The Unknowns

Chapter 16 Secrets

After my father had finished explaining what happened to our parents, we sat together and said nothing for a long while until Kelsey spoke softly and said, “Do you have any more information about the Unknowns then? I mean now we know that they have long sharp teeth and big black eyes, but that doesn’t tell us how our parents were killed.”

“Everything I told you, is all I know.” My father said simply.

“I’m going downstairs to get some water; Brett will you please join me?” Josh said as he stood up. “Sure.” Brett and Josh then left my father, my sisters, and me to ourselves.

My father then scooted closer to us and began to whisper very quietly, “Look, what I just told you all wasn’t completely true…” he paused and looked towards the door. “You three have to promise me that you will keep this minor detail a secret. Do you understand?” I was scared to hear what my father was going to say but instead of arguing, I nodded and listened closely.

“I brought your mother’s body back with me, I couldn’t just leave her there in the desert to possibly have her harvested or something. I tried to save her. Please know that, I stayed there for as long as I could, but she just wasn’t responding. I contemplated on whether to bring her back or not, but I had to, so I carried her back here to perform a number of different tests to see how she was killed. If I can figure that out then we can find a way to stop these things.”

“You didn’t tell us in front of Josh and Brett because you knew they’d be upset.” Ramona said as she looked up at my father. “Correct, and I feel horrible about leaving Charles and Heather… but there was nothing I could do.”

“I want to help. I need to know how mom was killed. I’ve been doing some research and tests and I think I’ve figured a few things out.” Kelsey said. “Are you sure Kels? You want to help me perform tests on-“ she cut him off, “Yes, now where is she?” “Hold on,” Ramona said as she stood up. “I don’t want to do tests on mom, it just doesn’t feel right.” “Neither do I.” I said, finally letting the idea seep in.

“I understand, and you two don’t have to, I’m surprised you want to do this Kels.” He whispered, checking the door again. “When are we going to start?” Kelsey asked.

“Well why don’t we start tomorrow, I need rest.” He suggested. “Okay we’ll leave you alone to get some sleep. I’m glad you’re back dad.” As she spoke, Ramona placed her hand on my fathers shoulder only to be pulled in for an embrace. He motioned Kelsey and I to join and we hugged him one by one.

When I got the chance to hug him, I whispered in his ear so my sisters wouldn’t hear, “Are you sure mom would be okay with this? You know performing tests on her like some science experiment?” “I’ve given it lots of thought Grace, and I do believe that this is what she would have wanted…” He paused and a single tear ran down his cheek. “Do you know what her last words were?” He asked. I shook my head and he continued, “Keep them safe David, tell them I love them when you return.”

He turned away from me and pulled me in for a longer hug. He started to cry like he had earlier. “You are a great father dad. And you were a great husband, mom knew that.” I pulled away and kissed his cheek softly, then left the room with my sisters.

***

It didn’t feel right not being able to tell Josh, but I feared that if I did he would be mad at me for who knows how long.

Kelsey proceeded to sit next to Brett while I sat beside Josh and put my arm around him. He started to cry again and then spoke, “Must be annoying seeing me cry so many times in one day.” I frowned, “Josh, you just lost both of your parents in one day and you’re going to apologize for crying? You need to watch your ego kid.” He laughed ever so slightly and wiped the tears from his eyes. “Can we go somewhere please?” He asked. “Of course, the closet or the roof?” I suggested with a small smile.

“The roof.” He took my hand and led me up the stairs to the roof.

***

“Josh, I really just want to-“ he cut me off mid-sentence and said, “Grace, don’t apologize, this is in no way your fault and I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s just sit here, if you wouldn’t mind?”

We sat for a long time in the middle of the roof with his arm around my waist, my head on his shoulder, and our free hands intertwined with each others. I didn’t say one word and neither did he, he kept quiet the entire time until at the very end he started to stand up.

I looked at him, confused and he continued in silence. He had dried tears all over his cheeks and I wanted to hug him just because he looked so unbelievably miserable.

He looked into my eyes and started to smile that most perfect smile of his. He then took my face in his hands and started to lean in closer.

My heart started to pound uncontrollably and I was sure he could hear it. I stood with my hands at my side, unsure of what I should do.

Our lips were inches away and he started to close his eyes, I wondered for a split second if I should have stopped him and told him that I wasn’t ready, making up some stupid excuse because I was so implausibly nervous.

Instead I let him kiss me.

When his lips met mine, my heart skipped a beat and I wrapped my arms around his neck. We kissed longer than I had expected, and when I finally pulled away I had to catch my breath and I began to smile uncontrollably, but I wanted more.

He moved his hands down to my waist and mine staying around his neck, this time I stood up on my toes and brought his face down to mine, our lips moved together perfectly and I realized that we needed to stop before I would start to attack him.

I pulled away and kissed his cheek and started to walk away, he grabbed my arm, and before I could even react, he was kissing me again. I playfully pushed him away, even though I didn’t want to, and walked off of the roof and down the stairs to meet my sisters.

I was blushing, but I didn’t say a word about our kiss to either of them. My smile started to fade when I realized that I had made a promise to my father about a secret that would be so extremely hard to keep.