ruth. I never liked the surname Parlour anyway. Hart sounds a little better. "You know what I mean," I say, not wanting to hurt the couple who've raised me all these years. Suddenly I realize something, and I turn back to Benjamin. "Wait," I say, my voice trembling. "You said her name... was Sophie? Like, in the past tense."
He nods. "Unfortunately, Abigail... Abby...
Unfortunately, your birth mother died many years ago, shortly after you were born. She was able to hold you once. It was brief, but she did at least manage to meet you before she passed away."
I take a deep breath. For some stupid reason, I feel like I want to start crying. Sophie Hart, my mother, is dead. I never met her. I never even knew her name until now. But the knowledge that she's dead feels so... huge. "Did she die in childbirth?" I ask.
"No," he says. "She died shortly after you were born. I can tell you the whole story at a later date. It's extremely complicated and I'm afraid we don't have time at the moment. For now, it's very important that we get going. We have a long journey ahead of us, and -"
"Wait," I say, suddenly feeling like this is becoming too overwhelming. "Back up. I don't remember agreeing to go anywhere with you. Where exactly do you think you're taking me?"
"It's okay, honey," Evan says.
"We're taking you to meet your father," Benjamin says.
"And what if I don't want to go?" I ask, feeling a sense of panic rise through my body. I feel like this is all happening way too fast. "I mean, what if I just want to stay here, or maybe I want to be by myself? If this Patrick guy wants to meet me so bad, maybe he should come and find me instead of sending you three. What kind of person sends other people to collect his daughter, anyway? Or if he doesn't know you're here, maybe it's best like that. I mean..." I pause, aware that I'm rambling. "I don't know if I want to go with you," I say eventually.
"You have to," Evan says.
I turn to him. "Why?" I wait for an answer. "There's something you're not telling me," I say after a moment. "I feel like you're all in on some big secret, and I'm the only one who's being kept in the dark, and I'm not going anywhere until you fill me in."
"You feel different," Benjamin says. "It's true, isn't it? You feel like you're not the same as other people."
"I'm a teenager," I reply. "I've got... hormones and stuff." Damn it, if someone else said that about me, I'd punch them.
"But this is more than that," he continues. "You know, deep down, that there's something very different about you, and you're right. There is. Haven't you noticed the way other people react to you? Doesn't it feel as if other people can instinctively sense that you're not one of them? When you come with us, you'll get to find out exactly what makes you so different." He points at the younger guy he brought with him. "This is Todd Hart. He's your uncle. He's Sophie's brother."
I stare at this Todd guy. "Seriously?" I ask, swallowing hard.
"Hi," Todd says. He seems like a kind of sombre guy.
I look at the woman standing next to him. "Are you my aunt?"
She shakes her head.
"Are you my grandmother?" I ask.
She scowls at me.
I turn back to Evan. "Do you remember when I was a kid, and you taught me not to go off with strangers? Well... These people are the strangest strangers I've ever seen. I mean, how do you know they're not just a bunch of weirdos?" I glance back at Benjamin. "No offense."
"You can trust them," Evan replies. "Abby, do you really think we'd send you away like this if we weren't absolutely certain that they're trustworthy?"
"Mrs. Parlour," Benjamin says suddenly. "May I call you Ruth?" She nods. "Forgive my indiscretion in broaching this matter, but I believe you have struggled for many years to conceive a child of your own."
"It's why we adopted," she says, her eyes filled with tears.
"Would it surprise you to learn," Benjamin continues, "that you're pregnant right now, and that the child is absolutely healthy and will be carried to term?"
"Shut up," I say to him, knowing full well that this is something that has haunted Ruth for years. It's not right for this Benjamin guy to come in here and start messing with her emotions like this. "You've got no right to talk to her like that," I tell him.
"Benjamin, I think you might be over-stepping the line," Evan says.
"Do you have a pregnancy test in your bathroom?" Benjamin asks Ruth, ignoring the rest of us. "Perhaps you kept one around, just in case?"
"Get out!" I say, realizing that this guy is taking liberties. I stand up, determined to drag this asshole out of the house. Suddenly, I feel incredibly protective of Ruth. "You can't just come in here and start messing with people like this! You're a -" I look over at the doorway and see that Ruth has already gone through to the bathroom. Even though it's obvious that Benjamin is lying, she can't help latching on to the possibility that maybe - just maybe - he's right. "This isn't fair," I say, turning to Evan. "Why are you letting him say stuff like this?" I hurry through to catch up to Ruth. When I reach the bathroom door, I knock. "Ruth! Are you okay in there?"
"Leave me alone!" she calls back.
