Chapter 6: Emergency Family Meeting

*Vin*

“Vin, I wish I could tell you everything but the truth is, I don’t know much.”

I sat across from Aqua’s grandfather, Aiden, at the little coffee shop on Eleventh Avenue. It was where I met the old man and where I met up with him just days before he passed away. 

“Just tell me what you do know,” I found myself requesting. 

The laughing lines around his eyes seemed to explode as he grinned at me. “Your thirst for knowledge is commendable,” he said, very sage-like.

I shook my head with a hard laugh. “You know it’s not knowledge that I’m after,” I said. “Did you really know my birth parents?”

I asked him that question several times over the past couple of years that I knew him. And each time, although he never gave me a straight answer, I was more convinced that he did. 

“Where you come from doesn’t hold as much importance as you seem to believe,” Aiden said to me the last time we spoke. “What does matter is where you go from here.”

I shot up in bed, shaking my head when I realized it was another dream. They have been more frequent over the past week since Aiden passed away. I wondered if it was because I felt like I owed him a great debt. 

After all, I wouldn’t be standing here today if it wasn’t for him. 

I slipped out of bed and after checking the time, decided to go on a quick run. I knew from experience that I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep again. 

Sleep was in short supply since Aiden passed. 

For the first couple of months that he hired me to help out in his yard, he was just some weird old man. He liked to stand on his back porch with a cup of tea and chat with me while I pulled weeds and tended to his flower garden. 

I breathed deeply as I stepped out of my house and started jogging lightly down the street, cursing under my breath as my chest constricted, my mind reeling with memories of Aiden. He helped me through a lot of tough times, cheering me up by just sitting with me and listening to me rant about my adopted parents. 

Laura and Marcus weren’t abusive or anything but it was clear they adopted me just to check some life box. They worked a lot and weren’t home much. I convinced myself that I was fine with that. They just wanted a kid who stayed out of their way. 

I could do that. 

Aiden and his wife, Melinda, welcomed me into their home on a number of occasions and made me realize that I longed for a sense of belonging. 

They encouraged me and I often found myself sharing my accomplishments with them, as if they truly were my family. 

Before I knew it, I was sprinting as fast as I could down the road, needing to push my body to its limit, hoping the burning in my lungs would distract me from thoughts of Aiden. 

I was gasping for air when I finally stopped and leaned against a nearby pole, my heart feeling like it was pounding in my ears. 

I had just gotten my heart rate down to an acceptable rate when I heard rapid footsteps. I raised my head and felt my eyebrows fly upward when I saw Aqua walking quickly toward me. At first, I thought she saw me but her head was down, her wavy dark hair covering her eyes. 

She had not noticed me. 

I straightened, watching her, wondering what she could possibly be doing out this early. She was wearing a thin gray sweater that didn’t look like it was doing much against the unforgiving autumn breeze. 

I had been so startled to see Aqua that I couldn’t shake the shock away before she barrelled right into my chest. She bounced off me and I was barely able to wrap my hand around her wrist to keep her from falling. 

She gasped from the impact before her large dark eyes focused on me. She gaped at me for a moment before her eyes narrowed. “Are you stalking me?”

My jaw dropped. “No, of course not!” I protested and I knew my tone sounded indignant but I didn’t care. 

I still had my hand wrapped around her wrist. She pulled away slightly but I saw something in her eyes that made me not want to let go. 

It was fear. 

Had she been running from something? I watched her eyes round when I asked her if something happened. She swallowed thickly before unzipping her jacket. My eyes probably doubled in size when she started to tug the top of her shirt down, revealing the skin of her chest. 

It took me a moment to place the little jagged symbol against her skin. When I did, I could tell that I visibly reeled by the way Aqua’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. 

“I haven’t even told you what happened,” she said slowly, her lips tightening as she looked me up and down for a really long second. “Do you know what this is?”

I cursed inwardly but then controlled my expression and shrugged. “Impressive,” I said. “My parents would never let me get a tattoo. You’re lucky.”

Aqua didn’t say anything, just continued to watch me wordlessly. “Did you really just help Grandpa? Was he just your employer?” 

That was something I couldn’t lie about. I could never say that Aiden was just an employer. 

“No,” I finally admitted between my teeth. “He wasn’t just my employer. He actually only paid me the first couple of months because I started refusing their money since they kept feeding me.”

Aqua smiled fondly. “That sounds like them.”

I was about to say more. I wasn’t sure what was going to come out of my mouth but I suddenly felt the powerful urge to communicate to Aqua just how much her grandparents meant to me, how they gave me a safe place that I desperately wanted to call home. 

I opened my mouth to do just that when Aqua’s phone rang. She pulled her tiny purple phone out of her pocket. When she looked at the screen, her eyes rounded and she quickly answered the call. 

“Gem? Are you okay? Did something–” she paused, obviously listening to what her cousin was saying. I could vaguely hear her but couldn’t make out any of the words. Gem’s voice was incredibly high-pitched and frantic though. Aqua winced before nodding, almost to herself. “I know. The same thing happened to me. You’re okay though?” 

I wished that I could hear what Gem was saying. 

“Calm down, Gem,” Aqua said sternly. “It’s going to be okay. Are you okay to walk to Grandma’s?” She paused again, listening to her cousin’s answer. “Okay. Wake up Cori and take him with you. Sounds like an emergency family meeting is in order.” They said their goodbyes before Aqua ended the call. 

My panic started to rise when Aqua started to walk off. I needed to know what was going on if I was going to keep my promise to Aiden. “Aqua.”

Aqua turned to glance at me from over her shoulder. “Let’s go,” she said.

I tried not to openly gape at her. “You want me to come along to your family meeting?” I asked, astonished.

Aqua looked a little shocked that she was suggesting it as well but then she nodded firmly. “I can’t explain it,” she started in a low voice. “But I can just tell that you know more than you’re letting on. I have a feeling you should be there too.”

It took me a long moment to formulate a response. How could I even begin to explain something that I didn’t understand? 

It seemed that I didn’t have to. Aqua gestured to me before turning to continue her way up the road toward her Grandma’s house. 

I really had no other choice but to follow.