Take On Me

by Stacy Claflin

  “It’s your favorite place to eat.”

  “And you hate it.”

  “I don’t hate it.”

  Parker tilted his head. “Yeah, you do.”

  “Let’s not argue.” Nick gathered their trash. No sense in arguing just yet—there would be plenty of that soon enough.

  “What do we need to talk about?” Parker asked, once they were outside. “Is it my history class? I’m doing extra credit to bring my grade up.”

  Nick shook his head. “It’s not that. Let’s grab some ice cream.” He headed next door.

  Parker’s expression tightened. “This doesn't have anything to do with school, does it?”

  “No.” How much easier it would be if that was all it was.

  They ordered cones, then sat in the Mustang.

  “You’re letting me eat this in your car?”

  Nick just shrugged and stared out the window.

  “This must be bad.”

  Nick watched his ice cream melt before throwing it away outside. He shouldn’t have ordered that in the first place. When he got back into the car, Parker was finishing his off.

  There was no more putting off the discussion. “Your mom gave me some concerning news recently.”

  Parker scowled. “She’s fake news.”

  “I wish she were.” Nick drew in another deep breath.

  “What did she say this time? Does she have another secret kid?”

  Nick squeezed the steering wheel and closed his eyes for a moment before turning to Parker. “No. She said that you might be Dave’s.”

  Parker’s face paled. “What?”

  “It was the last thing I wanted to believe. You’re my son.”

  Parker didn’t blink, didn’t move at all.

  “She said she thought I was your dad, but there was a chance I wasn’t. I wanted to believe I was. Am.”

  “And you’re telling me, which means…” Parker’s voice trailed off.

  Nick choked back a lump in his throat and nodded.

  “Say it.” Parker stared him down, his eyes shining with tears.

  Tears stung Nick’s eyes. “I ran a DNA test.” His voice wavered.

  “And?”

  “Biologically speaking, Dave’s your—” Nick struggled to say the word. He couldn’t get it out. He could take down an armed gang leader but couldn’t say this one word to his son.

  “You aren’t my dad.” Tears ran down Parker’s face.

  Nick couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen him cry, and it ripped him to shreds. “I am your dad! I raised you and have been your dad in every way that matters since the second you were born. This doesn’t change how I feel about you.”

  Parker was quiet for a few moments. “That psycho is actually my dad?”

  “He’s only your genetic father, not your dad.” Nick’s shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry. She lied to both of us.”

  “What does this mean?” More tears streamed down his face.

  “Nothing. It means nothing.” Nick wiped his own tears. “The only thing it changes is your medical records. Instead of mine, his medical history is now yours. That’s the only thing that’s different. In every other sense of the word, I’m still your dad. I’ll never love you any less, and I’ll continue raising you. I’m your dad legally, so nothing has to change.”

  Parker rested his head against the seat and closed his eyes. “This changes everything.”

  “It doesn’t have to.”

  He didn’t say anything for what felt like forever, then finally he turned and looked at Nick. “You’re going to keep taking care of me?”

  The fear in Parker’s eyes cut like a knife. “Yes, of course. You’re my son! Nothing can ever change that. Nothing.”

  Parker’s mouth formed a straight line. “But I’m always giving you trouble. Mouthing off and making life difficult.”

  “That’s what teenagers do. It’s what I did to my parents.”

  “But… but now you don’t have to put up with it—with me.” The fear in his expression deepened.

  Nick swallowed the lump in his throat and put his hand on Parker’s arm. “Do you remember me fighting your mom for you kids? For all of you? Go through whatever teenage rebellion you need to. I’m here no matter what. That hasn’t changed. Just like before, I’ll fight for you even if you’re fighting against me.”

  Parker studied him but didn’t respond.

