Page 47 of Speak No Claim

“Interesting,” he commented.

“You knew my mother as well?”

“Yes.”

“Did she also attend the Graves Academy?”

“No.”

“Oh…” I breathed out. “But you met her here? In Connecticut?”

“Something like that.”

“I don’t understand… she told me she’s never been to this state.”

“It was a long time ago. People tend to forget the past when the people who lived it are no longer with us.”

“Are you talking about my father? Do you know how he died?”

“Hennessy—”

“That’s the first time you’ve called me that. This must be bad.”

“Miss,” he clarified for the second time. “The past is already buried. I highly advise you not to get your hands dirty by digging it up.”

“No,” I disputed. “It’s staring me right in the face everywhere I go, but no one will tell me why I’m a leper. In the jungle, Alfred, where I’m from, when the group turns its back on one of their own, it’s only because they’re as good as dead. Is that what I am here? Dead?”

“Miss,” he spoke in the softest tone. “I’m sorry you’re having a hard time here. I promise it will get better for you.”

“Then this is a test? Am I passing or failing?”

“You’re still here, aren’t you?”

“That doesn’t sound very reassuring.”

“Well, I suggest you try to make some friends. You’re much stronger in numbers than you are alone.”

“That sounds like an army. What… or should I say who, am I supposed to be defeating? The Devereauxs?”

“He’s your uncle's best friend, and you’re about to become family with them.”

“Only through marriage.”

I could tell he was weighing his words, especially when he replied, “Some stories are history you’re born with.”

“What does that mean? You act like my family holds the key to my future.”

“Most families do.” He smiled before informing me, “We’re here.”

“That didn’t take long.” I felt like he was trying to get rid of me.

He gestured toward the homes. “The district isn’t far from your uncle’s. There’s a pathway in the woods that’ll actually take you back to the Graves. I’ll pick you up in an hour?”

Defeat quickly settled into my bones. “How about I just call you when I’m ready?”

He agreed and gave me his cell phone number. After I watched him leave, I thought about what he shared on a dangerous loop in my head. I needed straight answers, not cryptic warnings everyone was adamant about laying on me. I decided right then and there that I was going to get to the bottom of this.

Even if it meant confronting my uncle, which was probably why he was avoiding me to begin with. Trying to change my state of mind, I noticed that every street looked frozen in time under towering apple trees. Autumn was breathing all around me with its crisp cool air and gorgeous amber tones.