Page 5 of Where We Began

We stay like that, listening to the sky rumble above. Footsteps come next. “There you are,” Dad pants, crouching in front of us. This time, neither of us moves to hug him. “Come back inside.”

“No.” I shake my head firmly. “We won't.”

“Please,” he says. The word steals the last of his strength. In front of our eyes he deflates, his head falling into his hands, elbows on his spread knees. “This was never supposed to happen. I was so sure no one would find me. Findus.”

Kara lifts her head. “Daddy, what did you do?”

He stares at the ground between his shoes. “It's better you don't know.”

That seems like a bunch of bullshit, but I bite my tongue. Kara doesn't. “Then whatdowe need to know?”

Her cruel words clear some of his defeat. He scans our faces, as if trying to read us while we struggle to read him. “Girls... this is a tricky situation. Annie won't leave without one of you.” My mouth opens; he raises a hand, silencing me. “Whoever it is will have to live at her estate in Massachusetts. Do you... did your mother teach you where that is?”

Our school lessons were brief. Kara and I preferred playing to academics. “Miles and miles from here,” Kara says. I nod once.

He breathes in then lets it out. He's still torn to pieces but he's working to keep it together. “It won't be so bad. You'll get to see new things, eat amazing food. It'll be—” he hesitates. “Life changing.”

“For how long?” Kara asks.

“I just don't know, sweetie.”

“Thenwhy?”I snap.

His smile is pained. “To keep me from vanishing again.”

I don't know what he's talking about. I don't need to. Seeing the haunted look etched into the face of the man that taught me how to fish... the man who lied with me beneath the stars as he told me their names... my anger slips away. I wrap him in a tight embrace. A second later, Kara joins me.

Wetness taps the back of my hand. Overhead, the clouds have split, assaulting us with cold summer rain. “Joseph?” our mother calls gently from the back door.

Dad clears his throat. “Inside, before we get sick.”

I'm already sick. It's been writhing in my stomach since I saw the strange car. “Give us one minute,” I say.

He squints down at me, eyebrows knotting.

“Please.” My fingers wrap in my sister's between us. Dad sees, and he inclines his head. When he vanishes into the cabin, I see that Annie is hovering inside. She watches us as if she's confident we can't escape. She's right.

If we ran, they'd take baby Dean instead. I'm sure of it.

Cringing at the idea, I pull Kara back to the logs. She fingers her wet hair, watching me closely. “We have to decide,” she whispers. She's always been the strong one. The challenger—the center stage star. But now she looks like the rain itself will crush her bones. Like she'll dissolve if we stay here too long.

“No, we don't.” I lock my fingers in the spaces between hers. “I'm going to do it.”

“What?” she gasps.

I shrug, like this isn't a big deal. Except my heart is quaking... my brain buzzing with how my whole world was turned upside down within minutes. “I already decided it would be me.” It's a brittle lie. I didn't think about offering myself up until I saw how this was breaking my sister apart. She's protected me my whole life. It's my turn to return the favor.

“You're strong,” she says softly. “Stronger than me.”

I hope she's right.

My wet hair sticks to my cheek. I brush it away then pause. “Let's make a promise.” Kara waits patiently, not breaking her stare. I hold my hair between us. “We said we wouldn't cut our hair until next year. Let's swear not to do it until we see each other again.”

Kara considers my frayed brunette ends. Everything looks darker thanks to the downpour. The noise of it muffles every word we speak. Still, I hear her clearly as her pinkie wraps around mine. “I swear it.”

“I swear it,” I repeat.

She holds on, looking at our hands. “You should know that I’d still win.” Her eyes dart to mine, sparkling with tears and familiar pride. “My hair will be longer than yours. Just wait until you see.”

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