  “I didn’t have to fight for you kids when your mom moved you all across the country, but I did. I never stopped. Believe me, with everything she threw at me, the easy thing would have been to give up. Other men might have, but I didn’t. And I’m sure as hell not going to stop fighting for you now. I’ll keep saying this until you believe me—you’re my son, and nothing will change that. Nothing.”

  More tears shone in his eyes. “Will you take me to talk to Mom?”

  He should’ve seen that one coming. “Yeah, I can set up a time.”

  “No, I mean now.”

  “I’ll need to call them first.”

  Parker crossed his arms. “Okay. I need to talk with her.”

  “I understand. Do you want to call her?”

  He shook his head. “This needs to be face-to-face.”

  “That I understand, as well. Let me call down there. I also need to see if Genevieve can watch the girls if we’re going to be gone that long.”

  “Shouldn’t we tell them, too?”

  Nick drew in a deep breath and held it a moment before speaking. “Let’s take this one thing at a time. Do you want to tell them, or do you want to find out about visiting your mom?”

  Parker didn’t answer right away, but then he looked Nick square in the eyes. “I need to talk to Mom.”

  Nick pulled out his phone. “Then I have some calls to make.”

  Photos

  Alex studied the photos sent over from Spokane. The little house in the woods was definitely a crime scene. Some of the images made him sick to his stomach. There was blood splatter on a couple walls, human feces in some corners, ropes tied to chairs and other furniture. It was sick, and made worse by the fact that Ayla and her parents might’ve been there.

  An arm rested on his shoulder, and he jumped.

  Zoey kissed him. “Sorry for startling you. Just wanted to let you know the movie’s almost over.”

  “Already?” Alex glanced at the time. Sure enough, an hour and a half had passed since Ariana and Ayla had sat down to watch the latest superhero movie. “How’s she doing?”

  Zoey smiled. “Ayla had as much popcorn as Ari, and they both have a crush on the main character.”

  “She doesn’t remember anything? Even having seen the movie before?”

  “Not that she’s mentioned. She knew who all the characters were, but didn’t know why—if it was from seeing this movie or other ones.”

  Alex frowned. “I suppose it’ll all come in due time.”

  Zoey gestured toward the screen. “Is that where she was held?”

  “Potentially. I’m going to have to show her and see her reaction.”

  “You think seeing these will bring it all back?” Zoey asked. “If she was there, I mean.”

  “I have no idea. But I’d hate for this to be what-starts her memory.”

  Zoey turned away from the screen. “I can’t look at that any longer. It reminds me of the shack where Dave kept me and Ava.”

  Alex closed his laptop. “I don’t want you to start having flashbacks. Do you mind getting the girls ready for bed while I sort through the photos and decide which ones to show Ayla?”

  “You’re going to show her before bed?”

  “You think that’s a bad idea?”

  “What if it triggers nightmares?” Zoey frowned.

  “Then I’ll stay awake with her and help her deal with the memories. As hard as it will be, it has to be better than this amnesia.”

  “We should have Macy help once Ayla does start remembering.”

  Alex stiffened at the pros
pect.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “She brought that up when they were over.”

  Zoey ran her fingers through his hair. “You don’t think that’s a good idea?”

  “Macy wants Ayla to stay with her.”

  “Again, you don’t think that’s a good idea?”

  Alex’s skin prickled. “When I’m the only person the poor girl remembers? There has to be a reason she held onto those memories. I’m not going to send her away and further traumatize her. She’s been through enough.”

  Zoey rubbed his shoulders. “Macy can help Ayla without having her live there. Look at what she did for me, and I never moved in with her.”

  Alex pulled her close and brushed his lips across hers. “Thank you, Zo.”

  She held his gaze. “We all only want what’s best for Ayla, and nobody could argue against her staying with you. She clearly adores you. And who could blame her?” Zoey kissed his cheek then headed to the main part of the house.

  Alex took a deep breath before opening his laptop again. He separated the most disturbing photos from the rest. He’d only show those to Ayla if necessary. The images alone would be enough to give any girl her age nightmares, whether she’d been there or not.

