Revenge?

There we were in the middle of Matia's living room with information that made us both cringe. I stopped. After reading the journal, everything made sense to me. I read it again to make sure and realized I'd have to confront my mom about these new details. "Matia, I have to go."

I walked home wondering why my mom never told me about Syllia. Why had they lied to me?

My parents were watching the news on the TV. I walked right up to the remote and turned it off.

"Young lady!" My dad shouted at me.

"I know what happened to Syllia after I left."

My mom seemed to retreat into herself.

"Leslie! That is outrageous." My dad's face grew red.

I tossed the journal, open to the page where mom wrote the details, down on the coffee table.

My father looked like he was going to explode for a moment, then backed off. His voice grew measured. "You invaded your mother's privacy."

"She stole Maylin."

"What?"

"I told you before. She stole Maylin."

"That's impossible," mom finally snapped out of her silence.

"Mom! Why are you doing this?"

"Syllia? Stole Maylin? Are you sure?" My mom asked.

"She sat in my kitchen and told me so herself," I said. "So . . . are you going to tell me about why everyone was told she was dead?"

My mom looked at my dad and he nodded. "She ran away, Leslie. Her parents never believed everything that went on at school with the bullying. The Farrels never actually found her. It was easier for them to believe she was dead."

"So, they just stopped looking for her?"

"I suppose not, but no one in town had the heart to ask," Mom said.

"So, a woman who I thought has been dead since she was sixteen is alive. She shows up at my house for no reason. She kidnaps Maylin, and I have no clue where she is or why she did it?"

"Well." Mom drew out that single word until the hair on my arms stood up.

"Mother." I didn't want to know what came after that.

"She may be after something else," mom finally said.

I waited for her to tell me, but she just sat there, staring at me.

"Mother!"

"Syllia may be trying to get back at us."

"What for?"

"Your father and I, well, we tried to help her a long time ago. We even offered her a room at the house when you two were in high school."

"How come I didn't know that?"

"Because on the day we were going to tell you, and Syllia was supposed to move in, her parents refused to let it happen. She hated them for that, so she ran away."

"She's taking revenge on us?"

My father walked off to do something, then he came back into the room, carrying our dog, who'd been poisoned. "I think we have a real problem."