Bending Light

18~Runs in the Family

    As (Y/N) emerged into the cloudy, wet Cairnholm that she had begun to miss, her thoughts were spinning. What was that? She wondered as she climbed out of the cairn. One minute we were play-arguing, and the next... And what was so horrible about me leaving? I haven't even been here long enough to become anything more than a guest, right? At most it could be like a brother or sister leaving to go live by theirselves, but surely they don't think of me in that way.

Trying to control her thoughts, she spun around, trying to get her bearings. She looked down into the bog in front of her and saw the faint impressions of footprints. Actually, they were Jacob's footprints. They came from his favorite dark wingtip Oxford shoes that he had loved since he was very little. "Explorer's shoes," he had called them. He would track mud all over the house every time he visited. He still wore that type and had a pair or two of them.

Stepping into the footprints was (Y/N)'s best bet, as going through the bog was the only way out and it didn't look like Jake had drowned or anything, so the path was probably the only safe one. Looking at the footprints, she couldn't decide if Jacob had been coming or going. He had left at dinner the last night, but for all she knew he could have come back. The only person she saw in the morning was Millard, and she was still thinking about him... damn it.

Once she got out of the mire, she was able to stalk down the hill towards The Priest Hole through the tall grass that swayed in the wind. As she neared the bottom, a raindrop plopped onto her cheek and slid down her face. Is the weather always this dark here? She wondered. It almost fit her mood, except there weren't any lightning bolts ripping through the sky and thunder rumbling the ground like the internal storm she was facing.

Her parents lied about her own grandfather's death and thought they could get away with it?! And for how long? Because surely someone would have come knocking on their door, giving their "deepest regrets" eventually. Her D'orsay wedges clopped on the street as she angrily came to the door.

As (Y/N) went to yank the door open, she was interrupted by the clicks of someone's heels coming toward her at a furious clip.

    "Ohmygosh, (Y/N), I'msosorry, Iwasjusthangingoutwithmynewfriends, andIendedupstayongoverforafewdays. AndIwasn'tabletocallbecausethere'slike, noreceptionhereandI'mreallysorry. ThenIcamehomeyesterdayandyouweren'taround. SoI'mreallysorryifyouwerelookingformeallnightbutpleasedon'tletMomandDadknow!" came an assault of words.

    "Elise?" (Y/N) gasped. In all her confusion, there was finally one thought that was sharp and clear. She knew there would always be a silver lining to having a little sibling who loved to hang out with friends. Not really, but it was definitely helpful.

"You're so lucky that I found you now," (Y/N) scolded her sister. "I have been looking all over for you. Don't you think you could have let me know where you were somehow?"

    "Well, I tried to come back here, but my friends said that it would be fine and I know it was stupid but I promise I will never do it again, just please don't tell Mom and Dad!" Elise pleaded.

"Hmm," (Y/N) pretended to contemplate her choices while internally praising the birds in the sky. Now that nobody (except maybe Kev) had known that she was gone, she could get down to the real business. "Fine, but we need to get inside. I have to talk to Mom and Dad. I don't know if you know why they're back, but you obviously know that they are back. Anyway, the reason they were gone is something I need to talk about, so let's go."

When (Y/N) finally ushered her sister upstairs, she waited for her parents, who were eating dinner, to notice her.

Her mom was facing her, so she saw her first and smiled brightly, making her father turn around. Both of their expressions sobered for a second when they saw (Y/N)'s expression. She was angrier now that they were here, their expressions confirming her belief that they weren't planning on telling her the truth anytime soon. Even as she stomped toward them, they kept the same happy faces. They knew that what they did was wrong, they still thought she was stupid enough to never have found out. Their faces seemed innocent, but she could see the look in their eyes that told her they were hiding something.

"Oh, hey sweetie!" her mom exclaimed, still smiling, though it was becoming faker by the second.

"Why didn't you tell me?" (Y/N) snarled.

   "What honey?" her mother's sickly sweet voice asked. The concern was not so much for (Y/N), but for herself. She knew she had been found out.

   "My grandfather died last week and you didn't care to tell me? Did it just slip your mind? Or did you think I wouldn't really care, since he was my only surviving grandfather, and of course I wouldn't want to attend his funeral."

   "No, it wasn't that," her mother defended. "We-"

    "No." (Y/N) cut off. "I don't want to hear excuses, I want the answer. Got it? Those are two entirely separate things, so you'd better not mix it up."

    "Don't talk to your mother like that!" her father snapped.

    "Well then, what should I talk to her like? Like she's not a liar? Because you've always told me to be honest, but you two have both done just the opposite. For all I know, everything you've ever told me was a lie! So yes, I think I can talk like that."

   Her father opened his mouth to say something, but kind of gave up. Maybe he was actually listening, or maybe he was saving the admonishing for later. (Y/N) wasn't in the mood to figure it out at that moment.

However, her mother did have something to say. "Where did you get that outfit?" she asked furiously. "Because I hope that you didn't spend all of our money on that. It looks old and very expensive. The money was meant for you to spend on food and necessities."

    "Maybe I can tell you. But tell me what you thought you were doing when you left. Then I can reasonably answer you."

"We're not going to answer that until you tell us where you got that outfit from," her mom stated flatly.

"Oh, um..." (Y/N) searched her mind, her anger slowly fading. She felt like a cornered animal. "It was uh... the vintage clothing downtown. You know, the whole 1940's thing they have here, you know with the bomb and everything. I figured I could get myself a nice Halloween outfit, you know, since it's only a couple months away. I swear it didn't cost that much..." Geez, she needed more practice. You know, you know, you know, and all the pauses...ugh. She was cut off from embarrassing herself more by her mother.

    "The bomb!?" She exclaimed. "You mean to tell me that you brought us here without deigning to notify us that the people here have been in danger before?" Oops.

    "Um, yeah, the bomb," (Y/N) hesitated, trying to save herself. Actually, Elise had been raving about some attack on the island when she came back from the museum. "The attack...it was in the museum...you were in there, weren't you? I mean, we are touring wartime countries, aren't we?"

    "Oh, yes, I suppose I do remember that-"

    "But that doesn't matter," (Y/N) cut her off. "Because you lied to me—us. About our grandfather."