“Adaline, I need you to get out. I don’t want to force you, but I will make you if you don’t listen. You can trust me.”
She didn’t move. Her vulnerability was beautiful, yet her strength both in mind and spirit was more so. “I want to trust you.” Sighing heavily, she dodged direct eye contact with him. “I’m just not sure I can. Why are we at a gym?”
He swallowed hard and glanced away. “Do you recognize this at all?”
“Sure. I came here a few times as a kid.”
“With who? Do you remember?”
Adaline scrunched her nose and closed her eyes. “I have no idea who brought me here.”
“Would you like to know?”
She nodded and peered at him, waiting for an answer.
He got out of the car and holstered a gun, keeping it near his body. “Come with me.”
“Dr. Lynchester’s death really has you on edge.” Adaline followed closely behind him.
“Yes, it has.” Sam placed his finger to his lip, directing her to silence. He moved toward the rear of the building and held his 9mm Glock as they turned a corner. Anything could happen once they got inside. He’d been attacked, and Dr. Lynchester was dead. Someone wanted to get to Adaline, and they were closing in fast. Sam pressed his back against the building and motioned for Adaline to duck down on the ground. He turned the doorknob, and to his surprise, it swung open. Waving his hand, he signaled for Adaline to follow him.
The gym smelled of sweat and plastic, and it hadn’t changed a bit since the last time he saw it. Behind him, the door clicked shut loudly and he jumped, aiming his gun in the direction of the noise. He examined the room before he continued forward. “Stay back.”
Lockers were on the right side, and a wood bench greeted him. Years ago, he had tied his shoes on that stool, many times after sweating off thoughts of Adaline.
“Sam?” Adaline asked.
He jolted out of his reminiscing and stared at her. “Sorry. We have to find a locker.”
“Does it belong to you?”
“Sort of,” Sam said, peering at the locker numbers. “There. That one. Would you open it?”
Adaline held her hands in her back pockets, glaring intently at it. “Why me? What are you playing?”
“I need to be on watch,” he said. “Open it.”
She hesitated. Her eyebrows twitched when she was unsure of something or someone. Just another thing he’d miss once she read the contents in the locker. Everything in there would change how Adaline looked at life.
Him.
Dr. Lynchester and her past.
His heart thudded, and his ears picked up the humming beat smacking through his chest. This could be it. He grabbed her soft hand and held it for a minute. She didn’t let go and squeezed his.
“Remember that I’ve always wanted to protect you.” He reluctantly gave her the four-digit code for the locker combination.
She spun the correct numbers and lifted the latch.
Click.
Adaline opened the locker to a big pile of papers.
“This is for you. All of it. The answers you’ve been searching for—they’re all here.”
Her eyebrows twitched again, and she gazed long and hard as she lightly brought her shaking hand to the papers and laid it on top of the pile. She closed her eyes and hummed a soothing melody to herself.
She’s afraid.
Sam put his hand on her shoulder and she jerked with discomfort.
“My hidden secrets?” She gripped the stack and held them in her arms.
He nodded. His phone buzzed, saving him from answering her. “Abbott. We’re talking now?” Sam paused. “Of course. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Adaline’s nose wrinkled. “What’s that all about?”
“It seems like the past is haunting all of us today. We need to go…now.”
He slammed the locker shut and ran toward the back door.
Fifty-Nine
Adaline Rushner
Friday, November 12th
1:00 p.m.
She pressed the edges of the file folder she’d received from the gym locker against her skin. It gave her a calming sensation as it pinched her nerves up and down her hand. Important information lived inside the folder she cradled—information she couldn’t completely remember about herself.
Her past.
Periods of time kept static for her now.
She closed her eyes and pictured the life she’d wanted as a child. To have a family that loved her. To have a home, a place to feel safe and protected. A fancy dress or a diamond necklace, to let her inner child play and be a queen for the day. She’d had those with Cache and the girls, once upon a time.
Girls, talk to me. Don’t leave me.
Adaline couldn’t hear them anymore. She desperately wanted to talk to them and to listen to their voices, just once more. They had to be out there, waiting for her.
My pills. I need them.
Clinging to her shirt, she gripped and tugged it in multiple directions and clenched her jaw.
Fight, dammit. Face it.
She let go of her shirt and slid her finger across the side of the folder and opened it. A release form from the psych ward crossed her eyes. Adaline scrolled the page and read who gave permission to let her out of that prison. The signature belonged to Dr. Lynchester.
She gasped.
“Dr. Lynchester’s the one who got me out of that place?”
Sam glanced out the window. “Keep looking.”
Adaline turned the page to a picture with a black piano and a little girl sitting on a stool. The caption above it read, “You can do anything.” She jolted as a song began playing in her mind. It was a pleasant melody, soft and light, like a linen sheet grazing her face. Touching her cheek, she closed her eyes and swayed her head, humming to the sweet tune, and connecting to a long-lost friend. One that had been forgotten for a time.
“I remember this piano. I loved playing.”
“You always beamed when your fingers pressed the keys,” Sam said.
