The Hidden Kaznachei

Chapter 8

She was so used to lies that the truth confused her. -Jeff Hood

       "Hey honey, I'm sorry to wake you, I know it's early but your dad and I are going to the psychology conference in Green Bay so we'll be gone all day. I wasn't sure if you remembered, but I didn't want you to wake up and not know where we were." She pauses, taking a look around my room and her very tired child "Okay go back to sleep, we'll see you later" she walks out and I'm still rubbing my eyes trying to make the tiredness of them go away when I hear the car pulling out of our driveway. I look at my phone and see its 4:30am. At least she waited until the last minute to wake me up. No wonder I'm tired, the sun isn't even up yet. It should be against the law to be up before the sun.

*******

When I wake up again, it's with a heavy heart realizing I didn't dream of Grant again. He must've really wanted me gone. I check my phone and see that it's 10:15am. Much better. My meeting with Lucy isn't until noon so I know I have time to peak into mum's files and see if she has any information on Grant's jail.

I head down the hall into her office and see that almost all of her files are locked up. Luckily, I know where she put the key. I walked into her office once last year as she was putting it away. I walk over to the fake plant and lift it off the floor. She didn't move the location like I had feared. Nothing like putting a key in the most cliche place, but maybe that was her point. No one would look there because it would be too obvious.

There are four file cabinets along one side of the small room across from her desk. Her desk is one of those old desks that look like they belong in a mafia movie, too large for this room. It's spotless though, not a single paper on it. Photos of our family hang on the wall along with another photo that looks like it could be from her college days.
I turn back towards the filing cabinets. Why does she need all these here when she is almost always at her office at work?

Whatever, it doesn't matter as long as I can find what I'm looking for. I begin with the second cabinet. It might as well be empty. It's all Russian history papers and lineage. The next one has our family's records. It's more lineage and things that might be interesting if I cared about that sort of thing, but I don't, at least not right now. The third cabinet I try I can't say is a success, but I can learn a lot. It's a cabinet full of employee records. A picture and name stand out to me. Sophia. I pick out her file and I know I've been betrayed.

:Sophia, 18 years old, position held thus far: 1yr.

She isn't from Chicago. As I read further I get to read Sophia's detailed reports on me and the things I like to do. She must've gotten these and studied up so I'd instantly bond with her. My mum even made sure Sophia didn't like the same books as me so she wouldn't be too similar. So my mum wanted me to have a friend and she bought me one, I guess it could be worse?

As I get to the next few pages of her file and read her job details I realize her job isn't to be my friend, although it's easier for her if I think she is. It's her job to make sure I'm not socializing with vampires.

An incident report is in her file too, one that she wrote. She turned me in. It gives a detailed account of that first day with Grant. How he followed me around the activities fair and how we were talking to each other.

Oh my god. I am the reason Grant was taken. It is my fault. No wonder he didn't want to see me. I didn't want to be right about this, I didn't want to be the reason. But here it is, all written down, the truth. I start to feel dizzy, nauseous even. I can't handle this. I quickly throw Sophia's file back and lock them up. I head to the kitchen and grab some orange juice. Maybe I just don't have enough sugar in my bloodstream. Nope, that doesn't help either.

This is just too much.

My phone starts ringing at 12:30. I stare at it as though it's not really going off. I've been staring off at nothing for so long, it doesn't feel real. It rings again and I see that I have 3 missed calls. I answer to Lucy's voice asking me where I am. With everything I had just found out, I forgot I was supposed to meet her. I quickly tell her that I can't talk on the phone and I'll see her at school. She sounds upset but I can't be too careful now. Who knows, Sophia could've had my phone bugged.

I decide that writing a letter to Lucy will be the safest for her. This way I can quickly hand to her between classes.

Dear Lucy,

I'm sorry I couldn't make it to our meeting last night but many things came up that I didn't feel I could discuss at the time. I still don't think I'm ready; however I will tell you that I saw Grant last night. He was in a cell, though I noticed many more cells this time. The first thing I did after he backed away from me was run and give him a hug. It was the only thing I could think of that could assess his injuries quickly. He still has a black eye. The way that he flinched before returning the hug makes me think he has at least a few broken ribs.

When I told him I knew what was happening and that we were trying to find him, things took a turn. He got very upset and tried to scare me away. He looked at me like he was deciding whether or not to rip me apart and then yelled at me not to return and stay away. I don't think he's had anything to eat by the looks of him. He's lost some weight already and it's only been a week.

While I'm not giving up on him, I have reason to believe that I'm the one responsible for him being taken and I can't handle that right now. I need a few days to figure this all out and I'd appreciate it if you'd stay away from me from now on. It's not safe for you.

-Kat

Lucy will have to understand that I'm doing it for her safety, not because I don't want to help.

Poor Kat. She's not having much luck in the friendship area is she?

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Xoxo Megan