Family Follows

Chapter Three

Growing up, Seb only had one real friend: Jasper Collins. The son of the town drunk, Jasper had bonded with Seb over the similar temperaments of their fathers. Both fathers drank and both hated their sons. Because of this, both of them had dreamed of running away from the horrors of home and starting anew. But, when Seb actually did it, Jasper had refused to join him.

For the first couple years, Seb really only stayed in contact to try and convince Jasper to join him. But after Old Man Collins' death, Jasper said he had no reason to run anymore. He chose to stay in Farmington. And Seb didn't blame him. Without the fear of abuse, Jasper finally could call the place his home. Deep down, Seb might have even been jealous of his friend, but not jealous enough to change his own path. As Seb sailed the world, he done his best to keep in contact with Jasper—partially out of friendship and partially to see what his life could have been.

As Seb walked up the front steps of the cabin his best friend called home, he felt a wave of nervousness. What if Jasper wasn't happy to see him? If his only friend didn't even want him back, Seb didn't know how he would handle seeing his family. Jasper was a good indicator for how the rest of the reactions would go. He just hoped that at least this first one went well. Knocking on the door, he took a deep breath, knowing there was no turning back now.

The door creaked open. Jasper didn't look as Seb had remembered him. The ten years apart had made them both grow into men and the Jasper that stood before him held little resemblance to the one from his past. His once blond hair had turned sandy and brown. His dark blue eyes had lost the shine of naivety and his willowy frame had muscles it hadn't in his youth. But it was still Jasper and seeing him in person again did not feel as strange as Seb had worried it would.

There was a moments silence, as both men looked at each other in disbelief that the other was really there. Jasper's eyes scanned him as he looked at his seafaring clothes, his unkempt hair, and the years of hard labor that had imprinted on Seb's every feature like a stain. But at long last, Jasper's pursed lips broke into a small smile.

"Seb Holloway, knocking at my door?" Jasper said with a smirk. "To what do I owe the honor?"

"You know why I'm here," Seb replied flatly.

The smile fell from Jasper's face. "That I do. Come in, we need to talk."

Jasper opened the door wide and ushered his friend through. Once both were seated at the small kitchen table, Seb asked the question he knew he needed to ask before anything else.

"Is my mother . . ."

"Alive? Yes," Jasper replied and Seb felt like he could breathe again. "But it's not good. She's getting worse and no one knows what is wrong. When I last talked to Clara, she said they didn't know how much longer she had left."

Clara, his oldest sister. Seb had not seen her since she had been married when he was fourteen. Jasper had told him that her husband had died, but there had never been any mention of her moving back to Farmington in any of Jasper's letters.

"So Clara is here?"

"She moved back here when Bill died. Her and her boy live with your parents now," Jasper explained.
"So I'm assuming you got your mother's letter."

"I arrived early this morning," Seb sighed. "I got here as fast as I could."

"I can tell. You look like you haven't cleaned up in weeks," Jasper teased lightly. Seb knew he was testing the waters, finding out if he could still joke as they had in the past.

"Probably months," Seb shrugged, giving into the teasing. It didn't feel overly forced to talk with Jasper, but it didn't feel natural either. There was too much that had happened in the years apart to make a connection again.

But it was more than just that. Jasper sat uneasy in his chair. He looked nervous. Seb leaned forward on the table to stare his oldest friend in the eye. "What are you not telling me?"

"You shouldn't have come back, Seb," Jasper said, shaking his head. "A lot has happened since you left. It's not the same place you left behind."

"And I'm not the same person who left," Seb replied. "I'm not staying. I'm here to see my mother, then I'll be gone."

"He told the entire town that you died!" Jasper blurted out.

"What?!" Seb had thought that, over the years, his family might question whether or not he was still alive. But he never imagined that Martin, his own father, would sink so low as to declare him dead to the entire town. At least not without any proof, and Seb had made sure there was no trail of clues for Martin to find. He had done well hiding, perhaps too well.

"Martin told everyone you died only a few months after you left," Jasper said, unable to look at him. "For nine years, I've been the only one in this place who even knew you were alive."

"Why would he do that?"

"His last act of abuse, I guess. When it was clear that you weren't coming home, he told your family he'd received a letter notifying them of your death. There's a small cross with your name on it in the woods behind your house. He didn't even let your family hold a memorial service and now no one is allowed to even mention your name when he's nearby. It's like he tried to erase you from existence."

"So my family . . ?"

"They think you're long gone."

"But my mother, she wrote me," Seb stammered. "Why would she write if she thought I was dead?"

"That's my fault," Jasper frowned. "When Mother started getting sick, I knew I couldn't keep the secret of your existence and location to myself anymore. I told her the truth, I showed her the letters. I've never seen anyone so angry."

"And she didn't confront my father? And didn't you ever try to tell anybody?"

"Seb, in the years since you left, a lot has changed. Your father isn't who he used to be. He's more powerful than he ever was before. He's the mayor now, holding this entire town in his grasp. His status and reputation around here might him nigh-on untouchable. And who would believe you were alive anyway? Especially when the information was all coming from me?! I may not be my father, but the Collins name still isn't worth much around here."

"So my family thinks I'm dead?" Seb repeated the fact again. It explained why no one had looked for him over the years. He had been surprised at first when no one had tried to find him. It also explained why his mother had seemed so desperate in her letter. She was writing someone she thought was a ghost.

But, in the letter, she had said she prayed for him, that they all did. Why pray for a dead man? Were they praying for answers, or did they question their father's lie? Either way, Seb knew he needed answers. He also knew that being home was going to be different than he had ever imagined.

"So, what is your plan?" Jasper asked a few minutes later as he fetched a bottle of liquor from the kitchen and poured them each a drink.

"I go see my mother and then I leave," Seb replied as he took a sip of his drink, feeling the amber liquid burn his throat pleasantly. "I'm not here to make amends or stick around. I'm here to say goodbye then get the hell out of town."

"And you don't want to see anyone else? Not even your siblings?"

"It's get in, say goodbye, and get out," Seb said as he downed the rest of his drink in one swig. "I have no intention of doing anything else."