My Personal Vendetta

Ch. 7 Reunion

I KNOW THIS IS WAY LATE. I WAS PLANNING ON UPLOADING THIS A FEW DAYS AGO BUT THEN I REALIZED I NEEDED TO GET MY MATH TEST AND SCAVENGER HUNT THING OUT OF THE WAY FIRST. THE DEADLINES WERE THIS WEEK. I'LL TRY TO UPDATE AGAIN SOON.

A/N 12/30/12: more editing....getting closer to the latest chapter.

ENJOY.

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BAILEY'S POV

There are just certain days that people just want to go home and take a nap. My day was today after I left my journalism class. Christian put me in a terrible mood so I didn't want to deal with people in the rest of my classes. The thought of going home had me pass my next class and head for the exit. My grandparents will hopefully be out of the house. We weren't exactly on speaking terms since my grandfather yelled at me.

When I had gotten home after the meeting with the sheriff the other day, the house was quiet. It didn't take a genius to figure out that my grandparents were avoiding me. It would have been a good time for mom to pop up and take me back to California. She never did pop up and I haven't really talked to my grandparents since then.

As soon as I left school and made it home, I headed straight for my room. I noticed my grandparents were home but they were busy doing their own thing so I didn't want to bother them. When I walked into my room, I dropped my book bag on the floor and sighed. It felt like I had a long day but it was still early in the morning.

Before I headed for my unmade bed, I heard the front door open and close. I headed for my window to see if my grandparents decided to go out after all. I didn't see anyone but I did see a car parked by the house. They must have guests over. Was I supposed to go downstairs and introduce myself? I think it would be rude if I didn't.

I was about to walk away from the window until I saw the sheriff's car park near the house. What was he doing here? Who else was here? My curiosity was growing when I saw another car park near the house. I quietly turned around and walked out of my room. If my grandparents wanted me to meet these people, they would have mentioned it right? I would have to eavesdrop on their little meeting if I wanted to know what was going on.

When I made it to the stairs, I wondered if I should stay where I was or quietly go down a few steps. It would be a problem if anyone saw me since my grandparents probably didn't know I was home early. Luckily, the guests and my grandparents were quite loud so I could hear everything they were saying.

"Okay, so we're all here, what's the big news? Is Aly back in town?" a male voice asked when everyone became quiet. So this little meeting was about mom. Why couldn't I be a part of it?

"I know you want Aly back home but that's not the big news we want to tell you," grandfather explained, as I slid down a step so I could try to get a good look at everyone. The doorway that leads to the living room was big enough for anyone to see from the stairs if they were sitting down.

"You want me to tell them instead of Mr. C?" John asked, before turning towards the three people I didn't recognize. Actually, I think I recognized one of them.

"Spit it out already John! Please tell me that Garrett didn't figure out that we've been tracking him all these years," the familiar man said, as his facial expression went from anger to fear. Who the hell was Garret?

"Actually I think it is good news," John said, as he put his hand on the other man's shoulder as if he was trying to calm him down before he did something drastic. I fought the urge to yell at John to say it already. Was mom coming back here to get me?

"You have a daughter! I feel so much better now that I got that off my chest. I was never good at keeping secrets for long," the grandmother said, before sitting down on one of the sofas near her.

"What?" asked the man, as he looked at John and then a grandmother. He wasn't the only one confused. I’m not sure if they’re talking about me now.

"We have a granddaughter?!” a woman yelled, before a huge smile formed on her lips. They had to be talking about me, right?

"Landon, what the hell happened that summer?" the older man asked before he was engulfed in a hug by the happy woman. Landon? That means that he was my dad and was just a few feet from me. The couple must be my other grandparents.

"Dad, I really don't want to have an embarrassing conversation with you right now," Landon said, as he tried to avoid eye contact with his father. I couldn't help but laugh at the discomfort he was feeling which was a bad idea because everyone turned their heads in my direction. I was caught.

"Bailey? When did you get home?" my grandfather asked when everyone became quiet. I got up from the step I was sitting on and walked down the rest of the stairs. This is going to be awkward for me.

"I wasn't feeling well so I left school early," I explained when I was standing in front of the group. This is the moment of truth. Will I be accepted or rejected by my own biological father?

"You look so beautiful, sweetie! I'm so happy that something good came out of that terrible summer," Landon's mom said before she hugged me and gave me a peck on the cheek. The entire time I was staring at Landon and he was staring right back.

"You look like your mother but at the same time, you look like your father. It's so great to meet you," Landon's dad said when I was free from the tight hug from my new grandmother. I never once broke eye contact with Landon. I wanted to memorize what he looked like in case he didn't want me.

"It's great to meet both of you. Mom told me so much about you but she never showed me a picture of you for some reason," I said when I finally looked at my new grandparents. They seemed like they were nice people so why hide what they look like? Was she protecting them too?

"Landon! Say something to your daughter before she takes it the wrong way!" Landon's mother said, before pushing him towards me. I kept a smile from forming as I watched him glare at his mother.

He just stared at me when he was done glaring at his mother. Before I could say a word, he left the room. I jumped when I heard the front door slammed shut. John followed him as soon as the door was shut. It seemed no one knew what to say after that. I could feel their eyes on me as I looked down at the floor. I tried not to let the tears fall as my eyesight became blurry. I can’t cry. I knew this might happen so I should have been more prepared for it.

This little reunion didn't turn out so great but at the same time, I could understand why he stormed out of the house. He must have been confused, angry, and scared. He just needed some time by himself before I could approach him again. I needed answers to a lot of questions and it looks like he was the one person that could answer them.

"Well, I think that's our cue to leave. Bailey, please stop by the house so we could get to know you better," Landon's father said before he guided his wife to the front door. I guess it was a plus that my new grandparents didn't run out of the house too.

"I'll stop by some time," I said, as I followed them to the door. If he was staying with them for the time being then I could get my chance to ask him about the summer no one seems to want to talk about.

When I shut the door after they walked out, I turned around and was met with my grandparent's sad faces. I just shook my head and headed back upstairs to my room where I planned to cry my eyes out until I fell asleep. It would have been great if I had some sort of friend to talk to about this but I didn't because I didn't want to have any ties to this town when mom showed up. I guess it wouldn't hurt to befriend at least one person while I'm stuck here though.