  He quickly checked his blog comments to see if any needed replies but soon got sidetracked with comments about Ayla. According to his readers, both social media and the news were on fire discussing the blindfolded girl found just outside the woods near Spokane.

  Alex’s pulse drummed in his ears as he read through the comments then checked out the stories online. Thankfully, nobody knew who she was or that she’d gone with Alex, but people were dying of curiosity. Rumors were flying all over the place. There was even a blurry picture of Ayla in the blindfold, but it was impossible to tell who it was—and people had tried. There was a post with over a thousand comments discussing that, and numerous people had enlarged the photo and made their own observations.

  Everyone was a detective these days.

  He pulled on his hair. Couldn’t people just leave the poor girl alone? Wasn’t it obvious that was what she needed—space and privacy?

  The doorknob turned, and Alex immediately closed the tab. Zoey walked in with her arm around Ayla.

  Alex got up and stretched. “How was the movie?”

  “Good.” Ayla yawned.

  “Do you still want to look at the pictures of that house?”

  Her eyes widened. “I… don’t know.”

  Alex nodded. “I know it seems scary, but you know what? They’re just photos of a house. You might not even have ever been there.”

  A determined expression crossed her face. “I probably wouldn’t recognize it even if I had.”

  “So, you want to have a look?”

  “Yeah.”

  Alex walked over to his desk. “If at any point, you want to stop, all you have to do is say so. We’ll put the pictures away.”

  She nodded, and he motioned for her to sit in his chair.

  Once she was settled, he reached for the keyboard. “Sure you’re ready?”

  Ayla nodded, her face slightly pale.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Maybe it’ll help me remember something.”

  He squeezed her shoulder and hoped they were ready for it if the images did bring back memories. Then he pulled up the pictures he’d separated for her to look at.

  The first one was simply a picture of the outside of the house. It was just a little one-story with slightly peeling paint and some ivy growing up one side. Behind it were thick woods.

  Ayla stared at it, her expression not revealing anything. Finally, she looked up at him. “It isn’t familiar.”

  “That’s okay.” Alex switched to the next picture. It was of the living room, and was the least disturbing of all the rooms. It had some rope in one corner but otherwise just looked like any other living room.

  Ayla leaned closer and squinted. “I don’t recognize it.”

  “No problem. Let’s have a look at another one.” He went to the next picture. It was the kitchen. The counters were cluttered with dishes, packaged meals, and fast food wrappers. In the middle of the floor was a large brown stain. There was no mistaking what that was, but with any luck, Ayla wouldn’t realize what it was.

  She looked up at him. “Did someone die there?”

  So much for that.

  Alex exchanged a glance with Zoey. “We don’t know what happened there.”

  Ayla frowned. “Looks pretty obvious to me.”

  “But you’ve never seen it before?”

  She shrugged. “I was blindfolded, remember? Probably didn’t see anything if I was there.”

  “You might not have had it on the entire time.”

  Ayla played with her hair, at a random spot where it was shorter. “It was glued to me.”

  “Maybe not the whole time.”

  Zoey cleared her throat. “Should we look at the next picture?”

  “Yeah.” Alex clicked over to a picture of a long hallway. It was fairly nondescript, except for the splatterings on the walls and a knocked-over end table near a door with some items scattered around.

  Ayla’s eyes were wide as she stared, seeming to be focused on the table.

  “Have you seen that before?” Zoey asked.

  “No, but it feels familiar.”

  “It feels familiar?” Alex asked.

  She nodded. “I can’t really explain it. Like I can imagine what it smells like there.”

  “Really?” Alex exchanged another look with Zoey. “What do you think it might smell like?”

  Ayla wrinkled her nose. “Smelly. Like dust and dirt. Maybe a gross fireplace or something.”

  Was it possible she’d been there? He held back rapid-fire questions he was eager to ask. They needed to stay calm and relaxed to best help her remember anything. “It does look as if it could smell like that in there.”

