Hearts Of Glass #AdultFiction

Chapter 51

Shannon and Cody put the three items side by side on her bed; the two wrapped, unopened packages and the faded pink canvas duffle bag sat there, looking so unimportant.

But to Shannon they meant everything. Inside them were all the answers to every question she had about her father, she just knew it. She pulled at the zipper, but it refused to budge.

"Oh shit!" She said in exasperation. "How am I going to get this open?"

Cody pulled out his pocketknife and slid it alongside the seam beside the zipper, neatly slicing it open. "There ya go!"

Shannon stuck her hand in the bag, pulling out a makeup bag. "This is still packed for a trip." She turned it over and upended it, dumping the contents on her bed.

"Whoa! Look at these!" Cody held up a pair of tiny pink lace bikini underwear. "Your mom wore these?"

"Put those down, perv!" Shannon laughed as she picked up a black tee shirt. "And on the eighth day, God created Harley Davidson." She read the front, then looked at the sleeve. "Minneapolis, Minnesota. My mother was in Minnesota? And she wore a Harley shirt?"

She held up the shirt and shook her head. "This is too big for my mom. What else is in here?"

They spread out the pile of things, randomly picking up items of clothing and setting them down.

Shannon pointed out the makeup bag, the hairbrush and the bag of shampoos and hair products. "This is just too weird. Why would she want to get rid of a whole bag of clothes and stuff like shampoo and hairbrushes. Why wouldn't she just unpack this stuff and use it when she came home?"

"I dunno." Cody picked up the smaller package, running his hand over the taped seam; it came apart effortlessly under his fingers. He let the wrapping fall to the floor as he held up the book. "This is a photo album."

"OH!" Shannon cried out as she let a pair of denim shorts fall out of her hands. She reached for the photo album and sank down on the floor, opening it. "This is it! Oh my god! Here's a letter!"

Her hands shook as she unfolded the paper. She tried to keep her voice steady as she read it aloud to Cody.

"Dear Sarah, I hope when you look through these pictures, you will see how happy you and Sam really were. That french bitch isn't in his life anymore. Well, she's still around obviously, but she's not pregnant! Sam doesn't even want to talk to her, he misses you so bad, Sarah. He needs you in his life. He's a mess. Please come back to him, soon. Please come back to all of us. I miss you, too. Love, Trish"

"Who's Trish? And this french bitch?"

"I have no fucking clue." Shannon said, confusion mixed in with the many emotions that were swirling through her. She picked up the paper wrapping, turning it over to read the return address.

Shannon shook her head. "Mom has never mentioned anyone named Trish. Where is Helaport?"

Cody walked to Shannon's computer, turning it on and letting it boot up. "Only one way to find out."

Shannon looked closely at the pictures, stuck on the cardboard pages and covered with a sheet of plastic. "Oh my god, Cody. Come look at these. This is that group that you like!"

She waved him over wildly with her hand. "Look! There's a picture of my mom and some guy, standing in front of a tour bus. See, it says Blood Brothers on the side."

"Some guy! Shannon! That is Sam Carter! He is the lead singer!" Cody couldn't contain his enthusiasm.

Shannon looked up at him, stunned. Her heart pounded in her chest. "Did you say his name is Sam?"