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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Eden
I wokeup to find Silas was gone. Not only from the bed, but from the apartment.
After I read his note, I shrugged. I had no real desire to leave the comfort of the apartment anyway. So I spent some much neededmealone time. I was slow to get out of bed and ready for the day. I made myself a wonderful brunch. I sat down to watch TV.
Thinking that maybe I should check my emails and explain to others my sudden disappearance, I went and got the smart phone from the room. Surly this had access to internet.
I was most worried about Adelaide. I didn’t want the woman to think bad of me, like I had simply abandoned my position at the library. I wanted to explain that I was away on an… emergency, I guess.
When I opened my email account, my account was mostly filled with letters from my uncle. The gist of each one was clear.
Your mother is missing. Where are you? Why won’t you answer your phone? I fear the worst. I think something bad might have happened to her.
Fuck.
In a panic, I rushed to pack what little I had, then remembered I couldn’t just hop on a flight back to the States. I had no passport. No visa. No money. And remembering how things went down the last time I saw my mom, I didn’t expect Silas to be sympathetic and helpful in this. I already knew what he’d tell me.
It’s not worth risking our lives to go back to the US to search for her. Your mom would want you to stay out of harm’s way. Your uncle will need to handle this on his own.
Oh God. What if Silas’ assassins are the reason my mother was missing? Uncle wrote she had been bailed out by someone.
I realized I would have to do this on my own.
As I finished packing, I formulated lies to tell the American embassy when I arrived.I had been robbed. I needed to get home.
Would they check to see how I got here?
I’d have to risk it. I could always say I was on some old guy’s yacht, partying hard, and I’m not sure how I ended up in Italy. That was workable, right? I was a college student. We did stupid things. We’d let rich strangers take us places without much thought on how we’d get home.
Thankfully, I had learned enough Italian that, when I got outside on the street, I could communicate. However, after speaking with some of the locals at a nearby cafe, I was more than a little disheartened to find out the nearest embassy was actually quite far.
However, I was nothing if not resourceful. I sold Silas’ phone. He could afford a new one, I was sure. And I paid for a taxi to get me to where I needed to be.
It might take a day or two, but I knew the American embassy would get me home. I’d most likely be billed for the airfare later but fuck it. I could afford it.
???
When I finally landed in the US, I was exhausted. I gave my uncle my arrival information before I left the embassy to catch my flight. He assured me he would pick me up.
Sure enough, once I cleared the terminal, he was waiting.
He took my weekend bag from my shoulder. “You have luggage?”
I shook my head.
He put his arm around me, held me close, and strangely, sniffed me. “I’m glad you’re safe. Don’t you worry. We’re going to find your mother. Then we can be a family again.”
Not wanting to start an argument, I refrained from telling my uncle that the moment we found my mom, I was heading back to school.
The walk to the car was a quiet one. I was so tired, so when I climbed into the passenger seat, I immediately closed my eyes. I dozed until instinct woke me.Danger. Danger.I felt like something was off.
When I opened my eyes, I saw us taking a wrong turn.
“My apartment is back that way.”
My uncle nodded. “We aren’t going back to your place right now.”