I turn to Benjamin, who has come through to the hallway with Evan. "Do you see what you've done?" I ask, turning to Evan. "I can't believe you even let these freaks into your house."
"Benjamin first contacted me many years ago..." he replies.
"And you fell for it? Are you so fucking gullible?"
Behind me, the bathroom door opens and Ruth emerges, holding a pregnancy test stick. She looks stunned. "It's positive," she says, her eyes wide as she walks slowly over to Evan. "It's positive," she says again, as if she can't believe it. She just stands there, completely overwhelmed. "It's positive..." She says for a third time.
"Bullshit," I say, walking over and looking at the test stick. "It's probably an old kit. How long have you had it?"
"Just a few weeks," she says, turning to me with tears in her eyes. "I know the doctors said I'd never be able to conceive, but I still..." She pauses for a moment. "I still checked every month, just in case. I never really expected it to happen."
I turn to Benjamin. "This is a trick," I say, but something deep in my gut tells me that I'm wrong. I want to believe that somehow Benjamin placed a fake test in the bathroom, that somehow he's just an asshole who's out to mess with us, but deep down I'm starting to realize that something bigger is happening here. "How..." I stare at him as Evan and Ruth embrace. "Who the fuck are you? How did you do this?"
"I didn't do anything," he says. "Let's just say that the people I work for have their methods." He turns to Evan. "I promised you, the first time we spoke, that this would happen if you and your wife kept your side of the bargain. I believe you'll find that I've delivered."
"You knew this would happen?" Ruth asks, stepping back and looking at Evan.
"I didn't allow myself to believe it," he replies.
I take a deep breath. So it's true. Ruth's really pregnant, after all these years, and that means that everything else Benjamin told me is probably true as well. My mother, Sophie, really is dead, and my father is a man named Patrick. Suddenly the full weight of this realization hits me. "You're gonna take me to meet my Dad?" I say, feeling as if I might faint at any moment. I've waited for a moment like this, and now I'm terrified.
"It's all true," Evan says. "We've known this day would come for a long time."
"It's true," Benjamin says "and it's imperative that we leave immediately."
"What's the rush?" I ask. "Can't I..." I turn to see Ruth and Evan hugging again, lost in their own world of joy, and it occurs to me that they don't need me anymore. I was the fake daughter, the one who didn't quite work out. Now they're going to have a child of their own. "Can't I have one more..." I start to say, and then I realize it would be pointless to stay another moment. Part of me wants one more night in my old bed, one more night in my old room, one more breakfast at the same old table. "Are we leaving right now?" I ask.
"You can bring a bag," Benjamin says. "We have a van with plenty of space."
Ten minutes later, I've packed a large hold-all and I'm standing at the front door. Apart from some clothes, it turns out I didn't really have that much I wanted to take with me anyway. Benjamin, Todd and the woman are waiting out in the van, and now - somehow - I'm supposed to say goodbye to Evan and Ruth. To be honest, over the years I came to resent th
em, and until today I just wanted to get away from them. Now that I'm being pulled away, though, I suddenly realize how much I'll miss them. For one thing, I want to see their happiness when Ruth gives birth. It feels like they're finally going to get the family they want, and I feel sad that I won't get to be a part of it. At the same time, this feels right. It's as if I've been waiting my whole life for someone to come and take me away, to show me the truth about why I feel so different, and now it's finally happening. I'm terrified, but I know I have to do this.
"I'll come back," I say, close to tears. "I'll come back and visit. I'll come and see your kid." The words sound so strange coming from my mouth. I'm still not used to the fact that suddenly I'm talking, like a normal person.
"We look forward to it," Ruth says. Tears streaming down her cheeks, she puts a hand on either side of my head. "I want you to remember," she says, barely able to talk through her sobs, "that you can always come back to us. I want you to know that we'll always love you, because to us you'll always be our daughter, okay? I'm sorry we weren't the best parents, but you must never forget that we love you so much." She breaks down crying. Not knowing what else to do, I put my arms around her.
"She means it," Evan says. "You'll always be in our hearts, Abigail."
"I know," I say. "I have to go and meet my father. You understand that, right?"
"We wouldn't let you do anything else," Ruth says.
Realizing I'm close to tears, I give them both another hug before turning and walking away. After fantasizing about getting away from here for so long, suddenly I feel like I don't want to go. I guess I'm scared to find out what my father's like. I mean, what if he's not a nice guy? As I reach the end of the driveway, I spot a familiar figure walking along the road, headed straight for my house. It's Donna, grinning like the psychotic bitch that she is. "Hey, fuck-head," she says, with a look of pure, delighted evil in her eyes. She's carrying a small cake. "I came to take your family up on their kind dinner invitation. I hope you're hungry."