The Hidden Gemstone

Chapter: 33

Alex's POV:

The weather in Hawaii was contrary to the weather back in Toronto.

The sun glared down at me, even though I wore nothing but a thin T-shirt and shorts. Instead of snow, sand collected in my shoes as I walked along the coast with Cody, Elijah, and Zoe. I'd renewed my braid which now rested past my shoulder, scorching my bare neck with its heat.

We'd been walking for a while now, passing the laughing families and friends as they enjoyed their day. I envied them as I walked by, silently complaining to fate why it had to be me they gave the weight of the world to.

I glanced at Cody who was glowering at the people on the beach, like their happiness physically pained him. Though I could relate, I resisted the urge to snicker at his expression.

"What if we don't find the gemstone?" Zoe asked, joining my side. The two of us lagged behind as the boys walked ahead of us, just out of earshot.

"I don't know," I answered honestly. I tried my level best to not sound pessimistic, but failed miserably. "This is my best bet. If we find nothing... that'll be it, I guess. There would be nothing more we could do."

"Yeah," she muttered, looking at her feet. I glanced sideways at her, failing to hide my concern.

"Hey, are you doing okay?"

She looked up and blinked, as though the question had caught her off guard. "I - yeah, I'm fine."

I looked pointedly at her. "You do know that it's almost impossible to hide things from me, right?"

"Your father got away with it, didn't he?"

I froze, stopping in my tracks. "What?"

Zoe realized her mistake in less than a second, her eyes widening. She turned, facing me, and guilt overtook her expression. "Wait, no - I - I didn't mean that. I'm sorry, I just-"

"It's okay," I cut her off bluntly and continued walking behind the boys, picking up my pace.

"Alex, I'm sorry," Zoe pleaded, catching up to me. "I don't know why I said that. I just - I-" She broke off, her eyes filling with tears. She stopped walking, and so did I, letting the boys go ahead. "I'm torn, Alex. I don't know what to do. I thought I could just push it to the back of my mind and ignore it, but it's all coming back, and I can't-"

"Hey," I interrupted softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down. I don't know what you're talking about so... start from the beginning."

"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath to control herself. She nodded as we both continued to walk, now far behind the boys. "My parents got divorced when I was eight, and I haven't seen my dad since then, but he left my mom, so I guess he was a good guy."

"What does that mean?"

She inhaled sharply. "I've never said this out loud to anyone before." She looked at me, struggling with her words. "After they got divorced, I lived with my mom. I didn't really have a choice. Marie told me that my dad tried to take custody, but my mom countered badly and blamed him for things he didn't even do. So, I just lived with her. And... every other day, she brought a man home. It was a different man every time. And she was - is - beautiful, so it was easy for her to pass for a much younger age than she actually was. All the men believed she was in her twenties, and the only evidence around that she wasn't was me."

She took a shaky breath and I took her hand, gently squeezing it. She smiled gratefully at me. "The first time she brought a man home, she told me to stay in my room until the man left. But that was before breakfast and after a few hours, I couldn't take it. I was starving. I went down to the kitchen. I'd meant to be quiet, but the man saw me, and when he realized my mom was lying about who she was, he left. That infuriated my mom."