  They went through the rest of the photos that he’d stuck in that folder. Ayla didn’t recognize anything else—if she’d actually recalled anything from the image of the hall. She’d just said it felt familiar.

  She looked up at Alex with wide eyes. “Are there any more?”

  His stomach twisted. The girl hadn’t reacted badly to the first set, so maybe the second set wouldn’t be so bad.

  Or this could be the calm before the storm.

  “Are there more?” she repeated.

  Zoey urged him with her eyes to answer.

  He swallowed. “There are, but they’re…” He struggled to find the right word.

  “Scarier.” Ayla leaned back in the chair. “I can handle it, Uncle Alex.”

  “Are you sure?”

  She crossed her arms and nodded. “Yes.”

  Against his better judgment, Alex opened the other folder. The first image was of a bedroom. A dirty twin bed was pushed against the wall, underneath a boarded window. The mattress was stained in several spots and some blankets draped over the foot of the bed and puddling on the ground. A rope lay next to the head of the bed on the carpet with blood splatter above it. The red droplets looked like they would be about the height of Ayla’s head if she were sitting on the floor, tied in place.

  She looked at him. “That room feels familiar, too.”

  Gone

  Alex rested on the pillow, exhaustion squeezing all over and his head pounding. Hopefully, he could sleep it all off. Ayla had tossed and turned before finally drifting asleep, and he hadn’t been able to leave her side until she had.

  His phone rang.

  Grumbling, Alex reached it to ignore the call and silence the phone. The screen showed Nick calling. He wouldn’t call this late unless it was an emergency.

  Alex accepted the call, his mind racing with worst-case scenarios. “Is everything okay?”

  “No.” His friend sounded near tears.

  “What’s wrong?” Alex bolted upright.

  “I told Parker, and now he took off.”

  “Told
Parker what?”

  “The results.”

  “Wait. You read—?” Then it hit him. Dave had fathered Parker, too. “Nick, I’m so sorry. You said you can’t find him?”

  “The day has been a nightmare, and as soon as we got home, he bolted. I don’t know where he is.”

  “Have you called it in?”

  Nick drew in a deep breath. “He hasn’t been abducted. He’s angry and hurt, and he’s hiding out somewhere. I just don’t know where. Will you come over and help me find him?”

  “You don’t have to ask. I’ll be right over.”

  “Thanks, Alex.”

  “See you in a few.” He ended the call then gave Zoey a gentle shake. “Zoey, I have to leave for a little bit.”

  She mumbled something incoherent and rolled over. “Huh? What’s going on?”

  “Nick got the results and Parker took off, upset. I’m going to help find him. Ayla’s sleeping, but if she wakes, I’ll need you to help her out.”

  Zoey rubbed her eyes. “Okay. Tell Nick I hope you guys find him soon.”

  Alex kissed her. “Get back to sleep, Zo.”

  “Love you.” She rolled over.

  “I love you, too.”

  He pulled on some pants and a hoodie, then hurried out to his car. His mind raced the entire way over, trying to think of places Parker might’ve gone. He had quite a few friends in the neighborhood and there was a park the kids liked to hang out at, but Nick had probably checked those out before calling. Where else would a middle school boy go when his world had just been turned upside down?

  Alex thought back to his preteen and early teen years. He’d always been sneaking out—going to parties with older kids, smoking, and drinking. He had basically done whatever he could to rebel against his parents. That was how Zoey had ended up pregnant with Ariana when Alex had only been thirteen.

  When he pulled up to Nick’s house, he was talking to a neighbor. Alex leaped out of the car, barely taking the time to close the door, and ran over. “Still haven’t found him?”

  Nick shook his head.

  The neighbor, a guy about Alex’s dad’s age, put his hand on Nick’s shoulder. “Like I said, my Cory did the same thing when he was about Parker’s age. He came back a few hours later.”