Adaline placed the photograph back in the folder and picked up a new one. The picture appeared to be taken in a garden. The little girl wore a white satin gown, red high heels, and a long string of pearls. The beads of the necklace clung to the girl’s long, blonde ringlets. Her smile captured beauty and happiness as she looked at a stunning, blonde woman sitting next to her on a picnic blanket.
Dr. Lynchester.
Her lip quivered and she hugged herself. “That little girl is me.”
She caressed the photo as flashes of that day hit her. The clacking of the porcelain teacups, crashing into each other to do cheers for a day spent together, rang in her mind. She inhaled through her nose and revisited the muffins on the porcelain plates. Almond, vanilla, and berry greeted her vision.
Adaline exhaled and smirked.
Blueberry muffins.
Dr. Lynchester wore a blue summer dress, and her hair was pinned up in a yellow sunhat. Adaline pressed her lips together, remembering the crimson lipstick Dr. Lynchester placed on her to match her own. They had talked about the future, and Adaline heard two things that she hadn’t been told in a long time: that she was loved, and she was special. She lay next to Dr. Lynchester and placed her head on her shoulder while they took turns reading The Secret Garden together. About mid-day, a flock of white butterflies flew around some of the bushes.
She smiled thinking about the grace and freedom the butterflies had. Adaline became a butterfly that day, throwing her arms in the air and flying right alongside them as they paraded around the garden with elegance. Holding her chest, she swayed back and forth.
“I remember her.” She paused. “I did have a mother. It was her. She took me in.”
He nodded.
“It wasn’t your family?” She felt confused by the two memories.
“You stayed with her for a while, and then my family did take you in,” Sam said.
An unexpected tear fell from her eye. “She was the cl
osest thing I had to a mother, and I forgot about her. And now she’s gone.”
“She’s never left you. She’s always been protecting you, right from the start.”
Adaline dipped her head. “You’ve tried to remind me.”
“Dr. Lynchester wanted you to see this, to help you find yourself. That’s all she’s ever wanted,” he said.
Staring down, she thumbed through more papers, stumbling across a newspaper article titled, “Orphan Boy Homeless after Thieving Parents Die in House Fire.” The little boy in the picture had brown curly hair, brown eyes, and had to be no older than ten.
Adaline looked closer and pressed the picture to her face. She knew those beautiful eyes, like the treasures at the antique store she stared upon many times.
Cache. My Cache.
Did he know that I killed his parents?
The paper fell from her hand and she grabbed at her chest. Her chin quivered.
“I can’t take it anymore,” she said, gazing at the ground. The pain felt like fire, seeping through her body, one stab at a time, for everyone she had wronged. She clung to her arms tightly, and her eyes stung from the effort of holding in the tears that had to escape. The tears that should’ve been shed years ago. The tears that had clarity and understanding of what happened and wanted to wash all the afflictions away.
NO! NO! NO!
Screaming, Adaline opened her eyes for the first time, letting all the pain and sorrow in. Her tears flowed to every memory, dripping off her chin onto her shirt.
I killed my parents.
I killed Cache’s parents.
NO! she screamed.
I hurt the people I love the most.
I don’t know how to let people in.
I was abused and thrown out.
I’ve never truly loved myself.
Adaline hit the door and continued to weep. Breathing in deeply, she held her own hand and peered out the window.
I’m not worthless.
I’m not a piece of shit.
I’m lovable.
She wiped tears from her face.
I’m a good mother and wife.
Cache, Leora, and Eliza brought joy and happiness into her life where a hole once had been. They helped her to find light and goodness in the world, and in people—to see the beauty within herself through them. Adaline would turn herself in for the things she’d done, but not until she found the girls and apologized to Cache for all the pain she caused him.
Sam placed his hand on hers and didn’t say a word.
“You got to know Dr. Lynchester well, didn’t you?”
“I did,” he said, softly.
“I’m so sorry for causing you pain, Sam. I truly am. Now Dr. Lynchester is dead because she was helping me. I can’t bear to keep putting those I care about in harm’s way.”
“We make our own choices, and helping you was what we decided. You can’t take responsibility for that. I would do it all over again.”
“I know, and that’s why I’ve never been good for you. Look at the mess you’ve tried to cover up because you love me,” she said. “That’s not okay. I want you to have a life full of joy. One where you’re safe and happy.” Adaline paused. “I wish I had allowed myself to remember earlier, but I can’t fix the past. I can only change my future and try to make things right for the people I care for. Someone is after me, and you need to get out now.”
He raised his fist and left it in the air while he growled. “But we’re good together.” Sam grabbed her hand and held it.
She shook her head. “I can’t be yours in the way you want. I love Cache.”
Sam stared at her with intensity, then let go of her hand. “I made a promise to my best friend that I’d always protect her. That’s what I’m going to do. Nothing more,” he said. “I’m not leaving until I avenge Dr. Lynchester’s death and make sure you’re safe.”
“Okay, then.” Adaline sniffled and reached into the folder again. She carried two photos in her hand—one of herself and one of Cache, as kids. Both pictures showed distance in their eyes.
Sadness.
An envelope addressed to both of them fell on her lap. She shook her head and paused before she opened the thin paper in her hands.
Adaline and Cache,
I wronged you both. My intention was to save Adaline from the life that was taking her nowhere and give her a happy life, full of things she deserved. Cache, I will forever be saddened by the death of your parents. They didn’t deserve to die in that way. I didn’t know they were in the house. Please forgive me for all that I’ve done, and know that I’ve loved you both as my own.
Dr. Lynchester
Adaline clung to the letter and looked over at Sam. “Why is she talking about not knowing Cache’s parents were in the house?”
“I have no idea. She never told me any of this.” He gulped. The silence was clear enough to Adaline that she had to figure it out on her own if she wanted answers. She glanced out the window. “When Cache and I met ten years ago at the gas station, he didn’t seem to remember me, and I never mentioned growing up in Owling,” she said, frowning. Adaline bit the inside of her lip and her breath quickened. “What if he knew all along who I was and blames me for his parents’ death? This is the revenge you’re talking about, isn’t it?”
Sam nodded. “I’ve considered that many times. I don’t think he’s the man you think you know.”
Play along. Sam may be playing you too. You can’t trust anyone.
“He’d never hurt me or our girls. Cache is the kindest man I know, but—” She tilted her head.
“But, what?”
“He’s never believed me that the girls are alive. There’s no trust, which is why we’ve been so distant,” she said. “It would be easy for him to not trust me if he’s untrustworthy. He lost his family and hasn’t allowed himself to get close to anyone but me, yet he’s still distant. I suppose he’s always been that way.” Adaline fidgeted. “No, he’s not involved. He can’t be.”
Sam cleared his throat. “You have me.”
That’s what he wants. Me.
Adaline smiled and scratched her cheek. “I’m so grateful you are here, truly. You know, I need a drink. Could we stop at that gas station?”
“I could use some cigarettes,” he said, pulling into the station.
“Since when do you smoke?” she asked.
“That’s not important. Just calms my nerves.” Sam pulled out a lighter and pressed the button on the side. “What do you want to drink?”
“Ginger ale. I’m feeling nauseous.”
“You got it. I’ll be back in a minute,” he said, pressing the lighter again. A small flame lit and she stared at him through the glow. Adaline’s chest tightened and she could see three lit flames now with the instant dizziness that hit her. She closed her eyes and nodded.
The door slammed shut. She slowly opened her eyes and held her stomach. Adaline glanced at the ignition. Sam took the keys. Of course, he did. The orange tint of the flame spiraled around like a wave of energy as she peered around the car. Pain surged in her skull, foggy with jumbled memories seeming to vote off the ones they didn’t like—overriding her system. “Match. Fire.”
Ravenous flames soared through the sky. Colors and faces flashed, but she couldn’t make out any of the pictures or thoughts. She focused on the fire. The images formed, and she could see the brilliant blaze that swallowed her front door. Screams rattled the sky from within the rapid beast, and smoke clouded the air, carrying out whispered secrets. She hunched on the ground. The haze was thick, and her eyes stung. Adaline ran toward the home and halted as the temperature changed from warm to scalding.
Her skin hurt.
Adaline gasped for air and clung to her arms. Something happened before the fire. It was right there, creeping forward. The pain raged, and she fought it. Shaking her head, she went back to the memory.
She gripped a match in her hand and waved it like a flag—her own version of freedom. It lit, fly
ing in the air toward the porch stairs—a torch of celebration. The flame sizzled rapidly across the wood planks and suddenly ceased in a thin smoke trail. An explosion erupted from the other side of the house, in the opposite direction of where she stood. Someone wearing a black jumpsuit and a mask glanced in her direction for a moment before they ran off through the cornfields.
Adaline clasped her mouth. The file folder on her lap fell to the ground. Her stomach gurgled, and she hung out the door just in time to save the car from her breakfast.
She fully wanted to harm her mother after everything she’d done to her.
The flames went out. I started the fire, but I didn’t kill anyone.
Adaline slouched over and let out the breath she’d been holding their whole drive.
Dr. Lynchester caused the explosion in the house. That made sense why she apologized in the letter. The same people that she knew she wronged were the same ones Dr. Lynchester burned, and now she was dead.
She shivered.
The Owl Keeper took the fall for her, and she let him. Adaline’s hand pressed her heart as she remembered the pain and guilt she felt watching him leave in the distance. Confined in a prison as she’d always been, only she caused his. He’d have every reason to hire someone to hurt her and Dr. Lynchester for being locked away like a mutt, something her mother used to call him.
Sam.
She broke his heart and never gave him a chance to be anything more than a friend. And the fact that she never remembered him or Dr. Lynchester for long had to have brought up some betrayal and anger. But the thought that maybe he set this whole thing up to come back into her life and try to be the hero unsettled her. To ruin her marriage and try to get a second chance. It sure appeared that way.
Cache.
My Cache.
She didn’t even want to think about it. He had a strong motive to want to be rid of her for being a part of killing his parents. It didn’t matter that she didn’t mean to, because that wouldn’t bring them back for him.
Her stomach gurgled again and she clung to it.
Adaline couldn’t imagine any of them harming her, let alone hate her enough to kidnap the girls.
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